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[caesura]

I'll be using Sakai for an online course for the first time.  The course is already built and loaded, so I don't have to worry about that.  But I'd love any tips on using it as the instructor.  Nifty aspects?  Trouble spots?  Things students typically have trouble with?   

[caesura]

Sorry for the double post, but I meant to say also that I am very familiar with eCollege, so any comparisons would be helpful.

[marigolds]

Just bookmarking, as I'm using Sakai for the first time this semester.

[concordancia]

-If you want to rename your pages something more specific to your course, you use the "Page order" option. You can also add "tools" (aka "pages") there.
-For assessments, there is a different format depending on whether you create each question individually or use quick create. For example, short answer question just mark the blank with the answer in between {} individually, but you put the blank in the statement, then asterix the answer on the next line for quick create. Remember this if creating offline to cut and paste online.
-Be familiar with the gradebook options before beginning. It is fairly straigthforward to make changes, but as with any online system, students don't necessarily get the difference between a list of their grades and category weights.

I am generally the kind who prefers to sit down with software and figure it out, but Sakai was extremely counter-intuitive for me, so I highly recommend a training workshop. Once I figured out some of the bizarre places things were hidden, I was fine.

[helpful]

I prefer it with sushi, and warm. Hope this helps.

[concordancia]

Oh, as for the students, mine haven't really had any trouble, I only hear the normal excuses everyone hears about how the CMS ate my homework (send me the receipt - no one ever has). Even the freshpeeps don't have any more trouble than remembering to log on.

[caesura]

Thanks, concordancia!  I've been working with it for a few days, and it sure isn't intuitive!  I have the opportunity to take the Sakai certification course for free, so I think I will do that (in my copious spare time!).

[keineidee]

I started using it recently too. The biggest mystery to me was how to move stuff. Click on Move in the menu, item goes gray. Fine. Then what? Navigate to where you want the stuff to go (your target destination) and click on the nearest clipboard icon that appears to the right of the title in line with that folder. I spent a long time trying to figure this out before I broke down and read the instructions! Good luck.