Using SharePoint 2007 as an Extranet for Blended eLearning and Communities of Practice

1. Using SharePoint 2007 as an Extranet for Blended eLearning and Communities of Practice Stephen Mau Website & eNewsletter CommunicationsThe Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario Download this presentation at: http://devcon.etfo.net

2. Workshop Description While known primarily as an enterprise portal platform, the latest version of SharePoint can be configured as an extranet and used to provide eLearning and online collaboration opportunities in membership-based organizations. Learn how a large teachers federation leveraged SharePoint 2007 and related technologies to provide long-term online learning opportunities to its membership. The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario has adopted a long-term approach to professional development that involves action research, the use of trained facilitators, and a blended model of eLearning. This presentation will focus on both this blended model for professional learning, and the use of SharePoint to deliver the online components.

3. About ETFO & Me Overview of SharePoint MOSS vs. WSS 3.0 ETFO’s blended Model of Professional Learning Tour of ETFO Team Sites Three levels of deployment, or ‘how rich is your organization?’ SharePoint as an LMS? SharePoint Tools Questions/ Comments Workshop Agenda

4. About ETFO • The professional and protective organization representing 73,000 public elementary teachers and education workers (K -8) in the province of Ontario • Provides the following services: • Collective Bargaining • Professional Counseling • Equity & Women’s Services • Professional Development

5. About Me • Professional teacher • Began teaching online 10 years ago • Learned some web design • Became an e-Learning consultant, then web content person • Not a developer, a content person • Led a project to deploy SharePoint at ETFO for public website, intranet and extranets

6. What is MOSS? • Full Version of SharePoint is ‘MOSS 2007’ • Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 is an integrated suite of server capabilities that can help improve organizational effectiveness by providing comprehensive content management and enterprise search, accelerating shared business processes, and facilitating information-sharing across boundaries for better business insight. Source: http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/product/Pages/default.aspx

7. What is MOSS? (2) • Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 provides a single, integrated location where employees can efficiently collaborate with team members, find organizational resources, search for experts and corporate information, manage content and workflow, and leverage business insight to make better-informed decisions. • An enterprise portal Source: http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/product/capabilities/Pages/default.aspx

8. Collaboration Enterprise Search Business Intelligence Portal Content Management Forms-driven business process Six Pillars of MOSS

9. Tour of ETFO MOSS • Public website • Capitalizes on robust enterprise search, lists, ability to roll up data • Secure Intranet • Document sharing, some forms driven processes • Team Sites • eLearning, document sharing & work group sites

10. MOSS Licensing • Standard CAL – collaboration, portals, enterprise search, enterprise content management • Enterprise CAL – add Business Process/Forms, Business Intelligence, Business Data Catalogue • Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet Sites – for MOSS used only for public sites, or to bring external users in. A server license.

11. WSS 3.0 • Windows SharePoint Services • “It enables the creation of web sites for information sharing and document collaboration, integrating with the Microsoft Office System and serving as a platform for application development.” • Free download with Windows Server 2008 license. • Lists, libraries, blogs, wikis, discussion forums, etc. – WSS can drive eLearning. • ETFO has full enterprise MOSS, but WSS would suffice for our blended eLearning

12. ETFO Teacher PD • Teacher professional development activities tend to be ‘one-shot’ workshops • Little impact on practice • ETFO has embraced longer-term strategy • Communities of practice • PLCs • ‘critical friends’

13. ETFO Teacher PD (2) • Focus not on ‘training,’ or mastering of techniques • Instead, focus on • Critical thinking skills • Reflective practice • Action research • Inquiry • Learning as part of a community of professionals

14. Blended Model • Reflections on Practice • 3 face-to-face sessions interspersed with online tasks/community building • Action Research Report • Innoteach • 2 face-to-face sessions with online collaboration in between • Develop a curriculum resource (learning object) with critical input from the group

15. Blended Model (2) • Union School • Developing a new generation of union leaders • 2 face-to-face sessions with online activities/discussions in between

16. Tour of Team Sites • ROP: • http://teams.etfo.ca/rop2 • Innoteach: • http://teams.etfo.ca/innoteach • http://teams.etfo.ca/innoteach2 • Union School: • http://teams.etfo.ca/us

17. 3 Levels of Deployment • Full enterprise portal • Create a new site collection, set up for forms authentication • Install account management web parts: • Extranet Collaboration Manager by SharePoint Solutions ($6000) • Community Kit at Codeplex (open source) • Cost - $100,000 +

18. 3 Levels of Deployment (2) • WSS 3.0 + Extranet Collaboration Manager • Cost: $3000 for Windows Server 2008, $6000 for ExCM • Or use Community Kit at Codeplex and save $$$ • Hosted WSS Site • Can build unlimited sites below your root • Find a provider who will allow unlimited users • $10 – 100 per month. More for back ups. • E.g.: Sherweb - http://www.sherweb.com/sharepoint-hosting • Example site: www.harcourtpark.ca

19. SharePoint as an LMS? • Codeplex project: SharePoint Learning Kit - http://slk.codeplex.com • Replaced MS Class Server • Expanded capabilities – more standards compliant • MS Released the source code – developers are encouraged to expand the functionality

20. Features at a Glance

21. Features at a Glance (2)

22. SharePoint Tools • Sharepoint Designer 2007 • Free download as of April 2009 • Access at MS Download Center • CorasWorks Enterprise Suite • Enables roll ups across site collections • Use actions builder to simulate workflows without paying for MOSS • Approx. $20 K per server plus yearly maintenance

23. Questions/Comments • Thanks for attending the session! • Contact me if you have questions: • http://devcon.etfo.net > Contact