Sakai Upgrade May 11

A new version of Sakai is coming to Duke. We’ll be performing an upgrade between midnight and 6:00 am on May 11. All courses and data will be available again after that time. Read on to learn about new features coming in the latest version of Sakai.

New Rubrics Tool

The new Rubrics tool is a standalone tool that allows rubrics to be created and shared. Once a rubric has been created, it can then be used with the Assignments, Gradebook, Tests & Quizzes, and Forums tools. See the image below for a rubric created with the Rubrics tool.

Example Rubric data

Redesigned Assessments List in Tests & Quizzes

The Tests & Quizzes tool has a new design for the assessments overview page that shows both working and published copies. Working copies of assessments are designated with the word “draft”. This new format is modeled after the design of the Assignments tool, making Sakai more consistent experience for instructors using both tools.

Assessment list

Reminder Feature in Assignments

The Assignments tool has a new feature that allows instructors to send students a reminder email 24 hours before an assignment is due.

Bulk Edit in Gradebook

And Gradebook has a new feature that allows instructors to quickly edit grade release and grade calculation options. These settings are shown on a single Bulk Edit page for quick editing.

Easily Add New Rosters to Sites

In the past, non-instructor course site owners have had to go through a request process for adding new rosters to course sites. Duke has customized the Edit Class Roster(s) option in Site Info allowing teaching assistants and other non-instructor site owners to add additional rosters to course sites without the extra step of approval.

Add roster workflow

We’re excited about these new features in Sakai and look forward to hearing your feedback for improvements. If you would like to learn more about these features or Sakai in general, please attend one of our upcoming workshops.