JA-SIG Conference

8th Semiannual JA-SIG Conference Presentations Westminster, Colorado, June 8 - 10, 2003.
Pre-Conference Seminars
uPortal Implementation and Configuration Michael Erdely Consultant UNICON/IBS	During the course of this workshop you will be walked through the basics behind administering and running uPortal. This includes how to get uPortal running without using the quick start version. Other items that will be covered include: The components used or required by uPortal including databases and web containers How to configure uPortal to authenticate users and locate information about users as they login Tips for setting up a development environment Some quick and effective means to bring institutional content into uPortal

Using CuCMS Content Management with uPortal Alex Vigdor Internet Applications Specialist Columbia University	The architect of CuCMS takes you on a guided tour of the technologies and capabilities of this evolving open-source platform for managing web content. At a high level, the promise, relevance and direction of CuCMS will be discussed. The management of content via uPortal will be demonstrated in depth. Technical topics will focus on best practices in CuCMS project configuration, developing XML DTDs and XSL templates, RDF Model theory and metadata applications, designing extensible information architectures, and more.

Introduction to XSLT Justin Tilton instructional media + magic	Looking for a methodology to quickly and effectively create Transformations? Interested in the basics of XSLT and Xpath, and a good way to get started? If so, this workshop is for you! We will be discussing the fundamental concepts of XSLT and Xpath. We will discuss the design aspects related to converting structured information in XML into device-dependent markup languages such as HTML, and WML, and the guidelines and best practices evolving from this experience. No prior XSLT experience is necessary.

JA-SIG Conference Presentations
A Gartner View of Enterprise Portals for Higher Education Michael Zastrocky Vice President/Research Director Gartner	Enterprise portals are quickly moving beyond the initial hype and are becoming a mission critical application for higher education institutions. In this presentation, we will explore the fundamental issues and challenges involved in implementing portals in higher education. Gartner survey information will be shared showing the changing landscape of enterprise portals for higher education globally.

Aggregated Layouts: New feature and functionality Justin Tilton instructional media + magic	View Presentation (PowerPoint)

iAssessment's High Performance Gateway Presentation System Jeanette Hammock Chief Technologist iAssessment Scott McCarty Chief Architect iAssessment	iAssessment's Gateway Presentation System (GPS) is an implementation of uPortal, providing web-based services to large state K-12 educational agencies and school districts. iAssessment has GPS installations running in four states, including service to the entire California K-12 educator population. GPS installations range from 9,000 to over 180,000 users. Performance peaks have been measured at 1,000+ simultaneous users with large clients averaging 4,000 unique logins per day. This presentation describes techniques for achieving high volume, reliable uPortal performance, including descriptions of pitfalls encountered in production environment as well as factors to consider for successful implementation. Assessment's Gateway Presentation System (GPS), is the proven, high performance framework running applications for the K-12 education market. K-12 institutions use the GPS management tools and applications to organize, filter, package, and present data - for educator professional development, administrative program evaluation and decision support. The GPS framework includes account management, school/entity management, distributed administration, and single sign on services. GPS applications currently includes: Diagnostic Learning System (comprehensive assessment system), Survey tools, Resource Catalog (personalized, prescriptive), Grants Implementation tools, and an integrated Reporting Engine.

Management Roundtable David Koehler Cornell University	A chance for representatives from each institution to get together and discuss our efforts, plans and directions regarding uPortal. Each institution can report on successes and planned activities. Institutions that are considering uPortal are certainly welcome to attend. Our goal in this session is to learn from each other and find contacts for future discussions. NOTE: This session is intended to be a small roundtable discussion. We ask that only one representative per institution attend. This session is closed to vendor representatives.

Praise uPortal! Evangelism, Marketing, & Strategic Planning for a Successful Implementation Chris Stavros Web Strategist Cal Poly State University - SLO	To some uPortal is religion worth evangelizing. But making it work is more than installing services and writing code; it is more than technology. In its most effective form, uPortal is a way of doing business that intersects the core policies, practices, and pedagogy of technology based service and instruction. However it's adoption as such is contingent on its acceptance across your institutions entire user, developer, and administrative communities. This session will explore some of the most effective means by which you can: -Leaverage creative and cost-effective methods to market and evangelize your portal and Web infrastructure across your entire institution -Promote acceptance and use of uPortal-based technologies by other institutional developers -Promote explosive growth of uPortal user base -Secure administrative and political buy-in necessary to establish institutional policies concerning the use and adoption of a uPortal-centric enterprise Web infrastructure Join us for this energetic, fun, and valuable session on how to take your portal strategy from practice to policy, and champion your entire institution to preach what you already know to be true: uPortal Rocks! View Presentation (PowerPoint)

JSR-168, WSRP & Portlets Wesley Budziwojski Senior Architect Sun Microsystems	Portlets are web components that process requests and generate dynamic content. Portlets run within portal and they commonly provide a user interface for Information Systems. JSR 168 Portlet Specification enables interoperability between portlets and portals. It defines defines a Java Portlet API and the responsibilities of the portlet container (the runtime environment for portlets). OASIS Web Services for Remote Portlets (WSRP) enables portals to use portlets running in a remote environment using Web Services. This session will present JSR168 Portlet Specification and WSRP, it will explain their underlying concepts and their relationship. Prerequisites: general knowledge of Java, Servlet and JPS technologies. View Presentation (PowerPoint)

Luminis Portal Integration Panel Mike Zackrison Product Mgr - User Interfaces SCT Corp.	"SCT Luminis: the commercial option for uPortal success" A panel discussion featuring the following participants: Tim Foley - Director Client Computing & Library Services, Lehigh University Debbie Fulton - Assistant Director, Information Systems, Mississippi State University Wendy Dibean - University Webmaster, University of Miami Several schools share their experiences deploying the only commercially available and supported e-Education infrastructure package that utilizes the JA-SIG uPortal presentation framework: The SCT Luminis product. SCT Luminis includes the latest uPortal release, as well as all of the surrounding technologies campuses require to manage their enterprise information portals, such as: proven infrastructure and communications tools provided by Sun ONE, robust content management by Documentum, and valuable integration and SDK technologies developed by SCT through the Campus Pipeline solutions group over the past 5 years. The panel discussion will detail how this single, integrated package can jump start enterprise portal development efforts enabling institutions to quickly focus precious IT resources on applications and content to better serve the learning community. Come learn why these institutions are working with SCT, and how SCT Luminis is currently helping more than 30 institutions successfully deploy and implement uPortal. View Presentation (PowerPoint)

CARs: Learning to Drive with a Channel Archive Mark Boyd Software Architect SCT Corp.	Channel archives, or CARs, are a vehicle for delivering and deploying from one to many related channels and all of their resources both class accessible and web-visible. So just exactly what is a CAR, how are they constructed, and what restrictions are placed on their internal structure. What affects do they have on channel development and deployment and what will they look like in the future? All of these questions will be answered as we learn to drive with a channel archive. View Presentation (PowerPoint)

IM for uPortal Luis Mendes Programmer University of Delaware	Delivering uPortal content to instant messenger clients using chatbots (smart agents). Also, a chat client channel for uPortal. Releated technologies: Jabber and uPortal View Presentation (HTML)

uPortal Implementation Panel Ted Dodds Associate Vice President University of British Columbia	A panel discussion featuring the following participants: Janell Baran - Denison University Paul Zablosky - University of British Columbia Mark Troester - Illinois State University View Denison Univeristy's Notes (HTML) View UBC's Presentation (PowerPoint)

iCampus, Going Live at Illinois State University Arturo Ramirez Computer Support Specialist Illinois State University	Illinois State University went live July 2002 with its uPortal implementation project as part of the Educating Illinois strategic action plan for distinctiveness and excellence. The project has engaged several departments in many different ways, from planning how to market the Portal idea as an agent that enhances the University learning environment, to the development lifecycle of implementing service specific channels from diverse data sources. The presentation will cover overall aspects of the iCampus system but will mainly focus on: * Hardware/Software configuration at Illinois State * Load balancing solution * Business logic, obtaining/displaying mainframe legacy data in real time NOTE: Michael Erdely, a consultant from UNICON, Inc. will co-present the topic as he has been highly involved collaborating with Illinois State developers in the iCampus project. View Presentation (PowerPoint)

uPortal Roadmap Ken Weiner Senior Consultant UNICON/IBS Dan Ellentuck Technical Consultant Columbia University	Find out about the new features planned for upcoming uPortal releases including aggregated layouts, Web Services for Remote Portals (WSRP), Channel Archives (CAR), multiple language support, and enhancements to the groups and permissions frameworks. View Presentation (PowerPoint)

Understanding uPortal Security and the Yale Central Authentication Server Susan Bramhall Sr. Systems Specialist Yale University	For many people the implementation of a portal was looked upon as a single signon solution. In this view the portal is a site where users see information and applications from numerous disparate systems integrated together and accessible in one place. In reality a portal requires a single signon strategy of some sort – but does not provide a solution by itself. Some portals cache passwords to replay them later giving the appearance of a single signon. At Yale we regarded this “solution” as a step backward in security for the applications involved. The Yale Central Authentication Server (CAS) was developed to provide a secure authentication solution to the individual applications while providing the user the experience of signing on once to access multiple applications. This presentation will introduce CAS, explain the proxy authentication design and explore how it can be used with uPortal to achieve a secure single signon user experience. View Presentation (PowerPoint)

Portals are Made for Enterprise Application Integration Barry Walsh Senior Director, E-Business Services Indiana University	In this era of heterogeneous application services, the need to integrate these for members of the university community has never been greater. Vendors promise integration and that solution works for many institutions. For others, the single vendor ERP directon is not an option or is not a desired strategy. Enter the enterprise portal. Properly architected and supported, it can provide a sustainable platform for delivering Enterprise Application Integration (EAI). View Presentation (PowerPoint)

Putting Portals into Context: The E-Volution of Higher Education Richard Katz Vice President EDUCAUSE	Higher education has evolved from a medieval institution which featured roving bands of intellectuals combing the 11th century countryside in search of students to what Clark Kerr called cities of intellect, great institutions fostering scholarship, discovery and education. Looking forward, new forms of computer and network mediated scholarship and learning abound and the very fate of the residential undergraduate experience is under scrutiny. The driver of this change has been technology and today technologies, like portals, continue to enable adaptation and even transformation in higher education. In this session, Richard Katz will outline higher education's relationship with technology. This session will strive to paint the big picture and to address the question of why portals (and associated technologies) matter. View Presentation (PowerPoint)

Nobody Wants the Weather ... Stakeholder Requirements for Institutional Portals Liz Pearce University of HullPaul Miller Interoperability Focus UKOLN	The UK PORTAL Project, (Presenting natiOnal Resources To Audiences Locally), is funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee to explore issues around the deployment and use of portals within higher and further education. The project pays particular attention to the integration of external resources whether provided within the UK by the JISC, and from other more diverse sources, such as the BBC and other commercial providers. In an effort to better understand the preferences and requirements of those for whom institutional portals are being constructed, the PORTAL project undertook a period of stakeholder consultation between November 2002 and March 2003. Over 600 individuals completed an online survey or participated in focus groups or one to one interviews, providing a unique snapshot of user preferences. This presentation will provide an overview of the PORTAL project, and provide a detailed view of the data collected from the different groups of stakeholders, such as undergraduate and postgraduate students, teaching and administrative staff, and external content providers, over the course of stakeholder consultation. View Presentation (PowerPoint)

Searching uPortal Content with a Third-Party Search Engine Katya Sadovsky Technical Project Lead University of California, Irvine	UC Irvine's portal team has been actively developing content for the administrative portal (based on the uPortal software). However, valuable content is of little use when staff members cannot easily find it. This presentation will share tips and ingenuity employed by our team to facilitate the searching of uPortal content with an industry search engine. View Presentation (PowerPoint)

Using uPortal to Integrate Disparate Campus Applications Jon Atherton Specialist Cornell University	A high level discussion of how Cornell University has used uPortal to integrate Peoplesoft and legacy systems. Specific examples will include accessing Peoplesoft data (Peoplesoft 8), accessing legacy Mainframe data, and incorporating existing tools and single sign-on mechanism. Presented jointly by Jon Atherton & Donna Taber (Assistant Director, Cornell Information Technologies). View Presentation (PowerPoint)

Accessible to All – Implementing uPortal and Managing Content Ian Dolphin Manager, Digital University Project University of HullRobert Sherratt Head of Software Development University of Hull	Learners and educators face a potentially bewildering variety of calls on their attention from a variety of institutional, subject, discipline, and theme based portals. The core of this paper will present perspectives from the United Kingdom on approaches to “joining up” resources from a diverse range of providers to provide a meaningful and rich experience for users. The University of Hull has developed a view of the institutional portal as a thin software layer which aggregates, integrates, personalises and presents information, transactions and applications to the user according to their role and preferences. Internally based information surfaced in the institutional portal may be drawn from a variety of sources including finance systems, corporate databases, e-learning environments, library systems and institutional web sites. The institutional portal can also play a critical role in providing content feeds from other national and internationally based portals and web sites, and establishing an integrated “home on the web” for both educators and learners. The Hull experience of portal development with uPortal will be reported, emphasising the management of internal information through the development of a university-wide content management system, and issues surrounding the meaningful integration of information from subject and theme-based national portals. Particular emphasis will be given to work undertaken within the uPortal framework to maximise accessibility for users with visual impairments by provision of alternative skins and restructuring the portal layout. Perspectives will also be provided on the practical use of emerging Web Services specifications and standards, which provide a middleware layer enabling interoperability between legacy institutional systems, externally held resources, and the institutional portal. The combination of a Web Services approach, and an open source development model, produces conditions where collaboration between Higher Education institutions to create flexible software solutions becomes is greatly facilitated. View Presentation (PowerPoint)

What's up with the JA-SIG Clearinghouse? Patty Gertz Mgr, Development and Integration Princeton University	What does the clearinghouse have that could benefit you? What is our vision for the future of the JA-SIG Clearinghouse? Where it now stands, and plans to architect it for the future and enhance its value. View Presentation (PowerPoint)

Channel Development Strategies Stephen Barrett Specialist Cornell University	Presentation consists of a review of the mechanisms and variables available that influence the adoption of a “Channel Development Strategy”. The goal of any of these strategies is to produce custom channel content as efficiently as possible. The presentation will also include a discussion about the simple “LocalConnectionContext” class whose recent introduction weighs heavily in strategy design. The topic will consider both existing and proposed implementations of uPortal. Variables influencing design and their relative weight will be reviewed. Myths surrounding exorbitant staffing requirements for both uPortal implementation and channel content development will be quelled. Attendees should exit the presentation with enough information to significantly reduce the delivery cost of projects with a uPortal foundation. Existing implementations should be able to introduce previously isolated areas of their organization to channel development. Current deployment efforts should be able to dramatically decrease the amount of planned effort to be expended by utilizing resources supporting existing applications in the creation of channel content. Optional pre-presentation topic review can be found at: http://mis105.mis.udel.edu/ja-sig/uportal/developers/channel_docs/ Demonstration of implementation of presentation material: http://guest.uportal.cornell.edu/ View Presentation (PowerPoint)

uPortal Internationalization Shoji Kajita Associate Professor University of Nagoya	Internationalization lead Professor Shoji Kajita describes the localization of the uPortal framework and illustrates the user preferences enhancements. He also describes the steps to add a new language to the portal. The portal framework presentation has been modified for language preferences. The framework also selects the appropriate language for multi-language channels. Based on course materials from leading universities, im+m's Jon Allen describes authoring channels in several different languages. He describes the XLIFF standard and the channel that displays either XLIFF source or target language, or a "side-by-side" presentation to meet the needs of language instruction and scholarly publications. View Presentation 1 (PowerPoint) View Presentation 2(PowerPoint)

CWebProxy Andrew Draskoy Web Technical Leader Memorial University of Newfoundland	CWebProxy has proven to be a powerful integration tool. It takes advantage of facilities available to native (java) uPortal channels, while allowing the actual channel to be implemented using a variety of web application technologies. This presentation provides an overview of CWebProxy: how it works and how to use it. Recent and upcoming features will be highlighted, and several example uses will be covered in detail. View Presentation (HTML)

Learning Management Systems and uPortal Roger Rigelhof Project Director McGill University	A Panel Discussion facilitated by Roger Rigelhof of McGill University. The Panel will be composed of representatives from Blackboard, UNICON, WebCT. View Unicon Presentation (PDF)

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