JA-SIG Newsletter - February 2008
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1 Welcome
1.1 Editor's Message
1.2 JA-SIG Membership
1.3 Web Site Improvements
2 JA-SIG Project Updates
2.1 Central Authentication Service (CAS)
2.1.1 CAS Server
2.1.2 CAS Client for Java
2.1.3 Pre-Conference Seminar: Implementing CAS
2.2 uPortal
2.2.1 Progressing Toward uPortal 3.0
2.2.2 Portlets
2.2.3 Update Your "Deployed uPortal"
3 Community News and Events
3.1 SunGard Summit 2008: Performance Matters (April 13-16, 2008)
3.2 Registration is Open: "Higher Education Solutions: The Community Source Way!" (April 27-30, 2008)
3.3 Spring uPortal Developers Meeting (April 30-May 2, 2008)
3.4 Kuali Days VI (May 13-14, 2008)
3.5 9th Sakai Conference (July 1-3, 2008)
3.6 EDUCAUSE 2008 (October 28-31, 2008)
4 JA-SIG in the Blogosphere
4.1 Andrew Petro's Blog
5 Community Member Profile
5.1 Q&A with Alain Mayeur, member of the JA-SIG board of directors, and IT Director at the University of Valenciennes
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1 Welcome
1.1 Editor's Message
Welcome to the February 2008 issue of the JA-SIG Newsletter.
It has been another busy month in JA-SIG "Community Source" development with a new release of the CAS Server and progress toward a General Availability release of uPortal 3, not to mention the exciting activity on portal content generally and portlets in particular. Congratulations to all involved in those projects.
In addition to project reports, this month's issue includes a note on our web site redesign efforts and a number of event announcements including a call to the upcoming Spring Conference - "Higher Education Solutions: The Community Source Way!". Following the incredible success of the Winter Unconference, we are sure that this is an event you won't want to miss!
And we close out this month's content with an excellent interview, conducted by our Executive Director, Jonathan Markow, with Alain Mayeur, member of the JA-SIG board of directors, and IT Director at the University of Valenciennes.
As always, feel free to send your comments or content to newsletter at jasig dot org.
Enjoy!
~mark_rogers@mac.com (University of Manitoba), Editor, JA-SIG Newsletter
1.2 JA-SIG Membership
We would like to thank the following organizations for their ongoing commitment to our program:
Institutional Members:
BCcampus, Boston University, Columbia University, Cornell University, Dalhousie University, Duke University, Indiana University, Johns Hopkins University, Juniata College, Memorial University of Newfoundland, New York University, Northern Arizona University, Princeton University, Queens University, Rutgers University, Rider University, Sabanci University, San Joaquin Delta College, Simon Fraser University, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, University of British Columbia, University of California-Irvine, University of Delaware, University of Edinburgh, University of Guelph, University of Hawaii, University of Hull, University of Illinois, University of Kansas, University of Kansas Medical Center, University of Manitoba, University of Michigan, University of Rennes 1, University of the West of England, University of Winnipeg, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Valenciennes, Virginia Tech, Yale University, York University
Commercial Affiliates:
SunGard Higher Education, Sun Microsystems, Unicon, Inc.
For further information on our membership program, visit http://www.ja-sig.org/wiki/display/JSG/JA-SIG+Membership
~markow@columbia.edu, Executive Director
1.3 Web Site Improvements
JA-SIG is about to begin an effort to improve its websites. This initiative will be coordinated by webmaster John Fereira and will be tracked on the jasig-webpresence email list and wiki space. We plan to take incremental steps, beginning with some reorganization and editing to make basic information more current and accessible, especially to newcomers. A more comprehensive redesign will then follow.
We would appreciate hearing any thoughts and suggestions you might have. There are two ways you can get involved:
1. Subscribe to the webpresence list and join/follow the discussion: http://www.ja-sig.org/wiki/x/SoBO
2. Send an email to jasig-webpresence at lists.ja-sig.org with your suggestions
If you've got some ideas you would like to share, we're hoping to hear from you soon!
Thanks,
~markow@columbia.edu
2 Project Updates
2.1 Central Authentication Service (CAS)
2.1.1 CAS Server
We're pleased to announce the CAS Server 3.2 release. It includes a number of enhancements, bug fixes, and new features. This includes updated dependencies (Spring 2.5.1, Log4j, Acegi Security, Spring LDAP, Spring Web Flow) as well as bug fixes in the SPNEGO module and Services Management tool. It also includes enhancements to enable/disable single sign out at the server level.
Finally, it includes a new Hard Timeout Expiration Policy, an updated Spring Configuration mechanism (and modularized Spring configuration files) as well as a production-ready auditing/statistics tool/API (Inspektr).
You can download the release from the usual location: http://www.jasig.org/products/cas/downloads/
Please note that as this is a major release you should take a look at the major new features (the updated Spring Configuration mechanism and the Inspektr auditing tool) and see how/if it changes your deployment.
2.1.2 CAS Client for Java
We've put out a very minor release of the CAS Client for Java 3.1.1. It fixes an issue with the test cases and makes the map in Assertion mutable. If you're not having any problems with 3.1 then there isn't a rush to upgrade.
2.1.3 Pre-Conference Seminar: Implementing CAS
~arybicki (Unicon, Inc) will be doing a pre-conference seminar (Sunday, April 27, 2008, 8:30AM-12:00PM) entitled "Implementing CAS: From Download to Deployment". He will guide the audience through the entire CAS process, from downloading the source, customizing and deploying it, to CAS-enabling applications. Further details are available on JA-SIG's Conference Program web page.
Thanks,
~battags (Rutgers University), Lead Developer, JA-SIG Central Authentication Service
2.2 uPortal
2.2.1 Progressing Toward uPortal 3.0
We are progressing nicely toward a General Availability release for uPortal 3.0, with a "Quick Start" release having already been made available to developers. Expect to see a formal uPortal 3.0 announcement in the March Newsletter. In the meantime, check out our progress on the JA-SIG wiki at http://www.ja-sig.org/wiki/display/UPC/3.0
2.2.2 Portlets
There has been quite a bit of activity in relation to portlet development on the lists and so a new list has been created for that purpose.
http://www.ja-sig.org/wiki/display/JSG/Portlet+Lists
If you have an interest in this area, be sure to add your name to the list.
You can also find more information on the activity surrounding portlets at http://www.ja-sig.org/wiki/display/PLT/Home
2.2.3 Update Your "Deployed uPortal"
"The community maintains a list of Deployed uPortals on the wiki:
http://www.ja-sig.org/wiki/display/UPC/Deployed+uPortals
This is a tremendous help to others either looking to adopt or scale their own implementation and only takes a few minutes of your time. If you already have an entry, please take a moment to make sure it is up to date, and consider adding a contact so folks can reach out to you directly.
If you are not yet listed and have an implementation, including a prototype or a packaged implementation like SunGard Luminis or Unicon Academus, you are highly encouraged to add your own entry."
Source: This is a rebroadcast of an earlier Newsletter request from the JA-SIG uPortal Board Liaison
Contributors:
~awp9 (Unicon, Inc.), uPortal Release Engineer
~edalquist (University of Wisconsin - Madison), uPortal Release Engineer
3 Community News and Events
3.1 SunGard Summit 2008: Performance Matters (April 13-16, 2008)
Place: Anaheim, California
"At your institution, performance matters in a myriad of ways. It matters to the student whose life is changed forever by a single idea. It matters to the faculty member whose contributions enrich our understanding of the world around us. And it matters to the communities that depend on innovation and leadership to grow and thrive.
We invite you to participate in a journey of learning and discovery to explore the many ways that performance matters to your institution—and to you. Join your colleagues, industry thought leaders, and SunGard Higher Education solution experts at SunGard Summit 2008 in Anaheim, California from April 13-16. Whether you are using technology to build stronger relationships with your constituents, applying Web 2.0 to your campus communications strategies, or delivering the data your executives need for better decision making, at SunGard Summit you'll discover new ways of thinking, learn from a network of your peers, and become the resource your institution needs to achieve its mission and goals."
Source: Sungard Summit 2008 Web Site - http://www.sungardsummit.com/summit2008/
3.2 Registration is Open: "Higher Education Solutions: The Community Source Way!"
Higher Education Solutions: The Community Source Way!
April 27 -30, 2008
The Crowne Plaza Hotel
St. Paul, Minnesota, USA
Registration for the JA-SIG Spring Conference in St. Paul is now open! This year, CAS, DSpace, Fedora, Fluid, Kuali, Internet2, Sakai, and uPortal are planning a joint program. Conference events run Sunday, April 27th through Wednesday, April 30th.
Supplementary seminars are scheduled before and after the conference.
A BarCamp and a UCamp are scheduled on Wednesday afternoon (See site descriptions for these unique events)
Visit the main conference site at http://www.ja-sig.org/conferences/08spring/index.html for details. Early registration discounts end March 23, 2008. Register now at http://www.ja-sig.org/conferences/08spring/registration.html .
We invite you to submit a presentation proposal. The Call for Proposals final deadline is Friday, February 22, 2008. Submit your proposal at http://www.ja-sig.org/conferences/08spring/index.html.
Developers, designers, content providers, administrators, faculty, planners, strategists, decision makers... If you'd like to find out more about community source, learn from the experts, and collaborate with your peers...Come to "Higher Education Solutions: The Community Source Way!"
See you in St. Paul this April!
2008 JA-SIG Spring Program Committee
~agodert, Cornell University, JA-SIG Board and Conference Co-Chair
~markow@columbia.edu, JA-SIG Executive Director, Conference Co-Chair
~susan.bramhall@yale.edu, Yale University, uPortal Liaison
Daniel Davis, Chief Architect, Fedora Commons
~jaf30@cornell.edu, Cornell University, Web Master
~jimhelwig, University of Wisconsin, Madison, JA-SIG Board
Valerie Hollister, DSpace Liaison
Susan Inouye, University of Hawaii, Member
Michele Kimpton, DSpace Executive Director
Michael Korcuska, Sakai Executive Director
Phil McKown, Indiana University, Kuali Liason
~dotmatt, University of Connecticut, CAS Liaison
Ann West, Internet2 Liaison
~zablosky, University of British Columbia, Fluid Liaison
Jennifer Cummings, CONCENTRA Management Services
Debbie Smith, CONCENTRA Management Services
3.3 Spring uPortal Developers Meeting (April 30-May 2)
In an on-going effort to reduce the travel and time burden on developers wishing to participate in the uPortal and JA-SIG community, we will be holding the spring uPortal developers meeting the Wednesday through Friday following the JA-SIG conference. Arrangements are being made for meeting space either at or near the conference hotel and developers interested in uPortal, Fluid, CAS, or any other related project are encouraged to attend.
This time is a wonderful opportunity for some face to face meetings and development. From the uPortal side of things I'm sure we will be talking about what to include in uPortal 3.1, how development is going on some of the new portlets we're been hearing about on the list, and how our work with Fluid and other open source projects is going.
There is a stub of a wiki page for this meeting which will be filled out with more information as it becomes available. Please feel free to add agenda items you would like to talk about or see talked about to this page. http://www.ja-sig.org/wiki/display/UPC/uPortal+Developers+Meeting+at+St.+Paul+-+2008.04
I'm looking forward to working with everyone that week and hope you can make plans to be there and participate!
~edalquist (University of Wisconsin - Madison), uPortal Release Engineer
3.4 Kuali Days IV
"Kuali Days VI is coming Tuesday and Wednesday, May 13th and 14th, in Chicago. Schedules, session topics, and details are just about final and will be released (on the conference web site) as soon as available. Reservations for the conference and accommodations will be available on the web site in the near future."
Watch for more details on the Kuali site at: http://www.kuali.org/events/kualidays-VI.shtml
3.5 9th Sakai Conference - Paris, France (July 1-3, 2008)
"Join us in Paris, France for the 9th Sakai Conference
The Sakai Foundation is pleased to announce that the 2008 Sakai Community Conference will be held in Paris, France. The dates will be Tuesday-Thursday, 1-3 July, with pre- and post-conference sessions and activities on Monday, 30 June and Friday, 4 July. All meetings and conference sessions will be held at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie. The ever popular Sakai technical demonstrations will take place on Wednesday evening, 2 July, at the Marriott hotel nearby."
For further information, see the conference web site at: https://sakai.educonference.com/paris/index.php
3.6 EDUCAUSE 2008 (October 28-31, 2008)
"Mark your calendar for the premier information technology event in higher educationâ EDUCAUSE 2008, October 28-31 in Orlando, Florida. The program 'Interaction, Ideas, Inspiration' will include preconference seminars; track and poster sessions; small group meetings; and corporate exhibits, presentations, and workshops. ... "
Source: EDUCAUSE 2008 Web Site - http://www.educause.edu/e08
4 JA-SIG in the Blogosphere
4.1 Andrew Petro's Blog
This month ~awp9 blogs about his recording a brief DLM introduction YouTube video and an overview of the JA-SIG bookmarks JSR-168 portlet. Read it all at http://www.unicon.net/blog/3
5 Q&A with Alain Mayeur, member of the JA-SIG board of directors, and IT Director at the University of Valenciennes
This is the second in a series of interviews with individuals who are active participants in the JA-SIG community. Alain Mayeur, a member of the JA-SIG board of directors, is IT Director at the University of Valenciennes. Alain is a leader and one of the founders of the ESUP-Portail consortium, a group of approximately eighty French institutions collaborating on community source efforts based around uPortal.
Q. Alain, how did you first become involved in ESUP-Portail?
In 2002, the Ministry of Higher Education in France developed a national plan to build a digital workspace offering university students and staff integrated access to services and information. I contributed significantly to the definition of this plan. After this step, a call for projects was proposed by the Ministry to finance production of this type of portal. So we decided, with a group of Universities (the Universities of Valenciennes, Rennes1, Nancy1 and Nancy2, and the ENSEEIHT School of Engineering), to propose a national project using open source software. ESUP-Portail was chosen and development was funded. The third step was to create the community for the deployment of the portal and its application components. Now, more than 80 institutions are involved in the expansion phase and it's a large success for us.
Q. In general, what is the attitude towards open source software in France?
In France, the government promotes the use of free software in administration, but these recommendations take time to be implemented. In our community of higher education, the use of open source software has had an increasingly important role. The university IT directors have understood that the issues are to facilitate adaptability, to reduce the costs and to assure a better evolution for their information systems.
Q. Do you find that French open source projects are any different from those originating in North America or other European countries?
We can see an important evolution in our community with a project like ESUP-Portail. We have a large community, an organization to share development experiences, and all code is open with a GPL license. We try to develop this type of collaboration with several institutions for new applications or projects, and our orientation seems to be similar to open source projects we can find in other countries. For example, a new French project (ORI-OAI) for indexing and archiving digital resources with the facility to realize networks of thematic portals using the OAI (Open Archives Initiative) protocol, can be compared to projects like Dspace or Fedora.
Q. Is there anything unique or special about the ESUP-Portail consortium that makes it different from other community source groups?
The particularity of the consortium is to have developed a portal with important interfaces to the information systems of the university. The consortium assures the distribution of the solution to the French community but also encourages and organizes the development of new applications and their integration in the portal (using our incubator development framework).
Q. From a personal perspective, what has been the most rewarding aspect of your work?
The most rewarding part of this work is to contribute to the creation of a large community at a national level which now shares the same strategy, and to see that the approach we have proposed is now well recognized. A particular pleasure of mine is to participate in different strategic committees for the promotion and the start of new projects which allow the universities to increase the use of information technologies for their various activities.
Q. What would you change about the higher education open source movement to improve it?
An important point to accelerate the use of open source in higher education is to have a great knowledge of projects at the international level and to build projects by capitalizing on already well recognized solutions. It's necessary to have a large community and to assure a coherence and convergence of technology. But of course, this is a main goal of the JA-SIG organization; it's for that reason we are convinced of the importance of participating in and supporting this community.
Q. What new technologies do you think look promising for higher education in the future?
Some important points are to have an increasing integration of services in the portal institutions with high interactivity and intuitive interfaces; allow access to different networks of educational resources; build good documentation within learning platforms; and facilitate the use and access of resources with new mobile devices.
Q. Finally, tell us something about yourself. What is your background? Did you always work in technology? What interests do you have outside of your work?
After four years as a developer and project manager in a research centre for aerospace, I chose to work in higher education, starting in 1983. My function at the University of Valenciennes is IT Director. I have a team of 36 people, and I work on the development and strategy for Information Technology as it is applied to various activities at the institution. Also, for the past several years, I have served as an IT expert for The Ministry of Higher Education and have piloted several national and regional projects. My favorite passion during free time is practicing the Landyacht on the broad beaches of Northern France.
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JA-SIG Newsletter - February 2008
Archives available in the JA-SIG wiki at: http://www.ja-sig.org/wiki/display/JSG/Newsletter
If your institution or company has items of interest to the JA-SIG membership, please submit them via email to newsletter@ja-sig.org.
The next JA-SIG Newsletter will be published on or about March 17th, 2008. Articles for that edition of the newsletter should be submitted no later than Friday, March 14th, 2008.
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