Portal Technology and uPortal Cliff Clevenger Sigma Systems, Inc. National Association of Sigma Users 25 July 2003

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Acknowledgments This presentation was adapted and developed with consultation from Justin Tilton, President of instructional media + magic, inc. Additional presentations and information regarding uPortal, portals and JA-SIG can be found at the im+m web site:

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Portal defined generally synonymous with gateway, for a World Wide Web site that is or proposes to be a major starting site for users when they get connected to the Web May 19, 2001 software integrating many divergent systems for presentation and use on the Web

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Portal defined Portal - an entry point or starting site for the World- Wide Web, combining a mixture of content and services and attempting to provide a personalized "home base" for its audience with features like customizable … pages and personal homepage construction kits. From Auburn University. March 24, 2002

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Classic “portal”

instructional media + magic Portal Technology What is a Channel? Displays content XML feeds Rich Site Summary (RSS) Web services Legacy systems Interactive applications , Calendar, Briefcase, News, Survey, Search, Announcements, Classifieds, Discussion Forums, Address Book, Chat, Bookmarks The Meteor Project

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Channels (portlets) uPortal Framework uPortal database Channel A Channel B Channel C Channel D

instructional media + magic Portal Technology RSS news feed channel

instructional media + magic Portal Technology RSS Channel

instructional media + magic Portal Technology RSS version 1.0 channel

instructional media + magic Portal Technology RSS version 1.0 channel In-line HTML Streaming Audio and Video

instructional media + magic Portal Technology The Meteor channel

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Administrative Instruction Library Research The University Web World

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Students expectations shaped by... Their experience with e-government Their use of financial services portals Their use of the Internet Their life in a “real-time, information rich” environment

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Students now expect... Service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Complete information from a single source Delivery by Web, , telephone, and facsimile, and, wireless devices response time of 15 seconds for telephone, 10 seconds for Web, and 2 hours for and facsimile access to a complete transaction history

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Why are portals important? Productivity for knowledge workers Preferred by users Market share University identity A viable architecture for information services Integration platform Improved services Lower costs

instructional media + magic Portal Technology A University Portal

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Tab / Column Layout

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Tree / Column Layout

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Multiple Target Devices

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Types of portals Enterprise [integration] Knowledge/document management Collaboration and messaging Front end to application servers Jim Rapoza, “Enterprise value of portals is clear,” eWeek, September 13, 2001 Subject Portal Data Type Portals User Community Portals Institutional Portal Chris Awre, "Information Environment Developments" JISC Presentation, November 18, 2002

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Required capabilities Type of Portal JSPChat & Mail Content Classification and Search Web Services Enterprise Collaboration Knowledge management Front end University  ??? ?  ?? ??  ? ???? 

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Available services Type of Portal Directory Authentication Roles Groups Wallet Authorization and chat Web Services XML, SOAP, UDDI Workflow Calendaring Announcements Enterprise  X  ????? Collaboration?  ??X?  XX?? Knowledge management ?  X  ?X  ?? University 

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Required authentication Type of PortalLocalRemote Anonymous Enterprise  ? X Collaboration  ?X Knowledge management  ? Front end  ?X University 

JA-SIG’s uPortal

instructional media + magic Portal Technology What is uPortal? Enterprise, horizontal portal Framework for presenting aggregated content (channels) Personalization Role-based access control Open source, collaborative effort Java web application

instructional media + magic Portal Technology JA-SIG Java In Administration Special Interest Group Conferences biannually Clearing house Collaborative projects

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Mission The Java in Administration Special Interest Group (JA- SIG) is an independent organization designed to increase the flow of information between educational institutions and companies involved in the development of administrative applications using Java technology. Today, with the benefit of object oriented technology and Java, we have a great opportunity in higher education to do things better as colleagues. The purpose of JA-SIG is, first, to share our experiences as we build applications with Java, and second, to develop a common infrastructure upon which we can build shareable components. We welcome the participation of both educational institutions and commercial enterprises in this effort.

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Goals The JA-SIG's goals are to: Nurture communication of best practices, new technologies, and innovative methodologies and projects related to Java Increase peer review, collaboration, and group discussion related to institution-developed Java administrative applications Broaden Java technology cross-fertilization between firms and schools on both a functional and geographic basis

instructional media + magic Portal Technology CalPoly San Luis Obispo

instructional media + magic Portal Technology University of British Columbia

instructional media + magic Portal Technology University of California, Irvine

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Columbia University

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Denison University

instructional media + magic Portal Technology University of Delaware

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Princeton University (prototype)

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Commercial implementations SCT (Campus Pipeline) enterprise Unicon,Inc. Learning Management System iAssessment Teacher assessment

Sigma Systems uPortal

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Sigma’s Alpha Development

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Sigma’s Alpha Development

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Sigma’s Alpha Development

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Sigma’s Alpha Development

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Sigma’s Alpha Development

uPortal Management

instructional media + magic Portal Technology User Profiles Profile defines: Structure/Theme stylesheets A set of user preferences User layout System vs. User profiles Browser-specific preferences User-Agent ID maps to a profile Initial profile mapping

instructional media + magic Portal Technology User preferences Portal = rendering + customization Swappable layout and preference management modules Profile management module Tab-column specific UP module Skin Selection

instructional media + magic Portal Technology User Preferences

instructional media + magic Portal Technology User Layout

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Publish/Subscribe Channel publishing document Channel parameters Default values Modification permissions Descriptions Publish/Subscribe steps Step sequence Instructions, help Flexible channel publishing

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Channel Types

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Channel Settings

instructional media + magic Portal Technology RSS URL and Stylesheet

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Channel Controls

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Channel Categories

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Channel Groups

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Channel Manager: Review

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Supported portlet standards HTML via CWebProxy* XHTML* RSS 0.91, RSS 1.0, RSS 1.0 Modules (Content, Dublin Core, Event, Streaming Media) SOAP messages** WSRP *Limited to presentation within portlet area of browser. ** When rendered by portal application.

Aggregated Layouts

instructional media + magic Portal Technology What is Aggregated Layout? The experience constructed for the end user by the implementers/administrators of the portal combined with the end user's customized content A system for constructing, managing, and administering grouped content, such that the presence and level of visibility of this content is guaranteed to appear in a users layout A system to allow users to self select grouped content to appear in their layout

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Some terms… Pushed Content The prearranged incorporation and updating of content in a user's uPortal Layout Pulled Content Self selected incorporation of content (including content fragments) into a users personal layout

instructional media + magic Portal Technology The simplified cast in our story… The Governing Body - The State, County, District The Institutions – Universities, Colleges, Schools… The Schools – School of Medicine, School of… The Departments – Sociology, Psychology… The Users – Student, Faculty, Staff… The Campus Services – Library, Financial Aid… The Faculty – as related to student users

instructional media + magic Portal Technology The Governing Body Has information about: Members Meetings Bylaws Events Policies Budgets Directories Services Policies Directory Services Members Meetings Events Using the Tab & Column visual metaphor

instructional media + magic Portal Technology The Institutional System Has information about: Campuses Academic Programs Research Libraries News The System Research Campus Info Programs Libraries Search All Libraries

instructional media + magic Portal Technology The Institution Has information for: Prospective Students Current Students Faculty Staff Visitors Content such as: Admissions information eTranscripts Online grade book Policies and procedures Campus events Directions/ Campus Map Online grade book Institution Research Academics About Admissions Calendar Events

instructional media + magic Portal Technology A School in the institution Has information about: Admissions Programs Calendar Faculty & Research Career Management Directions/ Campus Map School of … Admissions Programs Academic Calendar Research News Faculty

instructional media + magic Portal Technology A department Has information about: Faculty Information Bios, Office Hours Program Information Career Tracks Seminars Calendar Directions/ Campus Map Department of … Alumni Endorsements Careers Faculty Info Programs Calendar Seminars

instructional media + magic Portal Technology A Faculty Member by Class Has information about: General Information Bio, Hours, Contact Syllabus Shared Files Student Reviews Threaded discussions Group Chats Enrolled Students List Opt-in Past Enrolled Group Chats Professor … Enrolled Students Virtual HD General Info Syllabus Past Enrolled Course Reviews

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Campus Services Has information about: Libraries Financial Aid Housing Health Services Legal Services School Paper Book Store Career Services Clubs Commons School Newspaper Legal Services Health Services Financial Aid Counseling Scholarships Current Aid Grant Search Career Center Book Store

instructional media + magic Portal Technology The User Wants to subscribe to: Weather News Arts & Entertainment Traffic Online Games Groups Calendar Online Invitation Instant Message Theater Search Groups Calendar myTabs Traffic Weather Instant Message Driving Directions Game

instructional media + magic Portal Technology A snapshot of the hierarchy Governing Body Institutions Schools Departments User Faculty

instructional media + magic Portal Technology The content path to the user Governing Body Institutions Schools Departments User Faculty

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Aggregation of content A users layout being constructed from pre-defined fragments

instructional media + magic Portal Technology Subscribable Groupings Health & Legal Services Column Tab by Faculty and course Departmental Calendar and Events Column User adding content that has been grouped by content administrators

The end Cliff Clevenger