Tag: summit

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SunGardHE Summit 2009: Luminis 5 Architecture

This session presented the technical architecture and demonstrations for Luminis 5. In my eyes Luminis 5 is a product architected so differently from Luminis 4 that it almost represents a new product. Asked about release dates, the product technical architect deferred to the product manager who relayed the planned beta at the end of 2009 without a firm general release date in 2010.

The architecture is very framework based with all the Java and other keywords thrown in. The development environment is more agile with regular builds and ongoing unit and performance testing. Keywords and architectural strategies:

  • Spring Framework
  • Hibernate object relationship management
  • Decoupled presentation objects to permit support for a variety of presentation layers (e.g., Liferay portal, Oracle portal, uPortal)
  • Terracotta cluster management
  • CAS
  • Separate administration node to remove administrative load from user facing nodes
  • No email and calendar delivered with Luminis 5
  • OpenLDAP
  • Apache JackRabbit CMS for portal content management
  • Apache CXF (a standards-based messaging tool) — may not keep as Spring could provide this functionality
  • Flex for some channel content (primarily administrative channels, Flex XML not exposed)
  • Clustering taken care of by baseline Luminis 5, no longer our responsibility. Probably still want load balancer but Luminis 5 may mean it need not support SSL termination or sticky sessions as sessions will persist across notes.
  • Inter-portlet communication (action in one channel results in update in another channel)
  • IDM support (UDC supported solutions)
  • Fine-grained Access Controls rewritten with Flex interface
  • CPIP deprecated (although GCF and Secret Store still use non-exposed CPIP libraries migrated into GCF)

With the new Luminis 5 framework and TerraCotta cluster management, configman can be deprecated and settings modifications can be pushed to all portal notes without the need for a restart. The demo showed live changes in the admin node equivalent to a configman setting that immediately took affect in the user nodes.

The development team is performing regular performance testing to watch for performance trends as Luminis 5 evolves.

Discussing future migrations to Luminis 5, there was discussion of an ETL (Extract, Translate, Load) based migration model. This would include extracts to XML, translation and then load to the new systems. This methodology would be a vast improvement over the migration model clients are still suffering when going from Luminis III to Luminis 4.

Group and Course Tools are replaced by Community. Accessing a My Communities tab presents a series of channels making up a community. Selecting a group in a separate channel updates a collection of other channels such as community photos, music and other content. Asked about migrating Luminis 4 groups the answer came back that “we haven’t, but we can.”

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SunGardHE Summit 2009: Luminis Opening Session

Joshua presented the Luminis opening session which was a high-level overview of why to use Luminis and where it is headed. He started by highlighting Luminis use at a few colleges to share the possibilities of implementing portal technology at an institution. The key idea I took from this was a possible new analytic to measure. One school measures the percent of students loggin into their portal after the students receive their admissions info (which includes instructions to log in for the first time). This is a measurement that I think would be valuable for us as well. Not only if they log in after being given instructions, but how long before they do. Is it immediate, a week later, longer?

He also shared the product roadmap which contained no surprises. The one note contrary to the published product roadmap was a note that we may see some Luminis 5 components prior to the planned release date. This is in alignment with the promise CEO Ron Lang made in his address regarding getting functionality to customers sooner. It will be interesting to see how this plays out given the vast differences between Luminis 4 and 5.

In this opening session we didn’t see many details but here are some random notes.

  • Post Luminis 4.2 release supporting Red Hat Linux AS 4.* and Oracle 11G
  • Luminis 5
    • Banner channels rewritten
    • Collaboration and community functionality will see academic and non-academic environments
    • Acceleration of functionality time to market
    • Introduction of AJAX and FLEX interfaces

After the session I went and found the Luminis Developers’ Lounge. It is nice to see that we have a true room again after the fabricated room of last year.

In a discussion with the Luminis Technical Architect we learned more details of Luminis 5 which sound promising. One concern though is that it will be such a new product that I worry about out of the box stability and new growing pains. They are obviously working now in a new development environment that should result in better product releases than we’ve seen in the past.

Confirmation received that email and calendar will no longer be delivered as part of Luminis. Existing Sun licenses will be migrated to Sun directly. Email and calendar integration will be expanded to include Sun, Microsoft, Google and — later — Zimbra.

The portal framework is obviously focused on Liferay but they believe support will be available for other frameworks (e.g., Oracle Portal, uPortal) based upon their new architecture. Liferay though is the primary Luminis 5 target.

More technical info to come in the Luminis 5 Architecture session.

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SunGardHE Summit 2009: Opening Session

In a much more subdued opening than recent years SunGardHE Summit kicked off at noon Sunday. With respect to the current economic situation we were not exposed to the glitzy, overdone opening of Las Vegas two years ago or the musically rocking start in Anaheim last year.

The showmanship this year was left to Ron Lang, the “high energy” new CEO of SunGardHE. This “student” came out on skateboard with sunglasses and backpack. His speech set the tone we’ve been hearing from our SunGardHE contacts regarding a streamlined company with services focused on the customer. They will consolidate resources such as our account reps and services contacts so we always know who to contact. From what we’ve seen this consolidation is still a work in progress.

Lang also spoke of products moving from massive singular releases to incremental releases that promise to get tools into customer’s hands sooner. Of course I’m curious how that will play out in the vastly re-architected Luminis 5.

The highlight, of course, was the keynote speaker, Maya Angelou. She received a standing ovation as she was escorted to the stage and the awaiting table and chair. The focus of her talk to us was the rainbow in the clouds we can be in the lives of those we touch. She highlighted the rainbows she has been blessed by in her life with stories, readings and song. She spoke with a strength that contrasted the frailty coming with age.

Being a rainbow in the clouds expresses the impact she has had on all of us. A wonderful start for the conference.

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SunGardHE Summit: Usability Evaluation of myWSU Portal

(Notes from SunGardHE Summit on Tuesday, April 15)

Wichita State University shares information gathered over two myWSU usability tests. Results were similar to many of our findings.

It was interesting that they noted a similar problem with students not really recognizing the existence of tabs in the Luminis layout. The difference being that WSU noted this issue across both usability exercises. In our second test which happened two years after the first exercise we noted a distinct awareness of the MyPCC tabs. Both tests included a mix of new and current students, and both communities consistently noticed and made us of the tabs. While we aren’t positive why the tabs were now “visible” there was discussion that the growing use of websites such as MySpace and Facebook helped with the overall comfort of our audience with complex web applications. In the case of myWSU, the speaker noted that the strong header graphic of myWSU might be an influential factor in the invisibility of their tabs.

In their testing they included some eye track mapping. They were wondering if a mini-‘f’ pattern would be seen for each channel within a portal page. Tests of two-column and three-column layouts were shared. The two-column mapping showed an ‘s’ pattern across and down rows. Three-column layouts were more of a zig-zag pattern starting in the middle-upper column, back to the left, back across to the right and then down and back to an ‘s’ pattern. These tests were done with textual layouts so that graphics would not impact results.

It was interesting to learn that the testing was conducted by a WSU faculty member associated with their Software Usability Research Laboratory.

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SunGardHE Summit: Recruiting the Millenial Generation

(Notes from SunGardHE Summit on Wednesday, April 16)

Neil Howe spoke on recruiting the Millenial generation. Millennials are the generation born since 1982 with a childhood era including culture wars and the 1990s boom. What will their coming of age look like?

I thought I was a late boomer but his facts say Boomers are 1943-1960. Gen X is 1961-1981. I still think I’m a boomer, yeah I was maturing with MTV and rap but don’t relate to it. I relate more to the typical Boomer ties. And based upon his discussion, fall in the Boomer scenario.

Generations of College Youth

GI Generation (1901-1924)

  • Loved to be regimentalized (Boy Scouts formed during this time)
  • Percent of high school students earning degrees jumped from 15% to 50%
  • New image of a college graduation: constructive teamplayer (“technocrat… power elite”)

Silent Generation (1925-1942)

  • Didn’t want to change the system, they wanted to work within the system
  • Called the “fortunate generation” because of the overall prosperity
  • Impact on education is that they “inherited the system”
  • New image of a college graduate: credentialed expert (“organization man”)

Boomer Generation (1943-1960)

  • Self-oriented, self-sufficient
  • “Generation that wanted legalized drugs to think outside the box, today gives their kids drugs to think within the box.”
  • Boomers “rejected the system” in regards to education
  • New image of a college graduate: assertive visionary (“yuppie… cultural elite”)

Gen X (1961-1981)

  • Like to think they don’t belong to a generation
  • Gen X children ignored, got in the way
    • Opinion polls found parents believing that it is more important to find out who you are, instead of staying together for the kids
    • Note the chronology of the evil-child movie era: Rosemary’s Baby, 1968, through Children of the Corn, 1984
  • Philosophy of life is not as important as being financially well off according to polls of incoming college students (change happened in early 1970s)
  • Gen X got by without the system, don’t trust the system, assume no one is in charge
  • New image of a college graduate: get-it-done contractor (“free agent”)

Millenials (1982 – ?)

  • Child as devil movies end
    • Baby is adorable movies start: Baby Boom, Three Men and a Baby
    • As they get older, kids helping parents get better movies: Sleepless in Seattle
  • Most risk factors for youth considerably lower (Resource: Monitoring the Future)
    • Violent crime against youth is way down since 1980
    • Teen pregnancy and abortion also very much lower
    • Suicide rates have a sizable reduction
  • Most diverse U.S. generation (non-whites are 41% of this generation)
  • Peer personality traits: sheltered, know they are special (everyone talks about them) and so on
  • Drug avoidance messages used to be negative for Gen X (e.g., “This is your brain on drugs”, “Just say no!”), now the message is positive (e.g., “I want you to be proud of me”)
  • Bringing technology back to the community (twitter, chat, im)
  • No privacy concerns (parents put cameras in baby’s room, now the Millenials put cameras in their own room and take themselves online)
  • High school volunteerism is way up
  • Ideal employers more team and interaction/community oriented from 2007 poll: Google, Walt Disney, Apple, US Deptartment of State, Peace Corps

Personality Traits of the Millenial Generation and How to Address in College Recruiting and Retention

Special Generation
  • Co-market to parents, get ready for helicopter moms and dads, channel their energy (partner with the parents)
  • Students expect to be treated as VIPs, leverage their specialness (“Yes, you are special. Because of this special things are expected of you.”)
  • Tech expectations: show they are special, let them customize portal to their special needs
Sheltered Generation

Take note of all the child protection policies since 1982 (e.g., child restraint devices, helmet rules)

  • Market a safe campus
  • Millenials love counselors
  • Less FERPA concerns
  • Promote “collegiate” small school feel
  • Banish anonymity (high touch, small learning communities even in a large institution)
Confident Generation
  • Stress good outcomes, long-term commitments, personal progress plans
  • Help students perform as professionals (internships, especially working from school labs on remotely-located internships)
  • Be male-friendly: create contextual, project-based and career-oriented environments
Team-oriented Generation
  • Showcase live/learn groups
  • Teach team skills
  • Strong links to the community
  • Promote engagement in classes and residential life
  • Use technology to empower constructive social networks
Conventional Generation

Millenials like being with family, there isn’t the value gap between parent and child today as between past generations. Howe noted that generations compete with each other when each is strong, Millenials don’t compete with Boomer parents because Boomers are weak in terms of community. He related how High School Musical embodies all that the Millenial generation is.

  • Define college as a big-brand bonding experience
  • Stress a single “core” curriculum
  • Use rituals to celebrate collective progress
  • Assume a need to share and find consensus and a desire to see faculty as role model
Pressured Generation

Millenials see little time for unstructured play and an excess of protection. There is an overall obesity issue, hours of sleep are down and homework hours are up.

  • Stress long-term planning, expect big changes in grad schools with a need for structure
  • Stess overall mastery goals
  • Make tasks achievable with coninuous testing, assessment, feedback and redirection (Millenials and their parents want tight cycles of feedback)
Achieving Generation

Howe shared samples for the winning words in the national spelling bee across the generations.

  • 1950s: psychiatry, condominium
  • 1970s: croissant, vouchsafe
  • 1990s: milieu
  • 2001-2007: pococurante, appoggiatura (oh, boy)
  • Get ready for new insistence, especially from parents
  • Empower students and make use of technology to create teaching efficiencies

Howe related how we’ll also see a change as the Gen X parents of Millenials move into midlife.

  • Skeptical of institutions
  • High attachment to child
  • Less optimistic, more calculating
  • Not helicopter moms, they’ll be stealth fighter moms
  • Price shoppers (Boomer brags how much paid for BMW, Gen Xer brags how low a price they got)
  • Modular mentality (opt in or out)
  • Seek transparency, standards
  • Like accurate data, better rankings
  • Want personal accountability
  • Expect real-time service (do you pass the Fed X test)

This talk was very revealing of the Millenial generation, and my own. It left me wondering more about the cycle of generations. Are Millenials like the GI or Silent generation? How much do generation characteristics cycle and what influences the similarities and differences? How is technology impacting generations?

While at the conference and visiting Disneyland we experienced a father suffering with the community ties of his Millenial daughter. The daughter had a cell phone with little battery life left. She wanted to leave Disneyland due to this extreme hardship. At first the experience finds me thinking the daughter is quite silly and I, too, would have been a very frustrated parent. Who would want to leave Disneyland? During the presentation it dawned on me that, perhaps, this was a Millenial losing touch with her community.

It also reminds me of my attempts to communicate with a nephew. Chatting online one evening I struggled to get much out of this young man. I felt insulted that he wasn’t focused on our conversation (the Boomer in me, I am important) and wondered about his ability to communicate. After enticing a little information out of him, I came to realize that he was not only communicating with me but with twelve friends at the same time. Millenials are in their community 24/7, and me, being on the outskirts of that community, “suffer” because of my own generational community expectations.

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SunGardHE Summit: Competing with MyYahoo and iGoogle

Notes from SunGardHE Summit (Monday, April 14)

Tab and channel drag-and-drop sample from Lehigh University making use of YUI. Cleaner implementation of functionality without major mods to nested layouts.

In Luminis IV you have to preload content/layout channel and then a second call to ‘return’ to where you were so JavaScript calls return you to correct place and not to content/layout channel.Shows changes to portal.properties to remove caching on startup that can be used in development environments to speed up testing of changes.

MyNotes application channel added to Luminis student portal using CAS and creates user on first use. Ajax to post changes.

www.lehigh.edu/~gas207/luminis.zip

Kyle is using scriptaculous to modify some basic tools. For example, minimize icon is shrinking channel instead of page refresh that currently happens.

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SunGardHE Summit: Eric Weihenmayer

(Notes from SunGardHE Summit Keynote Address on Sunday, April 13)

Highlight of Summit kickoff was the keynote by Eric Weihenmayer, a renowned adventurer and the only blind person to summit Mt. Everest. His talk was inspiring and enjoyable. Much as people speak of the good that can come from “unintended consequences,” Eric speaks of the opportunities to be found in the face of adversity. Amazing results are found overcoming adversity. Eric lost his sight as a teenager, he has overcome this challenge and has overwhelmingly overcome the limitations others would place upon a blind person. His Seven Summits accomplishment is testament to his abilities.

After sharing ample examples of overcoming adversity and actually innovating due to this adversity, Eric went on to share assistive technology that may help eliminate barriers. Leading up to a video sample, Eric spoke of how it is the brain that “sees,” the eyes are our data input device. Making use of an oral input device, Eric was shown to “see” his environment while reaching for a coffee mug, playing tic-tac-toe with his daughter and extending his arm to a handhold while rock climbing. A computer is converting video input to a physical sensor that Eric’s brain reads as input from his tongue. An amazing approach and display of challenging adversity. I believe this work is related to the BrainPort. Learn more at How Stuff Works or from a CBS News story. No Barriers, a non-profit started by Eric, supports efforts to expand the assistive technologies available.

Eric’s talk was sparked by his witty humor and compelling stories. I enjoyed stories of his friend Chris and his use of “optimistic pessimism.” With optimistic pessimism you followup a pessimistic comment with another negative comment that might make you feel better about the intial comment. His friend’s example came from crossing a crevasse on a bunch of ladders strapped together by sherpas.

“These ladders sure are rickety, but at least the wind is blowing.”

There were also touching stories of loyalty and friendship. While preparing for their Mt. Everest climb on a nearby mountain, a friend and team member became sick and had to be rushed down the mountain for medical care. This episode required a prolonged recovery which kept Eric’s friend from his usual rigorous training that threatened his preparedness for the Mt. Everest climb. His friend came to him saying that Eric should replace him, that he isn’t ready to support the team. Eric refused to give up on his friend and told him he was still on the team. The friend stated that he wasn’t ready to get himself to the summit but will do it to get Eric to the summit. It turns out that 19 of the 21 team members (including the first blind person and the oldest person to reach the summit) made it to the peak which is still a record for any Mt. Everest ascent.

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SunGardHE Summit: Kickoff

(Notes from SunGardHE Summit Keynote Address on Sunday, April 13)

SunGardHE Summit 2008 kicked off today in Anaheim. The kickoff was a lower key and less risque than last year’s ceremony in Las Vegas. MASS Ensemble set the atmosphere with a musical introduction featuring a cool auditorium-spanning wire harp, a diagonal spatial harp and a revolving globe-like drum set.

The keynote address was the highlight of the kickoff. (see separate posting)

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SunGardHE Summit

We’re in Anaheim for SunGardHE Summit and enjoying our stay at the Disneyland Hotel. Days are filled with conference sessions. Every night is filled with either Disneyland park or California Adventure.

The trip here was great, all quiet with no delays or other travel annoyances.

Saturday was hot, somewhere in the 90s which made standing in some of the Disneyland lines a little taxing.

A lot of fun happening here!