The Zombie Apocalypse as Crowdsourcing

I spent a couple days last week with what seemed a big chunk of the IT operation at the University of Florida.  UF went through an extensive LMS review and selection process early this year, the two finalists were Angel and Sakai, and Sakai won out in the final analysis, but only by a hair. This was contentious for about a week, at the end of which Blackboard brought everyone back together again by buying out Angel. Now UF is on a very familiar hurried migration track because the WebCT license is going away, but let’s not linger over subjects that can trigger my PTSD.

I went representing mainly Georgia Tech, as a kind of welcome-to-the-neighborhood for Sakai in the Southeast. They were very gracious and friendly hosts, but seemed suprised and grateful that I would make the trip, as though this was altruism on my part. I almost didn’t want to explain how much it meant to have a Sakai collaborator within driving distance, to have someone nearby to lean on and work with – how I hope to use them. Probably too soon in the relationship to say, “we need you.” Maybe even creepy. So I didn’t.

A central figure in this initiative is Doug Johnson. Yes, that Doug Johnson. That’s where the vision for cooperation in a volatile environment comes from. And he seems to be something of a foodie, if our restaurant picks were any indication. As if the practical reasons for being excited about this collaboration weren’t great enough.

About these ads