Sub sections:
Sakai
Contents
Sakai is one of two Learning Management Systems (LMS) that UNE uses to deliver its online course materials. Here you’ll find everything you need to complete your studies including weekly topic notes, lecture slides, lecture audio, online quizzes, discussion boards, and online chat.
You can access Sakai units either via the myStudy tab in myUNE (click on the Sakai icon in the UNE Online column), or directly by going to: http://sakai.une.edu.au
Every unit is subtly different, as your lecturer decides the look and feel of their unit. All units will have a menu on the left-hand side which looks like this:
Your lecturer can also configure the home page of the unit to have frequently used features such as announcements and calendars appear in their own boxes for easy access.
A detailed overview of some of the commonly used features is below:
Common Features
Home
This is the home page for your unit. You can navigate back to it at any time by clicking on this link.
Start Here
As it suggests, this is a good place to start. Here you will usually find contact information for your lecturer/s, a general overview of the unit (including unit handbook, if there is one), assessment details and due dates, and often the unit’s podcasts.
Announcements
This is where you’ll find any important announcements during the course of your unit. Many lecturers also design these announcements to appear in “popup” windows when you first log into the unit. If you miss these popups, or want to view the message again later you can click here to see all of the announcements for the semester.
Assessment
This is where you will find details of the unit’s assessments. Not all units have this menu option. If you don’t see it, try looking for this information via the Start Here or Resources links.
Wiki
A wiki is a collaborative tool that allows everyone to share information. Like all wikis (eg Wikipedia), the Sakai wiki lets you post and edit information which everyone can then access and add to. This is different to the Forum where only you can edit your posts. Many lecturers use the wiki tool for group projects, as you can all work on the information together before it is presented.
Creating wiki pages is a lot like web designing. Don't let this put you off- it's actually pretty simple. A more detailed set of instructions will be added to this page soon, but for the time being you can access the wiki help by going to the wiki tool, clicking "edit" and then selecting the "Full Help Page" link in the Help Tips menu on the far right hand side.
Forums
This is the Discussion Board for your unit. Here you can interact with the other students in the course, answer topic questions, ask for help etc. Discussion boards are static, and it may take some time to get a response. Think of them like posting an email which everyone in your unit can see and respond to. Many lecturers now make participation in the online Forum part of your assessment, so don’t forget to check here regularly.
Schedule
This is a calendar, which lists important dates (including assessment due dates) for your unit. You can sometimes also find this on the home page of the unit.
FAQ
A very useful tool, your lecturer can post the answers to Frequently Asked Questions to do with the unit here. Make sure you check this before posting a question in the Forum.
Chat Room
Unlike the Forum, Chat happens in real-time. It is text-based, and much like MSN Messenger etc. You can only chat with people who are currently logged in, and who have also clicked on the Chat function. Chat uses Java, so you will need to make sure you have the latest version installed (www.java.com).
Resources
This is where you will find your weekly readings, lecture slides, lecture audio, assessment instructions & materials, and any other useful information you will need to complete the unit.
(A Note on Audio Recordings):
Also known as “podcasts”, these are the recorded audio from your weekly lectures. Where once they may have been sent on cassette or CD, you can now download them in MP3 format right to your computer.
To play them back you will need to install iTunes (you can download it for free from: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/). Once you’ve done this there are 2 ways to save the files:
- One at a time by right-clicking on each lecture title (eg “Lecture 1”), and choosing “Save Target As...”, or “Download Linked File As...”. You can then play the files by navigating to where you saved them and double-clicking on them.
- By subscribing to the podcast. Simply scroll to the bottom of the list of lectures, and click on “Subscribe to this podcast”. You can then access the files by opening iTunes, and selecting “Podcasts” in the left-hand menu. New lectures will automatically appear in iTunes as they are released by the lecturer.
Mail
Sakai has its own email tool. This is NOT the same as your regular UNE email. The Mail tool in Sakai will only send to the people within that particular unit (eg LS100), and they will need to access these emails through the mail tool itself by logging into the unit. Mail sent using this tool will be lost once the semester is over, and the online unit is closed. In most cases, therefore, it is a much better idea to use your normal UNE email to contact people, rather than this tool. To avoid confusion many lecturers disable this function.
Help
This is the Sakai help tool. It will show you how to navigate and use Sakai.
Troubleshooting
If you are having trouble accessing your online unit, here are a few things you can try:
- Check to see whether UNE sites are down for scheduled maintenance. Our Service Announcements blog can be found at: http://blog.une.edu.au/serviceannounce/category/itd-announcements/
- Run the browser test to make sure your web browser is configured correctly: http://www.une.edu.au/portal/browser_test/
- Make sure you have popup blocking turned off in both your browser, and your antivirus software
- Download the latest version of Java from www.java.com
- If you are behind a firewall (eg at work), or have antivirus software make sure UNE sites are in the trusted list
- Clear the cache in your browser, and try again
- Try using a different web browser. For instance, Firefox is free, works on both Mac and Windows, and can be downloaded from: http://www.firefox.com
- If you can, try accessing your unit on a different computer- does the problem still persist?
Getting Help
If you’ve tried the troubleshooting tips above, and you’ve checked the FAQ at AskUNE, and still can’t access your online materials you can contact the IT Service Desk at servicedesk@une.edu.au, or on (02) 6773 5000.