I’m a web application developer and have spent my career thus far working in higher education.  Most of my efforts have involved support, customization, integration and development of extensions for Blackboard and Sakai learning management systems. As an open source fanatic, I try to share these efforts with the respective communities whenever possible.

Recently, I worked on an implementation of the Blackboard Learning Environment Connector for Sakai to enable Blackboard users to utilize features of Sakai from within the Blackboard environment. The connector consists of a Sakai project, contributed to the Sakai community here, and a Building Block contributed to the OSCELOT community here. Assisting in the effort was a skilled team of developers from Blackboard and Chuck Severance from Sakai. Hopefully I will have more opportunities to work on such projects in the future, as I feel such integrations are critical to the improvement of the teaching and learning experience utilizing these systems.

Prior to the Blackboard LEC for Sakai project, I worked as lead developer on an assessment system for Sakai called Goal Management. While I am no longer in a position to support this effort, other members of the Sakai community have successfully worked with the tools. Along with Sean Keesler, who managed the project, et al., we were able to contribute an idea that, if nothing else, got the broader community thinking about ways to manage the assessment of learning against expected outcomes at the individual, course and program level.

Hopefully you will find information here that will help you, and, if not, maybe you can provide some information that will help me…I tend to have more questions than answers! My goal is to focus on the use and development of technology in education, particularly higher education, but I’ve left plenty of room for other topics such as Linux, open source, New York Rangers hockey, freshwater planted aquariums and anything else that comes to mind.

- Jim Pease (1/14/2009)