rSmart Releases Its Sakai CLE 2.2, Delivering Commercial Support for eLearning Collaboration and Enhanced Portfolio Tools

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PHOENIX–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The rSmart Group Inc., the first provider of commercial support for the open source collaboration and learning environment Sakai, today announced the availability of the rSmart Sakai 2.2 release. This rSmart release builds on the Sakai Community version and introduces powerful new functionality that includes an enhanced user interface and expanded tool set. The rSmart Sakai CLE 2.2 enhances and extends functionality for e-Learning by offering:

Teaching & Learning
The rSmart Sakai CLE 2.2 provides online spaces for fully online courses, blended face to face and online courses. Use the CLE to post documents, conduct tests and quizzes, present sequenced content, post syllabi, and assignments, manage a course calendar, engage in online discussions and chat, construct group edited documents (Wikis), and much more.

Small Groups & Projects
The unique approach to individual and group collaboration spaces gives the CLE the flexibility to support virtually any form of group collaboration.

Electronic Portfolios
The CLE includes the open source portfolio (OSP) which provides tools for individuals to collect and organize work across courses and other learning experiences.

Open Platform for Scholarly Collaboration
The CLE is the premier example of a new generation of open platforms for scholarly collaboration. It is developed by education, for education using modern technologies and a design that is flexible enough to accommodate the diverse needs of all types of institutions.

Building on the work of a Global Community
The rSmart Sakai CLE 2.2 marks the second major release for rSmart in 2006 and the fourth major release for the Sakai Community in two yers.

“Our goal was always to deliver a fully supported Sakai Solution with enhanced capabilities, greater stability, and easier integration; this is another significant step in that direction,” said Anthony Potts, Chief Technology Officer, rSmart. “Through the power of open source we are dramatically reducing the cost of e-Learning solutions while delivering a simple-to-use, enterprise class system, where faculty and administrative personnel, rather than developers, can set up and implement a true collaboration and learning environment.”