Microsoft Sharepoint - what is it?

[localzuk]

I realise there are a lot of people on here who have got a lot out of Sharepoint installations, I would just like to raise a few things you should be aware of with it which I think are reasonably uncontroversial - it is free for many schools under Schools Agreement but be aware of the hidden costs - extra training, possible use of consultants to make the most of it and also it is not always the easiest product for end users so extra support for you on the IT side. Sharepoint is also really built as a portal/document workflow manager out of the box rather than a collaborative web tool (I realise there are various addons etc but these aren't really the core of Sharepoint, and the good solutions many people have to these on here may well add cost and/or complexity).

 

Agreed, it can cause no end of pains if you don't implement it properly. And by implement it properly, I mean roll it out to people properly.

 

The way it is handled in our school is that is has been released to all staff as a single purpose tool at present - for using SIMS.net at home. Now that everyone has got used to that, we will start adding extra uses to it, such as using it as a document manager for policy documents (and slowly but surely increase the variety of work that goes on it), next I will be moving our helpdesk to it, and creating a webpart that works with our phone system to create a phonebook.

 

All this is a slow and steady plan. If we just released it in one big lump, it would be a nightmare to manage. Letting each part bed in before going on allows people to get used to it, so when issues do occur, they feel comfortable talking between themselves before having to call for help.

[mleighton]

I think that the original question raised is very useful for getting us to briefly evaluate where we are with SharePoint and why we opted for it in the first place.

 

If you want to use SharePoint as your Learning Platform I would urge you to also consider the SharePoint Learning Kit. Moodle is also a great vehicle for the teaching and learning, and perhaps more dynamic day to day aspects of your portal, although there is a new version of SharePOint Learning Kit about to be launched.

 

With the integration of Capita's Learning Gateway web parts you will immediately meet the governments 2010 target for online reporting to parents, and provide real time reporting with hardly any extra work in school.

 

If you want to see good examples of SharePoint installations in school have a look at

 

 

Technical case study of Blatchington Mill School

 

The Kraal (Gallery of school SharePoint installations)

 

Twynham School SharePoint

 

Hope this helps....

[KarlGoddard]

I don't really agree.

 

Unless you have a real need in rolling it out quickly, it'd be far more beneficial to read up on, install, configure and test the system yourself - and be able to work at your own pace.

 

You'll have a deeper understanding of the systems config - and personally I don't think its that difficult a product to work with, as long as you have the time/drive to spend some time with it.

 

Personally I had a test system - then made a full system, rolled out to admin staff - then all teachers - then the whole school.

 

It worked fine then, and still is now.

 

That's pretty much how I deployed it - think I did a test system at home - then created a live system at school which was rolled out to two depts then the whole school.

 

I probably spent a total of two full working days, hour wise, over two weeks to implement sharepoint, and I'm definitely not a techies techie.

 

I would doubt any school could justify bringing in a consultant for a job as minor, in the greater scope of school priorities, as developing an intranet.

[dgsmith]

Many thanks for all the replies - certainly seems to be alot of views as to how it can be used, all very positive too!

 

Still, the consensus is that it is somewhat of a nightmare (or has the potental to be) in setting it up. For us, who if we adopted it, would just want to use it initially for media (photo/video) storage and viewing (maybe expand in the future if all goes well), would these concerns still be applicable? We would have a very basic, primitive if you like, home page with just links to various places and of course the video/photo module.

 

What are the best modules/addons for SPS to achieve uploading and storing of photos and videos (similarly to the likes of phpgallery and phpmotion)?

I guess we're not looking to use it for how it was designed, as someone mentioned, and purely would be relying on addons..

 

Lastly, we'll need a new server (current one is a 6yr old Win2000 Svr); can SPS run on WinSvr2008 web edition (which has some limitations)?