Candidates working on dissertations within the School of Education at the university are provided with access to a collaborative workspace hosted via the university intranet. The workspace is called the Dissertation Portal. The portal was created for disseminating dissertation information and encouraging collaboration. Using the tools of Windows SharePoint Services, the main Dissertation Portal and separate subsites for each candidate and his or her committee were created.
The main Dissertation Portal consists of lists and libraries of needed information that is helpful for the dissertation process. It includes materials such as the Dissertation Handbook, manuscript templates, and research and analysis tutorials. The portal also has a calendar that lists everyone’s proposal and defense dates and several discussion forums designated to discuss dissertation logistics as well as research design and analysis. All faculty and candidates have access to the main portal. Faculty and staff who oversee the dissertation process manage the site.
In addition to the main Dissertation Portal, each candidate is provided with his or her secured collaborative workspace that he or she shares with the university committee members. Using the tools of Windows SharePoint Services, one site was created and saved as a template. Each time a candidate enters the dissertation process, the template is duplicated for the individual. Each candidates’ site consists of:
o Helpful Links. A list of links to Internet sites used for the dissertation process.
o My Dissertation Portal Contact Information. A list of individuals involved directly with the candidate’s dissertation and their contact information.
o My Dissertation Portal Discussion Forum. A forum to post asynchronous, threaded messages. The forum can be synchronized and, thus, managed with any Microsoft Outlook account. Alerts can be sent to any e-mail account when a new post is made.
o My Dissertation Portal Dissertation Timeline. A shared calendar used to post projected dissertation plans, deadlines, and other important dates related to the dissertation process.
o My Dissertation Portal Libraries (e.g. manuscript, IRB, Forms, proposal submission, etc.). File storage and collaboration space. Any file type may be stored, shared, and edited. Email alerts of new or edited content can be sent.
o My Dissertation Portal Status Update and Task Lists. A list of dissertation tasks within the dissertation process that the candidate or committee members can set to “not started,” “in progress,” or “completed.”
The Dissertation Portal and its subsites were created by a faculty and a few support staff members. Learning SharePoint and how to use it for development required time and the review of published tutorials and books. Where available, IT support and developers can develop SharePoint sites for educators and candidates desiring to use it in the dissertation process; however, it is not necessary. To setup the basic SharePoint workspace for the dissertation process, the template, called the Sites and Workspaces: Team Site template, was used and modified.
The document library feature, provides a medium for document sharing, storage, and retrieval. In simplest terms, a document library is a collection of files. The document library feature was used to create libraries to store and dispense information on the main dissertation portal (e.g. a form library, a template library). This feature was also used to create document libraries for the candidates’ portal to support file sharing. Candidates have document libraries for specific aspects of the dissertation project (e.g., proposal, IRB, final manuscript, etc.) and any person on the dissertation team can upload and share, store, or retrieve any type of file in the libraries. Settings of the document library feature allow for check-in and check-out of documents, versioning history of documents, alert that a document has been revised, and other custom properties for documents. For example, a candidate can upload a manuscript to the proposal library. When the candidate uploads the document, all the committee members receive an email alert. At the convenience of the committee member, he or she can access the library, check out the document, and provide feedback. The checking in and out feature ensures that the committee members do not edit the document simultaneously and mistakenly provide duplicate feedback. When a committee member finishes editing, another alert is sent informing the other committee members and the candidate that a new version of the manuscript has been saved and is now ready for additional comments or revisions. All versions of the document are saved within the library for easy reference when needed and the most recent version is always the one seen in the library.
Threaded discussions, shared calendars, and task lists are additional features that assist in online collaboration and productivity during the dissertation process and were used to create other aspects of the portal and its subsites. The calendar feature was used to create the calendar on the main Dissertation Portal and the timeline on each candidate portal. These calendars enable the entering and tracking of important dates. A convenient feature of the calendar is that it is compatible across various systems and can be synchronized with individual Office Outlook calendars with a click of one button.
The task list feature was used to create task lists and status update within each candidate’s portal. Task lists are useful for assigning tasks and for keeping abreast of the progress of tasks. Tasks can be assigned both due dates and priorities. For example, after proposal defense in which the candidate was given approval with revisions, the candidate may be assigned the task of completing the required revisions in 30 days. The chair can enter the task and the due date into the list and the candidate can mark it as “in progress” or “complete.” The basic list feature was used to create the contact and link areas of each candidate’s portal.
Finally, discussion boards are a medium for conversing about issues or topics of interest. The discussion forum feature within SharePoint is similar to those within most content management systems. There are multiple discussion forums on the main Dissertation Portal. There is also one private discussion forum within each candidate’s portal so that each candidate and committee can create threads and discuss issues specifically related to an individual candidate’s dissertation process. Using the forum helps organize and document all communication during the process.
Using a collaborative workspace, specifically SharePoint, is beneficial; however, not without a few challenges. The primary challenge is technical in nature as there is a learning curve. Whether it is a large or small learning curve really depends upon the technological competence of the individual using it. For those less familiar with technology, time and training is needed. In this university’s implementation of SharePoint, the development of tutorials using Adobe Captivate and customized instructions with screen shots assisted users in acquiring basic navigation skills. Users that are familiar with technology and Microsoft Office products find adoption of the workspace easy.
