Richard Willis, coordinator of the Sharepoint Learning Kit (SLK) gives a glimps of a possible feature in the next version of sharepoint, the use of educational content and the similarities with SLK and possible use in Sharepoint online (Office365) http://blog.salamandersoft.co.uk/index.php/2012/02/sharepoint-vnext-to-include-education-component/
Richard doesn’t see a future for SLK in Office365. For me, an Office365 E3 user, familiar with its implemenation of Sharepoint and roadmap it seems logical. If you have the use of Office365 Sharepoint, you are just a tennant: no access to the actual plumbing and heating of the building. Yes I know there is a sandbox but it can handle only a scaled down set of the complete object model. Need more then you must have a High Level Design that Microsoft accepts, probably a third party that builds it and it must pass some test and MS to deploy it. SLK uses a dedicated database and therefore cannot run from the sandbox. For now I’m not favoring Office365 over an on-premise Sharepoint use: above all because there is no Office 365 Sharepoint Store where I can rent some additional solutions(webparts), limited search, limited webservices etc etc. See also http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=18128
If we want to make the use of Office365 Sharepoint comparable to an on-premise experience then the vendors you have now, Axceler Bamboo etc have to port their solutions to Office365. For this their High Level Designs are yet to be signed off by Microsoft to get it available for use in Office365? Or is this already done and must we wait for the Office365 Sharepoint Webstore, with the educational content solution as one of the first to rent? Richard doesn’t see a future for SLK in Sharepoint online and there wil probably no High Level Design for it. It’s survival is then the use in the free, on-premise WSS/ Foundation versions of Sharepoint.
Educational content is a much needed but should also be an out off the box/ to rent feature in Sharepoint. The SLK is a great effort but seemed to me to much of a hassle to get it running, for example not being able/ advised to use AD groups. I cannot wait to see the possible out off the box/ to rent feature from Microsoft in action but I expect this can take 1 -3 years.
