JISC latest news

 

Partner organisations collaborate to help shape the next-generation library

Key national organisations in the library field are to collaborate on a major programme of consultation to help shape the future of the academic library, it was announced today.

JISC, SCONUL, RLUK, the British Library and the Research Information Network (RIN) are to work together on a major strategic initiative which will explore the substantial challenges facing academic libraries as they respond to a period of unparalleled change in the external environment.

Workshops, studies and a combination of partnership and advocacy with key stakeholders in the higher education arena will build on existing work to develop a transformative agenda that will ensure the continuing relevance of libraries to the communities of information creators and users they serve. In particular the study will explore what is best done locally and what is best done through co-operation at national or international level.

The initiative will run over a period of two years and regular briefings and outputs will enable wider engagement. A steering group made up of senior representatives from each organisation will oversee the programme and invite experts to the workshops to consider the issues and to reach positions that will help to shape directions for academic libraries. In addition, a full communications strategy will be developed by the steering group which will include the use of Web 2.0 technologies such as wikis and blogs to ensure wider consultation. 'The time is right for us to take stock of our progress so far and to begin to shape the future together.’

It was also announced today that Derek Law, former Head of the Information Resources Directorate and Librarian of Strathclyde University, has been appointed programme consultant to oversee and lead the initiative.

Professor Law said: ‘Libraries have faced a deluge of change in the last few years and have generally adapted well to it. However the changes have been piecemeal and often local. This programme provides a significant opportunity to stand back and reflect on what has been done, what trends have been missed or misunderstood and how we should remodel our services collectively as well as individually to face the future.’

Alison Allden, Deputy Registrar and Director of Information Services at the University of Bristol and chair of JISC’s Integrated Information Environment Committee, said: ‘This initiative builds on a long history of collaboration in the academic library sphere which has seen the development of a wide range of national tools and services which have transformed the academic library over the last decade or so. But the time is right for us to take stock of our progress so far and to begin to shape the future together.’

Mark Brown, University Librarian at the University of Southampton and Chair of Research Libraries UK, said: 'Research libraries are working collaboratively with partners nationally and internationally to ensure that the UK has the best research support in the world. There has never been a more exciting time for research libraries, as we harness the power of digital content and internet technologies, and combine it with the massive resources of our libraries' print and heritage collections to empower our membership and their academic communities.'

Professor Jane Core, Director of Library and Learning Services at the University of Northumbria and Chair of SCONUL, said: ‘This programme will support institutional planning to ensure that local services add value for students and academics and reflect their changing needs. SCONUL welcomes the opportunity to work in partnership with others to consider the future vision for academic libraries at sector level, to maximise the opportunities presented by networked services and to surface the inevitable policy and leadership implications at international, national and local level.’

Michael Jubb, Director of RIN, said: ‘Digital technologies and online information resources have brought fundamental changes in how research is done, and also in what researchers expect from library and information services. Effective services, at both national and institutional levels, are an essential underpinning for success in research. This programme will help to ensure that library and information services keep pace with the evolving needs of researchers.’

Dr Joanna Newman, acting Head of Higher Education, British Library, said: ‘This programme will help ensure that the higher education sector can find new and innovative ways to connect researchers with content and ensure services remain relevant and reach out to new generations of users.’

For further information, please go contact: Derek Law at d.law@strath.ac.uk or 141 548 4997

 

Call to be issued for sector leaders to join new national infrastructure and resources committee

Following a review of JISC’s committee structure, the JISC Board decided yesterday that from August 2009 certain key changes will be made to that structure, aligning it more clearly to JISC’s strategic aims and the needs of the education and research sector.

It was decided in particular that a new committee would be created – the JISC Infrastructure and Resources committee (JIR). Although the precise remit of the new committee will be defined in the coming months, it is envisaged that it will take on many of the functions of the current Integrated Information Environment committee (JIIE) together with some of the functions of the Content Services and Networking committees (JCS and JCN), which will cease to operate beyond next July. Other functions of those committees will be taken on by the JISC Executive, allowing JIR to focus on strategy, innovation and take-up.
‘The representative nature of its committee structure has been central to JISC’s work over more than a decade and a half and is vital to its continued service.'
Along with the recommendations outlined above, the review found that the existing committee structure as far as Research, Learning and Teaching and Organisational Support are concerned is already well-aligned to JISC’s strategic aims. As with the new JIR, the review, however, called for a revisiting of these committees’ terms of reference to ensure that they remain focussed on strategy, innovation and take-up of JISC’s outputs.

JISC committees are made up of senior representatives from the education and research sector, a collegiate structure that ensures that JISC’s work is driven by the sector’s strategic needs. A key aspect of that representative, collegiate ethos is ensuring that committees are made up of those best placed to lead JISC’s work, and to that end, applications for membership for the new Infrastructure and Resources committee will be invited in late 2008/early 2009. After consideration by the Nominations committee, the membership will be announced by the end of March 2009.

Commenting on the changes, JISC Chair, Professor Sir Ron Cooke said: ‘The representative nature of its committee structure has been central to JISC’s work over more than a decade and a half and is vital to its continued service. These changes will ensure that JISC continues to receive the best strategic guidance possible in an area of national importance.’

For further information, please go to: Committee structure

A Guardian supplement published today looks at the way technology has transformed higher education over the last decade. Sponsored by JISC to launch its ‘Student experiences of technology’ campaign, the Digital Student supplement explores the achievements of institutions in this area and some of the future challenges as universities look to exploit technology and place the student experience at the heart of learning and teaching.

‘Technology has dramatically changed the way students experience university life, and not just in terms of the number of gadgets they own.'As Stephen Hoare reports in the opening article: ‘Technology has dramatically changed the way students experience university life, and not just in terms of the number of gadgets they own. It has affected where and how they study, helped them collaborate with each other and broken down barriers between students and teachers, social life and study. It has also given students a bigger voice in they way they learn.’

Podcasting, wikis, immersive worlds such as Second Life and texting are just some of the issues highlighted in the publication, for placing technology at the heart of the learner experience. How such technologies have impacted on assessment, the management of intellectual property rights, student progression and retention and the building of new and more flexible learning spaces, is also a focus of the supplement.

The challenges faced by institutions during this period of change are a further theme of the supplement. As Stephen Hoare continues, ‘All this presents major challenges for institutions, which are also learning to cope with a larger, more demanding and more diverse student body.’

The supplement also highlights JISC’s and others’ work to support institutions meet these challenges, through innovation projects and through its support for the take-up and use of new technologies. Among the JISC projects and services highlighted are ‘learner experience’ projects such as LEaD and STROLL; Users and Innovation projects such as APT Stairs, Sounds Good, Web2Rights; e-portfolio activities; the JISC TechDis service which supports the use of technology for disabled students and staff; the Regional Support Centres; market research into students’ expectations of technology, and much more.

The supplement also features an interview with Sir David Melville, whose Committee of Inquiry into the changing learner experience is soon to report on the implications for institutions of students’ use of new technologies, and explores a number of institutional initiatives, such as University College Plymouth St Mark and St John’s decision three years ago to offer a free laptop to all undergraduates, the University of Leicester’s Media Zoo, and the University of Hertfordshire’s scheme in which students mentor lecturers in their use of technology.

Access Digital Student here
Explore JISC’s ‘Student experience of technology’ campaign
To receive print copies of the Guardian supplement, please contact: press@jisc.ac.uk

New website provides unprecedented access to key governmental papers

The National Archives today launch Cabinet Papers, 1915-1977, a ground-breaking education website concerning British governance in the 20th century that provides free online access to more than 60 years’ worth of cabinet papers.

The project was funded via the JISC Digitisation Programme, and provides online access to more than half a million pages of cabinet minutes and memoranda. Users are able to key-word search the entire content of each record, while education tools – including interactive maps and images – will help students engage with the records and understand the way they influenced people’s lives over the years.

The website is aimed at A-level and HE students. Taking users through the key events of the 20th century, it shows how the government grappled with issues ranging from the General Strike and two world wars to the creation of the welfare state. ‘Cabinet Papers’ is an invaluable resource for students, as many of the topics covered form an integral part of related A-level and university syllabuses.

The HE section of the site covers more than 100 topics written by historians and peer-reviewed by leading academics. These packages give students an introduction to the subject area and then support them in conducting their own research.

Another exciting development online is the writing frame tool. This step-by-step framework helps students learn how to study primary sources and structure an essay around a central theme.

‘This is an outstanding resource which, for the first time, will give A-level students direct access to the actual records of the decision-making process which influenced so much of the history of the 20th century’, says Andrew Payne, Head of Education and Outreach at the National Archives.

‘For sheer knowledge-access and inspiration alone, the Cabinet Papers are invaluable. But on top of that, the powerful interactive tools in the website will support students in their analysis of the primary sources and significantly enhance their interpretative skills, which are exactly what examiners and university admissions tutors are looking for.’

Paola Marchionni, JISC Digitisation Programme manager, says: 'The digitisation of resources like this means that students have access to historical records tracing key events in 20th century British and international history. Learners are able to access the information when they want it, how they want it and see the documents as they were originally created – including Churchill’s cigar ashes.
 
‘This project is funded under the JISC digitisation programme, which aims to make available previously hard to access resources for use in teaching, learning, research and wherever possible open to the wider public too.’

Log on to explore the workings of Government here.
For further information please contact Katrina McClintock on 020 8392 5277.

The British Library is a national institution, a rich store of both British and world treasures and a place where students, researchers, business people and many others come to access a collection of resources that’s pretty much unmatched throughout the world. But the library is more than this… it’s also for some years been embracing technology in a variety of ways and in doing so helping to redefine the concept of the library in the digital age.

Dame Lynne Brindley is the CEO of the British Library and she has led the way in its engagement with the digital environment and in a way that, as she makes clear in the following interview, has particular significance for the education and research sectors. How has the BL gone about this engagement? What were some of the underlying principles behind this engagement?

An interview with Lynne Brindley (CEO of the British Library) 
Duration 11:12
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JISC TechWatch, one of the four JISC Innovation Support Centres, has just launched its own blog. It is called Notes from the Future, to reflect TechWatch's horizon scanning remit. Rather than just being an online diary, it will feature updates on their published reports and some specially commissioned content.

Gaynor Backhouse, who runs TechWatch, says: 'We're going to be featuring some guest bloggers so that we can incorporate a variety of different perspectives. So far we've lined up Bill Olivier, JISC's Development Director for Systems and Technology, and John Connell, Technology Strategist for Cisco.'

But that is not all. Tomorrow marks the beginning of the ICT 2008 conference in Lyon, where technology research projects funded by the EU will gather to show off their achievements. TechWatch will be there to cover it and will be blogging the 'best of breed' technologies and latest policy news.

Visit or contribute to the TechWatch blog

JISC Inform Issue 23 (Autumn 2008) has just been published. It offers up a wealth of informative articles concerning JISC’s ongoing fleet of activities within the UK further and higher education sector. 

Journalist Jon Snow graces the cover and appears inside, discussing the importance of the launch of NewsFilm Online. This JISC, ITN Source, Reuters, Edina and BUFVC collaboration has made freely available online over 3,000 hours of news footage from the past century and is a superb e-resource thanks to funding from the JISC digitisation programme. 

The incredible potential of Britain’s high band-width optical network, JANET LightPath, is explored in an article describing its potential usefulness to the music industry and beyond.

‘The lessons of the Google Generation report are that there’s no room for complacency.’ Dame Lynne Brindley, British Library.

Dame Lynne Brindley, CEO of the British Library, explains how this national treasure has embraced its digital future with open arms. Supported by JISC in its effort to engage with UK education and research, she admits: ‘The lessons of the Google Generation report are that there’s no room for complacency.’ Visit Inform Plus online to watch Dame Lynne Brindley interviewed or listen to the podcast.

In ‘Scanning tomorrow’s horizons – today’, guest journalist Mark Samuels looks at the work of JISC TechWatch. This JISC service has for several years been advising the sector on where technology is heading next and, importantly, the implications of this. 

Issue 23 of Inform is available to read online. With an overview of 2008’s Times Higher Education Awards and features on collaborative tools, e-portfolios and Web 2.0, look out for a copy or email the JISC press department to receive one. 
 

Copyright is just as valid in the virtual world. Make the time to do your research first.

Users of Web 2.0 content and services across education are set to benefit from a brand new animation which highlights the importance of considering IPR in their use and re-use of interactive Web 2.0 technologies. Discussed in the JISC-sponsored 'Digital Student' supplement in today's Guardian, it considers IPR for blogging, podcasting and other multimedia.

Confusion about IPR and its relation to Web 2.0 is widespread. The free Web2Rights online diagnostic tool, highlighted by the animation, seeks to address this within education, providing a step-by-step user guide to ensure the protection of both their and others’ copyright in using, deploying and repurposing content.  

Web 2 Rights
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The six-minute animation is accessible and colourful, portraying in a light-hearted way some of the issues involved via three typical case studies: a researcher, a lecturer and a student. These examples pinpoint areas where confusion exists, or even where many may not consider IPR to be an issue at all, and signpost back to the online diagnostic tool for further guidance and information.  

As Web2Rights IPR consultant Naomi Korn says: ‘Web 2.0 has revolutionised education and practice, and in a very positive way, but there is a lack of understanding regarding copyright, and whether it applies. The basic fact is that IPR holds just as strongly with Web 2.0 content as it does with more traditional forms. The process of considering IPR should ideally be built in to every stage of creating or repurposing content found on the Web. This doesn’t have to be an onerous task – and our diagnostic tool aims to make this as clear a process as possible – but it can take time and effort. The animation highlights the issues in a very approachable way, and we hope this raises awareness among users in HE and FE to take IPR within their Web 2.0 activity seriously.’

'The web2rights tool is of an extremely high quality, blending sound legal and policy advice with pragmatic solutions to ensure that IPR is not an inhibitor for learning, teaching and research activity.'

Lawrie Phipps, Programme Manager for the Users and Innovation programme which initiated the project, added: 'The web2rights tool is of an extremely high quality, blending sound legal and policy advice with pragmatic solutions to ensure that IPR is not an inhibitor for learning, teaching and research activity. We hope that what was initially put in place to advise and support JISC projects will have much wider benefits for those across education as a whole, with the animation playing a key role in raising awareness.'
 
The animation will be playing at the JISC stand at Berlin’s Online Educa event from the 3-5 December 2008. It will also feature in the Web2Rights session at the same event, called 'Who Owns What on the Web'.

Visit the Web2Rights website
Read about JISC’s work in the field of IPR
Visit JISC Legal
Explore the Guardian's JISC-sponsored Digital Student supplement

 

JISC’s new briefing paper on Shared Services in UK Further (FE) and Higher Education (HE) surveys the current landscape, discussing the benefits of and barriers to such administrative partnerships for the sector.  Shared administrative services are defined as ‘institutions cooperating in the development and delivery of services, so sharing skills and knowledge, perhaps with commercial participation’.

The new paper is based on findings from the first three landscape study reports by consultants Duke and Jordan. Shared administrative services are defined as ‘institutions cooperating in the development and delivery of services, so sharing skills and knowledge, perhaps with commercial participation’. Within institutions, shared administrative systems will typically include services such as customer relationship management, student records, timetabling, finance, estates and human resources. Existing examples of effective collaboration include ANIC (the Association of Northern Ireland Colleges consortium), UCAS, the JANET network and Research Libraries UK’s Shared Services Centre project.

The findings indicate that institutions are considering shared services alongside other solutions such as outsourcing and ‘software as a service’ to manage institutional administrative services in a strategic way.

New online Infokit released

An Infokit clarifying the issues concerning shared services also went online today. It gives examples of the current drivers, benefits, inhibitors and enablers of using or developing shared service infrastructures, and is the ideal first step for managers or institutions considering moving in this direction.

Economic benefits that shared services can bring

Investing in shared services can help UK further and higher education achieve efficiency cost savings in a number of ways, although the landscape study suggests that many senior institutional managers have not yet properly evaluated the potential strategic benefits, such as:

• Securing cost savings and sustainable efficiencies
• Releasing staff time for more customer-serving activities
• Gaining competitive advantage
• Continuity and resilience of service
• Raising quality of, and adding value to, existing services
• Improving system scalability
• Ensuring improved and more up-to-date systems
• Ability to offer otherwise unsustainable services
• Levering transformation
• Collaborating with other institutions and improved cooperation

Though not a direct follow on from the Gershon report (which informed governmental drive for shared services), Duke and Jordan’s recommendations are clearly within the spirit of the report. They will help institutions weather the current economic climate and become more effective in their ability to form mutually advantageous partnerships.

JISC is currently planning a new programme of work to support senior managers in the decision-making process regarding the potential use of shared services. This will be through facilitated engagement with suppliers and the exploration of service-oriented systems integration approaches. Further information will be posted via JISC-Announce and on JISC’s Funding Opportunities pages in due course.

Read the JISC Shared Services briefing paper
Visit the project webpage

In this podcast Jane Charlton was at the JISC CNI Conference in Belfast and spoke to Sir David Melville who is Chair of the UK Committee of Inquiry into Changing Learner Experience.

Erratum: The address for the Changing Learner Experience Website is www.clex.org.uk, not www.clex.org as given by Sir David Melville in the following interview.

 

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An article in today's Guardian (12 November 2008) claims that ministers will tomorrow state that UK universities should push to become world leaders in online higher education. 

John Denham, Secretary of State for higher education at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) is likely to call not for a revival of the UK's e-University, which collapsed in 2004, but to develop a 'global Open University in the UK'.

Mr Denham sought advice from JISC Chair Sir Ron Cooke (pictured right), who provided a new report for the government on the future of British higher education online. It suggests that UK education is seen as world-class, and often world-leading, in networking, content and digital libraries, as well as access management and many areas of e-learning. 

The report does, however, make clear that room for improvement remains in generating and making available high-quality modern online learning and teaching resources. Sir Ron continues, recommending the creation of centres of expertise in educational technology and e-teaching through clusters of institutions - with comprehensive staff and student training. 

In his speech tomorrow, the Secretary of State is likely to conclude that learning resources be grouped together, coordinated nationally and provided freely. 

Keep abreast of the debate on the DIUS website or have your say on the future of higher education blog

Venue Online conference
Date 4-7 November 2008

JISC’s Innovating eLearning 2008 online conference generated vigorous discussion and an impressive number of posts from its almost 400 UK and international delegates. The combination of a real-time keynote in Elluminate, presentations via audio and e-portfolio, links to innovative online resources and a virtual social area presented delegates with a dazzling digital conference experience.

‘I am getting a great deal more out of this experience than I would expect to from an equivalent physical event. I’m very glad that this area will be open for reading after the conference itself has closed.'
Shri Footring, JISC Regional Support Centre Eastern.

Conference Theme 1:
'Embracing the future now'

Coinciding with the American presidential election, day one of this Innovating eLearning conference proved equally enthralling. Set in a context of increased eLearning maturity yet where the full potential of such technologies is still to be realised, delegates considered the following points:

• What restricts the potential for established and emerging technologies, to enhance the learning experience?
• How can educators ensure the best possible e-enhancement of learning and teaching?  
• What might the future hold?

Keynote speaker Gilly Salmon quoted Ervin Laszlo in her presentation ‘Future learning – Desire or fate?’ noting that ‘What we do today will decide the shape of things to come. Technology-enhanced learning lies at a crossroads, poised between the drivers of student expectations, eLearning strategies and policies to enhance learning and teaching, and the equally potent constraints of time, skills deficiencies and institutionally owned and focused tools and systems.'

The conference blog from James Clay, Gloucestershire College, gave encouragement to delegates caught up in a blizzard of ideas and opportunities: ‘If you are feeling overwhelmed by the amount of stuff happening, remember that this is normal for a conference of this size. Pick a presentation that you have read and focus on that. Even just pick a thread!’ he advised, yet was himself demonstrating how to blog waiting for a train and even attending a meeting in London, proving that the future of technology is nothing if not mobile.

‘One thing is certain - I am getting a great deal more out of this experience than I would expect to from an equivalent physical event. And as I said before, I’m very glad that this area will be open for reading after the conference itself has closed. Lovely. Really enjoying it.’ Shri Footring, JISC Regional Support Centre Eastern.

Conference Theme 2: 'Going boldly into the dark'

Theme Two took delegates on a voyage of discovery, challenging perceptions of the role of technology in learning. The programme included debates on:

• The impact of mobile technologies
• Pros and cons of using multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) in learning and teaching
• Achieving transformational change

Experiences were rich and varied and included further live sessions in Elluminate, avatar creation (see image to right) and a social event and fashion show in Second Life, courtesy of the JISC Emerge team.

The keynote, delivered by Rose Luckin of the London Knowledge Lab, explored a fundamental question. Who will drive the learning process in years to come? Luckin proposed that ‘we need to understand more about the learner context’ and put forward a model of the factors influencing the learner experience for wider debate.

Andrew Williams, of Kingston College, summed up the dilemma posed by the adoption of new technologies in learning: ‘All meaningful educational initiatives will be disruptive. Challenging and re-forming any practice will involve a certain amount of disruption, dislocation and even dismay...I doubt we can move forward in any area without disruption.’

Virtual worlds posed tougher conundrums. Should they be viewed as ‘the new social spaces’ in which learners can develop an understanding of their own and others’ behaviour, even acquire professional competences – or do they still pose too many unanswered questions to be adopted as educational tools? Adherents and critics took up their positions, with the t‘There is no real contest between real and digital worlds – we want to live powerfully in both, but move between our worlds with ease. Our skills in doing so will improve over time’. John Davitt, keynote speaker imely publication of JISC's Serious Virtual Worlds report offering support to the undecided. 

John Davitt, in his innovatively collaborative closing keynote in Elluminate, offered some key advice for those looking forward to the future. He told delegates ‘There is no real contest between real and digital worlds – we want to live powerfully in both, but move between our worlds with ease. Our skills in doing so will improve over time’. 
 
Read more about JISC's online conference Innovating eLearning 2008 which prompted 1690 postings in session discussions. The conference remains open for two weeks after the closing date for reading and downloading content. Summaries of conference proceedings will be available in due course.

In this podcast Jane Charlton was at the JISC CNI Conference in Belfast and spoke to Betsy Wilson, Dean of University Libraries at the University of Washington in Seattle, about the student learning experience.

 

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Archive launches with public access to rare primary source material 

Oxford University is marking the 90th anniversary of Armistice Day by launching two new, free to access websites, thanks to funding from the JISC Digitisation Programme. These resources will allow educators, scholars and the public to view previously unseen memorabilia and poetry from World War I.

The Great War Archive and the First World War Poetry Archive bring together 13,500 digital images of items mainly of rare primary source material. Many items submitted by members of the public are treasured family heirlooms which have never been on public display.

Items include:

• A bullet-dented tea can which saved the life of an engineer who repaired a bombing post whilst under heavy fire in Bullecort in November 1917.
• A souvenir matchbox made by a German POW for a British Lance Corporal after they had fought a fierce fire together, saving many lives. 
• Remarkable sketches of scenes and characters from military and civilian life by Private Percy Matthews, until now, an unknown artist.

The Great War Archive complements Oxford University's First World War Poetry digital archive which will enable online users to view previously unseen materials such as poetry manuscripts and original diary entries from some of the conflict's most important poets. It builds on Oxford University's extensive Wilfred Owen Archive.

Oxford University's Project Leader, Kate Lindsay, said: 'The Great War is arguably the most resonant period in modern British history. The memorabilia and poetry archives will provide easy access to an unrivalled collection of material which will be of use to anyone interested in getting closer to this world-changing conflict.'

Author and academic Vivien Noakes, added: 'Each of the items submitted to The Great War Archive tells a personal and, often very poignant, story. The archive provides a myriad of windows into the period - the Great War in microcosm. Access to this material can only enhance our understanding of what it was like actually to live through these momentous times.'

The website has been made possible through the JISC Digitisation Programme which will see a wide range of heritage and scholarly resources of national importance shared with new audiences.

For further information, go directly to the Great War Archive
Learn more about the JISC Digitisation Programme

 

Electronic books (e-books) could revolutionise the way in which learners access information. A recent Exploring e-books event provided an opportunity to speculate, disseminate and evaluate the current issues and potential future of the e-book within UK further and higher education (HE). 
 
Organised by Virginia Havergal at JISC's Regional Support Centre (RSC) South West, library and information professionals as well as technical experts and JISC Collections project leaders shared their experiences and research findings with a view to maximising the benefits of e-books for users and for institutions. 
 
Caren Milloy is the manager of JISC Collections' national e-books observatory project. This is a study of the management and economic impact of e-textbook business models on publishers, e-book aggregators and HE institutions. Milloy singled out the top ten advantages of using e-books and the drivers informing the debate. Listen to the podcast interview, below.  

Advantages of eBooks

• Online access
• Searchability
• Cost savings
• Portability
• Convenience
• Eco-friendly
• Storage
• Easy to navigate
• Multiple users
• Easy to locate   

The top ten drivers of the national e-books observatory project

1. Interoperability and better technology
2. Student expectations
3. Publisher buy-in
4. Updated teaching styles
5. Standard policy and adoption
6. Author buy-in
7. Budgets
8. Space
9. New business models
10. Open access

e-books for further education (FE)

Anna Vernon, JISC Collections project manager, is in the final stages of planning and invitation to tender for an initiative concerning e-books for FE. The aim of this project is to ensure that every FE college in the UK can provide its students with a relevant, usable and accessible digital library, concentrating on core collections of relevance to the curriculum. Listen to the podcast interview with Anna, below.  

 

 

A new book has just been launched in eBook and hard copy format, entitled The Tower and the Cloud – Higher Education in the age of Cloud Computing. Edited by Richard N Katz, its themes include IT for higher education and the globalization of education, with a chapter on open educational content contributed by JISC Executive Secretary Dr Malcolm Read (cover image courtesy of Educause 2008). 

Editor Richard N Katz departs from the premise that the networked information economy ‘is reducing the individual's reliance on traditional brick-and-mortar institutions in favor [sic] of new and emerging virtual ones.’

Examining the impact of IT on higher education and on the IT organization within higher education – in harmony with JISC’s main areas of activity - Dr Read’s chapter explores the pros and cons of open access to educational resources, with the needs and rights of students, authors, publishers and copyright holders each needing serious consideration.

What does open access mean?

Open access is predicated on the argument that the results of publicly funded research should be made publicly (and usually freely) available. Dr Read’s chapter focuses on open access to course notes and handouts produced for use within higher education institutions. The main issues in making such resources openly available are synopsised below.   

Advantages of openly accessible course materials

Dr Read argues that open access offers numerous benefits to learners and institutions. On an individual level, students may judge an institution's teaching quality on the quality of its available materials and teachers may be recognised and rewarded for good teaching practice. Considering the bigger picture, universities can promote themselves through marketing efforts as well as their ethos or mission, encouraging distance learning for example. In being free, open access materials can also provide benefits to studets, society and the wider world.

Disadvantages

Critics of open access note that materials can be expensive and time consuming to produce in a quality fashion. They often have to be prepared for online dissemination and then print publication, designed to support a suitable pedagogic approach. Third-party rights must be cleared which can be a difficult and slow process, and cataloging this new data for ease of location can pose further challenges. Resources such as repositories, learning management systems and well-trained data professionals also need to be taken into consideration.

Though phrases such as open source, open standards, open science and open access feel relatively new, their concept is not; the public library of the 19th century was based on the open ethos. Delve into The Tower and the Cloud to explore some of the ways in which the current manifestation of open access may evolve into an information rich future.

Read more on JISC’s work in the Open Access arena and the related theme of keeping research data safe.
The Tower and the Cloud eBook - available to read in PDF format.

Giles: Iconic British cartoons publicly accessible for the first time

The largest collection of British social and political cartoons goes live online today thanks to the work of the British Cartoon Archive (BCA) housed at the University of Kent. This JISC-funded project will enable free access to over 120,000 images from 250 leading cartoonists including work by Ralph Steadman, Martin Rowson and Steve Bell. A key part of the archive comprises the Carl Giles Collection (1916-1995) and includes original cartoons, sketches, letters and documents from arguably the most famous cartoonist of his generation and creator of the much-loved ‘Giles Family’.

Articles in the Telegraph, The Independent and the Guardian discuss Giles' satirical wit and the socio-cultural importance of JISC's new online resource. 

'The online archive is a wonderful resource for researchers, historians and cartoonists.’ - Award-winning cartoonist Steve Bell

The launch of the new website coincides with the ‘Giles - One of the Family’ exhibition, running at the London Cartoon Museum from 5 November 2008 to 15 February 2009, which includes colour covers, drawings never reproduced in the annuals and a recreation of Giles’ studio complete with desk, drawing board and reference material (this Giles cartoon is from an Express Christmas card in 1984 © Express Syndication/ BCA). Visitors will also be able to visit the BCA kiosk at the exhibition and explore online the wealth of material available on the new website.

Dr Nicholas Hiley, Head of The British Cartoon Archive at the University of Kent, said: 'Whether you are a cartoon fan or an academic interested in using the archive content for teaching and research purposes the new website provides the widest possible access to the most important collection of British newspaper cartooning.'

Sarah Porter, Head of Innovation at JISC, said: 'The BCA team has been working tirelessly since January 2007 to digitise this extensive collection. JISC and its partners are dedicated to creating online resources that inspire, motivate and foster new collaborations across higher, further education and research to preserve the history of our nation for future generations. The new online archive provides a unique resource, rich in content and fully accessible for everyone to enjoy and benefit from the work of Britain’s most influential cartoonists.'

Read more about JISC's digitisation of the Giles cartoon archive.
This project is part of JISC's wider Digitisation programme.
Visit the British Cartoon Archive at the University of Kent.

The UK’s movers and shakers in the realm of technology for access and inclusion gathered at an eLearning Fair organised by JISC’s South East Regional Support Centre (RSC) on 30 October to share their knowledge and discuss the latest innovations in the sector. 

Keynote speaker Robin Christopherson, Head of Accessibility Services at AbilityNet  elucidated several challenges that technology and accessing certain Internet and screen-based resources can pose for people with various access difficulties. He went on to suggest some user-friendly solutions developed by AbilityNet and TechDis, JISC’s advisory service in this area. A podcast and transcript of an interview with Robin are available below. 

One particularly welcome innovation was AccessApps. This incredibly useful - and completely free - suite of 50 computer applications and assistive technologies will be of relevance to any learners or indeed teachers who use computing or mobile technology. Developed by JISC's RSC Scotland North and East, AccessApps are available to download here. In addition to these portable applications, the JISC TechDis session pointed to a wide range of other free resources available for installation or via the web.

EA Draffan's interactive session on the student voice was highly topical, considering current interest in the student experience and user-generated content. Draffan introduced the University of Southampton's project in which students themselves create and publish online their own solutions to e-learning accessibility challenges. A podcast and transcript of an interview with EA Draffan are available below.

Interactive fairs such as this provide an excellent platform for advisory groups, innovators and users to meet, disseminate research findings and to help inform future directions. This collaborative approach to addressing accessibility issues brings individual projects and assistive software and applications to a wider audience for the benefit of all in UK further and higher education and beyond. 

JISC’s Regional Support Centres offer vibrant and varied events calendars, from conferences and seminars to exhibitions and practical workshops. Each individual RSC’s website contains upcoming event information and can also be contacted for advice or to provide tailored workshops or training sessions.   



30 October's eLearning Fair was organised by JISC's South East Regional Support Centre.
JISC Advisory Services exhibitors included InfoNet, Netskills, JISC Legal, JANET and TASI (soon to become JISC Digital Media).

   

 

Jane Charlton and Simon Whittemore from JISC attended the ALT-C pre-conference workshop on small businesses and the digital divide. The workshop was attended by conference delegates and representatives from Yorkshire and Humberside’s business community. Yorkshire Forward, Yorkshire and Humberside’s Regional Development Agency, gave some context to the workshop discussions by presenting the findings from their 2008 ICT Regional Benchmarking Study report. Digital 20/10 is an initiative of Yorkshire Forward, responsible for the successful development of digital skills in the region. Its successor, Digital 20/20 is a collaboration between major ICT businesses, the public sector and skills providers in the region tasked with increasing ICT adoption across all sectors from the public sector through to business and the general public.
In this podcast Jane Charlton speaks to Robert Ling from Yorkshire Forward, David Kay of Sero Consulting who manages the Digital20/10 initiative and Simon Whittemore, the Programme Manager of Business and Community Engagement for JISC.

 

Listen to the podcast (Duration 19:44)
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