How well do you know JISC? What could it do better? Do you find Intute useful? How about Copac? What e-resources should JISC Collections acquire?
JISC is keen to know the answers to these questions and others like them and it is only you - the members of the community we serve - who can provide us with them. If you think JISC could do better, or is great just as it is, and would like to help inform future developments in its policy and funding, then take part in the JISC Attitudinal Survey and make your views heard: http://www.mu.jisc.ac.uk/takepart
On behalf of JISC, the Monitoring Unit is undertaking the JISC Attitudinal Survey, covering the JISC Services, including JISC Collections and the Advisory Services (e.g. TechDIS, TASI) as well as other issues of importance to JISC and the community. The survey is open until 29th June and staff at all JISC-supported organisations in the UK are welcome to participate. Feedback from the survey will be used by JISC to improve the services it offers and a summary of the findings will be made available to the community.
Privacy: the JISC Monitoring Unit treats confidentiality very seriously, and all data are held in compliance with the Data Protection Act (1998). Neither you, nor your colleagues will be named in any publications arising from the survey without your specific permission. All submitted information will be completely anonymised in our publications.
Contact: If you have any queries regarding the survey, please get in touch.
JISC Monitoring Unit
Templeman Library
University of Kent
Canterbury
CT2 7NU
Tel: 01227 827692
Email: MonitoringUnit@kent.ac.uk
Institutional Transformation and Supporting Lifelong Learning
11 - 14 June 2007
This online conference focuses on the role of e-learning in institutional transformation, progression and lifelong learning. Contributors to the programme represent perspectives from both FE and HE.
Theme 1: Institutional transformation Day 1: Terry Mayes, Emeritus Professor, Glasgow Caledonian University, and Day 2: Dr John Guy, Principal, and Dr Mike Docker, Director, ICLT, the Sixth Form College, Farnborough
Supporting Lifelong Learning , introduced by Robin Mason, Professor of Educational Technology at The Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University
The concluding presentation will be given by Oleg Liber, Professor of e-Learning and Director of the Research Centre for Educational Technology and Interoperability Standards (CETIS), University of Bolton.
What will you gain from an online conference?
An online conference offers all of the features of a physical conference - and more. It puts you in touch with colleagues and eminent speakers from the UK and internationally, but offers greater flexibility. You will be able to engage with multimedia presentations in advance and then participate in high calibre debate at times and places convenient to you.
When does the conference start?
Delegates can join the conference from 4 June for pre-conference reading. The conference itself runs from 11-14 June and will remain open for viewing until 15 July.
How do I join the conference?
Register online and joining details will be sent by email. You can enter the conference from 4 June to read presentations and papers and can then participate in discussions at times convenient to you between 11-14 June.
Early booking is strongly recommended owing to the high demand for places.
Registration fee: £50 per delegate
UKERNA is delighted to announce that Wednesday May 9th will see the launch of JANET txt, our new Short Message Service (SMS) for the JANET community.
With our selected delivery partner, PageOne, we have created a service that will help to deliver your integrated communication strategy at prices driven down through the combined buying power of the JANET community.
There are no set up charges and the cost per message will be 4.2p + VAT.
To find out more about the numerous features and benefits of our exciting new service, visit:
http://www.pageone.co.uk/janettxt
Alternatively, contact Business Manager Paul Wakefield at UKERNA on 01235 822239 or 07976 593656.
We are pleased to announce the publication of the latest Electronic Training Needs Analysis (ETNA) of Further Education in Scotland. This document, prepared by the Scottish JISC Regional Support Centres, provides a window on the Further Education sector, presenting valuable strategic information to decision-makers within colleges and universities, and to external agencies and organisations interested in tertiary education.
The ETNA Analysis attempts to cut a trail through the mass of sometimes conflicting detail to take a snapshot of the ICT landscape: to look at how technology is currently being used in Scotland's colleges, how it might be used in the future, and the infrastructure and skills necessary to continue the huge progress which has been made in the last five years.
Follow this link to download your free copy of the ETNA Report.
JISC infoNet is pleased to announce the launch of its newest infoKit 'Planning and Designing Technology-Rich Learning Spaces': http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/learning-space-design.
It heralds a new style of infoKit, richly illustrated with case studies, images of buildings across the sector and a 'virtual tour' around an imaginary campus composed of spaces we find inspiring from a range of different institutions.
In the four sections:
We look at all aspects of creating your vision for the future and turning it into reality.
With Les Watson, creator of the Saltire Centre, as Lead Consultant we have worked with a range of people across the FE and HE sectors to illustrate the richness and diversity of developments in the sector. The launch is only the start of the infoKit's development and we look forward to you contributing your feedback, images and examples.
JISC infoNet is also running an event jointly with the Centre for Excellence in Leadership on 'Leading a College New Build' on 24th April at New College Durham.
The sessions cover:
Find out more and book your place at http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/events/leading-college-new-build-programme
E-Accessibility was the theme of the International Day of Disabled Persons, on 3 December 2006. In recent months, ECU has been working hard to improve the accessibility of all of its communications, in partnership with TechDis. The new ECU access page explains why and how they have changed their working practices. It also contains 'TechDis Suggests' sections aimed at enabling other organisations to make similar changes to their practices.
For more information see the ECU website
http://www.ecu.ac.uk/accessibility/
11th December, 2006. JISC today broadly welcomed the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, published by the Treasury last week, which provides a review and evaluation of the issue of intellectual property (IP) in the digital age.
In particular JISC welcomed its insistence on the need for balance and flexibility in IP regimes and its emphasis on the vital importance of the education sector to the UK's knowledge economy. The review has made a number of recommendations some of which, subject to implementation, are likely to have a significant impact upon teaching, learning and research activities in the UK.
Sarah Porter, JISC's Head of Development said: "ICT is now an integral part of education and research and there are a myriad of IP issues now being faced by the education sector. The Gowers Review is helpful in addressing some of these - for example, its recommendations regarding orphan works and copyright. We need an IP regime that supports the digital environment. JISC will continue to monitor developments and to help develop solutions that are flexible and support learning and research."
The current IP regime severely restricts the ability of staff in FE and HE to make copies for educational use. This is especially true in the case of materials in e-learning packages, virtual learning environments, etc. JISC welcomes those recommendations (2, 8, 9, 10a, 10b, 11, 12) which will support greater use of varied teaching and learning approaches, typical of those which may be funded by JISC, as well as assist librarians to better preserve our academic and cultural heritage.
Many universities and colleges may not own the rights in sound recordings that they use as part of their core activities. Therefore an extension of duration to the copyright of such recordings would have been detrimental to education and research. JISC welcomes the recommendation (3) that the current length of protection (50 years) should remain.
The time and effort spent by staff in FE and HE in tracing owners of orphan works (ie works for which the copyright owner is unknown) in order to obtain clearance to copy them is considerable. JISC welcomes those recommendations (13,14a, 14b) which, if implemented, would clarify the meaning of 'reasonable search' and the legal liability of someone who has carried out such a search.
JISC welcomes the recommendation (7) that patent rights are not extended beyond their current limits in software.
Digital Rights Management (DRM) systems have increasingly been used by rights holders to block access to content and the effect of this is to override the educational exceptions to copyright which users have traditionally enjoyed. Consequently, many HE and FE staff and students may in the future be restricted from accessing content to which they legally have the right to access or for which copyright no longer even exists. Furthermore, the law as currently implemented in the UK makes it virtually impossible for an individual or institution to gain redress if a DRM prevents access to material that is required for a bona fide purpose under an exception to copyright. Whilst those recommendations which deal with DRM (15, 16) are disappointing, JISC believes they provide a better starting point for ensuring that JISC-funded projects are able to deploy DRMs in more controlled environments and in accordance with industry standards to ensure access to content for educational purposes.
While JISC broadly welcomes the Gowers review, it will continue to lobby for the optimum outcomes on behalf of UK further and higher education, including lobbying to ensure that statutory exceptions and permitted acts in relation to copyright law are not overridden by contractual terms, an issue which the review has not addressed.
For further information on the Gowers review, please go to: Gowers review
The JISC Plagiarism Advisory Service (JISCPAS) invite proposals for case studies from members of the HE and FE community. As a means of further developing the service's evidence base of good practice in preventing plagiarism and related matters, proposals must support the six themes of the Plagiarism Advisory Service roadmap. Funding of up to £3,000 is available for each project, based on a total grant of £20,000. Institutions may submit multiple proposals. We look forward to reading your proposals.
Document detailing further the six themes, the call, and an application form
JISC is an advisory committee to the UK post 16 funding councils (further and higher education) and research councils. It is responsible for funding IT services and providing innovation in the use of IT for learning and teaching, research and administration. Its budget is around £64m per year.
JISC policy is determined by committees of volunteers, mostly drawn from the UK higher education and post 16 community, with relevant management and technical expertise. A Nominations committee is responsible for identifying suitable members.
JISC sub-committees normally meet four times a year, (mainly in London) but members are also expected to contribute to other activities such as working groups and the evaluation of proposals. Travel and subsistence expenses are paid but the posts are unpaid. Membership of JISC committees represents an opportunity to make a significant impact at the national level on the development and implementation of the innovative use of ICT in education and research.
If you would like to be considered as a member of a JISC sub committee(s) please complete the relevant application form and email it to Amy Thomas in the JISC Executive (a.thomas@jisc.ac.uk). These applications will be kept on a database for consideration by the JISC Nominations Committee.
Applications received are reviewed on a quarterly basis. Applications received by 6 December 2006 will be reviewed by the Nominations Committee in December/January.
For further information and an application from, please visit http://www.jisc.ac.uk/aboutus/committees/nominations_committee/
subcommittee_member_application.aspx
RSC SW Scotland Creating Accessible PowerPoint Materials for Deaf Learners
Many Deaf students find difficulty in understanding new concepts and getting to grips with aspects of new learning, in particular those student who are 'pre lingually' deaf (those who were born Deaf or become Deaf at a very young age). New language, terminology and concepts presented in a traditional text based mode can be more difficult to understand. Students whose primary method of communication is BSL often find that because English is effectively their second language, assimilating and understanding new information can take longer. Learning materials created in PowerPoint can offer a useful way of presenting learning using not only a traditional text based methodology but including visual images, hyperlinks and other media rich resources such as video. The following three links describe an initiative by Janet Jamieson, Lecturer in Design, James Watt College of Further & Higher Education and the RSC SW Scotland team who worked together to create a signed and narrated PowerPoint presentation.
Case Study - Exploring signed PowerPoint for deaf learners
Case Study - Adapting PowerPoint presentations for Deaf learners
BRITE Centre - Online Guide to Support for Deaf Students
This interactive resource has been developed for students who are deaf, or have hearing loss, and the people who work with them.
Featuring contributions from students and professionals in Scottish Further Education colleges plus experts from organisations providing services to deaf people, the guide features information on a range of support options and technology
BRITE Online Guide to Support for Deaf Students
TechDis Watch Words - Deaf Awareness for Teachers
A team of deaf learners at Sussex Downs College has produced media rich, interactive guidance designed to provide greater awareness of deaf issues for staff within educational institutions. A unique feature in Watch Words is the video simulation "Try It Yourself" where the user changes place with a deaf student to participate in a lesson delivered solely in sign language. This provides a great appreciation of the isolation someone can feel when facing accessibility barriers.
JISC's second Capital Programme Circular will be issued on 29th September, with calls in the areas of e-Learning, e-Infrastructure, Virtual Research Environments, Repositories and Preservation, and Users and Innovation. This represents an investment of £15m in project funding for ICT research and development across higher and further education in England and Wales.
Interested bidders are invited to attend a Town Meeting specifically about the calls, at Jury's Inn, Birmingham on 11th October. Registration for the Town Meeting will open on Monday 18th September; early registration is advised. The Town Meeting will consist of presentations, parallel workshops on different programme areas and the opportunity to ask questions on the call for proposals.
Proposals may be submitted by HE institutions funded via HEFCE and HEFCW. FE institutions in England, which teach higher education to more than 100 full-time equivalent students, may also submit proposals as part of a consortium bid. Due to the funding streams available for this programme, other institutions are not eligible to lead a bid, but may be involved as partners in projects.
Date: October 5th 2006
Time: 10am to 4pm
Venue: Strathclyde University
In response to a request at the last Blackboard User Group (BUG) meeting in June at the JISC RSC premises in Glasgow, the next BUG gathering will take the form of a full day event, funded and hosted by Blackboard. The merger of Blackboard and WebCT last year has brought with it several changes of titles and faces to the Blackboard support team this year, which led to a bit of confusion. Last month there was another re-shuffle of the Blackboard team with a split in HE and FE main contact. This event will offer an opportunity to meet the merged "BlackCT" team and to clarify the name of your primary contact.
Bringing together both the Scottish BUG and the Celtic WebCT User groups for the day, this Scotland-wide event will cover both HE and FE perspectives. In addition to presentations by Blackboard, Richard Parsons of the University of Dundee will present as will Catherine Durkin from the University of Strathclyde. There will also be opportunities for participants to network with colleagues from a wide range of Scottish institutions during coffee breaks and at lunch.
Invitations and the agenda for the day will be distributed shortly through the JISC RSC Blackboard User Group list and the JISC Celtic WebCT list. In the meantime, if you have any questions about the date or would like to suggest items for the day or present at the event, I would be happy to hear from you!
Draft JISC Strategy 2007-2009
JISC's draft strategy 2007-2009 is being issued for formal consultation. The strategy sets out JISC's broad vision for ICT in education and research and the activities JISC will deliver in partnership to help meet that vision. It also presents a number of key deliverables against which JISC's progress can be assessed.
The strategy builds on the JISC Strategy 2004-2006 and can be seen as a natural progression of the vision and approach. The strategy has been updated partly due to changes in the external environment within which JISC operates and also to clarify new areas of work that have since been identified. The strategy strives to improve several important aspects of JISC's service and development activities.
Responses are invited from HE and FE institutions, partners and other relevant organisations and associations. The responses will be analysed and fed into the final version of the strategy due for publication in November/December 2006.
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