JISC RSC YH Exchange News

Learning providers have always had a duty of care for their learners at the heart of their policies and practice. Now that duty of care needs to be extended to the safe use of technology. Organisations have a key role in helping learners to develop the skills they need to keep themselves safe, secure and behave appropriately when using technology for learning, leisure and work.

Becta has produced a new document outlining what leaders and staff in the FE and Skills sector need to be thinking about when considering the issue of safeguarding learners who use technology in their organisation, in the workplace, in the home and beyond.

Download a copy of the document from the Becta website.

Next month, Becta will be publishing guidance on its website for FE and skills which will include checklists for leaders, curriculum managers and teachers, learners and technical staff.

www.becta.org.uk

The UK can only maintain its worldwide reputation for quality research, if researchers take advantage of the digital revolution, says JISC.

Today, JISC is launching a year-long campaign called ‘Research 3.0 – driving the knowledge economy’, to debate how digital technologies are changing not only what research we do, but how it can be carried out.

Professor David Baker, deputy Chair at JISC, says, “The way we research is changing, not slowly, not even overnight, but by the second. The UK knowledge economy is under threat; unless we continue to invest in research based upon digital technologies the UK will quickly fall behind.”

A new video , ‘How digital technologies are creating a new paradigm in research’, sets the agenda for the coming year and introduces the key issues such as how to share data, why collaborate and how to publish research work online?

To support this video, THE (Times Higher Education) publishes a ’Data Revolution’ supplement, highlighting how JISC is supporting universities and the Research Councils to advance in the ever-changing technology landscape.

Dr Phil Hammond, writer, broadcaster and GP, said, “Research is crucial in supporting society, whether that is finding a cure for diseases or a new way of treating patients to looking at previously unpublished articles. It’s not only central to medicine but it underpins our sense of culture which tells us who we are – such as family trees through to photos and videos which can now be accessed online.”

JISC’s new Open Science report written by UKOLN at the University of Bath and the Digital Curation Centre, is stimulating discussion about the impact of open-ness (making methodologies, data and results available on the Internet, through transparent working practices), data driven science and citizen involvement on tomorrow’s research practice.

The report looks at how technologies can support the sharing of data, workflows, methods and research outputs. It also illustrates the vital role librarians could have in supporting these new trends.

Professor Baker adds, “JISC’s research campaign is happening at a time of potential crisis in research and as all our planned campaign activities will be shaped by you we want to hear what your issues and views are.”

Help to take the UK’s research base into the next decade by sharing your main concerns over the use of digital technologies within research and your views on the Open Science report at JISC Research 3.0 blog. You will be contributing to the debate, helping to shape JISC activities over the next year and exploring how digital technologies can support you and your research.

Visit the campaign website to watch the video at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/res3

Read the Open Science report at
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/documents/opensciencerpt.aspx

Join the debate and add your views on the JISC Research 3.0 blog
http://res3.jiscinvolve.org/

Read THE ‘Data Revolution’ supplement at
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=409097

Budding historians are set to benefit from a new online project which will revolutionise the way we search for historical sources on the internet, thanks to a £198,977 cash boost from JISC.

The ‘Connected Histories’ project, which is a partnership between the Universities of Sheffield and Hertfordshire, the Institute of Historical Research, and King’s College London, will create an innovative search engine for a wide range of electronic resources relating to early modern and nineteenth century British history.

This period of British history has one of the largest collections of digital sources available on the web, including not only digitised books, but also newspapers, manuscripts, genealogical records, and even maps and images.

These sources, created by both academic and commercial organisations, are accessed by hundreds of thousands of individuals every day, across the world. Until now, there has been no single starting place to search through these sources.

Alastair Dunning, programme manager for online content at JISC, said: “JISC has been involved in the digitisation of many crucial primary resources for the study of history, helping create a wealth of digitised materials, such as newspapers, pamphlets and images. The next stage of work is to knit such resources together – identifying the people, places and events that surface in multiple historical resources and making the links between them.”

The new facility will allow searching across a full range of chosen sources by names, places and dates, as well as keywords and phrases, even when this information has not been separately identified in the existing source. Users will also be provided with background information on search results and the facility to save and export results for further analysis. An online collaborative workspace will also allow users to document connections between sources.

Professor Robert Shoemaker, from the University of Sheffield’s Department of History and co-director of the project, said: “This new search facility will bring many benefits to those wishing to use historical sources on the internet – whether it’s an interested member of the public looking into their family history, or students and academics carrying out their research.
The project is expandable into other areas of history, and as new digital resources become available.”

In total the project will provide integrated access to over 3 million pages of text, maps and images, shedding light on all aspects of British history between 1500 and 1900.

The website will be fully launched in March 2011, and co-director Professor Tim Hitchcock from the University of Hertfordshire is optimistic about the benefits it could bring to researchers.

He said: “Connected Histories will simply change the way we go about researching and teaching the British past. Rather than formulating a project around a specific archive, or directing our students to a single source, this project will allow both academic historians and students to search multiple archives for a person, or place, or concept, and in the process will help us to develop a more nuanced and sophisticated understanding.”

Find out more about the project at: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/digitisation/econtent/connectedhistories.aspx

The British Universities Film & Video Council (BUFVC) holds a range of courses promoting subjects related to the use of moving image in learning, teaching and research.  Forthcoming events:

Copyright Clearance for Print, Broadcast and Multimedia Production
The essential one-day starter course for those needing to copy and use existing content in their new productions and services.
Next course: 14/01/2010

Finding, Clearing and Editing Moving Image Media for Education
Participants are guided through many sources of moving image and sound for educational use including TV, radio and online materials.
Next course: 27/1/2010

Encoding Digital Video for Streaming and Network Delivery – Introduction
Offers an introduction to digitising moving images for online.
Next course:23/2/2010

Encoding Digital Video for Streaming and Network Delivery – Advanced
This advanced course offers great technical insight into the problems involved with digitising for online delivery, addressing compression, server technology.
Next course: 24/2/2010

More details at http://bufvc.ac.uk/courses

JISC ITT: SYNTHESIS ON OUTCOMES FROM AND BENEFITS OF DIGITISED RESOURCES
The JISC invites tenders to undertake a synthesis study to collate evidence relating to the development and use of digitised resources, articulating both the benefits of such resources and the broader outcomes arising from their creation. The study should be primarily considered in the context of the impact on Higher and Further Education, although their influence on other stakeholders should also be taken into account:

The work should:

• Draw on evidence related to JISC digitisation projects, associated reports commissioned by JISC and other non-JISC projects and reports.
• Outline the outcomes from, and the benefits of, digitised resources according to the four key areas outlined in this ITT.

The deadline for proposals is 12 noon on Friday 11 December 2009 UK time. The work should start no later than Monday 8 February 2010 and be completed by 4 June 2010.

Funding of between £50,000 and £60,000 is available for this work including all travel and other expenses and any VAT implications.

A full version of the ITT can be found at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities/funding_calls/2009/11/synthesisandbenefits.aspx

JISC ITT: REVIEW OF MODELS OF ADVANCED ICT SUPPORT FOR RESEARCHERS
The JISC invites tenders to conduct a review of the models institutions adopt to support researchers in the use of advanced ICT for research
The aims of the review are:

• To document the different models adopted by institutions to support researchers in the use of advanced ICT;
• To provide information on the effectiveness of different models in helping institutions to plan ICT provision for research;
• To provide advice and guidance based on the merits of different models for different purposes;
• To make recommendations to the JISC and other interested parties on further useful work that can be carried out in these areas.

Total funding of £60,000 (including VAT, travel and subsistence) is available for this project.

The deadline for proposals is 12 noon UK time on Friday 11 December 2009.

Further information can be found at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities/funding_calls/2009/11/ictresearchmodels.aspx

JISC ITT: EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS AND IMPACT OF COMMUNICATIONS AND DISSEMINATION ACTIVITIES OF THE JISC E-LEARNING PROGRAMME
The JISC invites proposals to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of a range of communication and dissemination activities funded by the JISC e-Learning Programme between 2004 and 2009. These activities cover physical publications, events, digital communications, and relationships and partnerships.

The focus of the evaluation is to show whether the communications approaches being undertaken by the e-Learning Programme are leading to impact and take-up across the sector. It is therefore important to evaluate how successful this programme of work has been by evaluating the activities underpinning it as well as the impact and value it has had on its intended audiences.

The study will consist of a review of quantitative data and an evaluation of e-Learning Programme communications and dissemination activities. Successful bidders will be required to show specialist expertise in both these areas and collaborative bids are encouraged to ensure this expertise is covered.

Funding of £30,000 (including VAT, travel and subsistence) is available for this study.

The deadline for proposals is 12.00 noon UK time on Friday 11 December 2009.

A full version of the ITT can be found here http://www.jisc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities/funding_calls/2009/11/elearncommsitt.aspx

For those new to writing and developing strategy, a new JISC briefcase of resources is launched today to support people through the increasing scale of challenges facing learning providers.

http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/strategy

The ‘strategy infokit’ produced by the JISC-funded advisory service JISC InfoNet covers all aspects of the strategy process: from articulating your institution’s vision and the characteristics of a good mission statement, to advice on effective use of key performance indicators and a checklist for what to monitor.

The intention is not that people will use all of the suggestions, but that they may find some of them of use within their particular organisation.

The advice is based on the premise that planning and implementing strategic activity is something which affects everyone who works within an institution.

While members of the senior management team are an obvious and important audience for this resource, those responsible for strategic operations within faculties, departments and teams will welcome the practical, hands-on approach taken in the guide and the ‘pick and mix’ style of tools and techniques.

The toolkit represents the culmination of a two year initiative by JISC InfoNet, It has been favourably reviewed by a panel of 15 experienced practitioners (7 from the further education and skills sector and 8 from higher education), who described it variously as ‘useful, reassuring and thought provoking’, ‘well presented’ and ‘extremely useful’.

The authors are now asking for further feedback from users within universities and colleges on the usefulness of the toolkit and any further examples which could help illustrate, reinforce and add context to the guidance.

View the toolkit and provide feedback at http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/strategy

JISC Collections are working with JISC and EDINA to review the provision of digital image, film and sound content to their members.

The content they have purchased / licensed is currently within 4 discreet collections:

1. Film & Sound Online – http://www.filmandsound.ac.uk
2. Education Image Gallery – http://edina.ac.uk/eig
3. NewsFilm Online – http://www.nfo.ac.uk
4. Digital Images for Education – http://imagesforeducation.org.uk

They are exploring the idea of merging these 4 collections into one single service and welcome your comments on this.

Please use this online form at http://survey.jisc.ac.uk/ifs/ to send them any comments, suggestions or questions you may have about this change.

JANET(UK) is pleased to announce the launch of the new JANET Certificate Service.

The service will offer a range of new features, through a simple online interface. This will enable the automated processing of certificate requests, for all .ac.uk and gov.uk domains, along with the ability to monitor and manage new certificates that are issued. This includes certificates revocation and automated alerts when these certificates are close to their expiry date. The online interface will also allow federated access for nominated contacts.

Existing customers can take advantage of these additional features by choosing to migrate to the new service. Invitations to migrate will be sent out over the coming weeks. These changes will not affect the high levels of service provided to customers with existing certificates. JANET(UK) will continue to absorb the costs of providing this service to its customers. Certificate requests for the old service will not be accepted after 11th December 2009.

JANET(UK) is also pleased to be able to announce that all GlobalSign certificates, issued as part of the original JANET Server Certificate Service, will now continue to be valid for their stated lifespan. This means that organisations in possession of certificates, issued as part of this service, will not need to replace these certificates by April 2010.

More details at: http://www.ja.net/services/scs/index.html

With a £280m budget, the Grundtvig programme is a significant funder of adult education. It funds training opportunities for adult education organisations, staff and learners. Adult educators can be involved in structured courses, conferences and even job shadowing. Organisations can take part in exciting partnerships to share innovation and good practice with organisations across the European Union.

Anyone in adult education settings (formal, informal or non-formal) can take part in Grundtvig, including learners, staff, volunteers and trainers from a wide variety of organisations including colleges, charities, community groups, local authorities etc. All projects involve working with European partners and offer great learning and personal development experiences for those involved.

Accessing Funding for Adult Education (GRUNDTVIG)
15 December 2009 – Novotel Hotel, Manchester

The aim of this MasterClass is to familiarise organisations with the Grundtvig programme and through a combination of group discussions, presentations and exercises, to raise delegates awareness of the broad range of possible activities and projects. Using his experience as an assessor to the programme and former project manager, the facilitator will offer important tips on both bid writing and project design.

The MasterClass will explore the wide-ranging areas of interest covered by the Grundtvig Programme, including: key competencies (literacy, numeracy, communication); quality assurance (teacher training, assessment of teaching & learning); improving access (outreach, education-business partnerships, e-learning); informal learning (validating outcomes, hard to reach learners); family learning initiatives and language learning.

The MasterClass will help prepare delegates to meet the requirements of the annual programme deadlines in February/March 2010 and will specifically cover:

i) An introduction to the Lifelong Learning Programme (2007-13)

ii) Key aspects, priorities, criteria and funding available

iii) How to apply and where to send your application form

iv) How the application form is assessed

v) An overview of what the assessors are looking for

vi) Useful resources, how to find partners, further help

Who should attend?
Adult Education Providers, Registered Charities, Voluntary & Community Sector Organisations, Local Authorities, Learning Partnerships, Employer Organisations, Business Links and other Training Associations.

Delegate Fees & Discounts
£220.00 + VAT for each delegate – this includes a comprehensive delegate pack containing relevant support information for future reference, refreshments and a full luncheon.  Discounts are available for charitable/voluntary organisations and multiple registrations from the same organisation.

More details at: http://www.national-training.com/events/extevents/2818.php?internalid=10

Emerging findings from a major three-year research study into the information-seeking behaviour of doctoral students have highlighted the need for far greater understanding of the generation born between 1982 and 1994 – commonly dubbed Generation Y.

Researchers of Tomorrow was commissioned by the British Library and JISC to establish a benchmark for research behaviour, against which future generations can be measured – and also to provide guidance for librarians and information specialists on how best to meet the research needs of Generation Y scholars.

Earlier this year 70 full-time doctoral students at UK colleges and universities were recruited for a longitudinal study of their research habits during the course of the next three years. The study will investigate their research habits in digital and physical environments, as well as their use of resources both off- and online.

The longitudinal study will be supported by a number of surveys to establish the wider context of the doctoral research landscape. The first of these surveys has just been completed; it surveyed a representative sample of all doctoral students in the UK and yielded a number of significant interim findings.

• Information format.

Three quarters of Generation Y students – more than those in any other age group – found the information they sought in an e-journal article.

• Emergent technology

Only a small proportion of respondents (10-30%) in any age group say they use ‘emergent technology’ – such as wikis, virtual research environments, social networking and other Web 2.0 applications – in their research, Of those that do use them, more generally find them useful in their research than not.

• Help and advice

Fewer Generation Y students than other age groups say they regularly use library staff support to find research resources (11% of Generation Y compared to an average of 17% for other age groups), or take advice from subject specialist librarians (4% compared to 9% average). More Generation Y respondents (46%) than any other age group turn to their fellow students and/or supervisors for support in using emergent technologies.

• Location of work

Compared to other age groups, more Generation Y researchers work from a dedicated or shared office space (or laboratory or studio) (40%), than work from their own home (39%).

See http://www.researchersoftomorrow.net for more findings.

68 colleges and universities around the UK collaborated with the distribution of the wider ‘context-setting’ survey, and a total of 6562 questionnaires were returned. This excellent response rate provides a detailed and nation-wide snapshot of doctoral research across all types of education providers.

Joanna Newman, the British Library’s Head of Higher Education, said, “The interim findings of the Researchers of Tomorrow study provide a fascinating snapshot of current research behaviour of doctoral students. It’s perhaps surprising that so few researchers in the 21-27 range really use the wide range of Web 2.0 applications for research or collaborative working. And when it comes to emergent technology, they’re more likely to seek the advice of their peers or supervisors than librarians or information specialists – a finding that could suggest a need for professionals to rethink how best to deliver advice and support in this area.”

Charles Hutchings, JISC’s market research manager, said, “Of those students who have used advanced technologies in their research 27 per cent have received no advice or guidance at all or they self-help for instance using online guides and manuals. This could be because these technologies are being underused and undervalued, due to a lack of understanding of the benefit they can deliver during the research process. As the study continues it will be interesting to see if this is true.”

The study is being conducted by Education for Change, in association with The Research Partnership, and builds on the study by CIBER of the ‘Google Generation’, which was published by the British Library and JISC in January 2008.