JISC Digest Issue 1

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equired infrastructure to make this vision a reality. In support of the ten-year framework, the Office of Science and Technology has established six working groups to investigate future requirements in key areas of e-infrastructure. JISC is represented on all of these groups and chairs the Middleware and Virtual Research Communities groups. The working groups will report in April 2006 and these reports will help JISC prioritise e-Infrastructure activities using 2004 Spending Review funds while also informing priorities for future rounds. JISC's work in this area is also undertaken in liaison with the research councils, the British Library, the Research Information Network, the e-Science Core Programme and others. New Visualisation service A new Visualisation Support Network (VizNet) will pool the expertise of key visualisation centres in UK universities. Visualisation is already providing a rich tool for researchers in the UK and this visualisation service will tap into existing expertise whilst supporting other universities to exploit the potential of visualisation in their research activities. JISC has allocated funding for the Visualisation Support Network over the next three years to centres based at Loughborough University and King's College London to provide a focal point for sharing knowledge and best practice as well as training in advanced visualisation techniques. __________ 3. e-Learning HEFCE's e-learning strategy HEFCE's e-learning strategy, published in 2005, aims at supporting the sector as it moves towards embedding e-learning as a 'normal' part of its practices and processes. The strategy calls on JISC to work closely with the Higher Education Academy to implement key aspects of the strategy and HEFCE has made additional funds available to both organisations (£12m to JISC and £8m to the Academy) to achieve shared objectives and to work with regional and subject communities to use ICT to support learning and teaching. Supporting student progression. JISC has been continuing its work with the Academy to create links between schools, colleges and universities through regional pilots to encourage progression into higher education. For further details: www.jisc.ac.uk/delpilots.html The Benchmarking and Pathfinder programmes. The e-learning benchmarking exercise which is being led by the Academy and supported by JISC is underway. Pilot projects will report in July 2006 and, after a period of evaluation, will be followed by 20 to 30 similar projects as well as the first Pathfinder projects, which will be based on issues and priorities raised during the pilot benchmarking projects. Other strands, especially 'Learning resources and networked learning' and 'Infrastructure and technical standards', which are being taken forward through JISC's core and capital programmes, will be supported by the Academy and will fully utilise the highly effective and wellestablished dissemination routes provided by the Academy's subject centres, and it is hoped, the Academy's CETLs (Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning). A partnership board, made up of senior representatives of JISC and the Academy, meets regularly to ensure that the challenges of implementing the strategy are being effectively met. __________ 4. Middleware Shibboleth JISC is currently preparing FE and HE institutions for the launch of its UK Access Management Federation in September 2006. Institutions will be invited to join the UK Federation and to adopt the Shibboleth technology, which will provide institutions with a route to single sign-on to resources through the implementation of federated authentication. Briefings are available at: www.jisc.ac.uk/publications In addition to these briefings, JISC is also undertaking a range of other activities to support institutions in adopting Shibboleth, including: the creation of a support service to provide guidance, training and advice (www.matu.ac.uk); funding for a number of 'early adopters'; adding Shibboleth compliance to JISC-funded services provided at the national data centres, and the development of a gateway so that Shibboleth institutions will be able to access Athens-protected resources, and vice versa. For further information, please go to: www.jisc.ac.uk/index.cfm?name=programme_ middleware
5. e-Administration e-Assessment JISC has developed a resource for e-assessment with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA). Endorsed by all the UK qualifications and curriculum authorities, the e-Assessment Glossary is designed for professionals in all sectors and represents the first stage of a programme which will later see a fully functional interactive webbased version due in May of this year. For further information please go to: www.jisc.ac.uk/assessment Freedom of Information A survey of Higher Education institutions, run jointly by JISC, Universities UK and SCOP (the Standing Conference of Principals), shows that the overwhelming majority of the requests being received by institutions are being answered fully, on time and free of charge. The Higher Education sector has responded both positively and successfully to the first year of the Freedom of Information Act, the survey reveals. Further details are available at: www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/foi-survey __________ 6. Information Environment Jorum Jorum is JISC's national repository for online learning and teaching resources which will allow teachers and academics both to deposit their own online teaching resources and to access and adapt other resources for their own use in teaching. Its User Service was launched in January, allowing staff from registered institutions to search, browse, preview, download, review and reuse online teaching resources. JISC views Jorum as a long term venture and as the service develops, the type, breadth and subject coverage of resources available in JORUM will depend on contributions made by the community. For further information please go to: www.jorum.ac.uk i2010 - the EU Digital Libraries initiative JISC has responded to the first communication of the EU's i2010 Digital Libraries initiative, submitting a range of detailed recommendations. Addressing the challenges of exploiting the cultural, educational and economic potential of European digital resources, the initiative aims to overcome the present fragmentation of efforts in Europe. JISC's response can be found at: www.jisc.ac.uk/misc_i2010.html For further information on the EU initiative, go to: http://europa.eu.int/information_society/activities/dig ital_libraries/index_en.htm __________ 7. e-Content e-Content Policy Framework JISC is currently investigating, along with Common Information Environment partners (www.commoninfo.org.uk), the possibility of funding, with agreed contributions from other stakeholders, a project to identify and describe a UK e-Content Policy Framework forward. The project team would be supported by domain-specific working groups in areas such as lifelong learning, research and cultural heritage, each made up of specialist practitioners. The project would run between April 2006 and December 2007, culminating in a UK symposium to launch the UK e-Content Policy Framework in Spring 2008. Digitisation A report, commissioned by JISC and CURL (Consortium of Research Libraries in the British Isles) and based on research undertaken at Loughborough University, recommends the creation of a UK-wide strategy to avoid the duplication, gaps in provision and lack of coordination that have hampered public sector efforts in the field of digitisation. This will be fully considered by the UK e-Content Policy Framework. The report goes on to call for "a dynamic response" from public sector organisations to meet these challenges. Further details available at: www.jisc.ac.uk/parkinson.html. EU Dynamic Action Plan One of the DCMS priorities for the recent UK Presidency of the EU was the development of a new action plan for the digitisation of cultural and heritage resources. The EU Dynamic Action Plan is a major initiative to avoid the fragmentation and duplication which have beset the digitisation of national cultural and heritage resources. JISC's own £16m digitisation programme will not only provide a critical mass of
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