Annual Report 2005-2006 - Osgoode Hall Law School - York ...

• online facilities for discussion forums to be created (a) by site administrators and (b) by Web site
members themselves, including (i) a synchronous ‘conferencing’ with discussions threaded by subject
and archived for viewing at the convenience of participants, (ii) real-time, ‘chatting’, primarily text-based
but also with Web-based audio discussion potential
• online facilities that allow virtual collaboration in the sharing of research, in the writing of papers, and
the editing of volumes
• tracking and posting of details about relevant conferences, symposia, and workshops around the world
• state-of-the-art Web-management capabilities, and affiliated Web interface
• as part of the foregoing, a main menu of modularized research services or features (research ‘modules’)
that permits a simple operation by which a given service, feature or level of functionality can be selected
for a site member’s research portal sub-site
• the ability for the site to process a print-on-demand (POD) ‘publishing’ service for site members who
wish to have properly bound and covered copies of research papers or, more likely, customized clusters
of research papers ordered, paid for online, printed automatically (by a CLPE POD machine), and mailed.
Cities Research Laboratory (CRL) for Multimedia Projects on World Cities and Globalization
The second CFI initiative is a proposal to create the Cities Research Laboratory (CRL) for Multimedia
Projects on World Cities and Globalization. Our contribution at this stage is to architect a state-of-the-art
multimedia production facility that will be able to produce mixed media types that range from textual
content to high-definition video creation and delivery.
Osgoode Professional Development Program
Given the importance of OPD to the Law School, both as a means of expanding and enhancing our
reputation as an academic institution at the national level, and as a source of additional revenue, OPD
remains a top business priority for the Law School. At the beginning of this academic year the Director of
OPD, Victoria Watkins, identified three areas in which OPD needed ITS assistance:
a) End-to-end business management system for CLE;
b) A Webcast solution and e-commerce applications for the CLE program
c) A new videoconference/Web conference solution for the various OPD programs that rely on distance
learning.
ITS and OPD are working closely together to complete all three projects in the upcoming year. The
currents timelines for the projects are:
7 months
3 months
6 months
Conclusion
The reorganization of Osgoode’s ITS department, the relocation of Osgoode’s servers, and recent
innovations in application software and Web-delivery programs should significantly improve IT capacity
and delivery of IT services. As a result, IT should be able to greatly assist our efforts to achieve the three
objectives identified in the Strategic Plan for the Law School: Engagement, Connection, and Globalization.
We look forward to the upcoming year, when Osgoode’s dedicated ITS team should be able to make
significant progress on projects which until now have been delayed by lack of resources.
ANNUAL REPORT 2005-2006 37