Apologies for cross posting
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News Announcement
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The JISC Announces Successful Proposals to Enhance the DNER
(Distributed National Electronic Resource) for Learning and
Teaching under the JISC Circular 5/99
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The call for proposals to build up the DNER (Distributed
National Electronic Resource) for learning and teaching,
issued under the JISC's (Joint Information Systems
Committee) Circular 5/99, has resulted in the allocation of
more than £13 million to 40 projects across the UK.
The majority of funding (about £9 million) has been
allocated to projects for the enhancement and development of
materials for learning and teaching. The remaining £4
million has been provided to projects working to develop the
DNER service environment, including new 'fusion services'
(subject portals) and infrastructure services such as
article discovery and delivery services. An additional £2
million has been set aside to address gaps in existing and
planned provision. Outline descriptions of the successful
proposals are provided further below. They can also be
viewed at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/dner/news ;
together with the text of this announcement.
The DNER aims to provide not only a managed collection of
resources but also an integrated service environment. It
will enhance existing information resources and services
available to everyone in FE and HE; from learners, teachers
and researchers to managers and administrators. The
ultimate goal, which will be implemented in stages, is to
provide customisable interfaces for individual users, so
that they will have easy and quick access to the resources
they need most frequently.
These projects will develop new content and resources, from
virtual learning environments to electronic books, virtual
languages, a range of museum and archive content, moving
picture and sound content, images, geospatial studies and
subject portals and gateways. The £2 million set aside to
fund further work to address gaps in the current provision
will address image digitisation and management, article
discovery and request, managed learning environments
(MLEs), collaboration with the LTSN (Learning Technology
Support Network) and selected supporting studies.
Negotiations are still under way with regard to funding for
some projects and these have not been included here. A
final, cumulative list will be made available in due course.
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Further Information
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The JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) is a
strategic advisory committee to the UK higher and further
education funding bodies. The JISC is currently funded by
the Higher Education Funding Council for England, the
Further Education Funding Council, the Scottish Higher
Education Funding Council, the Scottish Further Education
Funding Council, the Welsh Funding Councils and the
Department of Higher and Further Education, Training and
Employment. The JISC works in partnership with the Research
Councils.
For further information about the JISC visit the
JISC web site at http://www.jisc.ac.uk
Some preliminary information about the DNER is available at
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/dner and more news on forthcoming
developments will be available over the coming months.
Justine Kitchen, DNER Communications Manager
Email: [log in to unmask]
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Outline of Funded Proposals
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Programme Area A: Implementation and Development of the
DNER
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ANGEL (Authenticated Networked Guided Environment for
Learning). Led by London School of Economics. This project
will research and design, produce software, implement, test
and study-in-use a web-based Authenticated Networked Guided
Environment for Learning with interfaces for all users
(learners, teachers and administrators), integrating user
access across hybrid library and directed learning
information resources.
EBONI: Electronic Books On-screeN Interface. Led by the
Centre for Digital Library Research at the University of
Strathclyde.
EBONI will identify and compare the variety of methods
which have emerged in the publication of learning and
teaching materials on the web, in order to determine the
most effective way of representing information in
electronic books, aiming to maximise usability and the
intake of information by users. Texts will be evaluated by
key stakeholders (both from HE and the National Grid for
Learning) to develop guidelines for best practice in the
publication of (non-journal) educational material on the
internet, as well as their applicability to other media
(such as standalone e-books).
Gate-Z: a protocol gateway to support use of the Bath
Profile. Led by the RDN. The Gate-Z project will develop a
Z39.50 to Z39.50 gateway that can be used to interface Bath
Profile clients to non-Bath Profile targets. By placing
Gate-ZX in front of their servers, Z39.50 service providers
will be able to offer Bath Profile-compliant targets
without having to modify their existing server
configuration or software.
History online for learning and teaching. Led by the
Institute of Historical Research. This proposal will
provide evaluated online resources for the learning and
teaching of history within the DNER, and enhance the
History Online resource for learning and teaching which
will contribute to Humbul within the overall framework of
the RDN.
JAFER (Java Access for Electronic Resources): A Z39.50
Toolkit for the Masses. Led by the Libraries Automation
Service at Oxford University.
This project will develop an easy to use "open source" Java
toolkit to: allow existing data sources to be published via
Z39.50; allow the creation of dynamic internet-based
learning aids and portals which utilise information from
Z39.50 sources; and enable documents to be ordered and
requested via protocols such as ISO ILL and EDI. Visual
tools will be developed to hide the technical details so
that staff can concentrate on content and pedagogical
issues.
Maths Portal: the subject portal for mathematics. Led by
the University of Birmingham.
This proposal will develop a mathematics portal, to be
aligned with the existing activity within the EMC
(Engineering, Mathematics and Computing) hub and the
overall framework of the RDN.
NMAHP: Nursing, midwifery and health professions gateway.
Led by the University of Nottingham.
This proposal will extend the existing OMNI service to
include nursing, midwifery and other professions related to
medicine. An easily searchable catalogue of quality assured
and evaluated internet resources, OMNI will incorporate a
newly created, dedicated section for these professions.
PELICAN: Pricing Experiment Library Information
Co-operative Network. Led by Loughborough University.
PELICAN will conduct desk research on the impact of JISC/PA
(Publishers' Association) Pricing Reports, in order to
discover the present level of activity in delivery of texts
to students and to explore publisher, author and librarian
attitudes to the issues raised by these developments and
the eCLA Licence. The project will include a conference and
reports, with recommendations for further research where
required.
SAD II - A subject-based approach to the DNER: developing
and managing RDN (Resource Discovery Network) subject
portals. RDN, King's College, London.
This proposal takes forward a work programme to set up
several Z39.50 subject-based portals. These will fuse
content from distributed network services, weaving them
into a customisable user experience. This activity will
follow the experiences gained in the SAD I proposal which
will develop prototype portals around existing RDN
services: SOSIG (social sciences), EEVL (engineering) and
OMNI (medicine). SAD II will be taken forward by the
Resource Discovery Network and will provide a framework
within which other RDN portals or 'fusion services' will be
managed.
Physical Sciences Subject Portal within the RDN (Resource
Discovery Network). Led by the University of Manchester on
behalf of the Consortium of Academic Libraries in
Manchester.
This proposal will develop a subject portal for the
physical sciences within the framework of the RDN. It will
cater for chemistry, physics, astronomy, earth sciences,
environmental science and materials science, as well as the
history of science and science policy.
Z39.50: Development Proposal Led by the University of
Manchester.
This proposal will accelerate and expand work in progress
at MIMAS on Z39.50 Authentication/Development, funded
following a proposal submitted to JISC in October 1999.
Work carried out under the original proposal involves
1) the creation of a database of metadata information about
MIMAS data and information services 2) development of a
Z39.50 infrastructure using the Cheshire online information
retrieval system which will provide access to primary
metadata associated with datasets hosted by MIMAS. The
additional effort will focus on metadata creation, quality
assurance and error correction activities.
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Programme Area B: Enhancing JISC Services for Learning and
Teaching
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ARTWORLD: Resources for learning and teaching in world art.
Led by the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the
University of East Anglia. This is a three-year project
relating to the provision of digital images and associated
resources for the enhancement of learning and teaching in
world art studies across a partnership group of museums,
art galleries and academic departments.
Biota of Early Terrestrial Ecosystems: the Rhynie Chert.
Led by the Department of Geology and Petroleum Geology at
the University of Aberdeen.
This project will develop a web-based learning and teaching
resource for undergraduates based on fossil plants and
animals from the world's earliest known terrestrial
ecosystem, the Rhynie Chert hot spring deposit.
Biz/ed Virtual Learning Arcade. Led by the Institute for
Learning and Research Technology at the University of
Bristol.
This project will develop a Virtual Learning Arcade
containing a series of online business and economic models
and simulations to support learning and teaching. The
Arcade will run these models and simulations live online,
developing interactive materials to support business and
economics curricula. The learning and teaching materials
will include worksheets and glossaries to facilitate
understanding and guidelines on how they can be used and
how lecturers can integrate them into their teaching.
Buildings Image Database. Led by South Bank University.
This project will digitise approximately 20,000 pre-indexed
35mm slides of buildings and architectural features for
wide dissemination.
Click and Go Video. Led by the University of Manchester's
Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST).
This project aims to provide a user-oriented resource for
the academic community that will stimulate and enhance the
use of moving image archives for mainstream learning and
teaching. It will investigate and report on best practice
in developing a video-enriched learning environment through
the integration of archived moving images, locally produced
video, web resources and asynchronous and synchronous
communications tools. This will be achieved through a
series of linked case studies which will enable a greater
understanding of the technical, infrastructural and
pedagogical barriers to using archived material from the
DNER and other sources.
Crafts Study Centre. Led by the Surrey Institute of Art and
Design, University College.
This project will develop a digital resource of images of
20th-century crafts with associated teaching and learning
materials. It is a collaborative project to digitise images
of all artefacts in the Crafts Study Centre's collections
of 20th-century crafts, together with textual items from
part of the archive, producing a total resource of 4000
items. Staff from the Surrey Institute will develop a set
of learning and teaching materials to exploit the resource,
which will be providing content in the area of modern
craft and area which has little material to support it at
present.
Digital Egypt for Universities. Led by the Petrie Mueum of
Egyptian Archaeology at University College London.
This is a three-year project to deliver image-led online
learning and teaching resources on Egyptian archaeology and
history, with the emphasis on 3D and 2D computer graphics,
combining the full educational potential of C&IT, the web
and university museums and using copyright-cleared images
and text from the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology.
FAILTE: Facilitating Access and Information to Learning and
Teaching resources in Engineering. Led by the Institute for
Computer-based Learning at Heriot-Watt University.
FAILTE will create and implement a unified approach to the
assessment, description, cataloguing and accessing of
electronic learning and teaching resources for engineering.
Building on enhanced collaboration between three existing
projects, it will implement an online database and
email-based current awareness service as an extension of
the EMC (Engineering, Mathematics and Computing) hub of the
RDN. It will provide a unified service for the efficient
discovery and assessment of the suitability of resources
that can be used to enhance students' learning. A technical
toolkit and reports will ensure that the project will
become a transferable exemplar for the development of
similar services in other portals.
Handing on the tradition in an electronic age. Led by the
Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD).
This project will centre on the evaluation of the use of
networked sound material for learning and teaching in
RSAMD's BA in Scottish Music and (subject to rights
clearance) other undergraduate and postgraduate settings.
The BA offers unusually rich opportunities for study of the
use of networked sound material in a variety of settings:
students not only use sound recordings for study and
performance work, they also make their own recordings in
the field and archive them as part of the course.
Historical and Contemporary Census Collection Development
(CHCC). Developing the collection of historical and
contemporary census data and materials into a major
learning and teaching resource. Led by Manchester Computing
at the University of Manchester.
The central aim of this project is to develop the
Collection of Historical and Contemporary Census (CHCC)
data and materials into a major DNER learning and teaching
resource.
ICONEX (Interactive Content Exchange). Led by the
University of Hull.
This project will address the problems associated with the
use of interactive content. It will undertake investigation
into the key issues surrounding the identification,
description, location, use and integration of interactive
content. It will establish a repository of interactive
learning content, accompanied by metadata to enable
retrieval and API documentation to facilitate
incorporation into learning systems.
INHALE (Information for Nursing and Health in A Learning
Environment). Led by the University of Huddersfield.
This project will develop portable interactive learning
materials in nursing and health, which exploit the DNER and
can be used within virtual learning environments. The key
outcomes will be the creation of a transferable model which
is replicable across other subject areas and learning
environments. The project will consider accessibility
issues and the skills levels of academic staff and students.
Learning Technology Gateway. Led by the University of
Warwick.
This project will develop a resource for learning
technology and the integration of C&IT in learning and
teaching. This resource will serve the needs of academic
staff using C&IT, support staff promoting, supporting and
developing good practice and materials, and students
undertaking courses and research in the area of learning
technologies. It will include user-contributed materials
and user-specific guides and FAQs, together with
sophisticated searching facilities, reviews of third-party
materials and discussion and upload areas.
LEMUR (Learning with Museum Resources). Led by the
University of Aberdeen.
This project will bring together important museum objects
from the University's Marischal Museum and Natural
Philosophy Collection, also using objects from four of the
University's other collections and its archives. It will
create a database of still and moving images and associated
data and documentation as well as targeted learning
packages based on them for classroom and distance learning.
LIFESIGN: Networked moving images for the life sciences.
Led by the University of Glamorgan.
This project aims to evaluate the use of networked moving
picture and sound material for learning and teaching in the
life sciences. The project will identify and develop a
significant collection of video resources in the life
sciences in conjunction with the CTI/LTSN centres, and work
with the Managing Agent for Moving Pictures and Sound to
negotiate and clear rights. As well as developing metadata
and catalogue records, software will be developed to allow
the full integration of moving images and sound material in
library catalogues and hybrid library systems.
MIRACLE (Microfossil Image Recovery And Circulation for
Learning and Education). Led by University College London
(UCL).
This project will create a web-based teaching module in
micropalaeontology which will ultimately be universally
available for learning and education, with links into the
UCL microfossil image archive and into catalogues of other
international institutions.
New Tools for Learning and Teaching using Digimap. Led by
the University of Edinburgh.
This project will enhance the use of spatial data through
the EDINA Digimap service, by providing support for
learning and teaching with and about Digimap's digital map
data. There will be three online learning and teaching
resources: teaching case studies; customisable learning
tools to provide map manipulation functions to promote
awareness of digital map data, data integration and
visualisation; and virtual placements, to provide students
with experience of the application of OS data in the
workplace.
PATOIS (Publications and Archives in Teaching: Online
Information Sources). Led by the Archaeology Data Service
(ADS) at the University of York.
This project will develop four tutorial packs to introduce
students to the electronic analysis and use of primary
archaeological data resources: monument inventories,
excavation archives, research reports and
multi-disciplinary datasets. The tutorials will be based on
multimedia datasets deposited with the ADS and available
through the DNER. The project will extend the use of an
existing JISC service and further develop DNER linkages
beyond the HE and FE sectors.
RDN Virtual Training Suite (extension). Led by the
Institute for Learning and Research Technology at the
University of Bristol.
The project will extend the existing suite, consisting of
11 web-based tutorials within the RDN Virtual Training
Suite by developing a further 27. The project aims to offer
a series of subject-oriented tutorials designed to help
students and lecturers develop their internet information
skills and to enhance the value of the RDN for those users.
The proposal is based on a tried and tested tutorial model,
which was piloted by the Internet Detective and developed
in the first 11 tutorials. The vision is to extend the
Suite to offer a critical mass of support materials across
many more subjects, offering a self taught, any time, any
place learning environment in which to enhance the value of
both the Internet and the RDN for users.
Textile Images. Led by the Surrey Institute of Art and
Design, University College.
This project will create a high quality digital image
resource of appropriately selected textiles for teaching
and learning purposes, particular to the study of printed
and woven textiles. Images of artefacts will be digitised
in the Textile Collection of the Surrey Institute of Art
and Design in support of educational practice. The project
will develop learning and teaching packages and provide
content in the area of printed and woven textiles. This
will seek to complement the proposed digitisation of the
Crafts Study Centre collection, the subject of a separate
application.
TRILT: Television and Radio Index for Learning and
Teaching. Led by the Open University for the British
Universities Film and Video Council (BUFVC).
This project will extend and improve content delivery from
an existing JISC-funded service. It will broker access to a
comprehensive broadcast programme database under licence,
add relevant content to the data from a further and higher
education learning and teaching perspective and deliver it
online in a format which will integrate with the developing
DNER. The data will be delivered in advance of programme
transmission and will encourage greater integration of
moving images with other resources in learning and
teaching.
VDML (Virtual Departments for Minority Languages). Led by
University College London.
This project will develop a framework to support students
and teachers of minority languages. It will add value to
existing resources, develop new resources and use networked
communication tools to provide students and teachers with a
new virtual department in which to interact. It will be
piloted in the Scandinavian language departments of three
UK universities (in particular by learners and teachers of
Danish) and other minority languages will be involved
throughout.
Virtual Norfolk Project. Led by the University of East
Anglia.
This project will build a unique partnership with
the Norfolk record Office to create a resource providing
full-text access to historical documents from the period
1200-1850, with accompanying pedagogic text and pathways
directed towards the development of C&IT in learning and
teaching.
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Programme Area C: Evaluation
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E-DNER. Led by the Centre for Research in Library and
Information Management (CERLIM) at the Manchester
Metropolitan University, in partnership with the Centre for
Research in the Application of Information Technology in
Higher Education (CRAITHE), King's College London.
The project will examine the impacts of the DNER on
learning and teaching, the development of the DNER services
and, in an in-depth focused strand, the fusion services
themselves.
As a formative evaluation, the project will work
iteratively, examining processes, progress and impacts and
helping other projects to focus their work within the
development of the DNER as a whole. It will explore how
learning and teaching are affected by existing and emerging
DNER services and will evaluate the value of the DNER
enhancement projects, processes and outcomes. Working
closely with the DNER Programme Team, the project will also
help to clarify the nature, scope and development path of
the DNER, ensuring that the community is able to extract
the maximum value from its investment.
The following proposals, received in response to an earlier
request (pre-Circular 5/99) have also received funding.
Further details regarding these proposals will be provided
shortly.
On-line Image Collection
MIMAS/ILRT Time Series Databanks
Enhancing Bristol BIOMED
Enhancements to HERON Resource Bank
Enhancing Beilstein CrossFire
Using Numeric Datasets in L&T
RDN Virtual Training Suite
DNER Enhanced ROADS Z-Plugin
SAD 1 Subject Based Approach to DNER Portal Development
Z39.50 Authentication Development: 1
TASI Image Collections Registry
Geospatial Geo-Crosswalk: Feasibility Study
Geospatial Geo-data Browser for HE Community: Phase 1
Scoping
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