For those who are coming to the Reading List Hackday on Thursday/Friday this week, and for those who are generally interested, here are some general notes about getting up and running with the software we've developed as part of the TELSTAR project at the Open University. If you are coming along on Thursday/Friday and you are interested in playing around with TELSTAR code, it might be a good idea to see if you can get some of the basic installation done beforehand (although of course you can do it on the day)
The TELSTAR project developed an integration between the Moodle online learning environment software, and the RefWorks Reference Management software. The TELSTAR software is Open Source and hosted on Google Code at http://code.google.com/p/telstar/. Although version 1.0 of the software is available in a zipped format, we'd recommend using the SVN repository (http://code.google.com/p/telstar/source/checkout) as some known bugs have been fixed in this code. (a new version in zipped format should be available before the end of July)
The Google Code site includes instructions on how to install the software, but assumes you are familiar with the Moodle software. The software should work with a 'vanilla' Moodle 1.9.x install running on MySQL. You can download the latest version of Moodle at http://moodle.org/downloads/. Since Moodle requires a webserver, PHP and MySQL to run, from the same page you can also download completely packages which will install everything for you in one go if that is more convenient.
Once you've got a working Moodle install, the TELSTAR software is pretty simple to install - just work your way through the instructions at http://code.google.com/p/telstar/wiki/Install_readme
The TELSTAR project has specifically integrated the RefWorks reference management software, and for most of the functionaility requires access to the RefWorks API to work properly. To get access to the Refworks API you need an institutional subscription and need to complete some paperwork - you will need to contact your local RefWorks representative for this. However, there are bits that work without RefWorks, so it isn't absolutely essential to get the software up and running.
This brings me to the hackday - we have a couple of 'bounties' (prizes) we'd like to offer for work in two areas - the first relatively straightforward and the second more challenging:
1) The 'reading list' side of TELSTAR works by importing lists of references into a Moodle 'Resources Page' (which can include a variety of 'resources' including references, but also including any html, headings, links etc. that you want). At the moment TELSTAR support import of references in RefWorks XML and RIS file format. It also allows supports the ability to subscribe to an RSS feed of References generated by the RefWorks RefShare service. We'd like to offer a bounty on work to allow import and/or subscription to a wider range of sources. For example, add support for CiteULike Library RSS Feeds (e.g. http://www.citeulike.org/rss/group/150) so these could be used alongside RefShare RSS feeds.
2) As noted above, currently TELSTAR relies on RefWorks for much of its functionality. One particular area is in 'styling' the reference (e.g. into MLA, Chicago or an appropriate Harvard style) for display. This is done in several areas, including when displaying references in the Resources Page (as described in (1) above). We'd like to off a bounty on work to offer 'styling' of references without using RefWorks. An example might be using the 'Citation Styling Language' (CSL) used by both Zotero and Mendeley (see http://xbiblio.sourceforge.net/csl/). An alterative approach might be to dispense with the 'reference styling' and simply enable a simple display of 'reading list' items when no reference styling is available.
The prizes will be modest, and I'll post the details once we have them.
I'Hope this is enough to get people up and running, and thinking about what might be achieved.
The best place to ask questions about the software, or anything related to it's installation and implementation is the Google Group at http://groups.google.com/group/TELSTAROU
In summary, if you would like to make use of the TELSTAR software:
Download the software from http://code.google.com/p/telstar/
Contact RefWorks for access to their API
Follow the installation instructions at http://code.google.com/p/telstar/wiki/Install_readme
Ask questions etc. at http://groups.google.com/group/TELSTAROU
Owen
Owen Stephens
TELSTAR Project Manager
Library and Learning Resources Centre
The Open University
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA
T: +44 (0) 1908 858701
F: +44 (0) 1908 653571
E: [log in to unmask]
--
The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC 000391), an exempt charity in England & Wales and a charity registered in Scotland (SC 038302).
########################################################################
To unsubscribe from the READING-LIST-SOLUTIONS list, click the following link:
http://jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=READING-LIST-SOLUTIONS&A=1
|