The other advice is to follow your project management processes if you have them, get some senior sponsorship, run a trial, collect comments from staff, collect technical advice from us, and present a reasoned proposal outlining the costs and benefits. There ought to be some way of making proposals and getting a reasoned response in a slightly more formal and transparent way than you (and a lot of other people) experience...

-----Original Message-----
From: A list to facilitate and support teachers using Xerte Online Toolkits [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Terry McAndrew
Sent: 15 January 2013 10:11
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Xerte on a network

Hi Shirley,

As one of the TechDis team I have encountered this issue more than once.

Once installed, the maintenance should be minimal. The underlying server may even have other projects on it (should you have Apache/PHP/MySQL combination) which are already maintained and therefore the server itself gets no additional 'system' burden from Xerte . However - to make a point boldly - perhaps the Network Managers need to consider the reason for their role to exist; supporting innovation and education opportunities. Perhaps challenge them to present what they feel the maintenance risks are; it's not difficult to assess these. Julian makes the point succinctly.

I'm sure the developers could give you better detail but as a former IT manager (UK Centre for Bioscience) I would not regard the installation and maintenance as a realistic barrier to getting an installation of Xerte within your institution.

The time Xerte *saves* to deliver learning content in an accessible and managed way, which also develops teaching communities, is likely to be a far greater return in time saved for the institution.  Xerte is not a direct competitor to Presenter or Captivate (but can use outputs from both) but it does offer much of the pedagogical functionality that commercial products do, but without the ongoing licence and development costs. The Xerte community is growing and the recent developments in new features and new mobility through its HTML5 support make it *absolutely necessary* (IMHO) to consider, if the institution seeks to continue to be a leading provider in education. I also see lots of opportunities for Xerte to be taught to students quickly so they can use it directly to present their learning, which could make a far more interesting alternative to presenting it via powerpoint. From my other role (in the HEA) I hope to support/prime projects of this type soon.

I would like to gather some adoption stories - case study evidence of the process of installation of Xerte and the subsequent staff development in 'e-learning' practice within the institution/disciplines, so I can better support those with similar issues to your own i.e. keen to get to grips with pragmatic e-learning. Personally I see the Xerte model as a gamechanger for e-learning once the critical mass is visible to the appropriate discipline/tutor communities, but it will challenge existing 'territories' of ownership and production, which in my view are a significant part of the problem.

Terry McAndrew
Advisor, JISC TechDis

T 01904 717580     M 07920 273411     E [log in to unmask]     Skype terry.mcandrew



Web http://www.jisctechdis.ac.uk     Twitter @terrytechdis, #techdis     JISCmail JISC-TECHDIS

JISC TechDis, advising the education sector on technologies for inclusion and accessibility.
c/o The Higher Education Academy Building, Innovation Way, York Science Park, York, YO10 5BR, UK.

A JISC Advance Service.



-----Original Message-----
From: A list to facilitate and support teachers using Xerte Online Toolkits [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Shirley Crawford
Sent: 14 January 2013 20:16
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Xerte on a network

Hi

Hoping that someone can answer the following.

I am still trying to get Xerte installed on the network but our Network manager is concerned about the amount of time and effort that would be needed to maintain it, can someone give me an idea of what is involved in running it on the network.

It has been suggested that we have it installed locally, I presume that the new version will need Xamp?  I know from past experience that local installs are not ideal as LOs cannot be shared and the user needs to use the PC which has Xerte installed to edit the LO.

There is concern that staff would not use it.  How does Xerte compare to Adobe Presenter or Captivate?

Alistair, I saw a message in December from Ian Hall at East Durham College, thanking you for documentation and advice in helping put a case for Xerte, would it be possible to have a copy of this?

I do feel that I am banging my head against a brick wall, so would appreciate any help to the above questions.

Regards

Shirley

Shirley Crawford
E-Learning Teaching Mentor
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