Author: Sam Rowley, Project Manager & Technical Lead
Publication date: 18 December 2007
Publication Type(s): Reports
JISC theme(s): e-Learning, e-Administration
Projects: SUNIWE
Overview
The project is designed to exploit the work done by NIIMLE (Northern Ireland Integrated Managed Learning Environment) as part of the JISC MLEs for Lifelong Learning Programme, and in particular, the work on developing the use of uPortal and the Enterprise web services. The work will be further developed for use with the Staffordshire University Regional Federation (SURF) and the Welsh eTraining Network (WETN).
The project’s intentions are best seen by considering the following two scenarios, drawn from the project plan, which envisage what the project will enable if successful:
I work in a small company and am taking a Staffordshire University foundation degree at Shrewsbury college. I connect to the SURF Portal over the Internet. When I log in, I can see a list of all the degree course modules I have taken so far at the College and the modules I am currently registered for. I can also see the details of a separate Further Education course I am taking at Shrewsbury college and also details of a course I took last year at Burton College. By clicking on an entry, I can see more detail about each course or module. I can also see my personal details, such as address etc, as held by the College and the University. I have just changed my job within the company so I click on a button and enter the new details. (This is sent to the relevant people at the College who change the entry in the MIS system both there and at the University). I can also see which of my modules is using the COSE VLE, and click on one of the entries to launch the VLE so that I can do some work for the module. The Portal also shows me electronic resources held by the University which are relevant to the courses I am taking and allows me to access them.
I live in Havefordwest in South West Wales and my first language is Welsh. I have recently enrolled on the on-line Foundation Degree in e-Commerce offered by Pembrokeshire College and am pleased that I can select English or Welsh materials as I wish. My preference is to study through the medium of Welsh but complete assessment in English (I worry about the quality of my written Welsh). I am supported by bilingual tutors at the college and I am able to communicate in Welsh by phone & occasional f2f meetings on campus. I previously studied an on-line ICT Skills for Business course at Coleg Llandrillo which was also available in Welsh. When I log on to the College Portal, I can see my whole ePortfolio, including the results of this previous course. I am able to update my personal details and gain access to a whole load of resources that support me in my studies. Not only can I switch from Welsh to English at the click of a button, I also have available an online Welsh/English dictionary, thesaurus and grammar developed by University of Wales, Lampeter.