JISC

Start date: 3 October 2002

End date: 1 October 2004

Funding programme: Focus on Access to Institutional Resources (FAIR) programme

JISC theme(s): Information environment

Introduction

Outline

The FAIR Enough project will conduct a series of experiments with the embedding of JISC collections and services into a variety of VLE and intranet delivery systems (portals) used by the Colleges within the consortia. These experiments will also see how well these JISC collections and services can be presented in tandem with existing assets and services held by the colleges. During the life of the project an investigation will be undertaken on the related issues and challenges of the institutional asset disclosure with an emphasis on the challenges relating to IPR, cultural and educational challenges. 

There are a number of factors to be considered regarding the presentation of Collections and the methods used for embedding the Collections within the existing framework. These must be clearly defined and used to assess the work required and the measurement of results. The project is intended to be an investigation into the best ways of making these resources available and enabling future, related enhancements to the system. 

It is intended that the project will enable effective integration of the JISC Collections into a format that will encourage staff at the colleges to use the information available to enhance the learning experience. It is hoped that this will then enable investigation into the addition of other similar resources to the VLE environment, allowing still further advancements in the presentation of online learning opportunities.

Background

The Western Colleges Consortium was established to enable the partner FE colleges to effectively exploit developments in ICT and ILT using new platforms to provide innovative solutions to changing educational demands.   The development and implementation of a VLE and the collaboration with the partner colleges to provide high quality learning materials within that environment has led to the creation of this project to experiment with embedding JISC collections and services and to investigate issues relating to the presentation of materials offered as solutions to IPR, cultural and educational challenges being faced by the partner institutions. 

As technology progresses it becomes increasingly important to develop systems which make use of new technical innovations.  It is necessary to provide system users with learning tools which empower them by offering flexibility and functionality, thus creating a positive environment for learning and development.  The FAIR Enough project is intended to provide direction and suggestions for moving forward to create a comprehensive learning environment which results in proactive use of available resources as well as recognising and incorporating valuable enhancements. 

Aims and Objectives

Aims

The overall aim of the FAIR Enough project is to conduct a series of experiments looking at technical and presentation issues surrounding the embedding of JISC collections and services into a variety of VLE and intranet delivery systems (portals) used by the Colleges within the consortia. These experiments will also see how well these JISC collections and services can be presented in tandem with existing assets and services held by the colleges. During the life of the project an investigation will be undertaken on the related issues and challenges of the institutional asset disclosure with an emphasis on the challenges relating to IPR, cultural and educational challenges.

Objectives

The objectives of the project are as follows:

• To identify, through the use of case studies and experimentation, effective methods of embedding, presenting and accessing the JISC Collections from within the Virtual Campus and other portals. 
• To produce clear, thorough documentation of the experiments conducted, methods used and results.
• To prepare and suitably organise all project documentation including work packages and formal reports.
• To assess and evaluate the results of experiments carried out as part of the project and report the findings making recommendations regarding implementation of proposed enhancements.
• To produce a website and newsletter to publicize the results within the community and to gather feedback.
• To exploit more traditional ways of dissemination in order to ensure that the project message reaches a diversified audience
• To investigate and report on the IPR, cultural and educational challenges faced by the colleges and to make recommendations regarding ways to take advantage of the technology available to address these issues.
• To make inroads towards overcoming human and organisational barriers to virtual learning by providing innovative solutions and high quality services which can be used to enhance teaching and offer relevant community resources in a usable way.

Measurement of Success

It is necessary to be able to measure the level of success attained throughout the project for each of the aims and objectives outlined above.   In each case it must be clear when the objective has been achieved to a satisfactory level and clear when it has not. 

In order to gauge the overall success of the project measurement and analysis of the aims and objectives is necessary.  This will be done in the following way:

Success can be measured by providing documented evidence of methods that have been used to effectively embed JISC collections within the Virtual Campus in a way that is approved by end-users and meets the specific technical requirements identified by the project team. Documentation of all methods used and the user response to things that have been attempted will provide a method to measure specifically the success of experiments.  Formal evaluation reports, minutes of steering group and other meetings will be included with other documentation. By the end of the project it is intended that there will be a traceable documented path from conception to conclusion. 

Recommendations will be explicit for each of the partner colleges, outlining potentially the best way forward for each. The investigations are designed to provide a framework for developing good working practices, presentation and usage methods of JISC resources and further enhancements. 

The website and newsletter, once created, provide a specific measurement that dissemination has been achieved. Regular updates must be made at specific dates in accordance with the project plan. Other forms of dissemination also have measurable date targets and success or failure to meet those targets can then be easily assessed.  The quality of the work produced for dissemination must also be monitored closely as this will impact the level of uptake of ideas and recommendations generated. 

A report outlining recommendations for change related to IPR, educational and cultural issues will be prepared and presented as part of the project documentation.   This issue has implications for the wider community and results may be distributed to a larger audience.  This is a significant area of study, and it is intended that the project investigate a number of very specific ideas. It will be necessary to measure success very carefully against the original proposed investigations in order to ensure that the correct results have been achieved. 

Measuring successful achievement of the final objective will be difficult. Human and organisational barriers to change will only diminish over the long term and meaningful data regarding the impact of the project may be impossible to assess until some time after the project has been completed.  Asking individuals within the colleges to complete the benchmark questionnaire at the beginning and end of the project should provide meaningful data regarding the impact of the project during its running time and allow analysis of any impacts on the barriers to change made during the life of the project. Using a variety of dissemination methods should mean that details of the project and potential implications are made available to a wide audience and measurement of the enthusiasm with which our work is greeted, and the impact it has on revising working practices, should indicate levels of success at impacting human and institutional barriers. 

Overall Approach

A formal staged approach will be undertaken regarding completion of the project, involving the definition of the requirements and dimensions of the project, the planning of tasks necessary to meet the objectives, organisation of the defined tasks into manageable work units with specific targets and measurable deliverables, execution of the work packages marked at significant stages with visible milestones which can be used to measure progress, and finally the closure of the project including a final reporting stage. 

The initial planning and development stage will consist of a series of meetings and exploratory sessions where the requirements will be fully identified. Questionnaires will be developed and distributed in an attempt to extract requirements and suggestions from staff about their current use and level of comfort with the materials currently available on the Virtual Campus and access to resources that would make them even more enthusiastic advocates of virtual learning. A series of Case Studies will be developed as a result of the findings of that exploration which will form the basis for the experimentation stages. 

The main body of the project will consist of a minimum of five experiments that are intended to investigate various requirements of the project stakeholders and to reconcile those with the potential of the technology available to provide effective educational tools utilising the currently available JISC Collections. Experiments will be carried out (some sequentially, some in tandem) for the most part with an assessment made as each is concluded. A summary report will be written outlining the purpose, methods and results of each. This will enable comparison and an overall evaluation of the success of the project experiments as well as providing guidance regarding implementation of modifications identified. 

Formal assessment will take place in two phases. The first takes the form of an internal evaluation followed by an interim evaluation by the external examiners. A report will be published based on the findings of each evaluation halfway through the project, looking at any technical and operational issues raised.   

When all work is complete the final phase of evaluation will take place. Again an internal evaluation is followed by an investigation by the external evaluation team.  Findings will be published based on each evaluation.  In addition a summary report will be generated to collate the findings of the evaluations and to present the final outcome of the experiments themselves.  This report will also make recommendations, based on the results of experiments, regarding amendments to the existing systems and implementation strategies that could be applied to take advantage of the findings of the experiments carried out during the course of the project. 

Project Consortium

The Consortium consists of the following institutions:  

City of Bath College
City of Bristol College
Filton College
Norton Radstock College
Weston College
Western Colleges Consortium 

The partner colleges came together in 1998 with the specific intention of sharing a VLE.  To this end the Western Colleges Consortium (WCC) was established to provide solutions allowing any time, any place learning, via an extranet within a tutor supported learning environment within the partner colleges. The role has expanded somewhat and the WCC now makes recommendations to the partners regarding potential use of the VLE, ILT strategies generally and appropriate materials for inclusion the Virtual Campus. They provide training to staff wishing to use the VLE and support the partner colleges in their use and implementation of ILT. As well as making use of the shared Virtual Campus, a number of the partner colleges have other VLE/intranet facilities that they operate independently.   

It is the intention of the project team to involve staff from all five colleges as much as possible in the experiments, to investigate their requirements and ensure they are aware of all the potential benefits to be gained by embracing the technological advancements provided through the TekniCAL Virtual Campus, now and in the future. It is hoped that this will increase the level of commitment to use of the Virtual Campus while also affording staff opportunities to increase their exposure to the resources available. The project team also intends to exploit the other VLE/intranet systems held within the group in order to make comparisons and ensure a thorough investigation of all the pertinent issues. 

There are a number of stakeholders for the FAIR Enough Project including the project team, the Campus Liaison Officers at the partner colleges, the Principals of each college in the consortium, staff representatives of various schools of study and students within the college community. Representatives from TekniCAL, who provide and service our existing Virtual Campus infrastructure, and from JISC can also be considered stakeholders in the project.  It is the responsibility of the Senior Projects Officer to manage the needs of all these individuals and groups in order to provide the best possible outcome for all.