JISC

Start date: 1 March 2000

End date: 31 August 2001

Funding programme: Learning and Teaching (5/99) programme

Project website: http://timeweb.mimas.ac.uk/

This project is part of the Enhancing JISC data services for Teaching and Learning project cluster in this particular programme. The main focus of projects in this cluster is to improve use of existing JISC owned resources through the JISC data services for learning and teaching.

Background

The UK academic community has network access to a number of key national and international macro-economic time series databanks. Currently these databanks are not as fully used in learning and teaching programmes in higher education as is desirable. The project therefore aims to broaden access to the time-series data and create learning materials based around the datasets to help encourage their use in teaching and learning.

Aims and Objectives

The central aim of the TimeWeb project is to:

• Develop key national and international macro-economic time series data banks into a major learning and teaching resource

The specific objectives are to:

• Promote increased and more effective use of networked based data services for both resource discovery and student project work as part of learning and teaching programmes
• Improve the productivity of tutors by reducing the overheads required to incorporate use of up to date primary data sources into learning and teaching programmes
• Increase and extend the use of national and international macro-economic time series in learning and teaching programmes
• Improve access to large and complex primary data sources

Project design

A web-based interface to the national/international time series databanks currently held at MIMAS will be developed. This interface will be Java-based built using software from the SAS Institute. Further work will be carried out to utilise the functionality of the Java interface and offer users a variety of opportunities to manipulate and analyse the data. Work relating to user authorisation issues to ensure that the use of the data is simplified as much as possible will also be carried out. The learning materials, which will be based around certain key principles and aimed at helping users understand better the inter-relationships between all the various datasets, will be closely integrated with the data interface.

Outcomes

The key deliverables of the project will be:

• The development of a web-based interface to the various national and international time series databanks available through MIMAS. This Web based interface will utilise Athens (the JISC’s preferred authentication service) for end user authorisation
• The development of a range of supporting Internet based interactive learning materials for tutors and students (eg Web-based assignments, exemplar based case studies, etc)

The results of the project will be made available permanently through the websites of both partner organisations; from MIMAS and from Biz/ed. The materials will be freely available to all users to integrate into their courses as appropriate and the data will be available to registered HE users. It is hoped that a significant sample of the data will also be available to all users.