Visitors to this week’s Association of Colleges (AoC) Annual Conference and Exhibition will be able to learn about how augmented reality (AR) can be used to transform learning and teaching in further education (FE).
Jisc will be showcasing the latest in AR technologies on its stand. One of the highlights will be an innovative big-screen AR game for education developed with Campus Interactive – an augmented reality agency that specialises in education. Called Connect More, it is based on the classic board game Connect Four and invites people to play against each other through gestural based actions.
Unlike other AR experiences, it works by users holding their hands over triggers and obscuring them from camera view to create a desired action. This type of user interaction is a first in the world of AR, and replaces more complex hardware usually associated with gesture based interfaces.
Jisc will also be showcasing how colleges can bring learning to life through their own AR apps. A number of FE institutions are already using AR successfully, including Kendal College, who have implemented Living LeARning to reinforce teaching and learning in areas not normally heavily supported by IT, such as plumbing. This includes the creation of a new set of posters covering common topics in plumbing where learners can access additional content via tablets and smartphones.
In addition, delegates will be able to see first-hand how nurse training at Sheffield Hallam University is enhanced via AR-enabled mannequins.
Dicky Maidment-Otlet, director, Jisc group marketing, said:
“Jisc is all about connecting UK education with technology that delivers better outcomes for learners and teachers. In the post-FELTAG environment it’s vital that all colleges are able to access digital solutions that can support innovation for learning. This pressure is further felt with the rise in bring your own device (BYOD) and new ways of learning, such as blended and flipped.
AR technology means that digital content made available on websites, social media channels and multimedia platforms can be accessed by simply holding a mobile device over compatible printed materials, objects and environments.
We know that AR can be an effective way of engaging with students and delivering content. We want to highlight some of these learnings at AoC and show colleges how they can implement AR into their own teachings.”
Rupert Forsythe, co-founder of Campus Interactive, said:
“I’m delighted that Campus Interactive is working with Jisc to showcase the power that augmented reality has to enhance the educational experience of today’s students. From architecture to engineering to nursing, augmented reality creates a more attractive learning environment across disciplines, and provides a greater depth of learning.”
Watch a video of Connect More in action on our Facebook page.
via Jisc news
Visitors to this week’s Association of Colleges (AoC) Annual Conference and Exhibition will be able to learn about how augmented reality (AR) can be used to transform learning and teaching in further education (FE).
Jisc will be showcasing the latest in AR technologies on its stand. One of the highlights will be an innovative big-screen AR game for education developed with Campus Interactive – an augmented reality agency that specialises in education. Called Connect More, it is based on the classic board game Connect Four and invites people to play against each other through gestural based actions.
Unlike other AR experiences, it works by users holding their hands over triggers and obscuring them from camera view to create a desired action. This type of user interaction is a first in the world of AR, and replaces more complex hardware usually associated with gesture based interfaces.
Jisc will also be showcasing how colleges can bring learning to life through their own AR apps. A number of FE institutions are already using AR successfully, including Kendal College, who have implemented Living LeARning to reinforce teaching and learning in areas not normally heavily supported by IT, such as plumbing. This includes the creation of a new set of posters covering common topics in plumbing where learners can access additional content via tablets and smartphones.
In addition, delegates will be able to see first-hand how nurse training at Sheffield Hallam University is enhanced via AR-enabled mannequins.
Dicky Maidment-Otlet, director, Jisc group marketing, said:
“Jisc is all about connecting UK education with technology that delivers better outcomes for learners and teachers. In the post-FELTAG environment it’s vital that all colleges are able to access digital solutions that can support innovation for learning. This pressure is further felt with the rise in bring your own device (BYOD) and new ways of learning, such as blended and flipped.
AR technology means that digital content made available on websites, social media channels and multimedia platforms can be accessed by simply holding a mobile device over compatible printed materials, objects and environments.
We know that AR can be an effective way of engaging with students and delivering content. We want to highlight some of these learnings at AoC and show colleges how they can implement AR into their own teachings.”
Rupert Forsythe, co-founder of Campus Interactive, said:
“I’m delighted that Campus Interactive is working with Jisc to showcase the power that augmented reality has to enhance the educational experience of today’s students. From architecture to engineering to nursing, augmented reality creates a more attractive learning environment across disciplines, and provides a greater depth of learning.”
Watch a video of Connect More in action on our Facebook page.
via Jisc news
Teams across universities and others that support research in the UK are being offered the opportunity to submit their ideas to a collaborative funding initiative being launched today by Jisc.
Called research data spring, the project aims to engage all individuals and groups with an interest in research data and get them to work together to create new solutions to common research problems. This includes finding and developing new technical tools, software or services to streamline researchers’ workflows, and to improve the use and management of data.
The initiative is being run via Ideascale, an online platform that allows people to submit their ideas, vote and comment on others, and join up with teams on a shared idea.
Rachel Bruce, deputy chief innovation officer, Jisc, said:
“While the new Research Councils UK policies and the Horizon 2020 data pilot are laying the foundations for research data management to be part and parcel of what researchers do, there is still a need to make access and re-use of data as painless and as rewarding as possible. By inviting those working in the sector to contribute their ideas we hope to foster innovative partnerships.
Our aim is that these will lead to the development of new solutions and protocols that will make it much easier for everyone to find, share and retrieve research data across different subject areas and disciplines.”
To have your idea considered, the solutions need to fit into one of five priority areas:
The deadline is 12 January 2015. Jisc will then invite up to 30 project ideas to a two day sandpit workshop in February, where they will develop a plan and pitch to a panel of experts. The judges will award the best teams between £5,000 and £20,000 to develop their ideas. There will be two further rounds of funding, with individual projects able to receive up to £120,000 through the lifecycle of the initiative.
Research data spring is part of research at risk, a project that is designed to address research data management for UK universities. It follows a similar successful approach for crowdsourced solutions first developed for the Summer of Student Innovation, a co-design competition that invited students to submit their ideas for how novel uses of technology could improve their experiences, and gave them a prime role in its development.
Visit the project page or contact Daniela Duca, senior co-design manager, for more information.
via Jisc news
Teams across universities and others that support research in the UK are being offered the opportunity to submit their ideas to a collaborative funding initiative being launched today by Jisc.
Called research data spring, the project aims to engage all individuals and groups with an interest in research data and get them to work together to create new solutions to common research problems. This includes finding and developing new technical tools, software or services to streamline researchers’ workflows, and to improve the use and management of data.
The initiative is being run via Ideascale, an online platform that allows people to submit their ideas, vote and comment on others, and join up with teams on a shared idea.
Rachel Bruce, deputy chief innovation officer, Jisc, said:
“While the new Research Councils UK policies and the Horizon 2020 data pilot are laying the foundations for research data management to be part and parcel of what researchers do, there is still a need to make access and re-use of data as painless and as rewarding as possible. By inviting those working in the sector to contribute their ideas we hope to foster innovative partnerships.
Our aim is that these will lead to the development of new solutions and protocols that will make it much easier for everyone to find, share and retrieve research data across different subject areas and disciplines.”
To have your idea considered, the solutions need to fit into one of five priority areas:
The deadline is 12 January 2015. Jisc will then invite up to 30 project ideas to a two day sandpit workshop in February, where they will develop a plan and pitch to a panel of experts. The judges will award the best teams between £5,000 and £20,000 to develop their ideas. There will be two further rounds of funding, with individual projects able to receive up to £120,000 through the lifecycle of the initiative.
Research data spring is part of research at risk, a project that is designed to address research data management for UK universities. It follows a similar successful approach for crowdsourced solutions first developed for the Summer of Student Innovation, a co-design competition that invited students to submit their ideas for how novel uses of technology could improve their experiences, and gave them a prime role in its development.
Visit the project page or contact Daniela Duca, senior co-design manager, for more information.
via Jisc news
In his blog post, Lee Harrigan-Green shares five top tips for improving your institution's cyber security. The post is read in full by Kate Steel in our podcast.
via Jisc news
In his blog post, Lee Harrigan-Green shares five top tips for improving your institution's cyber security. The post is read in full by Kate Steel in our podcast.
via Jisc news
Today the Education and Training Foundation, the sector-owned body charged with professional development of the education and training workforce, and Jisc are joining together to respond to the recommendations of the further education learning and technology advisory group (FELTAG) report and the Government's response in June 2014.
The joint approach seeks to best serve the interests of the education and training sector by combining and sharing expertise and effort, avoiding duplication, and ensuring the effective use of digital technologies in teaching, learning, assessment and business support.
The Foundation and Jisc will together focus on:
Jenny Williams, director of vocational education and training at the Foundation comments:
“Collaboration will ensure that duplication of effort is avoided, that our individual steams of work are set within the context of the wider recommendations, that our ideas and thoughts are shared outside our direct organisational remits and that our support is joined up and cohesive.”
Nigel Ecclesfield, head of change implementation support programmes in further education and skills, Jisc, says:
“Working with the Foundation will enable us to contribute to the important work being commissioned under their Learning Futures and other Foundation programmes, and bring their perspective into play in supporting the work of the substantive Jisc programmes running alongside those they have commissioned themselves.
We are pleased that the Foundation will be supporting our co-design work with the sector. Through this collaboration we hope to ensure that we make best use of our resources and provide access to the materials and services that will support the sector in its use of digital technologies.”
The first collaborative activities will include sharing the results of both organisations’ sector-based action research projects, ensuring funding is directed to respond to different FELTAG recommendations without duplicating effort and, where appropriate, providing professional support to each other’s programmes of work.
via Jisc news
Today the Education and Training Foundation, the sector-owned body charged with professional development of the education and training workforce, and Jisc are joining together to respond to the recommendations of the further education learning and technology advisory group (FELTAG) report and the Government's response in June 2014.
The joint approach seeks to best serve the interests of the education and training sector by combining and sharing expertise and effort, avoiding duplication, and ensuring the effective use of digital technologies in teaching, learning, assessment and business support.
The Foundation and Jisc will together focus on:
Jenny Williams, director of vocational education and training at the Foundation comments:
“Collaboration will ensure that duplication of effort is avoided, that our individual steams of work are set within the context of the wider recommendations, that our ideas and thoughts are shared outside our direct organisational remits and that our support is joined up and cohesive.”
Nigel Ecclesfield, head of change implementation support programmes in further education and skills, Jisc, says:
“Working with the Foundation will enable us to contribute to the important work being commissioned under their Learning Futures and other Foundation programmes, and bring their perspective into play in supporting the work of the substantive Jisc programmes running alongside those they have commissioned themselves.
We are pleased that the Foundation will be supporting our co-design work with the sector. Through this collaboration we hope to ensure that we make best use of our resources and provide access to the materials and services that will support the sector in its use of digital technologies.”
The first collaborative activities will include sharing the results of both organisations’ sector-based action research projects, ensuring funding is directed to respond to different FELTAG recommendations without duplicating effort and, where appropriate, providing professional support to each other’s programmes of work.
via Jisc news
In her blog post, Ros Smith discusses how the assessment and feedback programme has outlined the issues facing institutions, and the solutions they have devised which could be applied across the sector to benefit learners and teachers. The post is read in full by Richard French in our podcast.
via Jisc news
In her blog post, Ros Smith discusses how the assessment and feedback programme has outlined the issues facing institutions, and the solutions they have devised which could be applied across the sector to benefit learners and teachers. The post is read in full by Richard French in our podcast.
via Jisc news
eduroam – the worldwide single sign-on secure network which provides Wi-Fi connectivity access for education and research – reached more than 600,000 internet-enabled devices in the UK last month.
During October a total of 608,131 devices were successfully authenticated using the eduroam national infrastructure, which is managed through the Janet network provided by Jisc. This is in comparison to 487,437 devices in the previous month, and is almost double the amount year-on-year (337,109 in October 2013).
Over the last three years an exponential increase in the number of devices counted roaming between member organisations has resulted in this milestone being reached. It is a measure of just how many students, teachers and researchers are benefitting by being able to connect to eduroam networks away from their home organisations when travelling.
There are over 220 member organisations now providing eduroam in the UK. Membership includes 95% of higher education (HE) and 20% of further education (FE) institutions. Other public sector bodies that support education and research and local authorities, including almost 100 hospitals, participate in eduroam across the UK, and in addition there are thousands participating organisations overseas.
eduroam is widely available throughout the rest of Europe and in over 50 countries globally, including Australia, Canada, Japan and the USA, making learning and research on the go seamless.
Users are able to gain authenticated logon and internet access using a single Wi-Fi profile, wherever the service has been made available by participating organisations. The result is a combined saving in time for the individual and expense for organisations, as users simply connect to Wi-Fi services without needing to sort out guest credentials or change device settings.
The service is also designed to provide maximum security confidence. Users are never prompted to enter their credentials onto a web page, which is vulnerable to being hijacked. Instead the infrastructure is based on 802.1X standard technology, a best practice authentication solution that provides end-to-end encryption and protects against ‘man-in-the-middle’ attacks.
Ed Wincott, who manages the eduroam service at Jisc, said:
“The proliferation of mobile devices and growing trend for bring your own device (BYOD), coupled with increasing fears around managing cyber security, are creating a demand for easy, ubiquitous and safe access online.
Reaching more than 600,000 devices in October demonstrates just how valuable eduroam is in helping registered users get high quality and secure internet connections as they move between locations and across various devices.”
via Jisc news
eduroam – the worldwide single sign-on secure network which provides Wi-Fi connectivity access for education and research – reached more than 600,000 internet-enabled devices in the UK last month.
During October a total of 608,131 devices were successfully authenticated using the eduroam national infrastructure, which is managed through the Janet network provided by Jisc. This is in comparison to 487,437 devices in the previous month, and is almost double the amount year-on-year (337,109 in October 2013).
Over the last three years an exponential increase in the number of devices counted roaming between member organisations has resulted in this milestone being reached. It is a measure of just how many students, teachers and researchers are benefitting by being able to connect to eduroam networks away from their home organisations when travelling.
There are over 220 member organisations now providing eduroam in the UK. Membership includes 95% of higher education (HE) and 20% of further education (FE) institutions. Other public sector bodies that support education and research and local authorities, including almost 100 hospitals, participate in eduroam across the UK, and in addition there are thousands participating organisations overseas.
eduroam is widely available throughout the rest of Europe and in over 50 countries globally, including Australia, Canada, Japan and the USA, making learning and research on the go seamless.
Users are able to gain authenticated logon and internet access using a single Wi-Fi profile, wherever the service has been made available by participating organisations. The result is a combined saving in time for the individual and expense for organisations, as users simply connect to Wi-Fi services without needing to sort out guest credentials or change device settings.
The service is also designed to provide maximum security confidence. Users are never prompted to enter their credentials onto a web page, which is vulnerable to being hijacked. Instead the infrastructure is based on 802.1X standard technology, a best practice authentication solution that provides end-to-end encryption and protects against ‘man-in-the-middle’ attacks.
Ed Wincott, who manages the eduroam service at Jisc, said:
“The proliferation of mobile devices and growing trend for bring your own device (BYOD), coupled with increasing fears around managing cyber security, are creating a demand for easy, ubiquitous and safe access online.
Reaching more than 600,000 devices in October demonstrates just how valuable eduroam is in helping registered users get high quality and secure internet connections as they move between locations and across various devices.”
via Jisc news
In his blog post, Frank Manista, Jisc APC community engagement officer, discusses how the Jisc Monitor project is exploring whether a user-centred, shared national service could potentially help institutions to manage their open access activity effectively. The post is read in full by Tom Mitchell in our podcast.
via Jisc news
In his blog post, Frank Manista, Jisc APC community engagement officer, discusses how the Jisc Monitor project is exploring whether a user-centred, shared national service could potentially help institutions to manage their open access activity effectively. The post is read in full by Tom Mitchell in our podcast.
via Jisc news
Code42, the leader in endpoint data protection and management for business and enterprise, today announced an agreement with Jisc to provide its SharePlan Enterprise File Sync and Share to institutions and researchers.
Through a strategic partnership with Q Associates, we added Code42’s SharePlan to our File Sync and Share dynamic purchasing system (DPS) for meeting criteria across all four certification areas: basic sync and share, integrated user authentication and identity management, European economic area hosting and data protection, and file encryption and security.
Andy Hardy, EMEA managing director for Code42, said:
“Education institutions and researchers need secure, reliable file sync and share to protect and store sensitive, confidential data. SharePlan meets all four of Jisc’s criteria for security and compliance, providing members with secure access to their most important files anywhere, anytime.”
Today’s announcement adds to Code42’s growing momentum in UK higher education, with a customer roster that includes The University of Sheffield, Imperial College London and National Institute for Medical Research.
Dan Perry, director of product and marketing, Jisc, said:
“The ongoing evolution of file synchronisation and sharing products presents exciting new opportunities for research and education organisations to work together, but it’s imperative that they have appropriate safeguards in place with regards to data protection and storage.
Working with suppliers who have met our rigorous assessment criteria, we are able to offer consistent, reliable and flexible sync and share solutions that support collaboration.”
SharePlan Enterprise File Sync and Share allows users to easily and effectively collaborate by securely sharing documents, without restrictions on file size and type. SharePlan can be deployed on-premises, and enables teams to work efficiently while IT maintains control of endpoint data shared inside and outside the enterprise.
Andrew Griffiths, director for Q Associates, added:
“Education institutions and their researchers should not have to choose between ease-of-use and data security when it comes to selecting a file sync and share solution. Through our strategic partnership with Code42, we’re delighted to offer SharePlan through the File Sync and Share DPS, delivering industry-leading, file sharing capabilities combined with the highest levels of compliance and security.”
For more information on the Jisc File Sync and Share DPS, visit the website or contact service@ja.net.
via Jisc news
Code42, the leader in endpoint data protection and management for business and enterprise, today announced an agreement with Jisc to provide its SharePlan Enterprise File Sync and Share to institutions and researchers.
Through a strategic partnership with Q Associates, we added Code42’s SharePlan to our File Sync and Share dynamic purchasing system (DPS) for meeting criteria across all four certification areas: basic sync and share, integrated user authentication and identity management, European economic area hosting and data protection, and file encryption and security.
Andy Hardy, EMEA managing director for Code42, said:
“Education institutions and researchers need secure, reliable file sync and share to protect and store sensitive, confidential data. SharePlan meets all four of Jisc’s criteria for security and compliance, providing members with secure access to their most important files anywhere, anytime.”
Today’s announcement adds to Code42’s growing momentum in UK higher education, with a customer roster that includes The University of Sheffield, Imperial College London and National Institute for Medical Research.
Dan Perry, director of product and marketing, Jisc, said:
“The ongoing evolution of file synchronisation and sharing products presents exciting new opportunities for research and education organisations to work together, but it’s imperative that they have appropriate safeguards in place with regards to data protection and storage.
Working with suppliers who have met our rigorous assessment criteria, we are able to offer consistent, reliable and flexible sync and share solutions that support collaboration.”
SharePlan Enterprise File Sync and Share allows users to easily and effectively collaborate by securely sharing documents, without restrictions on file size and type. SharePlan can be deployed on-premises, and enables teams to work efficiently while IT maintains control of endpoint data shared inside and outside the enterprise.
Andrew Griffiths, director for Q Associates, added:
“Education institutions and their researchers should not have to choose between ease-of-use and data security when it comes to selecting a file sync and share solution. Through our strategic partnership with Code42, we’re delighted to offer SharePlan through the File Sync and Share DPS, delivering industry-leading, file sharing capabilities combined with the highest levels of compliance and security.”
For more information on the Jisc File Sync and Share DPS, visit the website or contact service@ja.net.
via Jisc news
In her blog post, Gill Ferrell, synthesis consultant for the Jisc electronic management of assessment (EMA) project, outlines some of your concerns around moving to EMA and encourages your contributions for potential solutions. The post is read in full by Kate Steel in our podcast.
via Jisc news
In her blog post, Gill Ferrell, synthesis consultant for the Jisc electronic management of assessment (EMA) project, outlines some of your concerns around moving to EMA and encourages your contributions for potential solutions. The post is read in full by Kate Steel in our podcast.
via Jisc news
In his blog post, Paul McKean, customer advocate, further education and skills, has identified some of the next steps in helping to achieve the recommendations of the FELTAG report and government response. The post is read in full by Richard French in our podcast.
via Jisc news
In his blog post, Paul McKean, customer advocate, further education and skills, has identified some of the next steps in helping to achieve the recommendations of the FELTAG report and government response. The post is read in full by Richard French in our podcast.
via Jisc news
Digital collections are not always as discoverable as they could be through the channels and devices most commonly accessed by users. Karen Colbron, digital content manager, discusses some of the challenges in making resources more discoverable and offers a few top tips.
via Jisc news
Digital collections are not always as discoverable as they could be through the channels and devices most commonly accessed by users. Karen Colbron, digital content manager, discusses some of the challenges in making resources more discoverable and offers a few top tips.
via Jisc news
The Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) today publishes a new report entitled Jisc: a hidden advantage for higher education, written by the chief executive of Jisc, Martyn Harrow, with a foreword by Nick Hillman, director of HEPI.
The report highlights the £200m annual savings from the current shared infrastructure provided by Jisc and charts the potential for new shared services – including a ‘university in a box’ concept that could free up university spending on technology for reinvestment in research, teaching and learning.
Ahead of anticipated changes to Jisc’s funding model, the report warns that policymakers and institutions need to recognise the value generated through the UK’s shared infrastructure for higher and further education.
Jisc works with every publicly financed higher education and further education institution in the UK, more than 600 in total, and is one of the key pillars on which the world class reputation of the education sector depends.
Nick Hillman, director of HEPI, said:
"Ministers and civil servants have not had to worry about IT infrastructure in our universities because it has generally worked well. That reflects Jisc’s world-beating success. Other countries look jealously at our successful shared service.
Jisc’s achievements, which often take place off the radar, are in stark contrast to other big IT projects, which have typically been over budget, late and not fit for purpose. Yet forthcoming changes could make Jisc a victim of its own success. Funding changes will put the onus on individual universities to subscribe to Jisc’s services for the first time.
In the rearview mirror, Jisc’s history looks comparatively smooth but the road ahead is bumpy and laden with obstacles. The best way to address those challenges is to recognise the benefits of collective provision for individual institutions and the education sector as a whole."
The author of the report, Martyn Harrow, said:
"Jisc does the things that it makes sense to do on a UK level once rather than a hundred times over. If our coverage were to be reduced because of decision making that is not informed by the full value that the UK’s infrastructure brings to each institution, that would put the economies of scale and the specialised knowledge that we provide in danger.
There has never been a more important time for institutions to think about their use of technology. A new dialogue is needed at the highest level of each and every university to determine how the digital needs of their institution will be met, both in the immediate future and in the longer term.
We have a great opportunity in the years ahead to make the most of new developments in technology. If the UK is to cement its competitive advantage in higher and further education, we need to help universities tackle the new challenges head on."
Listen to Martyn Harrow discussing the HEPI report with Times Higher Education reporter Chris Parr.
via Jisc news
Jisc is enabling researchers across the UK to safely and securely share health data to progress their research with a collaborative initiative.
This initiative is showcasing how the UK’s research and education network Janet, provided by Jisc, can offer additional controls and safeguards for researchers working with sensitive data.
Jisc is working in partnership with leading UK universities to support three new initiatives. Rather than each of the research programmes and organisations developing one-off solutions to manage collaborative secure communication and user authentication between partners, Jisc is securing the networks across the organisations so that approved researchers working in one partner organisation can gain access to the data they need wherever it is stored.
The first is the development of the Farr Institute of Health Informatics Research, a UK-wide virtual organisation with four connection points and ten funding organisations. The Farr Institute provides a cutting-edge collaborative infrastructure for the safe use of patient and research data for medical research. This will lead to advances in preventative medicine, improvements in NHS care and better development of commercial drugs and diagnostics. It will also allow researchers to discover new insights into the causes of ill health, which in turn will lead to new therapies.
The second initiative, Medical Bioinformatics, is funded by the Medical Research Council, and will provide capacity for the safe use and analysis of biological and patient data for medical research across all diseases.
The Administrative Data Research Network is the third programme, and is the first phase of the Big Data Network funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. This network aims to facilitate access to and linkage of de-identified administrative data routinely collected by government departments and other public sector organisations.
Jeremy Sharp, Janet's director of strategic technologies, says:
“Providing researchers with controlled access to data and resources through the network is key to enabling them to focus on their research. In validating this use of the Janet network for sensitive, anonymised health data, we are ensuring that the UK’s investment in Janet will reap larger returns in the future and continue to respond to the considerable challenges facing those people who are doing valuable work analysing large quantities of data.”
The longer term aim is to create the conditions for a national infrastructure for secure access to data for researchers across various academic disciplines.
John Ainsworth, senior research fellow at the University of Manchester and e-infrastructure lead for the Farr Institute, says:
“The network is changing the way we do data analysis. It will provide a secure infrastructure for collaboration and the sharing of resources for data science. This will enable researchers to concentrate on what they do best – discovering new knowledge.”
via Jisc news
Jisc is inviting proposals from training providers in the further education (FE) and skills sector, in England, to develop new online interactive resources for apprentices.
We are looking for bids between £5K and £30K, with over £400,000 available in total for development of learning content.
The new interactive resources created during this opportunity will enable providers to move towards a more blended learning offer. This is a high priority at present as providers are now required to measure the amount of online and blended delivery they offer as part of the FELTAG report.
Jisc is inviting proposals from a number of vocational areas:
Automotive engineer
Broadcast / digital media production
Broadcast engineer
Business administration
Classroom assistant / childcare
Construction / bricklayer
Creative industries / theatre tech / scenery workshops
Creative industries / fashion / upholstery
Food / live events
Hairdresser
Health and social care
Horticulture / heritage sector
Laboratory technician
Logistics
Plumber
Rural / land-based
Successful proposals will have to demonstrate considerations of metadata, ‘curriculum mapping’ and Creative Commons licences are an integral part of the proposal to ensure the resources are discoverable, relevant and recyclable.
The aim is that these online interactive resources will help to improve access to and exploitation of open educational resources (OERs). The commissioned content will be deposited on the national repository for open educational resources, Jorum and made available for teachers and learners to share and exploit.
Ruth Hansford, manager of the interactive learning resources for skills project at Jisc, says:
“There is a time-honoured teacher tradition of spending evenings creating learning materials, taking them into work and swapping them over the photocopier. But how do teachers in the FE and skills sector locate and exploit suitable learning content in the digital age?
We’re offering the possibility to create varied and high-quality multimedia and interactive content which will be available to all in the sector.”
The deadline for proposals is Thursday 16 October 2014 at midday. If you have any questions please contact Ruth Hansford, r.hansford@jisc-collections.ac.uk.
via Jisc news