The 'Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World' Report: Implications For IT Service Departments

The ‘Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World’ Report: Implications For IT Service Departments Brian Kelly UKOLN University of Bath Bath, UK UKOLN is supported by: This work is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 licence (but note caveat) Acceptable Use Policy Recording of this talk, taking photos, discussing the content using email, instant messaging, blogs, SMS, etc. is permitted providing distractions to others is minimised. Resources bookmarked using ‘ bucs-200906 ' tag http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/seminars/bucs-200906/ Email: [email_address] Twitter: http://twitter.com/briankelly/ Blog: http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com/

About Me
Brian Kelly:
National Web adviser to UK Universities and cultural heritage organisations
Based at UKOLN, a national centre of expertise in digital information management and located at the University of Bath
Involved in Web since January 1993
Information World Review’s Information Professional of the Year (2007-8)
Over 300 presentations given since 1997
Current area of interest include Web 2.0, Web standards and Web accessibility
Introduction

About My Past
Background of working in IT Services:
1984-90: Application support at Loughborough University
1990-91: Information Officer at University of Liverpool
1991-95: Information Officer at University of Leeds
1995-96: Senior Trainer, Netskills, University of Newcastle
1996-: UK Web Focus at UKOLN
Specific areas of interest in the past:
User support, document and training
Provision of news, marketing the department (a ‘spin-doctor’!), user liaison, …
Online information systems and CWISes

Using Tools I Talk About
Use of Web 2.0 technologies & approaches:
RSS feeds for structured information
Geo-location data
Exploitation of 3 rd party services
Openness of resources
Risk assessment / management approaches
Talks given in 2008 covered Web 2.0, accessibility & standards. Introduction Note also use of blogs, video blogs, YouTube, Twitter, …

About This Talk
This talk will cover:
Implications of the “ Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World ” report
What ‘network as a platform’ / Cloud computing means to IT Service departments
How the University might respond
How IT Service departments can make use of the Social Web
Introduction

The CLEX Inquiry
Background:
Committee of Inquiry into the Changing Learner Experience (CLEX) set up in 2008
Remit to “consider the impact of the newest technologies such as social networking & mobile devices on the behaviour and attitudes of students coming up to and just entered higher education and the issues this poses for universities & colleges”
Launched on12 May & featured in Guardian
“ Web 2.0 in HE” Report
Conclusions:
“ Senior managers finally get the Social Web” 
Series of recommendations for further work

The Cloud
Web 2.0 Characteristic:
‘ Network as the platform’
Originally perceived a a threat to IT Services (Thatcherite out-sourcing)?
Used to scare senior managers at UCISA 2006
Today:
Becoming accepted
See Sheffield University & GMail
Use the cloud & save the planet?
Also see Bath Web Team’s work (on ‘Eternal Beta’)

The Student Experience
From the report:
Web 2.0 technologies being deployed across broad spectrum of university activities
Deployment is not systematic; drive is bottom up
UK is well-positioned
There is no implementation blueprint for Web 2.0
Implications for institutions:
Senior management should now take notice of the early adopters!
Don’t put unnecessary blocks in place
Time to explore institutional opportunities (new funding?)
Let’s not forget researchers & staff
What should Bath do?

Web 2.0
What Is Web 2.0?
Marketing term (derived from observing 'patterns') rather than technical standards - “an attitude not a technology”
Web2MemeMap, Tim O’Reilly, 2005
Characteristics Of Web 2.0
Network as platform
Always beta
Clean URIs
Remix and mash-ups
Syndication (RSS)
Architecture of participation
Blogs & Wikis
Social networking
Social tagging (folksonomies)
Trust and openness
Web 2.0

Benefits of Web 2.0/Social Web
Delivery Mechanisms (“network as platform”):
Global outreach : maximise impact of and engagement with ideas
Outsourced services : allowing organisations to focus on their strengths and small institutions to engage on more equal terms
Exploits infrastructure : the standards (e,g. RSS) & services (Google, Amazon, ..) now in place
User Benefits:
User can create content
Can comment on other’s content
Can engage with others
Users no longer passive consumers of content
Isn’t this an important aspect of what learning & research is about?

Social Web and Students
Benefits:
Social activities
Informal learning
Accessing formal learning resources in preferred user environment
Exploiting potential of mobile devices
Building up network of contacts
How:
Using a user’s preferred PLE
Can we regard a student’s social network as a more democratic equivalent of the old school tie (public school) network

Social Web & Staff/Researchers
Benefits
As for students
Establishing links with new professional contacts
Maximising impact of new ideas
How:
Using a user’s preferred PRE
Increasingly Web 2.0-savvy staff may be managing their ‘personal brand’, professional impact and engaging in personal identity management

Social Web and Librarians / E-Learning Support Staff
What’s the role of libraries and/or e-learning support staff in a Social Web environment:
Developing and implementing new media literacy strategies for students
Professional training & development in new media literacy for staff and researchers
Ensuring resources can be surfaced in a variety of environments (PLEs and PREs)

Social Web and IT Services
What’s the role of IT Service departments in a Social Web environment:
Not to get in the away
Embracing a diversity of solutions & preferred environments
Providing a safe & reliable infrastructure, which reflects the risk assessment of the user community
To be prepared to argue for preferred best practices, but to be willing to give priority to user preferences
Engage with the users who are happy with the status quo
Using the Social Web to support departmental aims & objectives

The Developer’s Blog
In Cider Knowledge Blog
Mark Sammons, Edinburgh Uni
Launched in 2004!
Main focus on Firefox ADM development work
Other reflections on IT
Not official!
Originally at http://in-cider.spaces.live.com/ Now at http://ick2.wordpress.com/

The IT Service’s Blog
IT Services blog at Edge Hill University:
Useful info about IT developments
Ability to provide comments
Ease of syndicating content (e.g. to mobile devices)
But:
No longer active
http://blogs.edgehill.ac.uk/techservices/

Senior Managers
Chris Sexton:
Director at Sheffield Uni & UCISA Chair
Prolific blogger since 2007
Hosted on Blogger
Valuable trip reports (e.g. Educause)
Also uses Twitter
Note recent post on deployment of Google Mail for students:
“ Formally announced the Google mail for students option last night by sending an email to all staff and students. Replies are split almost 50/50. From students saying this is great news, and from staff saying why can't we have it!”

Who’s Blogging & Who’s Not?
Senior Managers:
David Harrison, Cardiff
Michael Webb, Newport
Graham Hill, Bradford
New director, UCL
Where are the:
Information Officers?
Trainers?
SysAdmins?
Network staff
…
Are senior managers blogging because of others concerns over AUP, precedents, …? Note see my “ Defend this Tory MP (yes, really!) ” blog post In-house (& Twitterer) In-house (& Twitterer) Hosted on Blogger

Plants and Resource Investigators
Should everyone blog, tweet, …?

Resource Investigation
Who else has implemented the services we’re planning?
Did it work? What problems did they have?
What are the users saying about us? Have we done something wrong? How do we respond?
We used to have email & annual conferences We now have rich portfolio of tools (blogs, Twitter, wikis, Skype, …) Particular benefits for IT staff – we’re comfortable with IT!

What About Twitter?
Twitter is part of my portfolio of support, dissemination, user engagement & social) tools
There’s a need to:
Be prepared to experiment & innovate
Identify emerging patterns of best practice
Avoid developing policies too soon
Questions : Multiple Twitter accounts? News dissemination or user engagement? Do you follow back and respond? Should BUCS promote access? Is there a role for Yammer? …

The Researcher’s Perspective
A repositories report published by UKOLN – but some criticisms from Stephen Downes.
Blog post spotted (Technorati search for ‘UKOLN’) and response made (and accepted)

What Are They Saying About BUCS?
They hate you! (Well one or two people said they did) But it’s now gone quiet.
Is monitoring Facebook:
A sensible approach to gauging user views?
An intrusion into personal space?
Neither?
Both?

IT Services 1.0!
We need to avoid simplistic solutions to the complexities:
Open Standards Fundamentalist: we just need XML
Open Source Fundamentalist: we just need Linux
Ownership Fundamentalist: must own everything
Vendor Fundamentalist: we must use next version of our enterprise system (and you must fit in with this)
Accessibility Fundamentalist: must do WAI WCAG
User Fundamentalist: must do whatever users want
Legal Fundamentalist: it breaches copyright, …
Perfectionist : It doesn't do everything, so we'll do nothing
Simplistic Developer : I've developed a perfect solution – I don't care if it doesn't run in the real world
Web 2.0 : It’s new; its cool!
Slide first used at UCISA Management Conf: “So true!”

IT Services 2.0
IT Services 2.0:
Coined by Mark Salmon
Used in recorded talk at UCISA Conference 2008
Embraced by David Harrison (Information Services 2.0)
Opportunity for rethinking role (again!)
Characteristics:
Users come before IT dogma
Services may be in the Cloud
AUP and a flexible AUP process (AUPP)
Willingness to embrace risks

Deployment Strategies
Interested in using Web 2.0 in your organisation?
Worried about corporate inertia, power struggles, etc?
There’s a need for a deployment strategy:
Addressing business needs
Low-hanging fruits
Encouraging the enthusiasts (don’t get in the way)
Gain experience of the browser tools – and see what you’re missing!
Staff training & development
Address areas you feel comfortable with
Impact analysis and assessment
Risk and opportunity management strategy
Culture of sharing and openness
…

Risk Management
JISC infoNet Risk Management infoKit:
“ In education, as in any other environment, you can’t decide not to take risks: that simply isn’t an option in today’s world. All of us take risks and it’s a question of which risks we take ”
Examples of people who are likely to be adverse stakeholders:
People who fear loss of their jobs
People who will require re-training
People who may be moved to a different department / team
People .. required to commit resources to the project
People who fear loss of control over a function or resources
People who will have to do their job in a different way
People who will have to carry out new or additional functions
People who will have to use a new technology

Critical Friends / Friendly Critics
JISC U&I programme is encouraging establishment of “Critical Friends”
See <http://critical-friends.org/> Critical Friends has a formal definition, providing an informed but confidential advice and feedback. Friendly critics, however, may give such advice in an open forum Paul Walk (UKOLN) was described as a ‘critical friend’ of JISC See <http://dev8d.jiscinvolve.org/2009/ 02/10/five-minute-interview-paul-walk/>

Towards a Framework
“ Time To Stop Doing and Start Thinking: A Framework For Exploiting Web 2.0 Services ”, Museums & the Web 2009 conference
Biases Subjective factors Intended Purpose Benefits (various stakeholders Risks (various stakeholders Missed Opps. (various stakeholders Costs (various stakeholders
Sharing experiences
Learning from successes & failures
Tackling biases
…
Critical friends
Application to existing services
Application to in-house development
…
See blog post on Critical Friends, Friendly Critics (and Hostile Opponents!)

Using The Framework
Use of approach in two scenarios: use of Twitter & Facebook
Note personal biases! Intended Purpose Benefits (various stakeholders Risks (various stakeholders Missed Opps. (various stakeholders Costs (various stakeholders Community support Rapid feedback Justify ROI Org. brand Community- building Low? Twitter for individuals Organisational Fb Page Marketing events,… Large audiences Ownership, privacy, lock-in Marketing opportunity Low?
Critical Friends / Friendly Critics
Phil Bradley / Brian Kelly blogs
Email list discussions
Learning
Many blogs
Engaging with a Twitter community
Conferences
Papers
…

Conclusions The future is exciting - but IT Services 2.0 will need to address the challenges. Let the debate begin! Acknowledgments to Michael Edson for the Web Tech Guy and Angry Staff Person post / comic strip

http://www.aximark.fr	33
http://ukwebfocus.wordpress.com	6
http://www.netvibes.com	1

The 'Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World' Report: Implications For IT Service Departments

by guest6d8f50

Accessibility

Categories

Upload Details

Usage Rights

3 Embeds 40

Statistics

The ’Higher Education in a Web 2.0 World’ Report: Implications For IT Service Departments Presentation Transcript