1.  Will the National Learning Network (NLN) materials service continue to operate for the foreseeable future?

YES.

LSIS have worked with Xtensis, who developed the service under the contract with JANET(UK), to ensure its continued operation for the next two years.  The site will be run by LSIS from July 22nd.  Xtensis has kindly granted a free license to use the software that delivers the site, so it will look and perform the same as it does now.

The current service is funded until summer 2011.  From that point it will be taken over by LSIS.

An LSIS survey in December last year confirmed that:

• practitioners continue to value the materials themselves and the service;
• a large body of learning in college and other provider VLEs contains embedded links to the site that  would  have to be reworked if the site closed.

2.  How will it work?

Exactly the same as it does now:

• the NLN materials will continue to be available at www.nln.ac.uk.
• all existing links to links to the site  - Learner URLs,  VLE links and Noodle links - will continue to work as now.
• individual Learning Objects (LOs) and Permanent Collections will still be available for download.

3.  What will change?

There will no longer be:

• registration and/login
• the facility to create collections

Users who want to create new collections or store any pre-existing collections associated with their login can copy them across to a new service provided by Xtensis, called XtLearn.

4.  What happens now?

The site will be run by Xtensis until summer, when there will be a formal handover to LSIS. Work has already started on the new version of the site. Some users may be contacted over the next few months and asked to test it out ahead of the official launch in July.

5.  What next?

Some of the materials no longer work, either technically because they were based on redundant technology, or in terms of their content (old-fashioned, outdated practice etc).  The LSIS survey identified a wish by users to see them brought up to scratch. It also identified members of the community who would be willing to join or lead such developments. LSIS will work with partners to facilitate these developments as far as is practicable.

LSIS
10 June 2011

Phil Smart delivered an extremely entertaining and informative presentation on this topic at the last McShib (federated access management) meeting.  His presentation (along with others from the day) can be viewed via the UK federation website.

Simon Marsden set the scene for the day by discussing the University of Edinburgh’s mobile technologies survey which has produced some really interesting findings and will inform future developments for mobile provision and support at the University.

Craig Mill followed with a presentation on Create&Convert: a free tool designed to help institutions publish accessible information for all.  Create&Convert is the latest addition to the EduApps suite of software collections developed by RSC Scotland North & East.

Emma Faragher then discussed work at the National Library of Scotland to produce the John Murray archive app.  This free app makes use of a range of multimedia and provides a facscinating insight into the collection.

Finally, delegates had the opportunity to explore their creative abilities by participating in a hands-on digital video workshop led by Carol Walker.  Carol supplied the group with a whole range of tips and tricks for cheap and effective video production.

A number of other initiatives were discussed throughout the day, including the MLibraries project at Edinburgh Napier University and the release of Edina’s Social Media Guidlines.

All presentations can be accessed from the menu below.  Our thanks to the presenters and also Queen Margaret University Library for providing delegates with such a warm welcome and great facilities on the day.

| Get your Presentation Pack

The forum provides a lively opportunity to share experiences, knowledge, expertise - and even frustrations - about federated access management.  We are delighted to announce that we will be joined by some very special guests on this occasion, including Chad La Joie, Scott Cantor and Brent Putman - all well-known Shibboleth developers from the US.

View further information (including booking details).

• The results of the recent mobile services survey at the University of Edinburgh
• An overview of mobile apps at the University of St. Andrews
• The development of the John Murray Archive app at the National Library of Scotland
• The use of digital video cameras at Perth College

View further information (including booking details).

Image by Leeks on Flickr used under Creative Commons

Speakers included Professor David Nicholas from UCL on the Google Generation and Debbi Boden of Glasgow Caledonian University on digital literacy.  Caren Milloy discussed the need for hyper-personalised experiences and innovation in delivery, citing examples such as Enhanced Editions.  Jon Trinder also gave an interesting talk on mobile technologies, providing a brief history, as well as discussing student reponses to projects involving mobile devices.

The full list of presentations are available from the SCURL website.

With the recent news of publisher restrictions on the remote lending of e-books, it is clear that they will be the topic of debate for some time to come.

The JISC Regional Support Centre Scotland North & East launches a powerful FREE tool that is able to create talking books for print-impaired learners and those with reading or literacy difficulties. Create&Convert is an important leveller of opportunity for such students, but it also helps organisations comply with the Equality Act 2010, released in early October.

Create&Convert can take electronic documents such as Word, Open Writer and scanned editable text documents which are in an accessible structured format and turn them easily, simply, and cheaply into an ‘epub’ or talking book.  The talking book can then be listened to on a computer, an Mp3 player or ipod, or on any suitable portable or handheld device.

Create&Convert is part of the RSC’s EduApps family of tools (which include the popular AccessApps and MyStudyBar collections).  It’s completely free to download, share and use.

“Working in a digital age” will take place on 21st October at the Playfair Library in Edinburgh.  The programme includes presentations on:

- the strategic landscape for ebooks and libraries
- digital literacy
- the Google generation
- mobile learning
- the implications of the Digital Economy Act 2010
- e-procurement

The full programme will be available shortly.  For futher information (including booking details) visit the SLIC website.