A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk What Can Internet Technologies Offer? Brian Kelly UKOLN University of Bath Bath URL UKOLN is supported by: How can Internet technologies help us to support communications with & by students? How should IT Services respond to use of Internet technologies driven by students? How can Internet technologies help us to support communications with & by students? How should IT Services respond to use of Internet technologies driven by students?

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Contents About The Speaker How Times Have Changed Technologies: Instant Messaging Integrated environments Blogging  Wikis Mobile phones  Semantic Web / FOAF Strategic Challenges: Open source  Support Preservation  Deployment Conclusions

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk About The Speaker Brian Kelly: UK Web Focus – funded by JISC and the MLA to support the HE/FE and museums, libraries & archives sector on Web standards & best practices Based at UKOLN – a national centre of expertise in digital information management Located at the University of Bath Formerly worked in user support in Computing Service departments at Universities of Loughborough ( ), Liverpool ( ) and Leeds ( ) and for Netskills (1995-6)

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk How Times Have Changed IT Strategy s IT Skills Training Lotus / Excel WordPerfect / Word User Groups, Committees Mainframe / Unix PC / Mac Centralised / Distributed Users Research / Teaching IT Strategy Today Users IT applications Free software Home use Hotmail accounts, MSN IDs User Groups, Committees Major funding decisions Responding to autonomy Security Responding to Internet environment Interoperability, standards, preservation Open source

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Instant Messaging Instant Messaging: Nothing new – Unix talk anyone? New user communities driving its use: Young people  Overseas students Comments from recent UCISA poll: "IM... is 'here to stay' – an 'unstoppable tide'. Seen as part of youth culture, along with … SMS" Liverpool JMU "Students will arrive familiar with, and expecting to.. use such tools. seen by younger people to be 'boring', 'full of spam', IM and SMS immediacy preferred" Bath But: "Complaints raised regarding students hogging PCs.. Also case with some time ago" Liverpool JMU "APIs are known and therefore targets for hackers" London Met "Some challenges in interoperability …" Bath Technologies

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk IM - Tools Popular IM tools include: MSN Messenger Yahoo Messenger AOL Instant Messenger Typically choosing a supported application involved looking at functionality, cost, support, security,.. Technologies

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk IM Functionality (1) MSN Messenger provides groupware & IM functionality: Sharing desktop applications File transfer Webcams Games Warning – this could be a virus Has potential in user support & collaborative working Technologies

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk IM Functionality (2) Yahoo Messenger is integrated with My.Yahoo: Calender (which can be synced with Outlook) Personalised new, weather, etc. SMS (but not in UK) Technologies

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk IM Guidelines (1) Guidelines developed for QA Focus (UKOLN/AHDS project): Scheduled virtual meeting with home worker and with project partner Formal agenda used and meeting chaired Use of Webcam planned (nb privacy issues) Transcript archived (confidentiality issues flagged) IM also used for informal purposes e.g. short term tasks such as agreeing on pub to meet in Recognition of dangers of interruption, privacy, etc. (similar to divulging personal phone no.) Need for guidelines to be implemented in protocols Guidelines

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk IM Guidelines (2) The JISC-funded QA Focus project has developed a quality assurance framework for JISC's digital library programmes We also have support materials such as briefing documents, example policies and procedures documents, etc. documents/briefings/briefing-56/ documents/briefings/briefing-56/ See Guidelines

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Security Issues "I've asked our IT bods to open up the port, but have been met (so far) with a stony silence." Tensions: Users want the rich functionality IT Services also need to address security, privacy, support, etc. issues IM is an example of an edge service: Name given to P2P programs such as instant messaging, file sharing, etc. Programs are located at the edge of the network, travelling through desktop PCs rather than a central server IETF working on "Open Pluggable Edge Services" standard, which will address security issues Technologies

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Interoperability Lack of interoperability: Mainstream IM world is currently closed Multi-protocol clients exist (e.g. Trillian, IM+) but don't support value-added features (  ) XMPP - open protocol of IM Jabber provides open source clients & servers which support XMPP Value-added services being developed e.g. BuddySpace at OU (note interesting movie) Technologies

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Policy Issues For IM: Functionality / support aren't main issues IM exists to facilitate communications the users' peers Should we: Provide multiple clients to support users (Liverpool approach)? Chose client and manage the ids, so we can use to communicate IM students? Provide clients but support separate IM facility (e.g. as part of portal, VLE, …)? Wait for standards & applications to arrive which solve the problems? Policies

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk In Summary MSN AOL Yahoo AOL Messenger MSN Messenger Yahoo Messenger Local (Jabber) Jabber Trillian, IM+ Local VLE VLE IM tool Additional functionality Additional problems? Remote IM databases are populated by individuals and managed remotely Finding people, managing groups of students, etc. is difficult Do we need a national IM databases managed by the sector (along Athens lines)? Of leave this to commercial sector? 'Athens' IM (cf OU)

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Integrating Environments (1) Services such as YahooGroups integrate: Mailing lists IM Voting Calendars … Useful to get committee together at same time – buts ads are disliked Very effective way of reaching a decision – avoids long discursive discussions Useful to view shared calendar with remote staff. Can integrate with local calendar, but not yet fully. Technologies

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Integrating Environments (2) JISCMail is extending its facilities to include a voting system and a chat room (currently being tested) Being part of our community it doesn’t have adverts and is responsive to needs of the community Technologies

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk IM can be integrated with other facilities within VLEs, portals, etc. For example: Univ of Delaware (looking to integrate IM as a channel in uPortal) VLS Integrating Environments (3) Preamble Formal start, with date stamp for transcript People arrive late & miss guidelines Data protection, privacy, libel, …! Preamble Formal start, with date stamp for transcript People arrive late & miss guidelines Data protection, privacy, libel, …!

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Let's Kill ! has its role but: Why send messages which time-out when many users will read them too late? Why not use delivery channels which are spam-free? Why not use delivery channels which are more suited to receiving information (as opposed to discussions)? Why not allow users to select their preferred channels? Technologies RSS: Syndication of content A light-weight standard used in the JISC IE View on Web or using dedicated RSS viewer Shouldn't RSS viewers be standard on desktops? Shouldn't we be creating RSS feed for news alerts? Shouldn't RSS viewers be standard on desktops? Shouldn't we be creating RSS feed for news alerts?

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Blogging Blogging: cult fashion or significant developing in publishing / communications? Technologies Student's learning diary. Created by student and hosted on remote Blogger Web site. No longer maintained? A more sustainable approach is likely when used as part of a course. This example also provides shared experiences

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Wikis Wiki: An open shared space for collaborative editing Emerging Technologies Wikipedia – a example of shared encyclopaedia. Yes, trust is an issue! Wikipedia – a example of shared encyclopaedia. Yes, trust is an issue! QUB provide an environment for IT & Society students to collectively edit Web pages.

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk The Potential For SMS SMS: Over 100 million SMS txts sent over New Year 2004 – why don't we send exam results, library alerts, …? A small number of institutions are using SMS : "SHU used SMS during clearing - potential students texted in UCAS code of course of interest. The system sent back text saying whether places were still available - alleviating pressure on our call centre." "I believe Edinburgh student union uses SMS for their elections." "I believe there are plans afoot in our university at a high level to develop a method of 'bulk sending' SMS messages out to students." Birkbeck are "hoping to pilot an SMS alert system soon for one of our Schools that they can use (via a simple Web interface) to send lecture cancellation messages etc to their students" Technologies

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk From SMS  3G WAP: Failed to take off, but some experimentation talking place 3G: The SMS or the WAP of the future? Will developments be driven by: Research interests – e.g. Consumers? Will the killer app be: Publishing information? Communications? Something else: competition for WiFi competition e.g. Google for the pub quiz Nothing Technologies

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk FOAF FOAF (Friends-of-a-Friend): A Semantic Web application (SW – creation of a distributed global database without central control) Allows structured information about people to be brought together Great potential for building online communities Featured in Guardian Online column – 19 Feb 2004 Paper at IADIS Web Based Communities 2004 on "Using FOAF To Support Community-Building" by Kelly & Dodds Emerging Technologies

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk FOAF Example (1) FOAF Explorer - A view of my FOAF file, showing links to my friends Further information in my FOAF file Leigh's FOAF file, showing his additional information Emerging Technologies

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk FOAF Example (2) FOAFNaut - Emerging Technologies

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Creating FOAF Several types of FOAF authoring tools are available: Do it by hand Web-based tools Dedicated tools Using a Wiki Emerging Technologies Authoring tools and viewers available – it's time to experiment!

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Creating Online Communities Students (and staff) want to be part of communities - as shown by success of FriendsReunited and (recently) Orkut But online communities come and go and the data needs to be re-entered, relationships re- established, … The Tribe.net online community has stated that it will support FOAF, which could provide a solution to such concerns. FOAF has recently started to gain some momentum, as indicated by the Guardian Online feature. These Social Networks can provide: Mailing lists Instant messaging Links to partners & potential partners These Social Networks can provide: Mailing lists Instant messaging Links to partners & potential partners

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Strategic Challenges Challenges we face: AUPs Open Source vs Commercial Solutions Departmental & Individual Autonomy Interoperability, Preservation, etc. People Issues Privacy, Data Protection, … Sustainable Communities How we go about deploying such facilities … Challenges

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Open Source Software Many Web/Internet -based tools described (Wikis, Blogs, Jabber, …): Are available as open source software (OSS) Act as demonstrators of emerging new open standards Options for an institutional OSS strategy: Replace MS Office products by Open Office Deploy new services using open source applications Note the JISC-funded OSS Watch service can provide advice on OSS strategies. See Challenges

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Interoperability & Sustainability Current position: Lots of interesting application areas and application software In the future: Software products will fade away, be taken over,.. There will be a need to integrate areas (VLEs, with IM with Blogging) to provide seamless interface There will be a need for data to migrate There will be a need for data to be preserved (records of dialogue, group memory, FoI, …) The use of open standards will be important. Challenges

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Deployment How should we go about deploying more open and innovative collaborative systems? "Eat your own dogfood" – use the tools to discuss the tools. Several IM tools were used to discuss the issues with staff evaluating IM at Edinburgh. Small scale experiments. Sharing experiences. Learn from the users – and your children! Challenges

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Non-Technical Issues Sustainability of online communities (see "Building Online Communities - The Barriers And The Bruises" by Heap / Kelly) Support Issues:  Technical support: "How do I …?", "Why can't I …?"  Support in use of the technologies (is this our job?) Policy Issues:  We should support students in their social & networking activities in cyberspace as well as in real life  We don't patrol student bedrooms so let's not patrol the PC in their bedroom  IT facilities and networks are for teaching / research. We'll ban other use, especially if security's an issue Such policy decisions may be influenced by bigger HE funding issues Challenges

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Conclusions Internet and Web collaborative technologies: Provide a range of interesting new application areas of use in a teaching context Students will increasingly be familiar with such technologies and expect to continue to use them Many technologies are free/open source and will be deployed by individuals / in departments Issues of ongoing, security, interoperability, etc. will need to be addressed by IT Services Issues of sustainable communities, guidelines, etc. also need addressing – but by whom? Many challenges – but also great potential

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Questions Any questions?