A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Collaborative Technologies: A UKOLN Perspective Brian Kelly UK Web Focus UKOLN URL UKOLN is supported by: Contents The UKOLN Context IRC at WWW 2003 Collaboration at events The challenges Open discussion Contents The UKOLN Context IRC at WWW 2003 Collaboration at events The challenges Open discussion Permission granted to use networked applications to support aims of the seminar provided disruptions to others are minimised.

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 2 Supporting UKOLN's Mission Interested in computer supported communications (CSC) / collaborative work (CSCW) to support UKOLN's (and UKOLN's funders') mission: We support wide range of communities: HE (160+ HEIs), FE (400+), museums, libraries and archives, … Our funders need to support distributed bodies (JISC, JISC RSCs, HEIs, MLA, MLA Regional Agencies, etc. We run/participate in many events (conferences, workshops,..) We are engaging in distributed project work (JISC and EU funding) We have remote workers (currently in Leeds and Guildford) and split location on campus We have an interest in the application of other research interests in this area e.g. metadata, preservation, interoperability, standards, … We keep a watching brief on emerging networked technologies which may prove valuable to our users

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 3 Collaborative Technologies At W3C Meetings / WWW Conferences Background: Bi-annual W3C AC meetings, often co-located with international WWW conference For past few years geeks + laptops + WiFi + enthusiasm = innovation IRC used for minute-taking. Valuable for clarifying technical issues, addressing language barriers, involving remote attendees, … At WWW 2003 IRC used to enhance the research process 'Real-time peer-reviewing', P Shabajee Speaker: Tim BL coined the term x Tim on IRC: No I didn't IRC discussion, Googling, … Question Time: What I said was y

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 4 Colston Symposium, Bristol Paul Shabajee, ILRT gave a talk about use of IRC and Blogs There was a (semi-unplanned) realtime display of the IRC dialogue alongside PowerPoint slides – and mixed reaction from audience

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 5 IM In Wider Community IT Services dept. at X. discovered MSN Messenger was inadvertently on desktop Must remove it: it's MS; security risk; trivial, … Must keep it: users love it; we'll get lynched Subsequent survey across community: "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 & therefore targets for hackers" London Met "Some challenges in interoperability …" Bath

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 6 UKOLN/UCISA Workshop Event organised in Leeds, Nov 2004 aimed at exploring how CSC can be used to support T&L / research effectively and the challenges IT Services face: Case studies on Blogs (Morrison) and IRC (Shabajee) Skype to allow remote user to listen to first talk IM (Jabber rooms) for discussions Wiki for collaborative note-taking in discussion groups Some delegates also Blogged (at time / afterwards) Avoided 'technolust': AUP provided Addressed appropriate application areas Addressed deployment barriers Event reports to be published in Ariadne and paper written (pre-print available)

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 7 Feedback Wiki annotation tool useful in recording discussions – about use of IM and Wikis IM Wikis Notes Delegates could: Read notes from other groups All? contribute Update notes prior to report (democratising) (first happened) Notes Delegates could: Read notes from other groups All? contribute Update notes prior to report (democratising) (first happened)

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 8 Beyond Experimentation Issues: There is a learning curve (tools, mental model, concerns, …) Differences in learning styles, disciplines, research vs T&L, … Age/gender issues? Cf. mobile phones report. Clarification of purpose – what are we doing, why are we doing it, do we all agree with what we're doing, … Deployment strategies: want to do it, understand vision, but tools are flawed and I've deadlines Need for safety net when experimenting Surprising new-found respect for Robert Kilroy-Silk!

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 9 Related Work Other work in UKOLN: Use of VRVS (Access GRID technology) (and TWiki) to support distributed RDN / DCC collaborative working A Powell, Ariadne 41 Potential for FOAF Semantic Web application (open Social Network format cf. Orkut, etc.) See Kelly & Dodds, IADIS WBC 2004 Key feature is data integration, not 'presentational fluff' paperAriadne article NB. Lots of trust, data protection, … issues – possibly addressed by author-created information

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 10 Research Issues Some areas of interest: Discovery: I gave you the information in (home/work account); on IM; in chatroom; on Skype; on Skype IM; in Blog; in Wiki; F2F; … Preservation: recording of potentially valuable academic discourse held in variety of applications; in-house / trusted third party / commercial third party; … Identifiers: need for persistent identifiers (independent of application, organisation and org. structure) for discovery, annotations, … - nb. identifiers for Wikalong annotations vary for different forms of URIs (foo/, foo/intro.html, …) …

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 11 On The Horizon - Podcasting RSS: Lightweight news syndication standard(s) - simple way of getting third party content in Web pages, tickertape, … Podcasts: "Transmitters? We don't need no stinkin' transmitters" RSS 2 application invented by Adam Curry & Dave Winer Simple way of getting MP3 files on your iPod, … Distribution mechanism, creation tool, cultural phenomena,.. Growth helped by Creative Commons licences Applications: Learning on the bus, train, … Get in first & make the money / make an impact Effect on society when networking, digital recording, storage & access are pervasive Wikicasting: phone no. and voice added to Podcast Podcast+GPS: location- based recording & listening. Cultural or social commentary on your location Wikicasting: phone no. and voice added to Podcast Podcast+GPS: location- based recording & listening. Cultural or social commentary on your location Crazy Ideas?

A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk 12 Questions, Discussion, …