http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/seminars/bucs-200906/
The „Higher Education in a
Web 2.0 World‟ Report:
Implications For IT Service Departments
Brian Kelly Acceptable Use Policy
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is permitted providing distractions to
Email:
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b.kelly@ukoln.ac.uk
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Introduction
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
A centre of expertise in digital information management www.ukoln.ac.uk
2
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
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3
Introduction
Using Tools I Talk About
Use of Web 2.0
technologies &
approaches:
• RSS feeds for
structured
information
• Geo-location data
• Exploitation of 3rd
party services
• Openness of
resources
• Risk assessment /
management
Talks given in 2008 covered Web 2.0, approaches
accessibility & standards.
Twitter, …
Note also use of blogs, video blogs, YouTube,www.ukoln.ac.uk
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Introduction
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
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5
“Web 2.0 in HE” Report 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
Conclusions:
• “Senior managers finally get the Social Web”
6
• Series of recommendations
A centre of expertise in digital information management for further work
www.ukoln.ac.uk
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‟)
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7
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?)
What should
• Let‟s not forget researchers
A centre of expertise in digital information management & staff www.ukoln.ac.uk
8 Bath do?
Web 2.0 Web 2.0
What Is Web 2.0?
Marketing term (derived from observing 'patterns') rather
than technical standards - “an attitude not a technology”
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)
Web2MemeMap, Tim O‟Reilly,
• Trust and openness
A centre of expertise in digital information management www.ukoln.ac.uk
9 2005
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? in digital information management
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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
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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 www.ukoln.ac.uk
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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)
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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
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14
The Developer‟s Blog
In Cider Knowledge
Blog
• Mark Sammons,
Edinburgh Uni
• Launched in
2004!
• Main focus on
Firefox ADM
development
work
Originally at http://in-cider.spaces.live.com/
• Other reflections
Now at http://ick2.wordpress.com/ on IT
• Not official!
A centre of expertise in digital information management www.ukoln.ac.uk
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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:
http://blogs.edgehill.ac.uk/techservices/
• No longer active
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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
A centre of expertise in digital information management www.ukoln.ac.uk
17 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
In-house (& Twitterer) • …
Are senior managers blogging
because of others concerns
In-house (& Twitterer)
over AUP, precedents, …?
Note see my “Defend this Tory
A centre of expertiseHosted on Blogger MP (yes, really!)” blog post
in digital information management www.ukoln.ac.uk
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Plants and Resource Investigators
Should everyone
blog, tweet, …?
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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?
We used to have email & annual conferences How do we respond?
We now have rich portfolio of tools
(blogs, Twitter, wikis, Skype, …)
Particular centre of expertise instaff – we‟re comfortable with IT!
A benefits for IT digital information management www.ukoln.ac.uk
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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
Questions: Multiple Twitter accounts? News • Avoid developing
dissemination or user engagement? Do you policies too soon
follow back and respond? Should BUCS
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promoteAaccess? Is there a role for Yammer? … www.ukoln.ac.uk
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)
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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?
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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!
A centre of expertise in at information Management Conf: “So true!”
Slide first useddigital UCISA management www.ukoln.ac.uk
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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)
25 • Willingness to embrace risks
A centre of expertise in digital information management www.ukoln.ac.uk
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
26
• …
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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 information management
A centre of expertise in digitalwill have to use a new technology
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Critical Friends / Friendly Critics
JISC U&I
programme is
encouraging
establishment of
“Critical Friends”
Paul Walk
(UKOLN) was
described as a
„critical friend‟ of
See JISC
02/10/five-minute-interview-paul-walk/>
Critical Friends has a formal definition, providing an informed
but confidential advice and feedback.
critics, however, may give such advice in an open forum
Friendly A centre of expertise in digital information management www.ukoln.ac.uk
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Towards a Framework
Biases
• Critical friends Intended
• Sharing
• Application to Purpose
experiences
existing Benefits • Learning from
services (various successes
• Application to stakeholders
& failures
in-house Risks
(various • Tackling biases
development
•…
•… stakeholders
Missed Opps.
(various
stakeholders
See blog post on Costs
Critical Friends, (various “Time To Stop Doing and Start
Friendly Critics stakeholders Thinking: A Framework For
(and Hostile Subjective factors Exploiting Web 2.0 Services”,
Opponents!) Museums & the Web 2009
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Using The Framework
Twitter for individuals Organisational Fb Page
Community Intended Marketing Critical Friends /
support Purpose events,… Friendly Critics
Benefits • Phil Bradley /
Rapid Large Brian Kelly blogs
(various
feedback stakeholders audiences • Email list
Risks discussions
Justify ROI (various Ownership, Learning
Org. brand stakeholders privacy, lock-in • Many blogs
Missed Opps.
Community- Marketing • Engaging with a
(various
building opportunity Twitter
stakeholders
Costs community
Low? Low? • Conferences
(various
stakeholders • Papers
Note personal •…
biases!
approach in two scenarios: use
Use of of expertise in digital information managementof Twitter & Facebook
A centre www.ukoln.ac.uk
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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
A centre of expertise in digital information management www.ukoln.ac.uk
31 Person post / comic strip