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Extending reuse of EdWeb CMS golden copy and Open Educational Resources (OER)

Proposal Sponsor: 
Dawn Ellis

Overview

By extending and enhancing EdWeb CMS functionality relating to reuse and promotion of content, we can: 

  1. Contribute to the University’s strategy relating to provision of Open Educational Resources (OER) through provision of CMS functionality and associated training and support 

  2. Reduce risks relating to curation of content and media which is in use in multiple places by providing better information to the producer and the consumer about the extent and nature of reuse 

Other contributors: 
Neil Allison, Bruce Darby, Stratos Filalithis
What would happen if the project did not take place?: 
  1. Content and media hosted on the University website could not be identified as an Open Educational Resource, reducing the reach and impact of resources produced 

  2. Users of the CMS would not have information about where else in the site their content is being used (a feature of Polopoly). This means that they have no means to appraise the impact of changing or removing this content. As such, producers of golden copy cannot appraise the impact/effectiveness of their work (i.e. If I don’t know that anyone is using what I produce, should I invest time in creating, promoting and curating it?)  and consumers will be reticent to use it if they aren’t confident that updates will be made with their context of reuse in mind. 

Additional information: 

CMS Asset enhancements: Open Educational Resources (OER) and Creative Commons  

 

Evolving the metadata and management processes associated with images and documents hosted within the EdWeb CMS will facilitate the promotion of OER materials via the University website, and support the University’s OER Policy.  

 

Changes will be required to: 

  • Asset properties to enable the user to assign a creative commons licence where appropriate, rather than identifying copyright/ownership 

  • The webpage output so that content with creative commons licences applied are apparent, both visually and semantically. 

 

Content reuse  

The initial EdWeb development project delivered content reuse functionality that was identified as topmost priority. This means that a single image, document or content snippet can be managed from a single version while being used in multiple locations. To enhance this functionality, and to help ensure responsible content management, information relating to the re-use of content types is required, so that an editor is aware of where their content is being used. This ensures that as content is evolved or removed, the content owner is aware of the impact on the site as a whole. Introduction of such functionality (which is present in Polopoly CMS) will encourage greater content reuse, so reducing content management overheads and raising the standard and accuracy of content across the University website.  

In addition, the introduction of a reusable element that enables proxied content (i.e. content pulled in from an external source) will facilitate the wider use of golden copy content from systems such as the fees and scholarships databases, and the degree finder.

Who does it affect?: 
  • University Website Programme – evolving widgets, processes, guidance and training to support their management of the service 

  • Communications & Marketing stakeholders will need to be involved in the planning and implementation of changes to the website design – an ongoing relationship in the this regard has been in place for 9+ years and relevant staff are aware of this proposal 

  • DLAM, LTW – managers of Kaltura, liaison between this team and UWP is ongoing 

  • Users of EdWeb Central and the EdWeb Distribution will be supported through the evolution of CMS processes and functionality. 

Why is it needed/What are the benefits?: 
  1. Support the University’s OER policy, both in terms of encouraging culture change within the organisation and in terms of exposing the largest possible audience to our OER content 

  2. Encouraging and facilitating more and better reuse of golden copy content, reducing risks associated with multiple publication of the same information, especially with regard to fees and entry requirements. 

  3. Encouraging greater use of a wider range of media within the website, while reducing risks to the presentation/design of the website and its robustness

BI/MI requirement?: 

n/a

External costs?: 

n/a

Compliance justification (if relevant): 

n/a

Fit with University strategy: 

Enablers - People

IS Strategic Vision   

Service Excellence - process improvement, efficiency, quality and best practice Also this project will also feedback to the Open Source community.

Planning Status: 
Proposal
Programme Priority: 
4
Planned Start: 
16/17
Multi-Year: 
No
Project Owner: 
ISG
Procurement > £50K: 
No
Funding Source: 
Sponsor Funded
IS Admin Tab
Estimation Reference: 

Drupal development

Estimation Type: 
Agile Software Development
Estimation Confidence: 
Reasonably Confident (similar to previous work)
Estimated IS Apps Days: 
Small
Estimated Business Partner Days: 
Small
Impact on other service area: 

n/a

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