A blip on the institutional radar
As well as running workshops for Netskills, Will and I also get our hands dirty with some web development for our host institution. This mostly goes unnoticed, but recently a few of our activities have popped up on the institutional radar and been subjected to some scrutiny.
The latest was a ‘virtual open day’ we’re developing based on video interviews with students and staff [view a prototype]. As this is a fairly big development, we flagged it up with the institutional web team. After outlining our plans, I was asked “why don’t you use the university streaming video service?”. I had to confess that despite registering years ago, this hadn’t even occurred to me. So I looked into it and in the process learned a few things about institutional systems…
First off, even for someone who should know a bit about web video, the service documentation was somewhat off-putting - which makes me wonder how many other staff fall at this early hurdle. The streaming video service is clearly a sophisticated system, but compared to putting a video on YouTube, using it seems like a lot of effort for little gain (even ignoring the benefits of social media).
A blog post I read recently on usage lifecycle of web services suggested some common barriers that prevent people becoming regular users - lack of awareness, complex registration, low motivation for return visits and no emotional attachment. Like many institutional systems, this one has most of those barriers.
Having ruled this system out, our client asked the reasonable question ‘why not put the videos on YouTube?’. It’s simple, reliable and offered all the features they needed. We passed this by the university, but they were not happy with YouTube’s terms & conditions, which give them a claim to ownership of content they host. Brian Kelly blogged about similar concerns at another institution, so perhaps this is common.
This led us to blip.TV - a lesser known video sharing service that’s as easy to use as YouTube, offers better features and allows you to control licensing of your content - which should keep everyone happy. We didn’t use them for this project, but it was certainly our first choice for the IRET project videos.
The more projects we do, the more we find that there’s an external service to cater for just about every need. What’s more, these are almost always simple to use and offer clear advantages over their institutional equivalents. That sounds great to me as a developer, but I do wonder if there are issues for institutions if more and more people stay under the radar and use external services?
How about you? Are there institutional systems you couldn’t do without? If so, what makes them so essential? Could you ever see a time when an external service comes along and changes your mind?
Steve Boneham, JISC-IRET support team.
Institutional Responses to Emerging Technologies
By way of introduction to what our ‘Synthesis and Supporting Studies’ project is about, Will and I thought we ‘d share a write up of a session we delivered at the JISC Next Generation Environments Conference. The aim of the session was to hear the experiences of attendees regarding emerging web technologies at their institutions. There was no shortage of opinions, but to continue the debate and in the interest of a balanced view, we’re keen to hear more!
To get them going, I started with a presentation designed to provoke a response by making some controversial statements about emergent technologies.
The key points were:
Do individuals still need institutions? An ever increasing range of sophisticated web services are available to any web user. This freedom of choice means individuals are no longer tied to using only the tools that their institution provides. Potentially, this should mean we’re free, happy and more productive, but is this always the case? Does the use of emerging technologies also bring about a change in working practice and do all individuals welcome this?
Who should decide what tools we use, when and how? Should institutions dictate what tools we can and can’t use? Should they be the sole provider of all services? Should they block external services they see as inappropriate or just not support them? If individuals use different tools to those recommended by the institution, what new responsibilities do they have with regards to institutional standards/practice?
How do we cope in a constantly changing environment? Web tools are emerging at an unprecedented rate, so how can institutions support individual users in such an environment? Are HE institutions naturally resistant to change and does that suppress innovation? If so, can this inertia be overcome whilst still maintaining control over reputation management, privacy, copyright and IPR?
Who are the gatekeepers to emerging technologies? Is it still IT services, or are they now just one of a range of potential service providers? Within an institution, who decides which tools are used? Management? Researchers? Teachers? Students?
What about the next generation? Do we need to change our approach to cater for people arriving with different expectations of what an institution is and what it should provide?
Our Findings
Summaries of the points raised in the subsequent discussions are provided below:
The institutional perspective
- There was a general feeling that we’re currently experiencing a “forever BETA” environment, and that institutions need to adapt more quickly to opportunities offered my new developments and also the changing demands from staff.
- Outsourcing should be investigated further and some institutions are already heading down this path. However, adequate service level agreements are required.
- Institutions should develop licensing agreements to allow them to run emergent tools or technologies on their servers.
- Regarding teaching & learning, institutions should ensure that change is driven by sound pedagogy and not by the superficial attraction of new tools or technologies.
The individual member of staff’s perspective
- Clear communications to staff regarding the wider e-environment are required, including supported tools and services and institutional requirements regarding IPR, copyright, data privacy. Induction sessions for new staff and refresher sessions for existing staff.
- Consider the ‘hidden’ users. What are their needs? What is the best way to develop their skills?
- Manage expectations. Support staff to understand the possibilities and limitations of emerging technologies.
- Break down some of the power relations within an institution. IT Services should engage with and support staff who are leading innovation and adopting emerging tools and technologies.
We’re very interested to hear your opinions and experiences re. how it really is at your institution, so please do comment. Alternatively contact us directly if you’d prefer to stay off the record!
Steve Boneham
JISC-IRET support team