University of Glasgow
Margaret Brown
University of Edinburgh
Charles Duncan
Martin Morrey
Jean Ritchie
University of Dundee
Gwen Bayne
Napier University
Tom Scott
Kirsty Davidson
Carol Higgison
Cliff Beevers
Brian Shields
University of Paisley
Iain MacLaren
John McQuillan
Patrick Walder
Neil Pitcher
University of St Andrews
Colin Allison
Jose Serrano
Martin Bramley
University of Strathclyde
Dave McNicol
Dave Whittington
Julian Newman
Lorna Campbell
1) Attendees as above.
Apologies: Steve Draper, MANTCHI
2) Report from Jean Ritchie
2.1) JR had attended UKERNA’s videoconference strategy meeting
in London on 30th June. She had agreed to carry out a review of the
use made of the ATM based studios, to be part of a joint report with Jeremy
Sharp of UKERNA, who is reviewing the technical success of the studios.
2.2) JR was working with Jeremy Sharp putting together a formal proposal
to SHEFC to instal a PC and dataprojection facilities into each studio.
Some sites do not allow users to connect a laptop to their network, so
the studio PCs will need a comprehensive set of software installed.
She had agreed to compile a list of s/w. Suggestions would be welcome.
She agreed to email projects asking for input.
ACTION JR
2.3) The UMI videoconference leaflet is to be taken over by UKERNA
who will develop a new leaflet shortly. JR had printed more of the
leaflets which describe all aspects of UMI, and these were available if
people needed them for publicity.
2.4) JR was writing a series of reports.
2.5) SHEFC were putting together advisory groups to formulate
their new initiatives. Bill Harvey, Paul Clark’s deputy, had agreed
to attend the next UMI meeting on 14th Sept.
3) Each project gave a brief update on their activities.
4) Notes had been circulated from TALiSMAN with suggestions for
the proposed TALiSMAN/UMI event on 28th Oct. The Child Health, Remote
Sensing, Finesse, and SUMSMAN projects had agreed to take part.
Feedback from the two TALiSMAN/UMI seminars that had already taken
place indicated that attendees were interested in generic issues, rather
than subject-specific issues. It was suggested that each of the four
projects making a presentation at the event planned for 28th Oct should
agree to focus their presentation on a particular issue, and to lead a
discussion on that issue. Hence four generic issues could be focused
on during the day.
Below is a list of issues that were suggested, indicating which projects
volunteered to lead the discussion on particular issues.
- Assessment techniques and issues - SUMSMAN
- Learning environments
- Practical demonstrations
- Use of videoconference facilities - REMOTE SENSING
- Online courseware and how to integrate it with other parts of a course
- The student experience of online courseware
- The staff experience of online courseware
- Management of online (distributed) learning environments - FINESSE
No representative of Child Health was present, but it was hoped that they would agree to lead a discussion on one of the remaining topics.
TALiSMAN would be able to supply equipment for four studios, but did
not have the resources to supply any more than that. It was noted
that the SHEFC-funded equipment was not likely to be installed by the end
of October. The manager of the Dundee studio, Peter Bartlett, came
online briefly to indicate that a PC could be supplied for that studio
if necessary.
It was agreed that TALiSMAN would revise the timetable for the day,
discuss the plans with the Child Health project, and continue the discussion
by email.
ACTION TALiSMAN
5) Report on ATHENS
Jose Serrano had attempted to install the ATHENS system for the Apache
web server software, and a report was available at the FINESSE website.
The ATHENS modules had taken much longer to instal than had been anticipated.
It had not been possible to provide access to defined parts of a website,
and this had been stated from the beginning as an essential feature for
UMI projects.
The cost after Oct 98, when ATHENS ceases to be funded by JISC, will
be 10 thousand pounds per year. There was a possibility of
sharing the costs between projects, but even so this was too high for the
facilities offered.
The ‘C’ API (application program interface) might prove more flexible,
but after the problems encountered with the Apache modules, Colin Allison
was not keen to try this.
6) Suggestions for future meetings
It was agreed to continue the meetings at fortnightly intervals.
MANTCHI, SUMSMAN and CVU personnel planned to continue to attend
after the end of their UMI funding.
Future speakers could include Anne Mumford (JISC ASSIST), a speaker
for TLTP3, and the SUMSMAN project agreed to see if they could find a speaker
from Mannheim university.
7) AOB
It was noted that there is a Paisley holiday on 14th Sept, and also
that there is another meeting which will involve the studios that day.
JR agreed to find a different date for the next meeting.
ACTION JR