JISC

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This project aimed to integrate the functions associated with the use of repositories into the day-to-day practice of staff.

Executive Summary

Initially the intention was to achieve the aim through embedding tools within proprietary software such as MS Word, building on existing software developed by our partner company Kainao Ltd. Our early work therefore focused on the evaluation of these existing tools and analysis of how they are used, as well as investigating potential repository solutions and initiating the development of a simple test repository (as none was available in the institution). However two key events changed the direction of the project. Firstly, Leeds Metropolitan University (Leeds Met) initiated a process, supported by the JISC repositories programme, to establish a repository for Leeds Met. This meant that any work we did on the project needed to be compatible with that repository and we became involved in the decision-making process for this. Secondly, our partner company Kainao Ltd went into liquidation leaving us unable to continue to develop their tools. The project’s aims and objectives were therefore reviewed and a revised project plan and work packages were approved by JISC.

Our initial work was not wasted however. By capturing case studies and developing narrative scenarios of user interaction, we had discovered that members of staff at Leeds Met were unfamiliar with learning objects and metadata, and that those objects that were being developed, tended to be multimedia artefacts. Our original focus on embedding tools in Word therefore seemed limited. We adapted our plans to develop generic desktop and web-based tools to support repository functions, and to increase the focus on staff development activities and support to increase awareness and encourage use. The tools developed include an automatic metadata generation tool that completes as much of the metadata as possible, from documentation associated with a learning object, including suggesting key words to the user; and resource discovery tools, which recommend additional resources based on closeness of objects to the original search results. In addition, we contributed to a variety of widgets, developed with the PERSoNA project, to demonstrate the use of social networking tools to promote sharing of resources through the repository.

In the early phases of the project, we attempted to apply a UIDM-based rapid iteration approach to development, using electronic paper prototyping tools to develop early tool designs. This was successful in evaluating interface issues surrounding existing tools. However, once the project was forced to develop a number of tools from scratch by the liquidation of its initial partner company Kainao, it became clear that the short iterations adopted by this approach were unsuited to the combination of problem investigation and software tool development. We therefore adapted our development approach to allow a much longer software development cycle, which was informed by regular user interaction, through staff development events, focus groups, interviews and questionnaires.

In spite of the difficulties in the early part of the project, it has been successful in identifying and starting to address some key issues relating to the use of repositories at Leeds Met and more widely. Due to the very recent adoption of repository technology, Leeds Met staff have limited experience of using repositories. Their knowledge of metadata, both practical and theoretical, is consequently very limited. They are also, in general, suspicious of the concept of sharing learning objects. Many staff have little engagement with Web 2.0 tools currently, and those who do, operate in small local groups with existing sharing mechanisms. This is in contrast to many staff at our partner college Belfast Met who have a longer history of using repositories. Here staff have an expectation that learning resources will be shared. However, although they use packaging tools, they still do not generally supply metadata and management of sharing is handled by a specialised team of staff. Staff development is a key element in explaining the difference in attitude: new staff induction and training for existing staff includes an expectation of sharing resources, so that it is considered part of normal work practice there. Our work has therefore been as much about raising awareness of the repository, the concept of learning objects and metadata, and Web 2.0 tools for sharing information, as it has been about integrating those tools into the repository.

The project has achieved its aims of creating an automatic metadata generation tool, resource discovery tools and encouraging sharing. It has successfully raised staff awareness in the use of the repository, and evaluated the tools internally and with partners. It also informed the University’s decision on the choice of repository and its ongoing development and deployment.

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