JISC

Final Report now available

Repositories Start-up project

Exploring the organisational, cultural, procedural and technical challenges in creating a singular repository to fulfil the roles usually provided by discrete Learning Object Management, Open Archive and scholarly repository systems. Delivering these systems into live operation. Collaborating with Intrallect to accelerate development. Advancing understanding and acceptance by the dissemination of the results of our work through the JISC programmes structures.

Aims and Objectives

The project responds to three related challenges facing Oxford Brookes University:

• The need to make a start in establishing 'repositories' to address a range of needs both internally and externally facing, including Learning Object Management and specialised document archives
• The provision of technical infrastructure to support and amplify the benefits to be gained from work to advance e-Learning both within Brookes, nationally and internationally, especially through Brookes HEA Pathfinder project
• The need to rationalise an increasingly diverse range of solutions to content management and collaboration, including the relationship to corporate content management strategy

A diagram showing the relationship between different elements and systems is shown in Figure 1.

Project Methodology

The e-Learning Infrastructure Developer has been appointed under the Pathfinder TAO project, but will be substantially available to CIRCLE. Intrallect will provide input as follows:

• Development: Intrallect will offer support in the development of organisational models, software procedures, and metadata models. Important among these is the need to develop smooth workflows which encourage rather than hinder contributions to repositories
• Technical Integration: Intrallect will provide technical development support to enable new interfaces and/or APIs to be created to ease integration of systems
• Training/dissemination: Intrallect will also be able to contribute to training and dissemination

Anticipated Outputs and Outcomes

• Establish a standards based Learning Object Management system to hold and make available learning objects for reuse in the existing primary VLE
• Establish a standards based repository to hold and make available Brookes research outputs as an Open Archive
• Situate these developments within processes encouraging collaboration, self-direction and sharing
• Explore the wider relationship between these repository applications and other content management and collaborative technologies
• Share the experience and promote an advance in thinking on the relationships between repository types and their integration with complex and diverse user communities

Technology / Standards used

As far as possible, conformance with the principles of the JISC e-Framework and Domain Process and Service Models will be sought. This will be a new area for some of the stakeholders and to this extent, instructive. Obviously both LOM and Open Archives have relevant extant standards, which will be integral to the project.

Lead institution

• Oxford Brookes University

Project partners

• Intrallect Ltd

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