JISC

Regional network for Heads of IT in the East Midlands used a JISC mailing list to communicate with each other, to resolve problems and share useful information.

Strategic communication

‘A remarkable learning vehicle for getting up to speed’ The regional network for Heads of IT in the East Midlands was formed originally by Drew Keavey of Derby College with support from the local JISC Regional Support Centre (RSC). Regional network for Heads of IT in the East Midlands This network meets regularly to discuss issues, share and solve problems. To support this network between meetings, the group has used a JISC mailing list allowing them to communicate with each other, to resolve problems and pass useful information between themselves.

About JISCMail

The JISCMail service supports all areas of post compulsory education (FE and HE) and currently manages over 7000 mailing lists, with an average of two new lists being created each day. A JISCMail list can be set up by anyone working in an educational establishment as long as the membership will be across more than one provider. Some lists are national such as

• CHAMP-CURRICULUM (ILT Champions list)
• MOODLE-FE
• VLE

However more significantly most lists are set up for smaller more local or specialised purposes, to either support existing networks between providers or to connect people with similar interests or areas of work. Lists can be set up to be either private (where only invited people can join) or public where anyone can join.

Many people, who use JISCMail lists, will be familiar with the mail functionality, but with each list other features are automatically created (available via a web interface) including: In March 2009 more than 18.5 million messages were distributed by JISCMail

• Discussion Room Allowing discussion to be carried out in a threaded discussion forum
• Files Area Where files can be shared between members of the group
• Make a Meeting A tool to easily organise meetings between list members
• Surveys A tool to create surveys (questionnaires) for members of the list
• Archives Searchable archives of all postings to that list
• RSS feeds All lists have an RSS feed allowing the activity on the list to be integrated into a blog, a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) a Google home page etc
• Reporting functions List owners can gather data on the use of their lists
• There is also access to a number of other JISC Services such as Edina’s ‘the Depot’ and Procureweb based at Cardiff University

The JISCMail service also runs a highly efficient helpline for people setting up, managing or accessing lists. The helpline responds to questions from phone or email quickly and professionally.

It is possible that the JISCMail team can help users to convert the format of the web interface for a JISCMail list to match a house style. For example JISC RSC Eastern have worked with JISCMail to format the appearance of their JISCMail list so that it follows the same format as the rest of their website.

Challenge

Many of the people involved in the Heads of IT network found themselves on many other mailing lists and forums, but most of these focused on the technical issues rather than the strategic or managerial issues of IT support. The discussions on those lists often went into too much detail for Heads of IT. The people involved wanted a simple, reliable, free mechanism for them to communicate with each other, that wouldn’t be blocked by any of the providers’ computer systems.

Solution

In April 2007 a JISCMail list called ‘HEADIT-RSCEM’ was set up by the RSC. The list has about 40 – 50 members and is regularly used. There are various ways that people use the list including:

• As a communication tool to help with the organisation of the face to face meetings
• As a mechanism for staff at the RSC to send information out to a select audience (in this case the Heads of IT within the region
• As a mechanism to advertise webinars that may be of interest to the membership of the list
• When someone has diagnosed a problem within their organisation, they will often consult the list for advice on solutions
• As a place to share and sound out ideas before implementing them

Impact on the learning provider

In one month JISCMail prevented over 12 million potential SPAM messages from reaching recipients Heads of IT are under extreme pressure to provide an ever expanding service often on a tight budget. They also have to balance the desires of teaching staff to have systems as open and accessible as possible. All this needs to be achieved without compromising the security and stability of the system, and ensuring that the provider operates within the law.

Many heads of IT will have ideas that they want to implement, but rather than carrying out the developmental and experimental work required (which is both costly and sometimes risky) they often consult the other members of the JISCMail list. If other people have had similar ideas, or carried out any work in that area then this can then save time and money, as they can avoid mistakes made by others, they can bounce ideas of others to help decide a route forwards and can reach a solution to a problem quicker.

Often activity on the list will then lead to direct email dialogue between individuals, or phone conversations which contributes towards the growth of the community and helps solve some problems quicker.

Impact on the learner

The IT infrastructure of an educational provider will have a direct impact on the experiences of most learners, who will use IT to greater or lesser extents during their studies. The people responsible for these systems use the JISCMail list to keep themselves up to date with the technologies available, ideas on their use, and to solve problems that appear and re-appear in many organisations.

Key messages

1. The JISCMail system is designed to provide an efficient system that is safe for providers to use, isn’t going to be blocked by firewalls or blocking software, and uses a medium (email) that most people are comfortable with
2. JISCMail will have less SPAM than some other list providers
3. JISCMail does not permit commercial advertising
4. To date the JISCMail virus protection system has prevented any viruses from being transmitted through the list
5. As well as providing the mailing system, each list will also have a discussion area, an area to share files, a survey creation feature, a tool to arrange meetings, and a searchable archive of all previous posts to the list
6. The JISCMail team run a highly efficient and very personal helpdesk to help anyone with any problems that they are having with using the system
7. The cost of the service equates to £0.42 per user per year!

How champions in Northern Ireland use the Champions list

The ILT Champions mailing list (CHAMP-CURRICULUM) is an invaluable resource for colleagues in Northern Ireland (NI) on a number of fronts:

• It gives NI Champions an insight into the issues affecting colleagues across the UK college sector, as most of the issues faced by colleges in NI are the same as faced elsewhere in the UK
• Champions publish relevant and up to date resources concerning a wide range of ILT issues from software to the latest gadgets
• Views expressed on the list gives an insight into what inspectors are looking for regarding the proper use of ILT
• It is a valuable resource to share experiences on the road to reaching embedded status for ILT
• Strategically it is expensive and time consuming for a NI College to send many people to an event or conference in England, Wales or Scotland, so the champions list becomes an invaluable source of information gleamed from those that have attended.

In NI, ILT Champions who did not have a technical background found the list to be a remarkable learning vehicle for getting up to speed on a wide range of ILT issues. As one Champion put it:

Further information

email: helpline@JISCMail.ac.uk