Information environment technical architecture
The JISC Information Environment technical architecture specifies a set of standards and protocols that are intended to support the development and delivery of an integrated set of networked services that allow the end-user to discover, access, use and publish digital and physical resources as part of their learning and research activities.
A section on the UKOLN website is dedicated to the architectural and technical documents that support the Information Environment.
The technical architecture was drawn up a number of years ago and since then there have been a number of important changes in the wider environment such as the growing use of Web 2.0 applications and cloud computing.
As a result, the architecture is being reviewed by UKOLN during 2009/10 to:
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review the JISC IE Technical Architecture and associated documentation for its currency and relevance together with the suitability of this approach to describing the technical environment for JISC projects and services in the future;
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consider how the technical development of the JISC IE should relate to the development of the e-Infrastructure for learning, teaching and research in the UK and internationally;
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identify key technical developments and to assess their suitability for wide scale adoption by JISC projects and services and the UK education sector more generally;
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identify and evaluate new technical approaches for the sharing and curation of digital resources to support teaching, learning and research;
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inform future guidance to be provided to JISC projects and services on the use of technical standards and approaches which maximise systems interoperability, flexibility and data sharing;
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form a framework for continuous technical review of the IE;
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in the light of the above, to make recommendations on the future direction of technical development work by JISC projects and services and to consider the relevance of these recommendations to the UK education sector more generally.