RSCs – Stimulating and Supporting Innovation in Learning
This page is designed to support librarians, learning resources staff and lecturers in the identification and effective use of electronic resources. It also contains information specific to ICT-related developments within libraries and learning resource centres.
For learning resources news visit the Online Resources Blog (ORB).
If you would like further information about the resources and services available, please contact our e-Learning Advisor (Electronic Resources) Sara Brown.
Intute (formerly known as the Resource Discovery Network) is a free online service providing access to high quality Internet resources. Materials have been selected by subject specialists according to their suitability for use in teaching and learning in Further and Higher education.
Resources are organised into 4 main subject groups:
JISC Collections organises agreements for access to online resources on behalf of Further and Higher education. In some cases, payment is required in order to subscribe. However, there are also some resources that are licenced for free. See the JISC Collections website for details of the materials available. Resources can be browsed by subject area or viewed in an A-Z list. Note: when browsing resources by subject, it is also possible to refine the list to display free resources only.
2990 e-books selected by the FE community are freely available to all FE colleges (for a period of 5 years from May 2009) via the E-Books for FE Project. View information on how to subscribe.
For information on consultations and details of new agreements, see JISC Collections News.
Online Copyright Activity - highlights some of the key issues relating to copyright in an online environment
Academic Database Assessment Tool - enables the comparison of bibliographic and full-text databases, including e-journal and e-book collections
FE exemplars - demonstrate how FE practioners can use online resources in their teaching
Newsfilm Online provides access to over 3,000 hours of news footage from the ITN/Reuters archives. Full access is available for FE and HE institutions via a subscription, and is free until 2012.
The Education Image Gallery is a collection of 50,000 images available to UK Further & Higher Educational institutions via a JISC subscription.
SCRAN (the Scottish Cultural Resources Access Network) provides access to a vast collection of images, video clips and sounds from museums, galleries, archives and the media. It also contains learning resource packs and tools for creating and sharing your own teaching materials. Although parts of SCRAN can be viewed for free, full access is available via a JISC subscription.
Film & Sound Online is a collection of film, video and audio resources. Materials can be downloaded for use in learning, teaching and research. Access is free, via a JISC subscription.
NLN (the National Learning Network) is a learning object repository, providing access to collections of e-learning materials designed for the Further Education sector. Materials can be downloaded for use within a VLE. All members of FE staff are able to view the materials, following the completion of a registration form. Further information on access and download rights is available via the NLN website FAQs.
Jorum is a free online repository containing over 2,000 learning objects. Access is available for staff within Further and Higher Education. Institutions are required to register, either as a Jorum Contributor or a Jorum User, in order to gain access.
The Intute Virtual Training Suite contains a range of free subject-based online tutorials designed to help staff and students improve their Internet research skills.
The Internet Detective is a freely available online tutorial designed to assist individuals in the identification and selection of appropriate Internet resources. It encourages critical thinking, providing plenty of hints and tips for assessing the suitability of resources.
Federated access management allows staff and students to access a variety of resources using their institutional username and password. Responsibility for authentication is devolved to the user's home institution.
Benefits include a move towards the use of a single username and password for access to multiple internal and external resources (e.g. subscribed library resources, an institution’s VLE etc). There is also greater control for institutions (who are responsible for the management of user data), as well as the potential for more sophisticated levels of authentication.
The UK Access Management Federation, managed by JANET(UK), is leading Shibboleth-related developments in the UK (on behalf of JISC and BECTA). The Federation seeks to achieve consistency across educational sectors in the approach to access management, as well as the sharing of best practice.
What is Shibboleth? Shibboleth is an open source technology that enables federated access management. It provides a secure mechanism for passing user-related information between an institution (Identity Provider) and a content supplier (Service Provider). Upon attempting to access a resource, a user’s home institution is identified. Authentication is then handled by the home institution, according to attributes held in the local data store.
Who should be involved? Federated access management planning and implementation requires the input of management, library and technical staff.
This forum has been established to provide an opportunity for interested persons in Scottish tertiary education to meet, share good practice, and learn about the potential possibilities and pitfalls of implementing Shibboleth. It will be of interest to anyone involved in access management within their organisation, particularly IT and learning resources staff. Further information on the forum.
As institutions undergo implementation of federated access management, the focus is shifting to the impact upon libraries and the various library-related processes involved. A new mailing list has been established for library staff to discuss such issues, addressing some of the common library-related queries arising from the implementation process.
Other JISCmail lists relating to federated access management:
UKFEDERATION-ANNOUNCE
JISC-SHIBBOLETH
Additional resources:
The Web 2.0 forum, jointly organised by the two Scottish Regional Support Centres, provides a mechanism for learning resources staff to share information about Web 2.0 technologies. The inaugural meeting took place on 19th June 2007 and the group has set up a wiki (Futurelib) for the exchange of information. If you are interested in joining the forum please contact the RSC.
Additionally, the RSC can provide Web 2.0 workshops for learning resources staff, covering topics such as blogs, wikis, podcasting and screencasting. Contact the RSC for further information.
The Learning Space Design forum is for members of college or university staff who are facing, or have already completed, a new build/space re-design. It aims to provide members with an opportunity to share expertise and explore the strategic use of spaces to support learning. View further information.
If you have a query relating to any of the above topics, please contact our e-Learning Advisor (Electronic Resources). We can also advise on the following:
Newsfeed Blog - The latest ICT-related news, events, resources and training.
Online Resources Blog (ORB) - News, information and updates on matters relating to the provision and effective
use of electronic resources.
Sara Brown
JISC Regional Support Centre for Scotland North and East
Edinburgh's Telford College
350 West Granton Road
Edinburgh
EH5 1QE
Tel: 0131 559 4112
E-mail: sbrown@rsc-ne-scotland.ac.uk
