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The Internet2 Shibboleth Project: An Update

December 1, 2003

RL Bob Morgan
Senior Technology Architect, Computing and Communications
University of Washington

Shibboleth, a project of Internet2, is developing architectures, policy structures, practical technologies, and an open source implementation to support inter-institutional sharing of Web resources subject to access controls. In addition, Shibboleth will develop a policy framework that will allow inter-operation within the higher education community. Recent activity in the Internet2 Shibboleth Project includes shipment of version 1.1 of the software package, development of operational federations, integration work with several content and package providers, and consideration of features for version 2.0. This briefing will provide details about these developments.

http://shibboleth.internet2.edu

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2003 Project Briefings, Information Access & Retrieval
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Interoperability between Information and Learning Environments: Bridging the Gaps: An IMS/CNI White Paper

December 1, 2003

Clifford Lynch
Executive Director
Coalition for Networked Information

Neil McLean
Director, IMS Australia
Macquarie University, Sydney

In March 2003 IMS Global Learning Consortium and the Coalition for Networked Information formed a working alliance to explore the development of common architectural and functional models leading to joint specifications and improved technical interoperability in the rapidly evolving areas of digital libraries and learning object repositories. The first product of this collaboration was a white paper, which was refined after a June 2003 joint IMS/CNI workshop and will appear in its next revision in December.

In this briefing the authors of the white paper will discuss their analysis of the potential for interactions between the information and learning environments, summarizing key areas in which both worlds may evolve productively and common services upon which both should draw. The discussion will focus on standards, architectural modelling, and interface questions.

http://www.imsglobal.org/DLims_white_paper_publicdraft_1.pdf

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2003 Project Briefings, Standards, Teaching & Learning
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Keeping the Learning in Learning Objects

December 1, 2003

Vicki Suter
Director, NLII Projects
EDUCAUSE

This briefing will highlight the work of two NLII-sponsored groups–the Learning Objects Work Group and the Learning Objects Virtual Community of Practice–and a focus session on learning objects co-sponsored with The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, on October 10, 2003. Topics for discussion will include an ontology of the learning object landscape and tools for looking at the learning in learning objects.

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2003 Project Briefings, Teaching & Learning
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Knowledge Lost in Information: Report of the NSF Workshop on Digital Library Research Directions

December 1, 2003

Ronald L. Larsen
Dean and Professor
University of Pittsburgh

Donald Waters
Program Officer for Scholarly Communications
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

J. Downie
Assistant Professor
University of Illnois at Urbana-Champaign

Digital libraries are transforming research and scholarship. Vast quantities of information are being collected and stored online and organized so that they are accessible to everyone. Substantial improvements in scholarly productivity are already apparent. Digital resources have demonstrated the potential to advance scholarly productivity, easily doubling research output in many fields within the next decade. These resources may also become primary resources for education, holding the potential for advances in life-long learning that have been sought for many years. Productivity is increasing because scientists can test new hypotheses against already stored data, instead of performing additional experiments. Key data are increasingly gathered by automated sensors and recorded in large databanks. But the potential advances in knowledge are at risk without a comprehensive program of federal research to manage the ever-increasing flood of information.

In June 2003 the NSF sponsored a workshop in Chatham, Massachusetts, involving recognized national and international scholars and researchers to frame the long-term research agenda necessary to realize such a scholarly communication infrastructure. This session will present an advance look into the upcoming report and conclusions of that workshop.

Web Page:
http://www.sis.pitt.edu/~dlwkshop

Presentation:
Knowledge Lost in Information

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2003 Project Briefings, Digital Libraries, E-Science
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Learning Objects, Learning Activities (LOLA): A Collaborative Referatory for Information Literacy Modules and Other Discipline-Specific Materials

December 1, 2003

Michael Roy
Director of Academic Computing Services
Wesleyan University

Barbara Jones
Caleb T. Winchester University Librarian
Wesleyan University

We have designed a learning object referatory that contains information literacy modules developed as part of our collaborative information literacy initiative. This application is designed to contain metadata for these modules that will provide context for evaluating their relevance for curricular use. The same framework is being used to contain metadata and links to other more ‘traditional’ learning objects that we are also developing.

http://learningobjects.wesleyan.edu

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2003 Project Briefings, Metadata, Teaching & Learning
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Legal Alternatives for Online Music Distribution

December 1, 2003

Steve Worona
Director of Policy and Networking Programs
EDUCAUSE

The Joint Committee of the Higher Education and Entertainment Communities was formed in December 2002, to address problems arising from the perceived high volume of unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing taking place on college campuses. Among other activities, the Joint Committee has issued an RFI related to services and technologies providing authorized network access to music and other material. About a dozen responses to this RFI have been received. This session will review the work of the Joint Committee, especially focusing on the results of this RFI.

Web Sites:
http://www.educause.edu/issues/rfi/

http://www.educause.edu/issues/rfi/pr061903.asp

http://www.educause.edu/asp/faq/faq.asp?Code=RFI2

Presentation:
Legal Alternatives for Online Music Distribution (PowerPoint)

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2003 Project Briefings, Intellectual Property, Net Generation (includes Millennials)
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Libraries and Digital Scholarship: From Vision to Transformation

December 1, 2003

Ann M. Lally
Head, Digital Initiatives
University of Washington

Eileen Llona
International Studies Computer Services Librarian
University of Washington

In March 2003 the University of Washington Libraries invited faculty, administrators, and others involved in scholarship to a two-day retreat to discuss the manner in which academic scholarship is changing in response to the ubiquity of digital tools. The retreat was designed to provide scholars and planners with an opportunity to engage deeply in exploration and visioning about digital scholarship and new models of support. The retreat brought together in one place key campus organizations, including Computing and Communications, the UW Press, and UW museums to listen and participate in creating a shared vision. Through plenary sessions, small group discussions and social interactions over meals and breaks participants were able to synthesize, evaluate, and respond to each other. The group developed several models for support of digital scholarship, from tool building to preservation. Some went so far as to view digital scholarship as an emerging discipline worthy of study, not just a new way of working or a practical/technical concern of scholarship. In this briefing, the UW Libraries will share the results of the retreat and seek ideas from other organizations.

Web Page:
http://www.lib.washington.edu/digitalscholar/

Presentation:
Libraries and Digital Scholarship (PowerPoint)

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2003 Project Briefings, Digital Humanities, Digital Preservation
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Libraries and the Enhancement of E-learning

December 1, 2003

Patricia Albanese
CIO & Director of LITS
Mt. Holyoke College

Neil McLean
Director, IMS Australia
Macquarie University, Sydney

Patricia Stevens
Director, Cooperative Initiatives
OCLC, Inc.

E-learning’s influence in higher education grows each term; it is a presence on almost every university campus and in an increasing number of college courses. It has created a vibrant and fluid environment, one in which growth and change are the norm culturally, institutionally, and technically. Within this environment, the academic library is searching for a serviceable position that is flexible, accessible, and up-to-date with the wider university structure. To help libraries respond to this dynamic situation, OCLC created an interdepartmental, cross-organizational E-learning Task Force to explore the current relationship between academic libraries and teaching and learning on campus, and future possibilities.

This briefing will outline the Task Force’s findings as set forth in its white paper, “Libraries and the Enhancement of E-learning.” We will consider the current e-learning environment, the issues surrounding it, and the proposed strategies for future cooperation and collaboration. Topics will include pedagogy, learning technologies, learning objects, metadata, digital assets and repositories, as well as associated technological issues. We hope that our findings will begin to help frame discussions about what roles libraries might play in the new and emerging technologically laced classroom.

http://www.oclc.org/index/elearning/default.htm

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2003 Project Briefings, Metadata, Repositories, Teaching & Learning
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Managing and Archiving Learning Management Systems Course Materials and Records

December 1, 2003

Jeremy Rowe
Director, Research, Strategic Planning and Policy
Arizona State University

Rob Spindler
University Archivist and Head,
Department of Archives and Manuscripts
Arizona State University

Thomas Rosko
Head, Institute Archives and Special Collections
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Course materials developed within Learning Management Systems (LMS) raise a number of planning and archival issues for institutions. Even in the best of worlds, when a single LMS is used to deliver course offerings, managing course materials for future use and identifying and retaining institutional records such as grade books is difficult. This briefing will present perspectives from two institutions actively exploring the ramifications of managing and archiving LMS materials. A conceptual model for managing active, currently inactive, and archival courses and embedded institutional records will be presented.

Handout

Presentation:
Managing and Archiving Learning Management Systems Course Materials and Records

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2003 Project Briefings, Digital Preservation
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Music Information Retrieval/Music Digital Library Evaluation Project

December 1, 2003

J. Stephen Downie
Assistant Professor
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

This research project is designed to enhance the significant work being done by the Music Information Retrieval (MIR) and Music Digital Library (MDL) research communities by providing an opportunity for these communities to realize the establishment of sorely-needed evaluation tools. We are building upon the ongoing efforts being made to establish TREC-like and other comprehensive evaluation paradigms within the MIR/MDL research communities, and our research tasks are based upon expert opinion garnered from members of the Information Retrieval (IR), MDL and MIR communities with regard to the construction and implementation of scientifically valid evaluation frameworks.

The two complementary tracks of our work are: 1) the establishment of internationally accessible mechanisms and evaluation standards for the comprehensive evaluation of MIR and MDL systems and 2) the formal investigation of the human factors involved in the creation, use and evaluation of MIR and MDL systems.

We hope to achieve:
1. The creation and refinement of secure access mechanisms that will allow the manipulation of a unique, large-scale standard corpus of music materials for the research and evaluation use of the international MIR/MDL research community.
2. The creation, refinement and dissemination of a TREC-like evaluation scenario based upon the special needs and requirements of MIR/MDL community.
3. The creation, refinement and dissemination of a collection of standardized query documents, based upon the real-world expression of user needs.
4. The creation, refinement and dissemination of a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the behavior of MIR/MDL systems, their uses and their users.

http://music-ir.org/evaluation

Filed Under: CNI Fall 2003 Project Briefings, Digital Libraries, Information Access & Retrieval
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