technological challenges posed by web 2.0
TRANSCRIPT
A centre of expertise in digital information management
www.ukoln.ac.uk
Technological Challenges Posed By Web 2.0 Brian Kelly, UKOLN,University of BathBath
UKOLN is supported by:
http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/conferences/fellows-conference-2007/
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About The SpeakerBrian Kelly:
• UK Web Focus – an advisory post which provides advices on making effective use of the on Web (with focus on standards, emerging Web technologies)
• Involved in Web work since January 1993• Focus on Web technologies and not e-learning!
About UKOLN:• National centre of expertise in digital information
management• Based at the University of Bath• Funded by MLA and JISC to support the cultural
heritage and higher/further education sectors
Intr
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About This IntroductionYour context:
• You’ve explored interesting e-learning issues in your project, including pedagogical & technical aspects
• We’ll hear from several projectsAre you still relevant? Has Web 2.0:
• Changed the rules• Changed users’ behaviours and expectations?• Redefined who the various service providers are?
And do we (as academic, developers, managers…):• Need to fund development work differently?• Need to deploy services differently?• Need to revisit our relevance?
Intr
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1 Web 2.0 As PlatformWeb 2.0 is the platform for doing things
• Technical infrastructure now available (RSS, REST, URIs,…)
• It’s in place now• It was designed (since 1990) to be global,
scalable, … (Web 2.0 was Sir Tim’s original vision)
What’s the future for the application?• Google (and others) threatening MS
Ass
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Web 2.0 will bring about the demise (radical transformation?) of the monolithic VLE – and the open source VLE
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2 Global Social NetworksWeb 2.0 made us aware of benefits of social networks (why did we miss it?):
• Things that get better as numbers grow (Google link analysis algorithm)
• Our social nature• Our diversity of social networks: school,
work, play, professional, …• Experiences from Facebook (connections
from school)
Ass
ertio
ns
Social networking systems need a critical mass, Global is good; is a class, a department or a university too small?
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3 “Embrace Constraints”Traditional public sector IT development:
• Standards defined (technical, accessibility, legal, …)
• Technical architecture defined (fully interoperable with everything and use the latest TLA standards)
• Well-funded programme call• Two/three year funded projects• Formal advisory groups, reporting structures, …
Results in:• Driving out innovation• Flawed services arriving too late
Ass
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Let’s agree to ‘embrace constraints’ and provide a useful service quickly (cf Basecamp)
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4 Cost EffectivenessChallenge public sector norms:
• Must be universally accessible• Must work on all platforms• Must work on legacy systems• Must be managed in-house
Tell me:• Why?• Does the best drive out the good?• Don’t you encounter the ‘IT Services barrier’
(Skype is evil, doesn’t use the right standards,…)
Ass
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Have you costed Amazon S3 and EC2 (e.g. 2-click installation of Moodle for $9/month)?
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5 Live (slightly) DangerouslyCan’t use social networks:
• Data protection, privacy, …• Need to protect students from embarrassing
themselves• It’s not what IT should be used for• It’s not what university is about• You’ll catch viruses• You’ll meet the wrong type of people• The data isn’t preserved• The data is preserved
Ass
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Make IT blended; part of University life. It’s like student bars, accommodation, parties, …
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6 Addressing Your ConcernsBut what about:
• Risks of using 3rd party services• Sustainability• Quality assurance• Assessment• Changes to political, cultural & economic
framework• …
Ass
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“Events, dear boy, events!” That’s life, and we’ve been though it before.
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SummaryWhat if:
• The VLE is dying?• Flickr & Facebook define students expectations
for social networks?• The lightweight stuff wins over the masses; the
slow-moving worthy stuff doesn’t get used?• Out-sourcing the infrastructure delivers benefits to
the institution (cost-savings) and users (richer functionality (cf. TCD and Google Mail)
• Web 2.0 today is like student life in 1960s• Everything I have said is completely wrong!
Will your project fit in with a changed environment? Will it have the flexibility to respond to possible changes?
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QuestionsAny questions?