Caroline BreslinProject Manager

Learning ServicesUniversity of Strathclyde

Andrew WodehouseDesign Lecturer

DMEMUniversity of Strathclyde

“digital libraries for global distributed innovative design

education and teamwork”

Digital Libraries in the Classroom

DIDET Project Vision

To enhance student learning opportunities by enabling them to participate in global team-based design engineering projects that give them experience of working within multi-cultural contexts.

Make this possible through a range of information and communication technologies.

Less Formal and Dynamic

LauLima Learning Environment (LLE) a workspace environment: point of need

Storing and sharing content

Group Collaboration/ Team communication

Cross team activities

Workfow management (process)

Manipulation of information

Capturing tacit information

Knowledge structuring

LauLima System Architecture

LauLima Digital Library (LDL) longer term: reuse by staff and students

Retrieval of resources

Reuse of student-generated resources, design concepts and sharing

processes

Quality assurance

Metadata and standards

Granularity

Browse/ search

Formal and More Permanent

How LauLima is used

Store

Share

Reuse

Capture

Class contexts

• LauLima has been used in several teaching and learning contexts:• Team industrial projects (4th & 5th years)• Concept design modelling projects (3rd year)• Global Design class (5th year class)

The design environment

• Teams work in a sociable studio environment – challenge is for virtual space to provide a similar ‘feel’

Recording design information

• Working with LauLima for the duration of a project allows teams to build an information-rich ‘roadmap’ of their design process

Team SiteTeam File Gallery

Linking information

• Linked wiki pages forced students to consider the structure of their project resource.

Creating class structure

• All class materials, announcements and deliverables through the LauLima system

end

Phase 1

Research

Phase 2

Concept Developmentstart

Phase 3

Final Design

Generationof Requirements

ModellingandEvaluation

Final DesignReview

Templates as shareable learning objects

• Templates minimise work in transferring information, capturing rationale and linking resources to concepts.

Communication

• The system can be used to handle both formal and informal communication in a contained domain

Shoutbox Messaging system ‘Message wall’

Team co-ordination

• In the Global Design class, time differences meant that team organisation was crucial. Wiki pages provided a common forum to update team information.

Team diary

Recording team progress

• Both formal (meeting miutes) and informal (project logs) project information can be stored in an integrated team site… particularly important for team industrial projects

Meeting minutes page

Project log page

Multi-disciplinary teaching team

• LauLima provides a forum for a multi-disciplinary teaching team to interact and give feedback

student experienceLearning

technologist provided on-going information literacy support

Lecturer gave tailored mini-topics highlighting key issues and tasks Coaches

provided on-going process and technical support

Librarian gave tailored session on information searching and sources

Multi-disciplinary team Global Design coach feedback

Assessment

• LauLima site means no team report required, allows assessment of design and process management

Design Critique & Demonstration LauLima Site

Harvesting material

• Staff harvest the best material when marking student sites – then stored in LDL for both to use.

Resolving issues

• Varying levels of ability - and enthusiasm!• Assessment of content Vs assessment of

style• Ownership and control of technology• Ease of use/learning curve/resistance

Resolving issues

Resolved by…

• Adequate training and support – at all sites; focus on best practice

• Online team monitoring and support; use of system logs

• Monitoring and evaluation for assessment and for actively feeding into development

Resolving issues

…and using LauLima in conjunction with other tools and technologies

Resolving issues

Creative Vs Legal Balance

©Vs

Legal issues

• Copyright and IPR• Copyright exemptions

(For LLE but not LDL)• Referencing (best practice)• Student Copyright forms• Data Protection – making student/staff LDL

material anonymous• UK-USA legal and cultural differences

Resolving issues

Resolved by…

Complementary teaching and learning; Information Literacy

Note benefits (and challenges) of cross-discipline team

Centre for Academic Practiceand Learning Enhancement

Design Manufacture and Engineering Management

Centre for Digital Library Research

Learning Services

Resolving Issues

Collaboration and Development Issues…

…not just for students but for staff!

Resolving issues

Resolved by…

Monitor

Evaluate

Feedback

Develop

ProjectEVOLUTION

System trade offs

• Balance of research and development

- rapidly changing requirements- changing technological solutions- benefits and issues of open source- “next BIG thing” issue

System trade offs

Metadata Quality Vs Speed and Usability

Description: dsjkgdkgds

System trade offs

• Functionality Vs usability• Danger of functionality overload

"Most people only use 20 percent of Microsoft Word's functionality, why buy a 100 percent solution for something

you only need 20 percent of?"

John Cobb, president of Automotive and Motorcycle, Emap Digital USA

Still working on…

• Workflow; changing student roles?• Approval; changing staff roles and/or

system as project becomes embedded in department

• Archiving; granularity of resources

Achieving Aims

• Allows true global working

• 24/7 remote access for staff and students

Q&AFurther information

www.didet.ac.uk

caroline.breslin@strath.ac.ukandrew.wodehouse@strath.ac.uk

Q&A