JISC has announced an international collaboration on standards for learning and research technology. From yesterday's press release:
What is the e-Framework? One of the big technical obstacles preventing learning and research technology realising its full potential is the difficulty of accessing and sharing information between the different and often incompatible computer-based information systems and applications used throughout the learning and research communities. The e-Framework supports a service-oriented approach to developing and delivering education, research and management information systems. 'Service-orientated' means breaking down monolith applications such as a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) into its core components eg authentication, authorisation, course management, assessment, marketing, tracking and content management. Such an approach maximises the flexibility and cost effectiveness with which systems can be deployed....JISC intends to employ a practical approach to the e-Framework development, one based on institutional needs; for example, it will fund university-based projects to produce and test models and tools that will allow institutions themselves to link different services together to address their own particular needs. The intention is not to provide a blueprint for an open-source solution, but rather to facilitate the integration of commercial, home-grown, and open source components and applications to meet institutional goals.
Posted by
Peter Suber at 7/13/2005 09:38:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
