Planning and designing technology-rich learning spaces - two new resources from JISC on 21st century learning space designs
Five video case studies are now available at:
www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning_innovation/eli_learningspaces_casestudies.aspx.
These add further insights to the design concepts for learning and teaching explored in ‘Designing Spaces for Effective Learning’. A limited number of CDs of these case studies is still available for those who missed them at the JISC conference.

Planning and designing technology-rich learning spaces is also the title of the latest infoKit from JISC infoNet. This valuable resource gives guidance to managers planning new builds and offers an extensive image gallery at:
http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/infokits/learning-space-design


What is Web 2.0? Ideas, technologies and implications for education
Within 15 years the Web has grown from a group work tool for scientists at CERN into a global information space with more than a billion users. Currently, it is both returning to its roots as a read/write tool and also entering a new, more social and participatory phase. These trends have led to a feeling that the Web is entering a ‘second phase’—a new, ‘improved’ Web version 2.0. But how justified is this perception?

A report recently commissioned by TechWatch has investigated the substance behind the hyperbole surrounding ‘Web 2.0’. It reports on the implications this may have for the UK Higher and Further Education sector, with a special focus on collection and preservation activities within libraries and can be found at:
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/%20whatwedo/services/services_techwatch/techwatch/techwatch_ic_reports2005_published.aspx

Two new animations
JISC has recently produced two animations that explain the concepts behind the UK Access Management Federation and the e-Framework for Education and Research. The five-minute animations assume no prior technical knowledge and provide a clear overview of these important areas of activity:
The UK Access Management Federation provides UK educational institutions and service providers with the opportunity to take advantage of the new possibilities offered by sophisticated identity management solutions such as Shibboleth. The animation has been produced for those making strategic decisions concerning access management within their institutions.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/stories/2007/03/news_animation.aspx

A Service Oriented Approach to creating and evolving information communication technology solutions is a phenomenon that is transforming the way many organisations in the private and public sectors operate. The animation describes the benefits of the Service Orientated Approach and demonstrate how the e-Framework for Education and Research is working to make sense of the Service Oriented Approach for the community.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/programme_eframework/soa