Joint Information Systems Committee XCRI Briefing 24 November 2008, Becta, 14-19 Diplomas, Aston University 24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 1 eXchanging Course Related Information: the emerging XCRI standard Alan Paull [email protected]www.xcri.org Presentation One
XCRI Briefing. 24 November 2008, Becta, 14-19 Diplomas, Aston University. e X changing C ourse R elated I nformation: the emerging XCRI standard. Alan Paull [email protected]. www.xcri.org. Presentation One. xcri | genesis. E-Admin … not sexy. But JISC-CETIS Enterprise - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Joint Information Systems Committee
XCRI Briefing24 November 2008, Becta, 14-19 Diplomas, Aston University
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 1
eXchanging Course Related Information: the emerging XCRI standard
Joint Information Systems Committee 24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 5
xcri | rationale
National agenda of ‘informed choice’ about learning opportunities but
– Feeling that education lags behind other sectors in making its ‘products’ easy to discover and compare.
Standards exist for exchanging information about people, groups and membership but
– no standard way to exchange information about courses.
Institutions developing ways to populate their prospectus from definitive data but
– resorting to primitive data entry to populate aggregator sites, regional portals, area prospectuses…
Genuine interest from the community in a standard for exchanging course information that facilitates joined-up thinking.
Joint Information Systems Committee
Preparing for XCRI-CAP
– for the internal delivery units in a learning provider, value is generated by XCRI-CAP in the form of internal efficiency gains as a result of the business process improvements.
Providing XCRI-CAP
– value is generated in the form of strategic capability as the provider better understands the nature of its course offerings when combined into a single XCRI catalog, leading to opportunities for improved quality assurance, standardisation and consolidation of duplicate offerings.
Aggregating XCRI-CAP
– value is generated for the provider in the form of cost savings on data input from the use of XCRI by aggregators. For the aggregator, value comes from the availability of additional providers in the market, and from shifting some responsibility for QA of basic data from its central process to the provider.
Going further
– value is generated for the provider in the form of new business opportunities and revenue-sharing partnerships that result from opening up data networks using XCRI. For the aggregator, the availability of the provider data via XCRI enables new added-value business models that build upon the provider's offerings.
xcri | benefits
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 6
Joint Information Systems Committee
xcri | example: Partnership in the East Midlands (I)
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 7
Joint Information Systems Committee
xcri | example: Partnership in the East Midlands (II)
– Specifications and guidance - Creative Commons license
– Aggregator – “does my data look good in this?”
– Calls for mini projects
– Developer forum
How to implement XCRI
– “XCRI Readiness”
– Implementationmodels
– Scenarios of practice
– common problems and solutions
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 9
Joint Information Systems Committee
xcri | context of the implementation models
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 10
Course advertising function
Get the data
Create new information
Aggregate into catalogue(s)
Transform(s) for output
Edit existing information
HEI website(s)
Export to file(s)
Paper publications
API / web service(s)
Issues
CheckXCRI for
transformation and data exchange processes
Integration and
aggregation
Internal and external
supply and publishing
Joint Information Systems Committee
xcri | Readiness Characteristics I
ID Attribute Start 0 1 2 3 4 End1 Number of courses 1 Very large Y Very small
2 Complexity of provision 3 Highly varied Y Simple
3 Number of sources 3 Multiple Y Single
4 Quality of authoring 3 Poor Y Excellent
5 Data structures 2 Poorly defined Y Well defined
6 Update frequency 1 Less than once/year Y Continuous
7 Audit trail 0 None Y Detailed
9a Centralisation (UG) 3 Mostly decentralised Y Complete
9b Centralisation (PG) 2 Mostly decentralised Y Complete
10 Process capability 2 Ad hoc Y Well defined
11 Technical capability 0 Low Y High
12 Organisational context 3 Hostile Y Benign
13 Resources 2 Minimal Y Plenty
Key to scale: 0 = Least favourable circumstance4 = Perfect!
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 11
Joint Information Systems Committee
Minimum characteristics for XCRI readiness
0
1
2
3
4Number of courses
Complexity of provision
Number of sources
Quality of authoring
Data structures
Update frequency
Audit trailCentralisation (UG)
Centralisation (PG)
Process capability
Technical capability
Organisational context
Resources
xcri | Readiness Characteristics II
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 12
Joint Information Systems Committee
xcri | Implementation Models
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 13
Simple Single Stream Model
Multiple Source Aggregation Model
Integrated Content Management Model
Outsourcing Model
Feedback Model
Courses update push model from Data Collecting Organisation’s perspective
Joint Information Systems Committee
xcri | implementation top tips
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 14
Problem SolutionsWe don’t know how many courses we offer; our courses data sets are extremely variable.
Review and model processes you use; you may find the XIM template useful.Consider creating a single catalogue that will aggregate all your courses data.
We have a great many de-centralised sources with no links between them.
Carry out preliminary work in each source, so that you can aggregate them; introduce common course identifiers; consider changing to compatible data structures.
Our quality of authoring is poor.
XCRI implementation may provide opportunity to change how your authors work. Consider providing a new data entry system that will feed your XCRI outputs. Improvements in data quality can be presented as a ‘quick win’ for an XCRI implementation.
Our data analysis is poor, so it is very difficult for us to map to XCRI successfully.
For initial XCRI implementation, create new data store with data structures that reflect the XCRI model and import data into the new store. Reduces dependencies between XCRI and other components of the system. Then a full integration of the new system with the old one, or an entire replacement system, can be planned.
The institution is re-organising the department, its courses, everything!
Use small scale projects for incremental gains. Or put off XCRI implementation till re-organisation complete.Plan for delays.Consider using XCRI as a common means of exporting courses data for import into a new merged system.Refer to the XCRI mini project reports.
Joint Information Systems Committee
xcri | lessons
XCRI…
– went for low hanging fruit: course advertising = inherently public data
– sought out & engaged key experts & practitioners
– discovered huge inefficiencies arising from embedded work-arounds
– promoted & celebrated its “shared response to a shared problem”
– evolved by keeping it real – real data, real people, real processes
– is increasingly seeking out policy makers, senior managers & vendors to support sector process re-engineering
We are “learning to network and networking to learn”
And now…
– we’re joining up the pilot work, gaining the authority of a formal standard and entering the mainstream!
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 15
Joint Information Systems Committee
xcri | summary
Committed to joined-up thinking
Partnering with key agencies: Becta, UCAS, LSC, DCSF/DIUS ISB …
Keeping it simple and testing thoroughly with real data
Building capacity: funding mini projects
Going beyond technical support to organisational readiness: XIM
Keen for more institution, agency and vendor engagement
Aware of role in delivering 14-19, Leitch, Burgess, Bologna, Burgess,...
Go to http://www.xcri.org to discover more.
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 16
Joint Information Systems Committee
XCRI Briefing24 November 2008, Becta, 14-19 Diplomas, Aston University
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 17
eXchanging Course Related Information: the emerging XCRI standard
Sources may be different formats, but have common IDs and compatible structures.
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 19
Joint Information Systems Committee
xcri | Integrated Content Management Model
Content management system
Transformto XCRI
Paper publications
Export to file
HEI website(s)
API / web service
Updates fromauthors
Edit
Createnew course records
Validate
Classify
Data source
Transformation
Content managementdata store
Content managementdata storeDirect to CMS
Via intermediatedata source
MIS
Admissions
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 20
Joint Information Systems Committee
xcri | Outsourcing Model
Transformto XCRI
API / web service
Verification, transformations and mappings
Updated data setfrom HEI
Various services dependent on agreements between the HEI and agency.
Export to format ATransform
Export to format BTransform
Export to format CTransform
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 21
Joint Information Systems Committee
xcri | Feedback Model
3rd party data collection system
Input the data3rd party
Data store
Transform into XCRI
XCRI output
Validation Classification3rd party
Data store
Collect XCRI dataNew data store at HEI 3rd party data collector acts as an agency for the HEI, providing its own data back in the standard XCRI format.
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 22
Joint Information Systems Committee
Courses update push model from Data Collecting Organisation’s perspective