Cover Sheet for Proposals JISC/Academy Open Educational Resources Programme

Academy/JISC Grant Funding 14/08
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities.aspx
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/funding
Proposal Cover Sheet
HEFCE/JISC/Academy Open Educational Resources Grant Funding
Cover Sheet for Proposals
(All sections must be completed)
JISC/Academy Open Educational
Resources Programme
Name of Initiative:
Open Educational Resources
Programme bid to:
Individual
Name of Lead Institution:
The University of Liverpool / UK Centre for Materials Education
Name of individual:
(complete for individual programme only)
Subject area:
Materials
Name of Proposed Project:
CORE-Materials: Collaborative Open Resource Environment –
for Materials
The University of Liverpool
The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3)
The University of Birmingham
Bradford College
The University of Cambridge
The University of Edinburgh
The European Aluminium Association (EAA)
The Federation of European Materials Societies (FEMS)
Granta Design Limited
Heriot-Watt University, ICBL
Imperial College London
International Council on Materials Education (ICME)
The University of Manchester
Materials E-Learning Technologies (MELT)
The Open University
The University of Sheffield
Sheffield Hallam University
The University of Southampton
The University of Swansea
The Welding Institute (TWI)
Name(s) of Project
Partner(s):
Institutional
Subject area
Full Contact Details for Primary Contact:
Name:
Professor Peter J Goodhew
Position: Materials Subject Centre Director
Email:
goodhew@liverpool.ac.uk
Address: UK Centre for Materials Education,
Brodie Tower,
Department of Engineering
The University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3GH
Tel:
+44 151 794 4665
Fax:
+44 151 794 4466
Length of Project:
12 months
Project Start
Date:
Mid April 2009
Total Funding Requested from
JISC/Academy:
Project End Date:
£174,827
1
Mid April 2010

Academy/JISC Grant Funding 14/08
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/fundingopportunities.aspx
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/funding
Total Institutional Contributions:
£271,455
Outline Project Description
This project seeks to release existing learning resources for open use and repurposing, and
will also explore processes, issues and policies involved in the practices of releasing such
content.
The rationale is rooted in the desire of the Academy/JISC to make a significant
enhancement to university education. As a national Subject Centre, the UKCME’s rationale
for bidding is in our commitment to sharing and promoting open learning resources and
curricular content, as a means of enhancing the student learning experience in the subject
of Materials.
The main project deliverables are as follows:
A comprehensive set of core open and accessible learning resources that provide full
coverage of the Materials undergraduate curriculum (in total greater than 360
undergraduate credits).
A ‘taxonomy matrix’ for the Materials discipline that both organises resources in a
coherent way for the user and also identifies resources in need of development by
users.
Changed policies and practices within partner institutions / organisations relating to the
release of open learning resources and wider use of Web2.0 technologies, as a result of
project interaction.
An active community of practice within Materials, where learning resources are widely
shared, used and developed; with the benefit of promoting / marketing the discipline and
quality of UK HE.
I have looked at the example FOI form at Appendix A
and included an FOI form in the attached bid (Tick Box)
I have read the Funding Call and associated Terms and
Conditions of Grant at Appendix B (Tick Box)
2
YES

YES

NO
NO
FOI Withheld Information Form
We would like JISC and the Academy to consider withholding the following sections or
paragraphs from disclosure, should the contents of this proposal be requested under the
Freedom of Information Act, or if we are successful in our bid for funding and our project
proposal is made available on JISC’s website.
We acknowledge that the FOI Withheld Information Form is of indicative value only and that
JISC and the Academy may nevertheless be obliged to disclose this information in
accordance with the requirements of the Act. We acknowledge that the final decision on
disclosure rests with JISC and the Academy.
Section / Paragraph No.
Relevant exemption from
disclosure under FOI
Justification
There are no sections/paragraphs of the CORE-Materials bid that we
would like JISC/HEA to consider withholding.
1.0
Introduction
1.1
Aim
This project seeks to release existing learning resources for open use and repurposing, and will also
explore processes, issues and policies involved in the practices of releasing such content.
1.2
Rationale
1.2.1 The rationale for this project is rooted in the desire of Academy/JISC to make a significant
enhancement to university education. UKCME‟s rationale for bidding is in our commitment to sharing
and promoting open learning resources and curricular content, as a means of enhancing the student
learning experience in the subject of Materials.
1.2.2 The UK Centre for Materials Education (UKCME), as the Higher Education Subject Centre for the
UK Materials community, has since its inception in 2000 developed strategies and collaborative
partnerships for both creating and disseminating teaching and learning resources. We are aware of a
great number of local learning resources, many of them in electronic form and many of them created
following the stimulus of a small grant from UKCME. Electronic-based and online mechanisms have
been a significant component of such resources. This proposal seeks to improve opportunities for
learning by students / trainees and for teaching by academics / trainers.
1.2.3 The following table summarises the project‟s main 20 Characteristics of benefit to UK HE:
Principles of this project
Coherent set of open resources
Curriculum-based learning, with
more than 360 credits accessible
Constructed taxonomy matrix
Community-based development
Creative release of content
Contributions can be by all users
Culture-changing in HE sector
Continuation strategy, with
models for project sustainability
Features of the resources
Cutting-edge elements
(bold and innovative)
Convenient (portability for
users ensured)
Choice (flexibility of use)
Cleared for open release
Compliant (to IPR and
IMS standards/protocols)
Creative Commons
licence standards
Other project attributes
Consortium of subject /
discipline community
Commitment of partners
Capacity-building for the
future, beyond this pilot
Critically appraised and
evaluated outcomes
Case-studies of practices
and lessons learned
Communications strategy
1.3
Need and Impact
The justification for this project is based partly on the messages emerging from the interactions
UKCME regularly has with its subject community. In a very short period of time, we have been
overwhelmed by institutions wanting to take part in the OER process. The needs of students,
academics, industry, policy makers and the wider HE community have all been taken into account in
shaping this proposal. In addition, focused information that affirms the need for more open educational
resources in Materials has come from four UKCME-led projectsabcd. Specific lessons learned from
these will be drawn upon in the development of this project. Materials is a subject that underpins all of
Engineering and much of Science, and is taught in a variety of university programmes.
1.4
Priority Focus
This UKCME-led project addresses 5 of the 8 priority areas in the OER programme, as shown below:
1. Materials is a vocational subject area, with applied elements of the curriculum that draw from
the input of a range of industries and skills-based training providers.
2. Materials is defined (HEFCE, 2008) as a „strategically important and vulnerable‟ subject.
3. Materials has a main professional body, the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3).
4. Materials is a third stream discipline, a key contributing sector of the economy of UK plc, linking
knowledge creation with business development.
5. Materials relies heavily on multi-media technologies to enable students to better understand
the many concepts that underpin the knowledge and competencies of the subject.
a
b
c
d
National Subject Profile for Higher Education Programmes in Materials (Higher Education Academy, 2008);
Working in Partnership with Students: The E-Learning Summer School at Cambridge (JISC, 2008);
Employer-College Partnerships: Developing a Materials Foundation Degree at Bradford College (HEFCE, 2008);
The Engineering Doctorate in Steel Technology at Swansea University: Practices and Benefits (The Welsh Assembly, 2008).
1
2.0
Project Description
The objectives are defined here. The ways they are addressed in the project are shown on Page 3.
2.1
Objectives
a. To identify and scope existing electronic resources for learners and teachers in Materials, and to
specify legal and technological protocols (drawing on recommended sources and technologies
advised by JISC and CETIS) to release content in an „open‟ format accessible by all.
b. To scope, specify, build and pilot a „taxonomy matrix‟ – which may be constructed along the lines of
the diagram below – to interpret, codify, and possibly act as an interface to „a core of open access
learning resources, organised coherently to support on-line and blended learning by all HEIs, and
to make it more widely available in non-HE environments‟ (Cooke Report to Denham, 2008).
c. To establish a collection that would make use of JorumOpen, but also a more discipline-specific
site, and investigate their use by Materials teachers and students; users will be encouraged to
source, use, submit, share and reuse electronic learning resources from the collection.
d. To work with the Academy/JISC, their services, and other projects funded within this OER call, to
develop a robust information architecture, resource description, cataloguing / collections policy.
e. To investigate attitudes of users and potential barriers to sharing and making resources publicly
available across the Materials community.
f. To gain initial feedback of viability and usefulness of the learning resources in their open format;
this will be with a range of users / stakeholders from across and beyond the Materials community.
g. To disseminate and evaluate project outcomes; dissemination will draw heavily on networks of the
UKCME and of consortium partners, whilst evaluation will be both formative and summative.
h. To explore the use of RSS feeds as a means of providing content for personal learning
environments (PLEs). In addition, to investigate systems and criteria for the portability of interactive
learning resources in high demand by users.
2.2
Project Deliverables
Based on the above objectives, from this project, we are going to deliver the following:
a. A comprehensive set of core open and accessible learning resources that provide full coverage of
the Materials undergraduate curriculum (in total greater than 360 undergraduate credits).
b. A „taxonomy matrix‟ for the Materials discipline that both organises resources in a coherent way for
the user and also identifies resources in need of development by users.
c. Changed policies and practices within partner institutions / organisations relating to the release of
open learning resources and wider use of Web2.0 technologies, as a result of project interaction.
d. An active community of practice within Materials, where learning resources are widely shared, used
and developed; with the benefit of promoting / marketing the discipline and quality of UK HE.
2
2.3
Project Work-Plan
2.3.1 One of the main strengths of this project is that it can get underway immediately in April 2009.
This is because the Project Team will comprise experienced staff seconded from the UKCME, along
with two staff previously with the MATTER software project. Two additional staff from the Heriot-Watt
University (located in the ICBL) will bring complementary expertise in technical and legal issues.
2.3.2 Preparatory work in February 2009 involved a meeting of consortium partners at the host
institution, with opportunities for all to contribute towards the development of this bid, and to identify
resources for sharing (images, videos, podcasts, case studies, course materials, reading lists, learning
objects, MCQs, recordings). It will be important at the start of the project to have detailed explorations
across the Partner Consortium of both the proposed dissemination plan and the sustainability plan.
2.3.3 The final project outcomes will be completed by April 2010, when a final report will be signed-off,
ongoing dissemination will be extending and embedding deliverables in liaison with Academy/JISC,
and a continuation strategy will be in place to sustain the project outputs and outcomes. The following
table details the main project tasks over the 12-month timeline, starting April 2009:
Main Project Tasks
Hold continuous and regular Project Team meetings, to
update plans / targets and to monitor / review progress
Hold 3 meetings of the full 20 Partner Consortium; the
hosting of these shared between UKCME and IOM3
Work with all 20 partners to identify useful and shareable
learning resources that exist; (much has been achieved,
from bid consultations and UKCME ongoing strategies)
Clarify the IPR status of these existing resources, and
explore Creative Commons licence agreements
Secure the release of the resources under an open
licence, thereby giving the right to host the resources
Develop a relationship with the JorumOpen repository, to
allow updating of learning objects for storage
Construct a „taxonomy matrix‟, drawing on existing
schema (e.g. MATTER, QAA, UKCME, CES, textbooks)
Populate the collection with a variety of electronic
resources and identify gaps by using the taxonomy
Establish mechanisms for both the searchability and
interoperability of the deposited collection of resources
Create a project website within UKCME, „mirroring‟ the
collection in JorumOpen with added value user functions
Conduct frequent visits to consortium partners, to ensure
ongoing engagement and understanding of their milieu
Develop RSS feeds drawing on the open access
resources, and test in personal learning environments
Re-size and test a range of interactive learning objects
for portable use, e.g. in standard presentation packages
Survey consortium partners and institutional systems
regarding release, use and sharing of open resources
Test open resource use with a range of stakeholders,
and feedback the findings for review and updating
Participate in Programme-level activities organised by
Academy/JISC, along with other OER funded projects
Disseminate the project, its outputs and outcomes, over
the 12-months and beyond, liaising with Academy/JISC
Evaluate the project at intervals, drawing on formative
and summative approaches, liaising with Academy/JISC
Develop a business model for project sustainability
beyond the 12 months pilot, liaising with Academy/JISC
3
April 2009 to March 2010 (inclusive)
A M J J A S O N D J F M
3.0
Project Management Arrangements
3.1
Project Direction
3.1.1 The project will be under the overall direction of the Director of the UKCME. The Project Team
(detailed in Section 10.0 on Page 10), based at UKCME, will constitute the core operational group, with
staff having clear roles / responsibilities and maintaining close communications with each other; it will
also carry out regular reviews of progress in response to feedback from users and changing contexts.
3.1.2 We have identified a specific Project Manager with responsibility for day-to-day project activities,
including monitoring of progress and finances. A Project Chair will act as academic adviser to the
project, operating independently of the internal Project Team (drawing on similar expertise from the
recently completed National Subject Profile in Materials). The Project Director and E-Learning
Consultant will liaise with senior management in institutions (drawing on experience of chairing the
University of Liverpool‟s E-Learning Committee). The Senior Liaison Officer will focus on strategic
elements of the project, on synergies with the principal mission of UKCME, and on stakeholder links.
3.2
Programme Support
The Project Team greatly values the benefits of communication and collaboration with other projects
funded under this OER programme. We are keen to establish these relationships through participation
in Programme-level meetings organised by the Academy/JISC (having accounted for these in our
budget), as well as on an ad hoc basis. We welcome support from the Programme Manager in
facilitating and fostering dialogue of this type. In addition, we will seek support on specific JISC
protocols and procedures from the Programme Manager at the Academy/JISC, as necessary. We will
also liaise with the Academy/JISC with respect to aspects of both project dissemination and evaluation.
3.3
Risk Analysis
There are a number of risks associated with tasks outlined earlier in the project plan. Four of the most
significant risks among those we identified are listed in the following table, along with a mitigation plan.
With sound planning these risks can be minimised and contingencies can be put into place.
Risk
Probability
(1-5)
Severity
(1-5)
Score
(P x S)
Action to Prevent /
Manage Risk
Barriers to gain
institutional
support from
partners for the
full release of
learning objects
identified
2
3
6
Careful choice of partners that build on
work relationships and an understanding of
their milieu. Letters of Support (Appendix)
have explicit senior institutional approval.
Infrastructure
unable to support
wide variations in
technology
2
3
6
Careful contingency planning from the
outset, in collaboration with technical staff
of partner institutions, to establish clear
parameters on what is and is not possible.
Challenges to
obtaining IPR
clearance of
resources for
open release
3
3
9
Draw on both the host institution and JISC
legal support services.
Lack of time to
provide adequate
evidence of user
take-up of the
open resources
released though
the project
3
Liaison with Academy/JISC in developing
robust project Consortium Agreements.
Liaison with Academy/JISC in ensuring
appropriate legal protocols employed.
3
9
Use of UKCME‟s engagement strategies at
Departmental and at institutional level, to
ensure uptake of the open resources.
Ongoing „roadshow‟ visits and project
dissemination and sustainability plan, to
encourage and evaluate the use of the
open resources beyond the project lifetime.
4
4.0
Technical Considerations
4.1 Two areas of technical issues will be important to the: those around dissemination and those
around resource management.
4.2 For dissemination we consider the need to make resources discoverable by those who would use
them to be of paramount importance. Key to this will be visibility on Google and other search engines.
This will be enhanced by making the textual content of resources visible to web crawlers and ensuring
links to the resources from relevant websites.
4.3 It will also be helpful to provide potential users with information to support selection of resources
appropriate to their learning or teaching needs, and it may be helpful to provide ideas on how
resources may be used in pedagogic situations. This means careful consideration by the project of how
to acquire and convey information about the resources' origins, suggested education usefulness and
descriptions of actual use.
4.4 The Project Team will ensure that information about resources and, where possible, the resources
themselves may be syndicated for aggregation by interested parties, either for their own educational
use or to present to their user communities. As well as its direct impact on the number of users who will
see our resources, such syndication increases the number of links to our resources from relevant
websites and makes them more visible on search engines.
4.5 We will also ensure that resources can easily be embedded into a variety of learning environments,
tools and websites, e.g. institutional VLEs, presentations packages (such as PowerPoint) for lectures,
wikis, blogs, personal "portal" pages such as iGoogle, Netvibes and Pageflakes. This has a
consequential requirement that interactive resources should be made available in a stand-alone format
rather than relying on server-side interactive technologies as many of them currently do.
4.6 Web 2.0 services provide many facilities that will be helpful in ensuring successful dissemination:
tags and user profiles can provide information about the resources and their relationships to the
project; many web 2.0 sites have a sophisticated approach to providing RSS and ATOM feeds for
syndication, and cut-and-paste code-snippets are provided for embedding resources into other
websites. We are aware that there are access issues with some web 2.0 services, for example
schools, who are an important part of our audience, are often barred from accessing YouTube; so
careful consideration will be required before a range of hosting solutions is selected.
4.7 The important requirements for resource management are that we should be able to provide a
coherent collection of resources, with guaranteed access over a suitable period, and to account for the
level of use of the resources and the impact of the project. The UKCME website will provide a coherent
view on the collection that will show relationships between resources, between resources and the
Materials curriculum, between different versions of resources and between resources and information
about those resources. The JorumOpen will provide a safe host to assure continuity of access to
resources. The Project Team will use appropriate measures, e.g. information provided by web 2.0
hosts and Google analytics, to provide information about the amount of access to the resources.
5.0
Legal Considerations
5.1 This project is founded on a commitment to openness. We want resources to be used freely: that is
free of charge and free from restraint. This includes the freedom to copy and adapt, as well as the
ability to view the resource. We consider Creative Commons licensing to be an expression of this
commitment. An important part of this project will be working so that resources may be licensed under
Creative Commons. Key issues to address will be institutional attitudes to ownership of resources
created by staff and students, and institutional policies for granting permission for Creative Commons
licensing, (including for example attitudes to the effect of this on potential revenue generation and risks
of copyright infringement through accidental inclusion of third party material). We will work with partner
institutions to clarify these issues in such a way that facilitates future release of open content.
5.2 IPR is to be a major part of this OER project, and as such it is built into workflows. The project will
be focused on sustainable processes, with more than 10% of the budget dedicated to specific IPR
staff, in addition to time which will be spent on IPR issues during frequent visits to institutions.
5
6.0
Synergies and Partnerships
6.1
Partner Consortium
This project builds on collaboration between UKCME and the following 20 Consortium Partners:
Institution / Organisation
Role in the project
Previous experience
10 Higher Education Institutions
Univ of Liverpool (host institution)
Universities of Birmingham,
Cambridge, Edinburgh, Imperial,
Manchester, Sheffield, Sheffield
Hallam, Southampton, Swansea
1 Further Education College
Bradford College
3 Professional Organisations
Institute of Materials (IOM3)
The Welding Institute (TWI)
European Aluminium Assocn (EEA)
2 Computer-Based Learning Bodies
Heriot-Watt University – (ICBL)
MeLT: Materials e-Learning
Technologies [formerly MATTER]
2 Subject-related OER Advisers
The Open University
Granta Design Ltd
2 International Subject Federations
FEMS: Federation of European
Materials Societies
ICME: International Council on
Materials Education
Input to „taxonomy matrix‟;
Identification of resources;
Investigation of practices and
policies for open release;
Liaison with Project Team for
clearance of the resources;
Contributing resources to
collection; Active use/testing
As above for the 10 HEIs and
the 1 FEC
www.materials.ac.uk/
subject-profile/report.asp
Technical input for „cuttingedge‟ elements of RSS feeds
and portability;
Input to „taxonomy matrix‟
Liaison with both OpenLearn
and MIT OpenCourseWare;
Input to the „taxonomy matrix‟
Identification of resources for
„harvesting‟ outside of UK;
Project dissemination, to be
beyond the project lifetime
and with „reach‟ outside UK;
www.materials.ac.uk/pub/
case-cambridge.asp
www.materials.ac.uk/pub/
case-bradford.asp
www.iom3.org
www.twi.co.uk
www.eea.net
www.alumatter.info
JISC and HEA projects:
www.icbl.hw.ac.uk
MATTER e-learning sites:
www.matter.org.uk
www.openlearn.open.ac.uk
Granta‟s CES EduPack:
www.grantadesign.com
www.fems.org
Euromat conferences:
www.fems.org/euromat/
www.unt.edu/ICME/
MRS links: www.mrs.org
6.2
Partner Communications
All partners have agreed to implement a Consortium Agreement based on JISC templates. The
strength of commitment from all partners is indicated by statements in Letters of Support (attached).
The Project Team will engage with partners, through visits to UK institutions (approx one every week),
and by 3 Consortium meetings; the former ensuring the project links directly to institutional strategies.
6.3
Stakeholder Analysis
Critical to success will be engagement with external agencies, both throughout and beyond the project:
External Stakeholder
Interest / Stake
HE Academy, JISC and CETIS
Project funder; Project findings provide case studies of the
implementation of open resources for learning
Other OER funded projects in this call; Cross-referencing of lessons learned between projects,
OpenLearn and MIT OpenCourseWare
ensuring greater impact across the HE sector
Senior Management in HEIs and FECs
Development of institutional strategies on e-learning,
release of resources, and the marketing of programmes
Academics teaching Materials
Comprehensive core curriculum of subject-based
resources; Tools and processes for resource use / sharing
Subject organisations and agencies
Promotion of the discipline for learners, enhanced by
effective resources
Industry and employer bodies
Providing opportunities for learners to become better
qualified and prepared for work
Individual learners and prospective Easy access to high quality relevant learning resources
students
relating to Materials
6
7.0
Dissemination and Evaluation
7.1
Communications Plan
Project outcomes / outputs are to be disseminated to external stakeholders by the following activities:
Dissemination Activity
Website for the project
Project blog - for all partners to interact
UKCME annual bespoke training courses
Themed section at specific events
(e.g. Euromat09 international conference)
UKCME dissemination mechanisms and
portals
Project links established on the websites
of consortium partners
Symposium at project end, hosted by the
IOM3
Publication of findings and experiences in
reports
Sharing of practice with other funded
OER projects
Promotion of „good practice‟ beyond the
project
„Roadshow-type‟ visits to HEIs and FECs,
inclusive of evaluating RSS feeds
Articles in academic and industry
publications
Audience
Project Team; Partner Consortium; Academy/JISC;
Stakeholders; Public
Project Team; Partner Consortium; User community
Materials Student Representatives; New Materials
lecturers; Postgraduate demonstrators
National & international members; Materials academics
All stakeholders
All stakeholders
Regional and national bodies; Directors of UG studies
Partner Consortium; Academy/JISC
Academy/JISC; Stakeholders
All stakeholders
Partner Consortium; Stakeholders; Materials Students
Project Team; Partner Consortium; Academy/JISC
7.2
Evaluation Plan
The project will be internally evaluated as part of an overall reflective process, using techniques
developed over academic year 2008-09 for the STEM Group of Subject Centres by David Baume:
Factor to Evaluate
Strategies for
engagement with
Partner Consortium
Technical
developments
Dissemination
outcomes
Main piloting
process
Whole project
Sustainability
Questions to Address
Method(s)
Measure of Success
Is the methodology clear and
working well?
Team review of
outputs
Are the „taxonomy matrix‟ and
user interfaces appropriate for
learners?
Have these been successful in
engaging the wider
community?
Has the project team adapted
the technology to maximise
learner engagement?
How successful has the
project been for learners,
stakeholders; and what
lessons have been learned?
Have we put in place robust
plans for project sustainability?
Peer review;
User surveys
Partners on board, and
generating resources
directly useful to the Team
Systems interoperable and
working
7
Questionnaires
and interviews
User logs;
Questionnaires
Written project
report and case
studies from
users
UKCME
website
Critical dialogue with the
project after dissemination
activity
Impact of the release of
the open resources on
learners
Outputs taken up and
developed further by other
projects
Outcomes / outputs taken
up beyond project end
8.0
Value for Money and Business Sustainability
8.1
Impact vs Budget
8.1.1 The following are key features extracted from the Budget statement given next in Section 9.0:
a. Matched funding is far in excess of funds sought from Academy/JISC; percentage contributions
over the project lifetime are 61% from all Partners compared to 39% from the Academy/JISC.
b. Also, the 20 Consortium Partners provide matched funds of £85,000 (being 50% of funds sought).
c. The Host Institution has waived FEC charges, and is covering the input of 2 senior academics;
given the clear benefits to the University of participating in the project (see Section 8.1.2 below).
d. The Partner Consortium comprises a range of organisations (universities, college, professional
body, subject associations, industry, computer-based learning bodies and international subject
federations). This provides cross-referencing of issues in relation to the open release of resources.
e. The extensive Partner Consortium extends links beyond England, to include specialist expertise
from other regions of the UK, and from leading Materials educationalists in Europe and America.
8.1.2 Benefits for the Host Institution and participating Partners are as follows (see Letters of Support):
a. They contribute to a „one-stop-shop‟ core repository of resources for the Materials curriculum.
b. They share technologies and lessons learned from others in the consortium, thereby testing new
mechanisms / modes for online learning.
c. They are able to influence and shape the development of policy in their institutions / organisation
relating to the open release of learning resources.
d. They are able to promote their course programmes and resources to prospective students and to
widen access to education for young learners and for students in the workplace.
8.2
Sustainability Plans
UKCME has allocated £20,000 from future budgets (shown in Section 9.0 on Page 9) to ensure
sustainability of outcomes and outputs beyond the lifetime of the project. Such sustainability activities
are outlined in the following table:
Project Outputs
Project website
Collection of core
Materials curricula
open resources
Scenarios and
cases studies of
use
Reports
„Taxonomy matrix‟
Action for Take-up and Embedding
To be maintained for at least 3 years
beyond project end by UKCME
Technology designed to be re-usable
and also re-purposable
Post-Project: The Future
Project Team to ensure all
deliverables are listed and/or included
in both the project website and in
JorumOpen; this together with
appropriate archiving arrangements in
place
Identification of generic issues;
technology independent
Continuing use by project partners
and by stakeholders
Technical issues disseminated across
wider HE communities
To provide input for future projects
working in this OER programme area
Knowledge and experience gained
disseminated through project website
Promotion through conferences,
mailing lists and Academy/JISC
website
To identify areas / encourage
development of new resources in
areas currently not populated in the
Materials collection
Further dissemination opportunities,
including via Academy and JISCCETIS SIG meetings
Learning transferred to other users
across the Materials community
Provide input for other projects
working on OER-related issues
8
Reusability in other disciplines and
learning communities
9.0
Budget e
Directly Incurred Staff
%JISC/HEA %Partners
Non-Staff
Travel and expenses
Hardware / software
Dissemination / meetings
Evaluation
Funds to address Institutional barriers to the release of resources
Expenses to engage in Programme-level activities (at least 10 days)
Consultancy: MELT Consultants: Portable interactive teaching packages
Consultancy: David Brook: Training and SteelUniversity snapshots
Consultancy: Cambridge Summer Student work
Total Directly Incurred Non-Staff (B)
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
0%
TOTAL £
TOTAL £
£9,000
£2,000
£3,000
£1,500
£10,000
£1,500
£10,000
£1,500
£2,080
£40,580
Directly Incurred Total (C)
(A+B=C)
£164,825
Directly Allocated
TOTAL £
Estates
Other
Directly Allocated Total (D)
0%
100%
£29,962
£
£58,087
Indirect Costs
Indirect Costs from Heriot-Watt University
Total Indirect Cost (E)
0%
57%
100%
43%
£101,579
£11,720
£113,299
Total Project Cost (C+D+E)
Amount of Funding Requested
Institutional Contributions (Indirect Contribution)
UKCME contribution to sustain resources for years 2 and 3
Institutional Contribution from Heriot-Watt University
Matched funding from Consortium Partners
£336,211
£174,827
0%
100%
100%
GRAND TOTAL (C+D+E + Institutional Contributions)
£446,282
Percentage Contributions over the life of the project
JISC/HEA
39 %
No. FTEs used to calculate indirect and estates charges, and staff
included
No
FTEs
3.2
e
Generic rates used (following University Guidance)
9
£20,000
£5,071
£85,000
Partners
61 %
Total
100%
Which Staff
All Directly Incurred and
Directly Allocated staff listed
10.0 Project Personnel
The following are the ten staff of the Project Team, with details of their expertise and experience:
Professor Peter Goodhew (PG) is Professor of Materials Engineering at the University of Liverpool;
Director of UKCME; Founder and Director of the MATTER software team, developed from a TLTP2
project; Author of six textbooks and several educational software packages; Fellow of the HEA;
Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, and on Committee of Education & Training; Director of
Learning and Teaching for the Dept of Engineering at Liverpool; Council Member of the CDIO
consortium; Board member of the HEA; and active teacher still delivering innovative modules.
Dr Tim Bullough (TB) is Senior Lecturer in Materials at the University of Liverpool. He has been an
Academic Advisor to UKCME for the past 4 years, and Project Co-ordinator for the „National Subject
Profile in Materials‟. He runs sessions at the annual New Materials Lecturers and PG Teachers
events for UKCME. He was the first academic at Liverpool to use the University's VLE for large-scale
formative assessments, and for managing PBL teaching activities in Materials developed in
collaboration with MATTER. He received a University Teaching Fellowship for his VLE activities, and
has won the University's Sir Alastair Pilkington prize for Teaching Innovation.
Adam Mannis (AM) is Project Manager and Subject Adviser at UKCME. His experience is in
management of change within HE institutions, student empowerment and engagement, the
embedding of learning technologies, and employer engagement strategies. Prior to joining UKCME,
he managed applied research projects involving consortia of European universities and industries,
and also developed indicator-based evaluation frameworks for use in sustainable urban regeneration.
Dr Diane Taktak (DT) BEng Mechanical Engineering, with PhD in Biomedical Engineering. She has
experience of project management in academia and industry, with control of sizeable budgets and of
staff. She has attended courses in project management and in the use of Microsoft Project, and has
worked for UKCME since January 2007 with a key role in the National Subject Profile in Materials.
Dr Tatiana Novoselova (TN) PhD in the physics of metals and materials science. She has more
than 15 years HE work experience, through roles within research in materials science and software
development. Her most recent position includes design, development, maintenance and promotion of
interactive e-learning web-based software for materials science, engineering and related subjects.
Beverley Gaskell (BG) holds a degree in Hispanic Studies. She spent 3.5 years working as Project
Administrator before setting up her own translation and DTP company in 2003. Since September
2006 she has been Translations Co-ordinator for www.steeluniversity.org, an e-learning site for
students, academics and industry. This role also involves contribution to the development and
maintenance of the site, inclusive of dealing with related IPR and resource clearance issues.
Johanna Kehusmaa (JK) BA in Business Studies and MSc in e-Business. She has several years
experience managing commercial and educational websites, including the project management of
design and technical development work, as well as marketing and content creation for the sites. She
joined UKCME in 2003, and is responsible for the Centre‟s 2 websites and other IT-related projects.
Susan Doyle (SD) BA Sociology and Social Policy, with many years in publishing and higher
education administration. She joined the UKCME at its inception in January 2000, and then took on
the role of Centre Manager in September 2005. She is responsible for the Centre‟s operational
management, the production of printed resources, and the day-to-day management of its activities.
Lisa Rogers (LR) [Heriot-Watt University, ICBL] has 3 years experience through various JISC
projects in resource description, accessibility checking, preparation and placement of resources
within appropriate “web 2.0” platforms and packaging of resources into JORUM.
Dr Phil Barker (PB) [Heriot-Watt University, ICBL] has worked supporting the use, description and
evaluation of computer-based learning resources for 15 years, working on various nationally funded
initiatives and projects. Currently he works for JISC CETIS on metadata and digital repositories.
10
Professor Peter Goodhew
UK Centre for Materials Education
Brodie Tower
Department of Engineering
University of Liverpool
L69 3GH
25th February 2009
UKCME project to Academy/JISC ‘Open Educational Resources’ programme
Dear professor
Bradford College is keen to participate in the proposed Open Educational Resources project
directed by the UKCME and I confirm our full support for this programme.
We are fully convinced of the necessity for a subject-based project such as this; one which will
create a ‘one-stop-shop’ repository containing a range of quality assured open access electronic
resources.
Bradford College agrees to contribute £10,000 (equiv.) of matched funding to the OER project.
Our support will principally be in the form of staff time and expertise, with Richard Brown and
his team within the Metallurgy and Materials Section of the College participating in the various
project meetings and forums. They will also work closely with the UKCME to identify
appropriate resources for open release.
The College has a track record of creating innovative blended learning resources aimed at
supporting distance education, particularly in the area of work-based learning. As a result, in
addition to staff time we will contribute a unique set of electronic resources to the project, many
created in partnership with industrial partners (most notably the international company
Bodycote PLC).
Through the active partnerships forged with the UKCME by Richard Brown and the Metallurgy
and Materials team, the College has been instrumental in the development of a several
pioneering Materials-based Foundation degrees. We are convinced that by furthering our links
with the UKCME and other consortium partners, our contributions to this OER project will
impact positively on and further shape College strategy in relation to open and distance
education. A key benefit for us will be the legacy of innovative pedagogical approaches and
materials this project will create and make available; and which will have a life far beyond the
one-year timeframe of the project. In addition, there will be greater opportunities to highlight
the value of further and higher education to under represented groups, particularly those in
industry / the workplace.
On behalf of the College, I wish you every success with this project.
Yours sincerely
David Smith
Dean of Higher Education,
Bradford College,
Great Horton Road,
Bradford. BD7 1AY
Professor A Lindsay Greer
Head of Department
Department of
Materials Science & Metallurgy
Professor Peter J Goodhew, FREng
UK Centre for Materials Education
Brodie Tower
Department of Engineering
University of Liverpool
Liverpool L69 3GQ
27th February 2009
Dear Peter
We are pleased that you are proposing to collate the teaching resources available in the
Materials discipline and to encourage their wider use.
We are happy to offer the materials we have developed here for open access by the
community and are delighted that you are able to help us with the necessary work, including
the issues associated with open access rights. We would therefore like to be partners in your
OER bid.
Participation in this pilot project will involve us in committing some resources, mainly the time
of one or two of our staff. I estimate that the full economic cost of this commitment would be
in the region of £10k and I can confirm that we would not seek to recover this from UKCME.
I wish this project well. There are some excellent learning resources for Materials, available in
many of the world’s universities. It is important that they be brought together, made accessible
and used for the benefit of the whole community before they are lost or become outdated.
Yours sincerely
Lindsay Greer
Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy
University of Cambridge
Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QZ
Tel: +44 (0) 1223 334308
Fax: +44 (0) 1223 334567
Email: alg13@cam.ac.uk
www.msm.cam.ac.uk
Christopher Hall MA DPhil DSc CEng FRSC FIM
Professor of Materials
Director
Christopher.Hall@ed.ac.uk
Centre for Materials Science and Engineering
and School of Engineering
College of Science and Engineering
The University of Edinburgh
The King’s Buildings
Edinburgh EH9 3JL
United Kingdom
Professor Peter Goodhew
UK Centre for Materials Education
Brodie Tower
Department of Engineering
University of Liverpool
L69 3GH
Tel +44 (0) 131 650 5679
Fax +44 (0) 131 667 3677
2nd March 2009
UKCME Bid – Academy/JISC ‘Open Educational Resources’ Programme
The School of Engineering and Electronics at the University of Edinburgh is excited
to be supporting your Open Educational Resources project, led by UKCME.
If successful with funding from the Academy/JISC, we would be willing to commit
part of the time of Dr Jane Blackford to the project. We would envisage this being
equivalent to 1 or 2 days per month (approximately £5k), to contributing to meetings,
to work with UKCME staff visiting the School and institution, and to explore issues
of making our electronic teaching resources more open and accessible.
Dr Blackford has already developed a range of e-learning resources and case study
teaching materials, in collaboration with postgraduate students and through joint
teaching funds from the institution and UKCME. This OER project would be a great
way for her, along with colleagues in the School, to further our working relationship
with UKCME; and in no small way potentially impact on institutional policy
regarding issues of OER.
We are delighted to partner this project, and wish you much success in the bid
process.
Yours sincerely
Professor Christopher Hall
Department of Materials
Imperial College London
South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7594 6733 Fax: +44 (0)20 7594 6736
Email: w.e.lee@imperial.ac.uk
www.imperial.ac.uk/materials
Bill Lee DPhil FIoM3 CSci CEng
Feb 12th 2009
Head of Department
Professor of Ceramics
UKCME OER Bid
Dear Peter
Thank you very much for inviting us to take part in this proposal. The Materials
department at Imperial College has undergone a very significant increase in manpower and resources in recent years. We have developed thematic areas such as
bio-materials, nuclear materials and modelling and have brought in new staff to
support the associated research and teaching. We have developed a lot of teaching
materials/resources to support these new areas and have also introduced new
teaching materials/resources into our traditional teaching areas.
We are very pleased to share these materials and resources with our colleagues in
the UK Materials educational community to assist in the teaching of our subject area
and to optimise the learning experience for our students.
Finding a time-efficient mechanism that facilitates the sharing of experience,
techniques and resources is of course the ‘holy grail’ and we are delighted that you
have proposed a project to develop a mechanism to do just that. We are therefore
pleased to join you as a partner in your OER bid.
We recognise that participation in this pilot project will involve us in committing some
resources, mainly the time of one or two of our staff. If your bid is successful we are
happy to commit part of Dr David McPhail’s time of around 2 to 3 days per month,
equating to approximately £10K over a twelve month period and I can confirm that we
would not seek to recover this from UKCME.
We very much hope that this project is successful. Access to teaching and learning
resources from other Materials departments will improve the quality of teaching of our
staff and the quality of the learning experience of our students. We hope and believe
that the resources we have developed and will share will be of benefit to colleagues in
other departments.
Yours sincerely
Professor William E Lee
Head of Department
School of Materials
The University of Manchester
Grosvenor Street
Manchester M1 7HS
+44(0)161 306 9300
www.manchester.ac.uk
Professor Peter Goodhew FREng
UK Centre for Materials Education
Brodie Tower
Department of Engineering
University of Liverpool
L69 3GH
18th February 2009
Dear Peter
Academy/JISC ‘Open Educational Resources’ programme
The School of Materials at The University of Manchester is excited to participate in this Open
Educational Resources (OER) project being directed by UKCME.
We feel that a collection of electronic resources, open to all in the subject, is a high priority in the
promotion of Materials. To-date, there is no one source for the full range of curriculum resources
within the subject. UKCME’s experience of e-learning and its links with multiple stakeholders,
including the Higher Education Academy and JISC, will make this happen through this dedicated
project.
Critical to the proposed OER project will be the sustainability brought by UKCME to the open
resources released. This is to be welcomed, along with the fact that the project is devoting adequate
resources to issues of metadata and subject taxonomy for ease of user navigation.
If the OER bid is successful, we would be willing to commit part of the time of three academics from
the School; Professor Bob Cottis, Dr James Marrow and Mike Bailey. Their input to the project
would be equivalent to 1 or 2 days per month each, approximating to £10,000 in matched funding
support from us. They would be committed to participating in the development of the OER project in
partnership with other consortium partners, and to securing the release of a variety of learning
resources from across the School. They would also take part in visits from UKCME project staff, and
would look at the processes involved in the institutional release of open access content / resources.
Cont/
Professor R J Young
School of Materials
All three of these colleagues have participated in a variety of UK and European educational
development projects focused on the Materials discipline, and have expertise in the development and
use of computer-aided systems for learning and teaching. In addition, they have contributed to elearning strategies within HE, and to the development of distance learning applications to the
teaching of curriculum areas, in particular corrosion science and applications, physical metallurgy,
and textiles.
We are delighted to take part in this project, and wish you every success in your bid.
Yours sincerely
Professor R J Young FREng
Head of School
Tel: 0161 306 3551
Fax: 0161 306 8877
Robert.young@manchester.ac.uk
Professor R J Young
School of Materials
School
Of
Clinical
Dentistry.
Professor Peter Goodhew
UK Centre for Materials Education
Brodie Tower
Department of Engineering
University of Liverpool
Liverpool
L69 3GH
Dean of School
3 March 2009
Telephone: +44 (0) 114 271 7803 (PA to the Dean)
Fax: +44 (0) 114 279 7050
Email: dental.genenquiries@sheffield.ac.uk
Professor Paul M Speight
BDS, PhD, FDSRCPS, FDSRCS(Edin), FDSRCS(Eng), FRCPath
Claremont Crescent
Sheffield
S10 2TA
Dear Professor Goodhew
Academy/JISC ‘Open Educational Resources’ bid from UKCME
The School of Clinical Dentistry is pleased to be involved in your UKCME bid for joint funding from Academy /
JISC, under the call of Open Educational Resources.
Given a successful outcome with the bid, we would be willing to commit part of the time of Dr Chris Stokes to
the project. We would envisage this being equivalent to 1/2 days per month (approximately £5k), in participating
to meetings of the project along with other consortium members, and to working with UKCME staff when they
would visit us – to investigate the issues around sourcing and clearing colleagues’ electronic teaching resources
for promotion in a more open and accessible form for use.
Dr Stokes has a successful track record of online educational developments relating to dental and biological
Materials, in the School and the University of Sheffield, and nationally through the WILeN project on web-based
inter-professional learning environments. He has recently explored the use of Materials-based podcasts, images
and videos, contributing to our new curriculum; such resources are used in courses in dentistry, medical
sciences and tissue engineering across the institution. We would be willing to contribute these, along with other
relevant resources from colleagues, to the population of biological related areas of the Materials repository of
this OER project.
Trust that the above has outlined our commitment to your forward-thinking OER project, and we wish you a
successful outcome.
Yours sincerely
Professor Paul M Speight
Dean
2 March 2009
Professor PJ Goodhew
UK Centre for Materials Education
Brodie Tower
Department of Engineering
University of Liverpool
Liverpool L69 3GH
Dear Peter,
Re: UKCME Bid, Open Educational Resources (OER)
I am very pleased to lend the support of MeLT to the proposal by UKCME for funding
under the HEFCE/Academy/JISC Open Educational Resources programnme.
As you know, I have been closely involved in the development of the aluMATTER project
since its inception by the European Aluminium Association in 2001. Since then, the site has
grown to over 1000 pages, containing highly interactive learning resources covering many
topics relating to aluminium science, processing and applications.
At present, aluMATTER is only available via a live Internet connection. One of the most
common requests, and one that to date we have been unable to satisfy, is that parts or all
of the site be made available in an open and portable format, in order that teachers and
trainers can embed individual learning resources within their own teaching materials. I
firmly believe therefore that the proposed OER bid provides a unique opportunity to tackle
both the technical and legal issues to allow the aluMATTER content to become open and
portable for (re)use within the UK academic community.
Yours sincerely,
Andrew Green
Director
Materials E-Learning Technologies Ltd
30 Old Chester Road • Bebington • Wirral • UK • CH63 7LQ
T: +44 (0)151 645 8756 • E: info@materials-elearning.com
Engineering Programme
Professor Peter Goodhew
UK Centre for Materials Education
Brodie Tower
Department of Engineering
University of Liverpool
L69 3GH
Engineering Programme
Faculty of Mathematics, Computing &
Technology
The Open University
Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA
UK


+ 44 (0)1908 653944

http://engineering.open.ac.uk

engineering@open.ac.uk
+ 44 (0)1908 653858
27th February 2009
Dear Peter
Re: UKCME bid to the Academy/JISC – ‘Open Educational Resources’
The Engineering Programme at The Open University, and Materials Engineering staff in particular, wish to
lend our support to your Open Educational Resources (OER) project, led by UKCME.
I understand the need for such a project was articulated very strongly at the meeting of consortium partners
at UKCME offices on 12th February, attended by Mark Endean, my predecessor as Director of our
Engineering Programme. Need has also been demonstrated in the Materials National Subject Profile which
UKCME published last year with the Higher Education Academy, where attention was given to the unique
Materials-based programme offerings from The Open University.
Mark, who has an established reputation for developments in online learning and distance education in
Materials, will be able to act as a Specialist Adviser to the OER project, representing this Programme and the
institution. His main interests are in creating more effective learning experiences for students in the
discipline. The track-record and expertise of the established open and distance learning community led by
The Open University has much to contribute to the future success of subject specific education globally.
Mark will be able to build on his links with the UKCME through his involvement in your Centre Advisory
Board, by contributing in an advisory capacity to the OER project. He will be able to liaise with UKCME
project staff and to bring to meetings of the consortium partners lessons learned and ongoing developments
arising out of our institutional commitment to open education resources, a commitment exemplified by our
OpenLearn website and its many learner community features such as MyLearningSpace. Such expertise and
experience from OpenLearn could add considerable value to the innovative aspects of your Materials OER
bid, and would greatly benefit the collective marketing of UK higher education, one of the main objectives
of this call for proposals from the Academy / JISC.
Wishing you every success in your OER bid.
Yours sincerely
Michael Hush
Engineering Programme Director
From: The Federation of European Materials Societies
c/o The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining
1, Carlton House Terrace
London SW1Y 5DB
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 20 7451 7336
Fax: +44 20 7839 2289
e-mail: paul.mcintyre@iom3.org
Prof. P.J. Goodhew FREng
Director
UK Centre for Materials Education
2nd Floor, Brodie Tower
University of Liverpool
Liverpool, L69 3GQ
6th February 2009
UKCME Application for Funding to HEA
Dear Peter,
As you know, the Member Societies of the Federation of European Materials Societies
(FEMS) take a keen interest in the promotion of education in the Materials field, and this is
one of the primary aims of FEMS itself. We were very pleased when you accepted our
invitation last summer to give a talk to the FEMS Executive Committee about the activities
and aims of the UKCME. Furthermore, your Symposium on Education at EUROMAT 2007
in Nuremburg was a great success and we’re expecting that the repeat event that you’ll be
overseeing at EUROMAT 2009 in Glasgow will be even more successful. We’d also like to
congratulate you on being selected to give one of the Plenary talks at EUROMAT 2009 – this
is probably the first Plenary talk at a major conference which will cover Materials Education.
We were, therefore, very pleased to hear that you are proposing to collate the teaching
resources available in the Materials discipline and to encourage their wider use. We have real
interest in helping European educators to improve the quality and value of the educational
programs they offer. The work you are proposing appears to be very worthwhile. There are
some excellent learning resources for Materials, available in many of the world’s universities.
They should be assembled and made accessible to the whole Materials community before they
are lost or become outdated. FEMS is therefore delighted to support your initiative in any
way it can.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Paul McIntyre
FEMS Secretary
OFFICE OF THE FEMS GENERAL SECRETARIAT:
THE INSTITUTE OF MATERIALS, MINERALS AND MINING, 1 CARLTON HOUSE TERRACE, LONDON SW1Y 5DB
TEL: +44 20 7451 7336 FAX:+44 20 7839 2289
Prof. Witold Brostow, President
c/o Department of Materials Science and Engineering
University of North Texas
P.O. Box 305310, Denton, TX 76203-5310, USA
Tel. 1.940.565.3262 Fax 1.940.565.4824
http://www.unt.edu/ICME/ icme@marta.phys.unt.edu
February 3, 2009
Professor Peter Goodhew, FREng
Department of Engineering
University of Liverpool
Liverpool L69 3GH
United Kingdom
via e-mail to
goodhew@liverpool.ac.uk
Dear Peter,
we understand you are proposing to collate the teaching resources
available in Materials Science and Engineering to enhance their use.
As the main international body devoted to Materials Education, we have a great
interest in helping educators in every country to improve the quality and value of
the educational programs they offer. The work you are proposing will help this
enormously and ICME is delighted to support your initiative.
To be specific, we would be glad to provide you the complete Index of articles
published in the Journal of Materials Education – as you know the only
international journal devoted to Materials Education – starting with Volume 1 in
1979. Once your organization comes into being as we hope, with a search
engine for sure, locating pertinent articles in J. Mater. Ed. will become easy and
fast.
With best regards,
Witold Brostow, DSc, FRSC
President of the Council
Member of the European Academy of Sciences, Brussels