Wednesday 30 April 2008

Embeded in another institution

Up until now, I have done a lot of unseen work with potential adopters. Mainly this has been supporting them on an individual basis as part of the project. Through out this time I have been treading a very thin line on being closed as a project, and open at the same time. Its very much like having a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. I know which is the correct route and which is the incorrect. But now I face a dilemma on ensuring that the results of this hard work are fully disseminated.

Part of the reason for not being completely open from the start is due to the project structure and the process of education. The project had the spirit of collaboration from the start, but this was a very much closed process. Although I have objected to this closed method from time to time, I have been over ridden on numerous occasions. It appears that the fear of 'airing dirty laundry in public' will always prevail.

But after a success, I then have to mess round, checking that any information provided in an email can then be shared and disseminated. This step could have been avoided in the first place by ensuring all communication had been open, but at the same time I don't think that the relationship would have been built as well.

However, this does not answer the initial point of this post, which is...WebPA is now embedded at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) and will be used with a first year module for the next five years. The MMU has also received some very positive comments from external examiners. Further more, other HOD's within MMU are also showing interest.

This is all great news and shows that opensource projects can be successful within this HE arena, but do require some nurturing.

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