KATAPILA: Kingston Administration and Timetabling Application Project for Integrated Learner Access 

Updated: 2nd July 2008

Overview of Project

1. Background

Timetabling presents a key information concern for all education providers. The scheduling of multidimensional events (where curriculum activities, teaching staff and room locations must be synchronised), the recording of this information, integration with appropriate data sources (e.g. for student enrolments on representative classes) and the presentation of such information in convenient formats to staff and student communities all represent significant challenges.

The KATAPILA project seeks to exploit the opportunities provided by emergent technologies for administration to address these challenges. The project will examine the potential of several newer web-based technologies, including XML, SOAP and AJAX, to capture, manage, process and present timetable data in formats that may be consumed by learners in convenient and accessible ways. These methods will include mobile devices (using web-based SMS services), RSS feeds for presentation in user-selected web-based and client applications; email content (using Google Apps for Education) and an institutional VLE (a dedicated timetable block for Moodle). 

2. Aims and Objectives

Aims 

The KATAPILA project aims to develop and evaluate tools, mechanisms and procedures, which advance the integration of new and emerging web-based technologies with institutional systems for information management in a way that is sustainable, delivers efficiency savings for administrative and teaching staff and which provides genuine benefits to learners. 

We envisage a scenario, where students on large programmes, especially HE courses, receive a personalised weekly timetable sent to them by automated email and have entries automatically added to institutionally-provided online calendar systems. They also have the option to subscribe to RSS timetable feeds, which they may display using their selected RSS aggregator tools, including social networking sites. Furthermore students will routinely send SMS requests for assessment deadlines and receive appropriate data in personalised SMS messages. We believe the KATAPILA project will enable us to realise this state of timetable data handling.

Objectives 

The movement towards provision of personalised administrative data relating to the learning experience is a central objective of the KATAPILA project. Increasingly timetables are now being personalised to take account of the scheduled activity for individual learners. For example additional learning support, personal tutorials and individual target setting meetings will refine the communal timetable associated with a class or a group. Using a combination of emergent technologies we are therefore seeking to provide customised timetable data to individual learners. 

The objectives of the project focus on the handling of timetable data. They include proposals to develop methods to: 

1.    Collect timetable data: a combination of plugins to read relevant learner and curriculum data held in SQL-based management information systems and electronic forms combined with visually intuitive graphical user interfaces to enable tutors and curriculum managers to control the relationship between time slots, classes, exams, assessments and rooms. The College is currently developing AJAX-based interfaces to assist users in inputting timetable data. 

2.    Process timetable data: an open database architecture will be implemented to store the attributes of scheduled curriculum activities (such as function, start and end times, group, unit, programme, location, tutor and resources). Timetable data will be generated in XML format for presenting through a variety of channels. Technologies embedded in the Kingston College Online Database (KCOD), built over many years to conform closely with open standards, will be used to process timetable data. 

3.    Present timetable data: structured timetable information will be consumed by a number of systems to provide an integrated access experience for learners. Four principal export methods will be explored, each of which will reformat the raw XML data generated by the timetable engine: 

a.       RSS feeds: these may be presented with a variety of learner-selected environments (e.g. web browsers, dedicated news reader client applications, email clients and web applications such as social software sites that enable presentation of external RSS feeds) as well as in a pre-configured block within the Moodle VLE. This presentation channel will involve the creation of dynamically-updated RSS feeds from MySQL/PHP scripts underpinning the KCOD timetable engine.  

b.      Automated emails: weekly personalised timetable summaries will be issued to students through automated routines. This service will integrate closely with the Google Apps environment, which we have recently adopted as the platform for all student email accounts at Kingston College (using the format userID@ga.kingston-college.ac.uk). 

c.       Calendar entries: we are proposing to automatically populate student calendars associated with their Google Apps accounts with personalised live timetable data, exchanged via XML and XHTML. 

d.      Mobile services: a personalised call and response service for SMS receipt of short-term timetable information (typically, for the next 48 hours) will be provided. This will involve data exchange via the SOAP protocol with PageOne, the SMS service provider selected by JANETtxt, with whom the College has developed a relationship as part of an existing JISC-funded project 

3. Overall Approach

The KATAPILA project will focus on the timetable and information needs of students and tutors involved with a large Business Management degree course.

The project is designed to produce outputs, which conform closely to open standards and adhere to the principles behind the Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), advocated by the JISC. It will involve implementation of database-independent XML plugins that facilitate structured information exchange between institutional and other systems.

A schematic representation of the key information flows within the KATAPILA timetable management processes is shown below:

 

 

The project will start in May 2008 and run for a period of twelve months. We have identified five broad phases for delivery of the project each of which will be broken into a series of work packages. These are summarised below and outlined in the project plan in Appendix 1.

·         Phase 1 - Project planning and specification: The project start-up phase will involve establishment of the project team and construction of a detailed project plan, defining technical specifications and data models.

·         Phase 2 - Service development and testing: Development of the KCOD timetable engine, pilot XML timetable outputs and single sign-on services with small-scale user trials with existing BA Business Management students and testing SMS functions.

·         Phase 3 - Implementation: Phased roll-out of integrated learner access to timetable services through email, mobile and embedded RSS feeds, focusing on the start of the 2008-9 academic year for the BA Business Management and HND Business and Finance courses.

·         Phase 4 - Evaluation: Review and analysis of student, administrator, curriculum manager and tutor experiences at key points throughout the project.

·         Phase 5 - Dissemination: Outputs of the project will be presented through a combination of presentations, workshops, a full written report, summary report and the project website.

4. Project Outputs

The outcomes that we plan to deliver for the KATAPILA project are outlined in the table below. 

Pilot project report	The document will provide detailed analysis of the rationale, processes, impact and lessons learnt for the project. It will examine the methods adopted in integrating new technologies (such as web-based databases, social software and mobile services) within a framework provided by institutional systems and highlight the particular benefits for learners and administrative staff in the field of curriculum timetabling.
Project website	The KATAPILA site will provide a regularly-updated channel of communication to disseminate project findings and re-usable resources that will be of interest to the wider JISC community. We will use customised blogging tools and optimise the site for viewing on mobile as well as desktop browsers.
Code blocks	Reusable XML schemas, pseudo-code blocks, code snippets and SQL templates will be released and made available through the KATAPILA project site. These will be of value to other institutions seeking to provide integrated learner access to administrative and timetable information. All software outputs will be licensed as open source releases.
Presentations and progress documents	interim presentations, briefings, project summaries and progress reports will document project activity and provide an accessible medium for internal and external stakeholders to monitor progress in the KATAPILA initiative

5. Project Outcomes

The KATAPILA project is seeing to shift the locus of control for information pertaining to educational experiences towards the learners themselves. We believe that the mobility, connectivity and collaboration fostered by emerging web-based technologies will make a significant contribution to addressing the issues associated with e-administration and that they hold real promise for reducing the bureaucratic burden for institutional staff as well as the access problems currently encountered by learners. We believe we will be in a position to provide valuable guidelines, advice and resources for the wider FE and HE communities.

By focusing on a large HE programme area (the BA Business Management and HND in Business and Finance; annual intake 150 – 170 students), which caters for students from highly diverse educational, social and cultural backgrounds and through the integration of mobile and web-based technology into mainstream practice the KATAPILA project addresses the UK government’s agenda for lifelong learning, widening participation and the personalisation of learning experiences as expressed in the current e-learning strategy Harnessing Technology: Transforming Learning and Children’s Services (March 2005).

The three key outcomes of the KATAPILA project are:

1.     Provision of personalised information: the provision of syndicated timetable content (presented through a combination of email, RSS and SMS channels) represents a significant advancement in the personalised learning agenda. Learners will be able to access data about their programme of study, which is specifically relevant and at times, places and formats, which are appropriate to them. The creation of personalised data feeds, integrated in a VLE, will make an important contribution to the emergence of the personal learning environment paradigm, which has hitherto been an elusive concept.  

2.     System integration: at the heart of the project are proposals to develop mechanisms for integrating institutional systems with emerging technologies. An example of this approach is the adoption of Google Apps for student email services. This demonstrates an important expression of our drive to exploit a range of open source, proprietary and internally-developed solutions as part of our information environment. The common element is data exchange through open standards. 

3.     Embedding of mobile services: we believe that relatively modest development has taken place within the FE and HE sectors in adopting mobile technologies for e-administration. The provision of a self-service ‘timetable on demand’ facility, delivered by SMS to students’ mobile handsets will make an important contribution to the move for greater mobile access to personal learning information. This component of the project builds on a sophisticated data exchange relationship between the College and the PageOne messaging service through the SOAP protocol.

6. Stakeholder Analysis

 

Stakeholder	Interest / stake	Importance
BABM students	Learners require timely information, personalised content and facilities for communication and collaboration, which we believe mobile technology can provide.	High
BSc students	Equipped with new skills and approaches to learning, learners progressing to BSc programmes will be better placed to exploit the opportunities available to them.	Medium
BABM teaching staff	The KASTANET project provides the basis for a new way of interacting with learners and in delivering the course, which is likely to have significant longer term implications for tutors.	High
SMT teams at Kingston College and University	The KATAPILA project underscores the learning and teaching strategies of both consortium partners and will form the basis of wider practice within the two institutions.	High
Business and Professional Studies Faculty at Kingston College	The project will provide understanding and experience of new learning and teaching and course management approaches, which will inform practice in related programmes across the faculty.	High
Widening participation team at Kingston University	The project will strengthen the University’s local networks and enhancing awareness of methods of interacting with students from diverse backgrounds.	Medium
Admissions staff at Kingston College	The project may lead to modification in admission, enrolment and induction processes through the exploitation of mobile technologies.	Low
JISC	The project will contribute to the broader sphere of activity JISC is engaged in relation to organisational support and e-learning within an HE in FE context	High
JISC RSC London	The lessons learnt from the KATAPILA and KASTANET projecs will be most rapidly disseminated through the regional RSC community	Medium
DfES	KATAPILA is promoting themes of lifelong learning, widening participation and personalisation, which are central to the Government’s e-learning strategy	Low
Association for Business Education	Project explores new approaches to learning and teaching of business studies	Low
Sector Skills Council, E-Skills UK	Informative pilot of new approaches to using ICT	Low
Other JISC projects	Impact e-administration within an HE in FE context; Moodle development; opportunities for dialogue and collaboration	Medium
Higher Education Subject Centre	The project may generate new subject-specific pedagogic approaches within the context of business studies teaching that could be disseminated through the relevant HEA Subject Centres.	Low
Other FE colleges and the wider educational community	The FE sector at large is likely to be interested in the impact and potential of mobile devices for learning support, learning and assessment.	Medium

7. Risk Analysis

The key risks and associated mitigating actions that are judged to be relevant to the project are outlined in the table below. 

 

Risk	P	S	I	Action to prevent/manage risk
Staffing
Staff leaving because of short-term contracts	1	2	2	Project posts will be filled by existing Kingston College and University staff.
Failure of technical and implementation teams to communicate and collaborate sufficiently closely for effective project deliver.	2	2	4	The project management team (including leaders the implementation and technical coordinators and project evaluator) will oversee and monitor the project and work to achieve a coherent environment for project delivery.
SDF tutors fail to engage students and promote ‘buy-in’ of project activities.	2	3	6	Careful monitoring and support by Implementation Coordinator and support worker will lead to interventions to minimise student project ‘drop-out’
Organisational
Organisation (timescales, milestone and budget)	2	3	6	The Project Steering Group will involve senior managers from both organisations together with experts from external institutions.
Recruitment (student numbers fall on the BABM programme)	1	2	2	Forward planning and marketing in place for BABM. The Technology Foundation Course could be integrated if necessary.
External suppliers	2	2	4	Head of IT Systems fulfils dedicated role in managing external suppliers.
Technical
Problems with infrastructure to inhibit development	1	5	5	High level IT support will be provided by both partner organisations.
Technical problems with device and software incompatibility prevent a consistent user experience.	3	3	9	The technical coordinator will monitor device integration and both mobile and desktop-based software environments closely and ensure associated support services are effectively provided.
Legal
Legal disputes disrupt cooperation amongst project partners.	1	5	5	Utilise internal legal support and JISC legal services

Key: P = probability, S = severity, I = impact (PxS). 1 = low severity, 5 = high severity.

8. Standards

The KATAPILA project team is committed to conforming to open standards in technical implementation of the project. These include W3C-complient XHTML and CSS (for web development), XML and RSS 2.0 (for tiimetable feeds), IMS content packaging (for online content), HTTP for SMS transport and SQL for database development. 

9. Technical Implementation

The key areas of technical implementation are outlined in the table below.

KCOD	The Kingston College Online Database (KCOD) web application has been developed at Kingston College to support curriculum management, student progress monitoring, target setting and reporting. KCOD interfaces with the college’s Student Information System (QL) to extract learner and class profiles based on recruitment data. It is then used for electronic registration, grade-book and performance data capture, storage and processing. Scripts have been written, tested and piloted with groups of students, which enable KCOD to interface with the SMS service described below and are used for bulk outbound distribution of SMS messages to students on HE programmes, automated release of SMS messages triggered by performance breakpoints used for student monitoring and HTML-XML-SMS conversion triggered by inbound student texts for provision of timetable information and assessment schedules. Graphical timetable services utilising AJAX technology are also being piloted in KCOD.
XML	Our SMS services hinge on Web Services Description Language (WSDL) specifications supplied by PageOne, the text messaging service provider adopted by JANETtxt, and combined with SOAP and XML schemas they enable us to provide SMS as a web service.  Our online timetabler – built into KCOD (see above) uses AJAX (specifically, the PHP implementation known as xajax) to exchange data between client and server via XML. This allows us to develop a feature-rich client-server application, again as a web service.  We plan to build on these developments with a package of Dynamic RSS feeds to user-specific timetable data on Moodle course pages.
Moodle	Kingston College is currently piloting the Moodle virtual learning environment. Through extensive customisation and integration we see this as the likely platform for development of personal learning environments for students at the College. Work during the KATAPILA project will focus on user authentication facilities to enable personalised timetable data, transferred from KCOD through the RSS-XML protocol, to be integrated into course pages in the VLE.
SMS Service	We are currently using SMS for the services described above and have plans in development for SMS quizzes, both in-class and remote, and SMS polling for revision topics. We further intend to integrate current SMS-Moodle developments into the e-administration features of the KATAPILA project.
Google Apps	Our pilot Google Apps site at http://google.com/a/ga.kingston-college.ac.uk gives us the potential to equip students with email, shared documents, instant messaging, a shared calendar, team sites and a customisable home page. We intend to use the Google Apps API to feed live timetable information to each user's calendar. We anticipate that the features and capabilities of Google Apps are likely to increase significantly during the lifetime of the KATAPILA project, and intend to place Kingston College at the forefront of API development in the education sector.

 

10. Intellectual Property Rights

With regard to the ownership of intellectual property, Kingston College has agreed as follows:

a.     All materials not incorporated into a Deliverable shall be owned by the Party generating the material.

b.    All Deliverables, and the materials contained therein, not incorporated into a Product shall be owned jointly by all the Parties.

c.     Any Product shall be owned by one Party and the Management Committee will decide which Party shall own a Product on a case by case basis.

The College shall obtain the necessary assignments of intellectual property rights (this term includes, but is not limited to, copyright, database right, patents and trademarks) from all staff, students or agents involved in the development and production of the Deliverables on its behalf. Each Party warrants to the other Parties that it is the owner of the copyright and/or database rights in the Deliverables or that it is duly licensed to use the Deliverables and that the content of the Deliverables used as contemplated in this Agreement does not infringe any copyright or other proprietary or intellectual property rights of any natural or legal person.

Project Resources

11. Project Partners

Lead institution 

Kingston College, Kingston Hall Road, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, KT1 2AQ

T: 020 8546 2151 

W: www.kingston-college.ac.uk   

12. Project Management

Project manager 

Andrew Williams
Director of ILT Support and Development
Kingston College
Kingston Hall Road
Kingston-upon-Thames
Surrey, KT1 2AQ 

T: 020 8268 3100
M: 07824 310311
F: 020 8268 3120
E: andrew.williams@kingston-college.ac.uk  

Other project team members  

(Kingston College staff unless indicated) 

Garry Brooke, garry.brooke@kingston-college.ac.uk (Technical Support) 

David Connolly, david.connolly@kington-college.ac.uk (Learning Coordinator)  

Amanda Patterson, amanda.patterson@kingston-college (Administrator) 

Nicky Read/Carmelina Critcher, nicky.read@kingston-college.ac.uk / carmelina.critche@kingston-college.ac.uk (Project Evaluators) 

 

 

13. Programme Support 

The project team is grateful to JISC for the support structure established through the programme management framework and for the collaborative approach adopted by other participants in the Emergent Technologies programme.

Themes where support, collaboration and exchange of ideas will be particularly appreciated within the KATAPILA project include:

·           Development of plugins for Moodle

·           Formatting of timetable data for SMS issue

·           Experience in using Google Apps for educational purposes

 

 

14. Budget

The budge for the KATAPILA project is included in Appendix A. There are no significant deviations from the budge included within the original project proposal.

Detailed Project Planning 

15. Workpackages

The workpackages for the KASTANET project are included in Appendix B.

16. Evaluation Plan

Timing	Factor to Evaluate	Questions to Address	Method(s)	Measure of Success
September 2008	Startup survey: benchmarkng student and staff experiences of timetable data access	What experience of timetable access do you currently have and what would you like it to be?	Questionnaires and interviews	Views captured from 75% of students and teaching staff
December 2008	Interim survey: impact of new timetable services on student and staff experiences	How are your experience of accessing timetable data changing and what further progress would you like to see?	Questionnaires and focus group	Views captured from 75% of students and teaching staff
March 2009	End of project survey: evaluation of project impact and outcomes	What difference has access to timetable data made to your experience of learning/teaching at the College?	Questionnaires and interviews	Views captured from 75% of students and teaching staff

 

17. Quality Plan

 

Output	Timing	Quality criteria	QA method(s)/  Evidence of compliance	Quality responsibilities
Project website	Before launch; then monthly reviews	Usability and accessibility	Compliance checking; peer review Compliant with W3C and Kingston University accessibility policy	Project Manager
Workshops and conference presentations	As appropriate	Fitness for purpose	Peer review	Project Manager and Evaluator
Technical services: SMS, web content; email and RSS feeds	Ongoing scrutiny	Adherence to open standards	Compatibility checks and peer review	Project manager and technical coordinator
Consultation/dissemination events	From September 2008	Fitness for purpose; project objectives	Peer review	Project team/Steering Group
Documentation standards	From October 2008	Version control	JISC/Kingston College and University Communication Policies	Project Manager
Training materials	From February 2009	Fitness for purpose; usability	Learner and tutor review	Project manager and implementation coordinator
Technical guidelines	From March 2009	Fitness for purpose; usability; adherence to standards	Best practice; peer review; assessment against objectives/standards	Project manager and technical coordinator with advice from CETIS
Final report	March 2009	Validity and usability of messages and lessons learned	Acceptance by JISC. Peer review by colleagues involved in implementing mobile technology	Project Manager

 

18. Dissemination Plan

 

Timing	Dissemination Activity	Audience	Purpose	Key Message
Fortnightly	Proogress update on project website	JISC Programme Manager	Progress review; Issues Log	Update on project progress
Ongoing	Project outputs section on project website	Wider community	Dissemination of re-usable resources	Impact and update of project activities within learning and teaching
Ongoing	Briefings with stakeholders	Stakeholders	Awareness of project objectives, progress and outputs	Possible benefits in adopting a standardised process model for timetable data handling
Ongoing	JISC / CETIS Meetings	JISC Community	Detailed information about the project and related activities	How outputs from this project can be used by others
Quarterly	Interim reports and project briefings	JISC Programme Manager	Evaluation of project progress; identification of issues and modifications to project plan	Formal update on project progress
Mar 09	Final evaluation report	Wider community	Internal dissemination	Outcomes and benefits of the project; lessons learnt
Jan 09 – Mar 09	Workshops and training events	Wider community	Inform practitioners	Practical issues associated with project activities
Jan 09 – Mar 09	Journal articles and conference papers	Wider community	Dissemination of project methodology, analysis, results and conclusions	Wider issues associated with embedding mobile technology within learning and teaching

 

19. Exit and Sustainability Plans

 

Project Outputs	Action for Take-up & Embedding	Action for Exit
KATAPILA project website	To be maintained for 3 years beyond project end	Project Manager to ensure all deliverables are listed and/or included and appropriate archiving arrangements are in place
Technical report	To provide input for future projects working in this area; publication on JISC and project websites	Technical issues dissemination across wider FE and HE communities; knowledge and experience gained disseminated through project website and further dissemination opportunites, including via JISC-CETIS SIG meetings
Project reports	Promotion through conferences, mailing lists and JISC website	Archived on website

 

Project Outputs	Why Sustainable	Scenarios for Taking Forward	Issues to Address
SMS services supporting outbound, inbound and interactive messaging for timetable access	Technology designed to be reusable and repurposable; technology addresses a core need in managing curriculum delivery	Widespread uptake of SMS-based communication with students within KASTANET partners and beyond	Integration of SMS interface within other institutional systems
XML schemas for integrating timetable data with email systems	Identification of generic issues; platform independent	Uptake across other curriculum areas in partner institutions and other providers; provide input for other projects working on timetable to email translation	Need to be archived as part of a shared community resource
Technical guidelines on timetable data handling, XML data processing, email updates, and SMS services	Adherence to open standards; demand for mobile-based communication solutions within the wider community	Work taken up in future JISC projects	Emerging technologies and standards for mobile communication

 

 

Appendices 

Appendix A. Project Budget

Appendix B. Workpackages