I am aware of the potential to abuse copyright and IPR online systems. I try to use Creative Commons licensed content wherever possible. For example, all images used in my Blog are either my own or CC licensed content. CC licensing offers a range of protection for your content. However, due to the various forms of Creative Commons licenses (for example, CC0, CC BY, CC BY -SA or CC BY –ND) have made it a little tricky for most people to understand what is allowed and expected of users who wish to use those content. While developing the “Begin Robotics” MOOC with the School of Systems Engineering we created a robot called ERIC to be used on the course. We continued discussions with the University IPR advisors and as the project manager of “Access Funds” project (to improve access to our courses) which funded the electronics to build the robot I filled up the IPR application forms. I have not attached them as the documents contain personal details including date of birth, nationality and personal address of each person contributed to the project.
Data Protection Act is also an important legislation that seems to be overlooked by many. Both at the University of Reading and at the University College of Estate Management, I have access to students’ data (emails, assignment marks, etc.) on the VLE. At both institutions I have undergone Data Protection Act training. At the School of Systems Engineering we wanted to collect data about the people who were interested in our “Begin Robotics” and other Engineering courses. This was a part of the “Access Funds” project (aforementioned) and I continued the discussions with the University IT department in formulating the data protection statement to go on the web form and to set up the processes to unsubscribe from mailing lists (screenshot attached as evidence Appendix 18 - Data Protection Act).
In providing learning content online we need to be aware of the access needs of differently-abled people. For example, if we provide a podcast it will not be accessible by people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Thus we should provide a transcript, which they will be able to access. Similarly, being aware of colour-blindness and other disabilities help us to create content that are more accessible by our learners. For example, when I started working at the College of Estate Management the quiz feedback form template had a red button on a green background. I have highlighted the issue of accessibility and the template is now under review (I have attached a screenshot of the template that was sent for re-work Appendix 19 - Accessibility and Special Educational Needs). Currently the UCEM is assessing the accessibility of its course materials. I have developed an audit of the current UCEM learning material accessibility (confidential report) and we are now working towards gaining WCAG 2.0 Level AA.
I have also taken part in several free online courses on the Canvas.net platform.
Inspired by “Professional Web Accessibility Auditing Made Easy” course I started a series of blog posts about my reflections on accessibility of learning materials. My first blog post can be found here and links to my other blog posts are also available there (Appendix 20- Web Accessibility ).
As the University of Reading is a publicly funded institution, FOI legislation applies. FOI requests have to be replied to within the set time period; hence FOI request recipients have to inform the institution’s information office of the request so that the request can be handled timely. Identifying a valid FOI request is very important as they can be made using various methods. I was handing the University of Reading’s Twitter account @FLMobiGame for the “Begin Programming: Build your first mobile game” course. This Twitter account was only monitored during the period of the course run. Therefore it was important to inform where FOI requests should be sent. After consultation with the University communications office I included a statement in the Twitter profile to eliminate the problem of receiving a FOI request during non-monitored period of the Twitter account (images attached Appendix 21 - Freedom of Information Act).