WEBSAC

(WEB Servers in Scottish Schools and Colleges)

This is the home page for the WEBSAC page. It contains details of the project itself and acts as a jumpstation to the participants and outcomes of the project.

Background

Objective

Participants

Implementation

Commitment/Responsibilities

Known Issues

Background

 The Internet is a vast global network connecting millions of users via thousands of computers. There is great potential for use of the Internet as:

  1. An educational resource, from which text, graphics, software and other material may be extracted for use in the curriculum. Some educationalists find it useful to think of this in terms of the recent use of material on CD ROM which has broadened the range and richness of resources available to students - only the Internet is millions of times larger than any CD!
  2. An educational tool, where students are taught how to access and prepare on-line information - thought by many now to be essential skills for the future.

Educational interest in the Internet tends to focus on two areas - electronic mail and the World Wide Web (WWW or W3). WWW comprises computers on the Internet around the world which present their material in a format (HTML) which is suitable for viewing from within a graphical user interface (GUI) such as Windows. In this way, users use a familiar GUI application to browse information which contains multimedia (graphics, sound, animation and video) and hypertext ("hot" text or graphics which link to different material, which may be held anywhere on the Internet. Again, the analogy with multimedia CD ROM material may be appropriate.

Research Machines are one of the sponsors of EMWAC (European Microsoft Windows NT Academic Centre), which is part of Edinburgh University Computing Centre. The centre is developing a set of applications which will allow systems running Windows NT to perform the various "server" functions which currently typically run only on UNIX hosts - the first of these to be completed is software to create a Web Server. A Web Server allows an establishment to make material available over a network (Local Area Network and/or Internet) which users access from their network stations via an appropriate "browser" application.

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Objective

 The objective of WEBSAC is to explore the ways in which schools and colleges of further education might use and benefit from Web Server technology within their establishments.

This exploration may include, but not be limited to, areas such as:

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Participants

 There are 6 pilot sites, which can be defined in terms of:

Educational sectors:
Schools and Further Education
Function:
Educational establishments and their representative/support bodies.
Connectivity:
Full internet access, TCP/IP LANs, and file access over LAN.
There are two contacts from each site, one concerned primarily with the "strategic" implications, the other with the technical issues:

MEDC 8/14 Storie St
Paisley
PA1 2BX
0141 848 0178

Louie Macari
Andrew Reglinski

SCET

74 Victoria Crescent Rd
Glasgow
G12 9JN
0141 337 5000

Alastair Fyfe
TBC

Dundee College

30 Constitution St
Dundee
DD3 6TB
01382 834834

Chris Marston
Mike Reynolds

Ayr College Dam Park
Ayr
KA8 0EU
01292 265184

Alan Inglis
Alan Ferrier

Holy Cross High School

Muir Street
Hamilton
ML3 6EY
01698 826431

John Timmons
Lawrence Ward

Blantyre High School

Boswell Drive
Blantyre
Glasgow
G72 0BL
01698 826431

John Wright
Douglas Chappelle

From Edinburgh University, Bob McGonigle and John Smith will be involved - Bob is EMWAC Manager and therefore particularly interested in the issues and outcomes of the project and John will be primarily involved in providing training and support on the management and presentation of material via HTML.

From RM, Stewart Hutton is the project manager and will - along with Jim Ward - liase between the various participants and RM and co-ordinate the meetings. Tony Garrity will - along with Kevin Kirby - provide technical support.

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Implementation

Pre-launch

It is hoped that the Web Servers and appropriate client software can be installed and configured in each of the sites before the launch, to allow the impetus of the launch to be maintained. This requires each site to identify quickly an appropriate Intel based hardware platform within their establishment to be dedicated to the project.

Launch

The project will be launched on Tuesday 7 March 1995 with a one-day workshop designed to bring the participants together, agree the objectives and timescales, generate discussion and answer questions. Specifically, an introductory course/workshop on preparing HTML materials will be delivered.

Phase 1

Participating sites will begin to explore applications of their Web Server, perhaps in the context of their own (agreed) targets and objectives.

Review Meeting

Mid April, to compare experiences, monitor progress, and deliver a more advanced HTML course/workshop.

Phase 2

Participating sites continue/expand their exploration of applications of their Web Server.

Final Meeting

Towards the end of the Summer term, to report on experiences, agree outline items for project report, and discuss the next step for each site.

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Commitment/Responsibilities

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Known Issues

TCP/IP stacks

The two schools in the project do not currently have the TCP/IP protocol running on their networks - necessary for communications with the Web Server. Investigations are being made into a cost -effective solution, but the presence of Windows '95 on the horizon (complete with TCP/IP) makes it difficult to justify expenditure on TCP/IP at this stage. Initially therefore, it is proposed that those sites will create and access HTML files on their LAN file servers - allowing them to gain experience in this area from the start of the project. Hopefully, a TCP/IP solution can be found before more advanced facilities (available only via the Web Server) are required.

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For further information, or to pass on any comments or suggestions, email: shutton@rmplc.co.uk
Last updated 03/03/95 19:53