Biographical details of the speakers and workshop facilitators at IWMW 2001 are given below.
Plenary Speakers
Peter Flynn runs the academic project support service in the Computer Centre at University College Cork and was Ireland’s first Webmaster. He trained at the London College of Printing and has an MA from Central London Poly. Peter was on the design team for HTML and XML and currently edits the XML FAQ. He holds the dubious distinction of being the first person to break a link on the Web.
Peter gave a talk on “Now You See It, Now You Don’t – Policies and Practices for Updating a Web Server” (P1).
Paul Helm is Associate Head Learning Technology in the Learning and Teaching Institute at Sheffield Hallam University. He has worked in adult and further education, university computing services and educational development units. He is currently the project manager for Sheffield Hallam’s Virtual Learning Environment, a major thrust of the University’s Learning Teaching and Assessment strategy (see http://www.shu.ac.uk/services/lti/).
Paul gave a talk on “E-Learning at SHU: A Case Study” (P2) and co-facilitated a session on “E-Learning – Barriers and Enablers” (A1).
Andrew Savory is managing director of Luminas Limited, an Internet application company, and was a university Webmaster for a number of years.
Andrew and MJ Ray gave a talk on “What Students Want” (P3) and facilitated a session on “XML and XSLT” (B4).
MJ Ray is a director of Luminas Limited, an Internet application company, and was the founding general editor of tsw, winners of the sabbatical to complete his doctorate.
MJ Ray and Andrew Savory gave a talk on “What Students Want” (P3) and facilitated a session on “XML and XSLT” (B4).
Ed Bristow is the Technical Manager of the PKI Project within the Information Technology Services Group of the Australian Taxation Office. Ed has worked for the ATO for most of the last 12 years, moving from database to mainframe applications to his current role in electronic service delivery. Ed has spent periods working in the private sector and prior to finding his way into IT was a librarian with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library in Canberra.
Ed gave a talk on “PKI: The View from Down Under” (P4).
Peter Scott is the Head of the Centre for New Media in the Knowledge Media Institute of the Open University. CNM protypes the application of new technolgies and media to learning at all levels. Peter’s current research interests range widely across knowledge and media research. Three key threads at the moment are: telepresence; streaming media systems; and agent research. He has a BA (1983) and PhD (1987) in Psychology. Before joining the Open University in 1995, Dr Scott lectured in Psychology and Cognitive Science at the University of Sheffield. He has a textbook in each of these subjects. He has managed dozens of major grants, and has a bucketful of research publications. Dr Scott is on the board of the company Corous.Com, a wholly owned subsidiary of Open University World Wide Ltd., specializing in the development of corporate education and training portals. He has acted as an Internet consultant to a range of multinational corporations. He is also the managing director of WebSymposia Ltd, an Internet multimedia webcasting company.
Peter gave a talk on “Will The Virtual University Kill The Physical University?” (P5).
Diane McDonald is a senior member of the PREDICT Research Group, part of the Information Strategy Directorate of the University of Strathclyde. Her current major interests are in the e-business area. She has responsibility for the development of a Managed Learning Environment, general WWW strategy and ITC security policy & strategy within the University. She is also responsible for the development of the demonstration and dissemination facilities for the West of Scotland based e-institute, of which the University is the senior partner. She was previously the Network Manager for the University.
Diane gave a talk on “Advertising On Web Sites” (P6).
Grainne Conole is Director of the Institute for Learning and Research Technology at the University of Bristol, which is a centre of excellence on the development and use of information and communication technology in education. The Institute hosts around 40 projects and services at any one time (funding sources include HEFCE, ESRC, EU and commercial sponsors), employing ca. 70 staff with a range of expertise and skills across the technical and educational domains. Research includes the development of information portals, digital archives, underlying metadata research and associated technology developments and the development and use of shells and toolkits for educational use. She has published over 50 publications on a range of topics, including the use and evaluation of learning technologies and is currently deputy editor for the Association of Learning Technologies journal, ALT-J.
Grainne gave a talk on “Linking Development & Innovation With Mainstream Activities” (P7).
Alan Collins is a Web programmer with the Information Services Directorate at the Queen’s University Belfast. Prior to joining the University in Autumn 1997 he was a Health Service Clinical Scientist, specialising in the diagnosis of opthalmic disease by electrical methods.
Alan gave a talk on “Webcasting In An Institutional Context” (P8) and facilitated a session on “Hands-on Webcasting” (B6).
Workshop Facilitators
Megan Quentin-Baxter is Centre Manager for the Learning and Teaching Support Network Subject Centre for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine based at the University of Newcastle. She has worked in ‘distributed learning’ for health education and co-authored a report investigating the implementation of a virtual learning environment for the NHS (towards a ‘University for the NHS’).
Megan co-facilitated a session on “E-Learning – Barriers and Enablers” (A1) with Paul Helm.
Colin Work is “Information Resources Manager” at Southampton University Computing Services and has been playing with the web since 1994. Genetically a librarian, he is more interested in the issues of organising and managing information services than the technology behind them, but enjoys playing with new toys as much as the next man/woman. Until recently a committee member of UCISA-TLIG, he is now safely retired from this role.
Colin facilitated a session on “Users Of Our Services (Suits You Sir!)” (A2).
David Lomas is the Associate Director (User Services) in the department of Academic Information Services at the University of Salford. He has acquired the role of mentor to Web service developers – attempting to balance the service provision, system support and development, whilst always considering the needs of Web users.
Diane co-facilitated a session on “Practical Web Strategies: Conflict, Ethics and Your Web Site” (A3) with Amber Thomas.
Amber Thomas is a Content Officer for the National Grid for Learning content portal. She is currently involved with the development of a Learning and Skills Hub for the FE Sector. Previously she worked for the Joint Information Systems Committee on the Information Strategies Initiative.
Amber co-facilitated a session on “Practical Web Strategies: Conflict, Ethics and Your Web Site” (A3) with David Lomas.
Mike Lowndes is the Web Manager at The Natural History Museum. He narrowly escaped from a career as a neuroanatomist by learning web skills while a Departmental Lecturer at Oxford University. Before that he spent 7 years studying learning and memory: this however, did not lead to any improvements. Bangor University, The Open University and St. George’s Hospital Medical School, Tooting, are all congratulated for putting up with him. A left handed Mac user in a world of right handed mice and Windows.
Mike co-facilitated a session on “CMS Case Studies” (A4) with Paul Browning.
Paul Browning is Information Strategy Co-ordinator at the University of Bristol (but was an earth scientist who ran a departmental network in a former life). He is a member of the institutional Web Team and is fed up using a bucket and spade to build and maintain the University Web; he has been on the lookout for a JCB for the last 18 months.
Paul co-facilitated a session on “CMS Case Studies” (A4) with Mike Lowndes and one on “CMS Buy or Build?” (B3).
Since 1994 James Currall has has been the manager of the User Service Team in the University of Glasgow Computing Service, with overall responsibility for training, documentation, web development, software support and advisory services. In 1997 he became involved in the development of the University’s Information Strategy and in late 1999 the SHEFC funded a a consortium, lead by Glasgow, to investigate Middleware in Intranets – this work is on-going. In the last few years James has been invited to speak on a variety of topics at the boundary between information and technology: Intranets, Information Strategy, Information Security, Data Protection, Information Access, Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Mathematical Markup Language (MathML).
James facilitated a session on “Intranets” (A5).
Miles Banbery has been the Web Editor and manager of the UKC Web team at the University of Kent at Canterbury for nearly three years. Working within the Communications & Development Office, the UKC Web team have a varied portfolio of internal communications and external relations responsibilities including recruitment support, alumni relations, intranet work and support for the many departmental Web authors around the University. Miles led a quarter-day workshop at last year’s IWMW event and is involved in two one-day sessions on re-designing your Web site and a one day workshop on running alumni Web sites for CASE Europe. Miles is also currently managing a HEFCE TQEF funded Web Secondment Scheme at the University.
Miles facilitated a session on “Web Site Redevelopment” (A6).
Andrew Aird is Director of Web Services at King’s College, London. Previously he ran the Web at Goldsmiths College. His commercial experience stems from many years in the music and publishing industries, notably as managing director of an international music software company.
Recent publications include E-commerce in Higher Education: can we afford to do nothing? published in Ariadne issue 26.
Andrew facilitated a session on “E-Business” (A7).
Helen Sargan is Webmaster for the University of Cambridge. In former lives she was a zoologist and book/journal editor. Helen practices organising chaos on a daily basis!
Helen co-facilitated a session on “Update Your Web Skills” (A8) with Ingrid Evans.
Ingrid Evans has been the User Liaison Officer with the JANET Web Cache Service since January 2001, and is based at Manchester Computing at the University of Manchester. She has primarily responsibility for creating and disseminating information and documentation about the JWCS to the HE and FE sectors, and hopes that she can do this as humanely as possible.
Ingrid co-facilitated a session on “Update Your Web Skills” (A8) with Helen Sargan.
Ralph Weedon is the Internet Copyright Officer for the University of Strathclyde and is based in the Centre for Educational Systems. He has close links with the Law School there. Following a successful bid to JISC earlier this year he is Project Manager for a pilot Legal Information Service for the Further and Higher Education sectors in the UK. The service is based at Strathclyde with two other partners, the UK Centre for Legal Education at the University of Warwick and MacRoberts, Solicitors.
He has recently completed work on another JISC funded project on ‘Policy Approaches to Copyright in HEIs’ investigating issues such as ownership and control of material produced by academic staff, particularly that put up on the web (see http://www.strath.ac.uk/ces/projects/jiscipr/). In his role as Internet Copyright Officer, Ralph writes guidelines on electronic copyright, conducts multi-media copyright clearance, tries to answer queries on copyright and conducts research (when he gets any time) (see http://www.strath.ac.uk/ces/staff/ralph.html).
Prior to joining Strathclyde Ralph Weedon was the co-ordinator for the TLTP History project at the University of Glasgow, which included responsibility for copyright (see http://www.gla.ac.uk/~histtltp/.
For some 8 years at the University of Leicester he was responsible for an Information Technology course aimed at graduates in the Humanities and Social Sciences. For 5 years after his first degree he was computer officer for a professional organisation in London. He holds a Masters degree in English Local History and a BA in History and Geography.
Ralph facilitated a session on “‘Legal, Decent, Honest and Truthful’” (B1).
Brian Kelly is UK Web Focus and the organiser of the series of Institutional Web Management workshops.
Brian facilitated sessions on “Automated News Feeds” (B5) and “Providing Information To Third Parties” (C2).
Grace de la Flor is Usability Engineer at ILRT (the Institute for Learning and Research Technology), University of Bristol. Before arriving at the ILRT, Grace was involved in San Francisco’s digital community for seven years. She has worked as a Web usability engineer/information architect on Web-based projects such as iPlanet, The Alaska Museum and various Internet start-ups.
Grace facilitated a session on “Addressing Usability Issues in HE Websites” (B7).
Diane McDonald is a senior member of the PREDICT Research Group, part of the Information Strategy Directorate of the University of Strathclyde. Her current major interests are in the e-business area. She has responsibility for the development of a Managed Learning Environment, general WWW strategy and ITC security policy & strategy within the University. She is also responsible for the development of the demonstration and dissemination facilities for the West of Scotland based e-institute, of which the University is the senior partner. She was previously the Network Manager for the University.
Diane facilitated a session on “Income Generation Options For Your Web Site” (C1).
David Hartland has managed the Netskills internet training service for the past 5 years. Netskills is an internet training service which helps both the public and private sectors develop their network skills to make effective use of both internet and Intranet technologies for teaching and learning, research, administration, marketing and other business activities. Netskills is supported by the Higher and Further Education Funding Bodies’ Joint Information Systems Committee and the University of Newcastle.
Before helping to set up Netskills Dave was the User Support Officer for the Mailbase mailing list service. He has been involved with providing Web development workshops for developing countries for the past 6 years through the Internet Society and was the chair of the TERENA User Services Working Group from 1997 until 1999. He is also a member of the UCISA Staff Development Group.
David facilitated a session on “Promoting Your Web Site: Getting Your Site to the Top of the Search Engine Hitlists” (C3).
Gareth McAleese is Web Development Manager with the Department of Public Affairs at the University of Ulster where he has been for the last four years. He is responsible for the technical management and development of the University of Ulster Web service.
Gareth facilitated a session on “Approaches to Personalisation” (C5).
Marieke Napier is a member of the UKOLN Information Services Team. Her main role is as main editor of the Cultivate Interactive Web magazine and deputy editor of the Ariadne Web magazine. Marieke has given a number of presentations and workshops around the UK on the development and publishing of online publications. She is interested in Web tools and the evaluation and auditing of Web sites.
Marieke facilitated a session on “Benchmarking Web Sites” (C6).