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UK-NL collaboration StreamTeam launches pilot projects by Johan Oomen Netherlands Institute for Sound and
Vision / Webstroom community |
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StreamTeam is the name of the recently launched community, supported by JISC and SURF, leading organisations supporting use of ICT in education. StreamTeam aims to bring together experts from the UK and the Netherlands to explore the effective use of streaming media in higher education. Knowledge will also be disseminated within other networks, such as DIVERSE. BACKGROUND JISC (www.jisc.ac.uk) and SURF (www.surf.nl) have been cooperating to enhance the quality of the innovation of higher education using ICT through the sharing of knowledge and experience and are beginning to undertake shared activities. The use of streaming media in higher and further education was identified as likely to benefit from an international approach. Both JISC and SURF had been working independently for some time on developing the usage of video and sound material in higher and further education, in particular looking at the potential for it to be effectively embedded in learning and teaching practice. PILOT PROJECTS After preparatory gatherings in 2004, this summer's three-day meeting (June 29th - July 1st 2005) marked the formal launch of the community. During the meeting, a call for proposals was launched for two pilot projects. Aims of these projects is to accelerate the pace of positive change, to support the StreamTeam community committed to embedding of these resources in learning and teaching, to share expertise and avoid duplication of effort. Each project will be a collaboration between one UK and one Netherlands university, and will focus on "what works and why" in the use of streaming or down-loaded moving image and sound resources in further and higher education. Pedagogical issues will be addressed, as well as the benefits of UK/NL collaboration. A good number of proposals were send to the steering committee. In November, the first project was officially approved. The project is called 'Streaming Theatre'; a collaboration between the University of Amsterdam and Warwick University. The second project will be officially approved and launched in February. ABOUT STREAMING THEATRE The departments of Theatre Studies of the University of Amsterdam and Warwick have the ambition to renew part of their teaching with the help of streaming video - offering fragments and recordings of performances from both the English and the Dutch theatre culture. In this way students can orient themselves on a wider range of theatre culture and can discuss the 'why' of the differences and similarities. In this way - and helped by a tailored didactic approach - it should be possible to give insight into the forms and characteristics of 'post dramatic' performances and their cultural embeddedness. The student should be able to designate, understand and explain the typical characteristics of the performances as well as the (cross)cultural dynamics that are at play. What is it that makes a staging a typical exponent of Dutch or British theatre and how does that relate to other parts of the (theatrical, artistic) cultures? Are there similarities as to the role and position of audiences, critics, sponsors? etc. The full proposal can be downloaded from the StreamTeam website. FUTURE PLANS StreamTeam will be the platform for various activities. The StreamTeam pilot project will run until approximately March 2007. Also, more best practices will be added to the website and (virtual)seminars will be organised. Further news about StreamTeam and its activities will be posted on the website and disseminated within other communities, such as DIVERSE. LEARN MORE " The website of StreamTeam can be found at: http://video.surfnet.nl/info/webstroom/JISC/SURFJISC.jsp " Questions can be send to Johan Oomen (member of the steering committee) joomen@beeldengeluid.nl.
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