About UK Web Focus
The World Wide Web has become a central strategic resource for learning, research and promotion in Higher Education. Effective use of this resource is critical for successful delivery of JISC and institutional services. However the web is not an 'achieved' technology: it is undergoing rapid technical development. It can be difficult to keep abreast of change: it may be difficult to understand the longer term significance of emerging technologies or the wider consequences of current design and implementation issues.
Although there are several sources of advice and expertise available within Higher and Further Education and the cultural heritage sector there is no dedicated focus for this resource: it is scattered through several projects, individuals and information repositories.
UK Web Focus addresses some of the issues the rapid development of the Web poses for the UK higher and further education sector. The Web Focus post provides awareness, coordination and advisory services using a variety of approaches. Its overall mission is to help maximise the effectiveness of UKOLN's community's investment in Web technologies.
The UK Web Focus is funded by the JISC. The post is based at UKOLN, University of Bath.
Who Is UK Web Focus?
Brian Kelly is UK Web Focus and began work on 1st November 1996. Brian first became involved with the Web in January 1993 when he was instrumental in setting up a Web server at Leeds University. This was the first UK's institutional Web server registered at CERN, the birthplace of the web. Since autumn 1993 Brian has been active in promoting the web through the UK higher education community. Brian has attended several of the international WWW Conference, including the first which was held at CERN, Geneva in May 1994).
UK Web Focus Activities
UK Web Focus activities include:
- Awareness and Information Services
- UK Web Focus provides online, print and workshop based services which keep the community abreast of developments.
- Coordination
- UK Web Focus provides a channel of communication between existing expertise and development work in the UK HE and FE community, ensuring that effort is not duplicated or dissipated and that relevant work is known about. This work is particularly important for nationally funded efforts.
- Influencing Policy Makers and Service Providers
- UK Web Focus makes information available to support informed decisions by policy makers and service providers.
Contact Details
Contact details are:
Brian Kelly
UK Web Focus
UKOLN
University of Bath
BATH
UK
BA2 7AY
Email: b.kelly@ukoln.ac.uk