Paul Hollins | University of Bolton (original) (raw)

Papers by Paul Hollins

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2019

Link to official URL (if available):

a reference model for the personal learning environment

This paper describes a layered approach to selection and use of open standards which is being dev... more This paper describes a layered approach to selection and use of open standards which is being developed to support development work within the UK higher and further educational communities. This approach reflects the diversity of the technical environment, the service provider's environment, user requirements and maturity of standards by separating contextual aspects; technical and non-technical policies; the selection of appropriate solutions and the compliance layer. To place the layered approach in context, case studies are provided of the types of environments in which the standards framework can be implemented. The paper describes how this contextual approach can be extended to address other areas such as Web accessibility and use of open source software. Use of a common model can provide consistent approaches by funding bodies and shared understanding for developers. This contextual approach is being extended to support development work with other public sector organizati...

This paper describes a layered approach to selection and use of open standards which is being dev... more This paper describes a layered approach to selection and use of open standards which is being developed for digital library development work within the UK. This approach reflects the diversity of the technical environment, the service provider's environment, the user requirements and maturity of standards by separating contextual aspects; technical and non-technical policies; the selection of appropriate solutions and the compliance layer. To place the layered approach in a working context, case studies are provided of the types of environments in which the standards framework could be implemented, from an established standards-based service, to a new service in the process of selecting and implementing metadata standards. These examples serve to illustrate the need for such frameworks.

In this paper the authors propose a model to enable broad stakeholder representation and discours... more In this paper the authors propose a model to enable broad stakeholder representation and discourse focused on the requirements for interoperability in the etextbook domain. The model is currently being applied and validated in the establishment of a CEN WS/LT etextbook project with the ambitious aim of bridging the the chasm that exists between the established commercial publishing industry and stakeholders from the education sector, specifically the Open Educational Resources (OER) community. Keywords-ebooks; digital textbooks; standardization; requirement elicitation

This deliverable D7.6 defines the requirements and ingredients to be used to enrich the six case ... more This deliverable D7.6 defines the requirements and ingredients to be used to enrich the six case studies on RAGE games and componentseach with quantitative and qualitative business case data, with a strong analytic focus on costs and benefits. The ultimate goal is to publish for each game a compelling business case on the Eco-system portal that is relevant and inspiring as an exemplar for both component developers and component users, to support further uptake and ensure impact on the game industry. This will ensure the long-term sustainability of the RAGE project outputs beyond the current funded term of the project. This deliverable should be considered in conjunction with the RAGE project exploitation plan (D9.3), which elaborates on the operational deployment of the Eco-system Business Model.

This report provides a comparative analysis of the existing and emergent Business models currentl... more This report provides a comparative analysis of the existing and emergent Business models currently employed in the Entertainment digital game industry (referred to in this report as the Leisure industry) and the “serious”, or in the context of the RAGE project and this report, the Applied Games industry. In conjunction with the accompanying WP 7.2 report providing a value chain analysis this report will inform the development of a business mode or models for the proposed RAGE ecosystem.

This document provides guidance for launching and performing the initial operations of the RAGE F... more This document provides guidance for launching and performing the initial operations of the RAGE Foundation (RF), legally established in October 2018 to serve as the RAGE Ecosystem Authority. The document contains the proposal of lines of actions and specific activities to be undertaken by the RF to pursue its mission and, more specifically, to implement the successive stages of the RAGE Exploitation Plan. These proposals are to be discussed and agreed upon by the RF Board in its intial meetings, to be implemented as soon as it becomes feasible along the 2019-2021 period. This full document has been discussed and approved in the final RAGE consortium meeting in Amsterdam, January 29, 2019. Given the nature and aims of this document, its priority 1 readers are the full members of the RF and especially its Board and Executive Committee.

The JISC Observatory provides horizon-scanning of technological developments which may be of rele... more The JISC Observatory provides horizon-scanning of technological developments which may be of relevant for the UK’s higher and further education sectors. The JISC Observatory team has developed systematic processes for the scanning, sense-making and synthesis activities for the work. This paper summarises the JISC Observatory work and related activities carried out by the authors. The paper outlines how the processes can be applied in a local context to ensure that institutions are able to gather evidence in a systematic way and understand and address the limitations of evidence-gathering processes. The paper describes use of open processes for interpreting the evidence and suggests possible implications of the horizon-scanning activities for policy-making and informing operational practices. The paper concludes by encouraging take-up of open approaches in gathering and interpretation of evidence used to inform policy-making in an institutional context.

The purpose of the deliverable is to identify and present potential business models for the Rage ... more The purpose of the deliverable is to identify and present potential business models for the Rage Eco-system. This report builds on the previous deliverables within Work-Package 7(WP7) which provided a summary of business models historically operated within the Leisure and Applied Games (D7.1) a Value chain analysis (D7.2) and an outline of the stakeholder consultation process (D7.3). The report has been developed alongside the WP8 dealing with evaluation, and WP9 dealing with the exploitation plan. The report provides descriptions of four potential business models and these are distilled to three final candidate business models for the RAGE Eco-system; the first being a multi sided matchmaking model, the second a product model and finally a hybrid model which combines a product, solutions and matchmaking model. Informed by consultation, a firm recommendation is made, together with a supporting rationale, that the RAGE Eco-system portal adopts the hybrid product, solutions and matchm...

The results presented in this deliverable depict relevant aspects of the EU based Applied Game in... more The results presented in this deliverable depict relevant aspects of the EU based Applied Game industry and its competitive landscape. This preliminary overview of the primary target market for the RAGE ecosystem identifies some of the key issues to be further investigated by the RAGE WP7 team through stakeholders/market consultations commencing in year 2 of the project. These findings will form as an integral part of the baseline needed to formulate a sustainable exploitation strategy for the RAGE assets and ecosystem.

This deliverable deals with the asset integration methodology employed in the RAGE project. A con... more This deliverable deals with the asset integration methodology employed in the RAGE project. A considerable amount of the effort of the RAGE project has been directed towards addressing the technical challenges of asset integration and interoperability. All RAGE partners engaged in asset development adopted a pragmatic approach to integration and interoperability and where practical adopted the use of Open Standards and Specifications supported by a defined project architecture. Asset developers adopted a consistent approach to development languages. The four RAGE Game development partners each included a number of assets within their development processes and in producing the RAGE pilot Games. Their experience of the asset-based development methodology is detailed in this deliverable. Where potential gaps in the interoperability integration activity were identified, specifically in interoperability between the output of games data and Learning Management systems, the project underto...

This paper presents the RAGE marketplace portal (gamecomponents.eu), which is intended as a hot s... more This paper presents the RAGE marketplace portal (gamecomponents.eu), which is intended as a hot spot and neutral single point of access for serious game technologies. The portal aims at fostering collaborations and the exchange of technical artefacts and associated knowledge and resources between different stakeholders in the field of serious gaming (e.g. educators, developers, researchers, publishers, policy makers and end-users). After a brief introduction to the H2020 RAGE project, the flexible design of the marketplace portal and its underlying software repository are presented. A concise overview is given of the initial set of advanced game technology components created by RAGE, that are currently exposed in the portal. For empirical validation of these components, we have developed 7 serious games based on subsets of these components, which were then tested in educational practice with several hundreds of end-users. This game components portal want to be a neutral hub not depe...

One of the principal objectives of the programme is to bring these areas of work together in fund... more One of the principal objectives of the programme is to bring these areas of work together in funded projects where both conceptual and systems development are closely allied with each other. An overview of the programme is given, plus details of the ongoing provision of support for the projects involved. Various approaches are employed by projects; such as conceptual tools under development, toolkits, reference models, pedagogic planners and paper prototypes. The ‘Designs for Learning’ outputs of the programme may be in the form of IMS Learning Design activity structures, Learning Activity Management (LAMS) sequences or indeed other forms of representation. It promises to highlight some innovative and challenging work and pose critical questions for the future of learning design.

This deliverable (D1.4) is an intermediate document, expressly included to inform the first proje... more This deliverable (D1.4) is an intermediate document, expressly included to inform the first project review about RAGE’s methodology of software asset creation and management. The final version of the methodology description (D1.1) will be delivered in Month 29. The document explains how the RAGE project defines, develops, distributes and maintains a series of applied gaming software assets that it aims to make available. It describes a high-level methodology and infrastructure that are needed to support the work in the project as well as after the project has ended.

Digital games constitute a major emerging technology that is expected to enter mainstream educati... more Digital games constitute a major emerging technology that is expected to enter mainstream educational use within a few years. The highly engaging and motivating character of such games bears great potential to support immersive, meaningful, and situated learning experiences. To seize this potential, meaningful quality and impact measurements are indispensible. Although there is a growing body of evidence on the efficacy of games for learning, evaluation is often poorly designed, incomplete, biased, if not entirely absent. Well-designed evaluations demonstrating the educational effect as well as the return on investment of serious games may foster broader adoption by educational institutions and training providers, and support the development of the serious game industry. The European project RAGE introduces a comprehensive and multi-perspective framework for serious game evaluation, which is presented in this paper.

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2019

Link to official URL (if available):

a reference model for the personal learning environment

This paper describes a layered approach to selection and use of open standards which is being dev... more This paper describes a layered approach to selection and use of open standards which is being developed for digital library development work within the UK. This approach reflects the diversity of the technical environment, the service provider's environment, the user requirements and maturity of standards by separating contextual aspects; technical and non-technical policies; the selection of appropriate solutions and the compliance layer. To place the layered approach in a working context, case studies are provided of the types of environments in which the standards framework could be implemented, from an established standards-based service, to a new service in the process of selecting and implementing metadata standards. These examples serve to illustrate the need for such frameworks.