ENSEMBLE

A Web Programmer/Developer with a strong background in computer science or an allied area is sought to work on ‘Ensemble’, a 3 year ESRC/EPSRC research and development project funded under the Technology Enhanced Learning phase of the Teaching and Learning Research Programme (http://www.ensemble.ac.uk). The post will be based primarily in the Faculty of Education, Community and Leisure at Liverpool John Moores University, working under the direction of Prof. Patrick Carmichael.

This new role involves making use of this and other data sources, web services and web application frameworks to build interactive web applications to support teaching and learning. Partial posts would be possible by negotiation.

The ideal candidate will have expertise in a combination of the following areas: Javascript, JSON and Ajax; Server side scripting languages such as Python, Perl, PHP or similar;Using and developing Google Apps APIs, web services and similar Digital repositories (such as Fedora and DSpace) and the development and implementation of metadata schemes, ontologies and thesauri; Emerging Semantic Web standards (XML-RDF and N3; OWL; SKOS; SPARQL). We are looking for someone with a background in Computer Science or an allied area and educated to at least Masters level – although candidates with comparable relevant experience are also encouraged to apply. Specific background is less important than an interest in the educational applications of technology, a broad knowledge of semantic web technologies capable of supporting teaching and learning, and a willingness to develop skills and approaches over the lifetime of the project. Experience of working in an Open-Source/Community software development environment would also be useful.

This is an opportunity for the right candidate not just to implement new web technologies in education, but also to play an active role in shaping what the ‘Educational Semantic Web’ might be and to set directions for future development as part of an important international project.

Informal enquiries may be made to Professor Patrick Carmichael, email: w.p.carmichael (at ) ljmu.ac.uk

Application is by application form. The application form, equal opportunities form and job description/person specification details can be downloaded from the Liverpool John Moores University website

Over the summer, Ensemble staff at Caret have been joined by four Undergraduate Research OPportunities (UROP) student interns. The projects began in July and are reaching their conclusion this week. The students have tackled diverse topics, including Plant Sciences, data about life in Edwardian Britain, Maritime Operations and Management, and creation of a new RDF-izer. Watch this space for further details of each project over the coming weeks.

Pictured: Emilia Plotka, Iestyn Pryce, Rob Mackinnon, Thomas Kluyver.

Agustina Martinez presented a paper describing the work of the project at the Open Repositories Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.  In her paper “The Ensemble Project: Using Fedora to Support the Development of the Semantic Web for Education”, she described how the project was using the Fedora Digital Repository and Mulgara Triplestore to allow teachers and learners to gain direct access to data and incorporate it into teaching and learning applications.

Agustina reported from the conference: “This year the main theme of the conference has been the merger between the two biggest repository communities, Fedora and Dspace, creating the new  “Duraspace” organization, which plans to maintain, for the moment, separate developments of both repositories, but will also develop new technologies and services that respond to  new requirements from existing and future users. The conference has been a good place to share experiences with people from other universities and disciplines, to find out on what others are working and to get new ideas for future developments.”

Dr Anja Westram has joined the Ensemble project on a six-month visiting fellowship funded under the EU “Leonardo” Scheme.  With a background in molecular biology and psychology, Anja says “I recognised that interdisciplinary research in both fields could bridge the gap between the disciplines and enrich the knowledge in these fields beyond that gained in each discipline alone”.

With this in mind, the project provides an opportunity for Anja to bring together her biological knowledge with educational psychology and to gain valuable insights into the role of  innovative teaching tools.  Working with Patrick Carmichael at CARET and Keith Johnstone in the Department of Plant Sciences, she will carrying out scoping and prototyping of a development of a semantic web tool for teaching and learning about biochemical pathways.