Current Projects

Usability of learndirect ICT systems

DJ Associates is part of the consortium - led by Logica, and also including FD Learning and Interactive Bureau - that won the contract (worth over £20 million) to develop the learndirect web site and online learning environment. Our role within the consortium is to lead on the assesment of the usability of these systems, and to aim to make suggestions for enhancing usability as early as possible in the development process. The service has now been live for some months, but work continues on improving usability of future versions.

Media-Tech

Media-Tech is a partnership that aims to support multimedia production in Yorkshire and Humberside. DJ Associates were founder-partners in 1997. We are also partners in two of the projects that are receiving European Regional Development Funding under the Media-Tech umbrella. Until June 2001, the MAPS (Multimedia Advanced Producer Support) project offered seminars and consultancy to enable businesses to implement multimedia effectively into different areas of their operation. David Jennings was also the original architect for an online environment project that aimed to enable multimedia producers to access latest industry developments, group forums for getting support and exploring business ideas, online employment registers and e-learning.

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DfES Small Business Online Forums

This is currently the highest profile example of our email forums service. The Department for Education and Skills commissioned us to develop an online service that would help them connect more fully with employers in the country. DJ Associates developed the web site and configured the email forums, which we also host, for this service. David Blunkett launched it in April 2000. The service has now been extended until at least March 2002. DJ Associates now manages this on behalf of Wired Workplace Company (a joint venture in which we have a 25% share).

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Training in Group Working Online, Living IT Online Learning

DJ Associates has developed open learning materials for courses in Group Working Online and Group Email Services. This forms part of a wider curriculum for developing skills in exploiting the Internet. The curriculum is "living" because it is updated continuously to take account of latest technological developments. Original partners in this initiative were Manchester College of Arts and Technology, The Sheffield College and Fretwell-Downing Education Ltd. The Sheffield College now has overall responsibility for delivery.

Online Information and Communications, Technologies for Training

Technologies for Training Ltd (TfT) is a national consultancy and advisory service on the applications of technology-based training. The joint venture of six organisations provides a broad range of expertise in open and flexible learning using multimedia and other computer-based techniques. DJ Associates leads on the TfT Web site and other online developments, such as the Taking Training Online guidance framework for e-learning.

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Online Group Services, Wired Workplace

Building on the success of the NEO Project, Wired Workplace is creating the largest "managed workspace" intranet in the UK, linking tenants in Sheffield's Science and Technology Parks and the Cultural Industries Quarter. DJ Associates designs and develops services to enable groups of business to work together - with other collaborators on the intranet, or with clients and partners anywhere on the Interent.

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'Interactions' Educational CD-ROM, Forced Entertainment

Building on several years of informal discussions, we are currently working with experimental performance and digital media company, Forced Entertainment. Our contributions focuses on the concept development, interaction design and participant involvement in the design of a CD-ROM which will form part of the company's resources for their educational work. The project is funded by the National Lottery through the Arts Council.

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Recent Projects

Regional Implementation Strategy for the University for Industry

DJ Associates carried out a major research and strategy development project to determine the shape of the learndirect concept (at that time known as University for Industry - Ufi) initiative in Yorkshire and Humberside. Commissioned by the TECs in the region, we carried out surveys of individuals, employers, learning centres and other learning providers to assess how best to meet Ufi's aspirations in the regional context. Our report is available for download (464 KB, Adobe Acrobat Reader software required).

Regional Learning Clusters

As a follow up to our regional implementation strategy for UfI DJ Associates was commissioned to conduct a more detailed investigation into the concept of learning clusters or 'learning communities' that we discussed in the report (see above). This covered action research of three on-line forums which we established and facilitated. The report is available online, and has attracted many favourable comments.

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Network Users' Forum

The Network Users' Forum was launched in 1995 as a pioneering association to provide a mutual support channel for all enterprises who want to explore how they can benefit more from being online. David Jennings was founder of the Forum, and DJ Associates has been intimately involved in all its activities, including leading its Networking Online programme (part-financed by the European Regional Development Fund) which has established over ten online forums for enterprises in Yorkshire. Having led the forum for the initial three years David helped establish a new constitution in 1998, whereby the forum became a membership association. He served on its Steering Committee until Spring 2001.

Impact Assessment, REGIS Project

REGIS (Regional Information System) was a collaboration between two cable companies, two software houses and a research university to explore the potential for delivering high-performance information services to small businesses over ISDN and CATV (optic fibre) networks. DJ Associates worked on the project from 1994-98, from initially working with the user businesses to leading the final evaluation exercise which should compare the two phases (ISDN and CATV) of the project.

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