Some of the University's learning and scholarship assests are directly related to the development or delivery of course content, others are not, such as electronic theses and dissertations, published and unpublished faculty research reports, and the multitude of official university publications such as BYU Studies.
An asset that is not accessible and not reusable is not an asset. For years many organizations at BYU have been producing digital media assets, using them for their intended purpose and then essentially throwing them away. After being used in their primary purpose the asset is typically put in a folder on a computer where only the person who put it there knows where to find it. By not making these assets obtainable to others on campus the asset is essentially lost. The "wheel" is often reinvented because one organization does not know that another group has already invented it. By organizing the digital assets that have already been created and setting up a system to order the ones that will be created, the ROI on each project will be increased dramatically and individual afforts will not need to be duplicated across campus.
Determine the requirements of key e-learning content creation organizations (CID/IMC, IS, Broadcast Services, Anthropology, ISPART, the Museum of Art, and the Rollins Center for eBusiness) to capture, produce, index, archive, and distribute materials electronically. Create a technology testing lab that will help determine the capabilities of current technology and tools (Virage, Telescope, etc.) for the production, indexing, storage, and distribution of digital materials, and the potential use of those tools based on the requirements of entities on campus. Create a strategic plan and associated technology solution proposals for creating, managing and distributing digital assets that support learning and scholarship for BYU. This strategies and proposed technological solutions will be reviewed by other CES entities that would be prospective users.
A technology testing lab will be constructed to test and evaluate various content/asset management solutions. Many of the solutions in question are already managed by LIS and it is proposed that the project evaluate Nothplains' Telescope product and Virage's metadata product using a server donated to the Marriott School and any additional hardware that can be acquired for this purpose.
This project was completed through the joint efforts of multiple organizations throughout BYU Provo and CHQ. Through careful analysis of current processes by E-business students this project outlined best practices for implementing an Integrated Digital Asset Management System.
A strategy was developed which organizations like the E-business Center can follow to collaborate efforts for digital asset management. The next project will be for the E-business Center to team up with the Kennedy Center, Law School, Religeous Dept. and other Faculty organizations to test and implement one of the researched products to meet their common video managment needs. BYU Product Management will facilitate the coordination of this effort and will provide access for OIT to host the product implementations.
During the project it was discovered that the Kennedy International Center currently has a professional process for capturing and processing video webcasts. The E-business Center and Marriott School are currently developing a similar process to develop professional quality webcasts.