Ungweb Casestudy

eZ Publish ® Norwegian county builds student web portal based on open standards and eZ Publish The county of Møre and Romsdal in Norway has converted its student services ICT (Information and Communications Technology) strategy from an infrastructure-based model to a web-based model. This new model, called UNGweb (“Young Web”), is based on open standards and eZ Publish, and has enriched the student experience and saved the county millions of Norwegian krones.

UNGweb goals The main goal was to move all student ICT services to a web platform, offering as many tools via the Internet as possible. This resulted in a very cost-effective structure, empowering students to personalize their own computer environment but also saving schools from having to maintain local servers, expensive file and print solutions, login and user administration, and more.

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Another goal was to create a central youth portal, stimulating activity and discussion, and with a dedicated login area for junior college students. In this way, services and youth-related information could be made available to all youths in the county.

UNGweb description UNGweb is a web-based portal for teaching and learning resources for students of all ages in Møre and Romsdal’s public education system. The standard UNGweb interface consists of widgets that students can pick from to include on their personalized portal. Users are able to design and edit their own work area as they wish. There are pedagogically-related widgets, such as digital learning resources, dictionaries and video resources. Other widgets provide features and information related to weather forecasts, news, event-driven map information (using Google Maps), Facebook, and more. UNGweb also has mobile and SMS features. Educational elements such as textbooks, tests, storage, student-teacher dialogs, mail, word processing, calculators, calendars, and more, are all accessible via the Internet. Information on general youth topics is also available.

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Through social services such as discussion forums, comments, polls, and user-generated content, the intention is to engage young people in discussions, often relating to school subjects like history, political science, religion, and so on. The infrastructure is very easy to administer, and has led to substantial cost savings due to its centralized setup. There are very few local servers remaining in schools. In addition, there were no licensing fees, only consultant fees.

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Open standards The widespread use of privately-owned laptops on wireless networks, as well as the stability and success of Open Source software, contributed to this innovative, forward-thinking ICT strategy. UNGweb is a great example of Norway’s commitment to Open Source software and open standards. One of the major advantages of UNGweb is that students can access all services from any Internet-enabled computer, running any of the major platforms (Linux, Mac, and Windows). The single sign-on login system is OpenLDAP-based, and UNGweb uses web modules supported by all major browsers. Although there are some pedagogical software, especially multimedia tools, that do not support all platforms, UNGweb uses as many open standards as possible. Students at the high school level can apply for a scholarship that enables them to buy any computer. Each student then assumes full responsibility for the computer that they purchase.

Why eZ Publish was chosen The county has been familiar with eZ Publish since 2004, as it was the Content Management System used for many school websites. Thus, when it came time to develop UNGweb, eZ Publish was considered as a possible base for the platform. eZ Publish was then chosen for its Web 2.0 capabilities, solid performance in content management, integration capabilities with other tools, and commitment to Open Source.

Results and benefits UNGweb fulfills the county’s goals. The result is a simple platform to manage, using Web 2.0 technology and delivering a range of pedagogical and other services. Through UNGweb, it is possible to reach out to all students and youths in the county. UNGweb has brought a range of exciting development possibilities concerning education and in terms of mobilizing youth to participate in relevant, political discussions. More info at ungweb.no eZ Systems HQ Klostergata 33 3732 Skien Norway

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