Developing the use of an Intranet — an institutional approach
| Pages | 38-43 |
| Date | 01 February 2000 |
| Published date | 01 February 2000 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb040749 |
| Author | Alex Iacconi |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management |
Developing
the use
of an Intranet
- an
institutional approach
by Alex
Iacconi,
University
Webmaster and Gunter Saunders,
Professor of Microbiology and
Bio-
logical Education, University of
Westminster
Two
years
ago a
programme designed
to
enable
the
majority
of
staff
at the
University
of
Westminster
to
begin using
web
technology
was
initiated.
To
achieve this
the
institution established
an
intranet,
linked
to
user friendly
web
authoring
software.
An
associated staff development
programme,
focusing
on the
integration
of
the
software
with
the
intranet hardware
was
also
started.
This paper describes
the
progress
made,
highlighting
the
successes,
the
problems
encountered
and the
failings
of
the approach
taken.
Introduction
Now that information technology has become
a
generic tool that
all
academic disciplines
can
benefit from,
it
has become increasingly
important
to
open
up the
use
of
institutional
networks. Academic Departments of all types
have started to realise
the
potential of offering
information privately
to
their own students. Some
of the compelling operational reasons
for
choosing
to establish
an
intranet
are
shown
in
Table
1.
Physically establishing
an
intranet
is
technically
not that difficult.
In
addition
it is
also straightfor-
ward
to
ensure that any system established
is so
user friendly that even
a
novice should
be
able
to
publish
and
manage their own web based materi-
als.
However, despite
the
user friendliness inherent
in modern systems,
it is
immensely hard
to
shift
a
large body
of
staff to the very different culture that
the use
of
ICT requires. There are
a
number
of
reasons
for
this difficulty, some obvious
and
some
not
so
obvious. The remainder of this article will
focus
on
some of these reasons and whenever
possible highlight approaches that can overcome
some of the fears
and
prejudices encountered.
The Intranet Project
In 1997 the University published
a
new Strategic
Plan that included some bold statements about
the
future development of Information Technology
across
the
institution, both
for
the management
of
information and
to
support the teaching function.
At this particular time,
in
common with other
institutions, only
a
very
few
staff used computers
extensively
in
course delivery and
in
addition,
the
network was under utilised
by
non-academic units.
The teaching staff that used computer based
materials were mainly individuals who
had
been
involved
in
government sponsored material
Potential advantages afforded
by the
establishment
of
an
intranet
Information becomes easier
to
access
Information becomes available
to all who
want
it
Push technology allows information
to be
tailored
to
specific user requirements
Information
can be
published
and
disseminated quickly
Authors
can
constantly update/correct information when necessary
Facilitates
a
devolved management style
Information
can be
accessed from remote locations
Allows cost effective management
of
information
Easy
and
secure storage
of
large amounts
of
information
Paper based interactions
can
become electronic
A new
sense
of
community
can be
achieved
in a
multi-campus institution
Table
1
- Some potential advantages that can arise from the establishment of an intranet
38—VINE 119
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