SoftChalk Digital Repository Program
Through the SoftChalk Digital Repository Program, SoftChalk is partnering with a variety of organizations to make their content/media repository readily available to educators. These partner repositories include open (creative commons), premium (fee-based license) and private (access restricted) media collections. The partner institutions include commercial entities, educational institutions and non-profits.WHY?
SoftChalk is working to make it easy for educators to search for, discover and incorporate rich-media assets into content authored using SoftChalk. The SoftChalk Digital Repository Program will connect SoftChalk products and SoftChalk users with a variety of online content and media repositories.
Educators often blend material they create with small, multimedia elements drawn from other sources. For example, an instructor preparing a lesson on eye anatomy, is likely to use stock images rather than draft their own illustrations. Collections of high quality digital assets including images, video, animations, and texts are readily available for almost any academic discipline. Through the SoftChalk Digital Repository Program, SoftChalk hopes to make it easier for its educational content authors to integrate and use content from a wide variety of sources.
HOW?
In May 2009, SoftChalk released V5, which includes a new federated media search tool. This media search tool provides SoftChalk users the ability to perform keyword searches across more than one media repository at a time, to discover content and then easily integrate this content into a SoftChalk-authored lesson. To see an example of how the new SoftChalk V5 media search tool works, click here.
This search tool provides SoftChalk users the ability to access different kinds of content (images, video, audio, text, animations, websites) in a variety of disciplines. The SoftChalk federated search tool uses repository connectors to connect V5 to a search and retrieval web service or API running on the repository side. More information is available about how SoftChalk repository connections are made.
WHO?
SoftChalk is interested in providing access to a wide variety of both open and proprietary rich-media content via the federated search tool within its application. The SoftChalk Digital Repository Program was initiated to provide an opportunity for partner organizations to work with SoftChalk to make their media repositories more readily available to educators who use SoftChalk. We welcome inquiries from commercial and non-commercial organizations with an interest in making their rich-media content available to SoftChalk authors at more than 500 educational institutions in the US and abroad.
COST?
SoftChalk does NOT charge a fee to organizations who wish to participate in the SoftChalk Digital Repository Program. Content providers are responsible principally for providing a search service that the SoftChalk connector can use. This is typically a web service, or an API. Development of the “connector” may be the responsibility of either the content provider, or SoftChalk. SoftChalk is happy to provide technical information on how to write a connector. SoftChalk also has the expertise to develop connectors in-house and can direct content providers to consultants with this expertise. Organizations wishing to participate in the SoftChalk Digital Repository Program, and have their repository included in the SoftChalk federated search tool must sign an agreement.
MORE INFO?
If you are interested in learning more about the SoftChalk Digital Repository Program, please contact us.
E-mail: info@softchalk.com
Phone: 877-638-2425 (toll-free in USA/Canada)
Fax: 757-257-0027Mailing address:
SoftChalk LLC
22 S Auburn Ave
Richmond, VA 23221