Repository Program

Through the SoftChalk Digital Repository Program, SoftChalk is collaborating with a variety of organizations to make their media/content repositories readily available to educators. These repositories include open (creative commons), premium (fee-based license) and private (access restricted) media and content collections. These institutions include commercial entities, educational institutions and non-profits.
Over twelve media repositories are participating in our Digital Repository Program. See SoftChalk Media Search Tool for more information.

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 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 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?

Beginning with the 5th version, SoftChalk includes a 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 the media search tool in action view our Quick Tour Video – Using the Media Search Tool.

The media 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 to a search and retrieval web service or API running on the repository side. (See “A Guide to Connecting Repository Content to SoftChalk via Federated Search.”

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 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 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 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 complete a SoftChalk Digital Repository Program Agreement. (not yet available)

More Info?

E-mail: info@softchalk.com
Phone: 877-638-2425
Fax: 757-257-0027