Welcome to Digital Asset Management (DAM)

Aim of the course

All who engage with this multi-dimensional course will complete it with an understanding of how best practice can be applied to the management of digital material. As far as is possible, this understanding will be based on practical experience as well as a survey of the major approaches, familiarity with the language of digital asset management, appreciation of issues yet to be resolved, and insight into possible futures.

Outline of topics to be covered (our rate of progress may lead to changes)

1. 26th July Introductions + structure + blog set up
2. 2nd August Markup languages
3. 9th August Applying metadata standards
4. 16th August File naming conventions, classification, taxonomy
5. 23rd August Digital collections and granularity
6. 30 August Repositories and content management
7. 6th September Rights management and access control
8. 13th September Preservation strategies
9. 20th September Accessibility and adaptability
10. 27th September mid-semester break
11. 4th October Usability testing
12. 11th October The Semantic Web
13. 18th October excursion to Office of Public Records
14. 25th October Assessment

Assessment

1. The primary vehicle for course material and assessment will be your blog. You will be assessed (50%) on your level of engagement and participation in the process of setting it up and maintaining it. Your blog will allow you to:a. establish a channel of communication where the social values of the course material can be explored.
   b. reflect on the impact of the course on your own practice.
   c. share your research with other students and contribute to the collaborative conduct of the course.
2. You are expected to contribute your own experiences and research in discussion on and off line. In addition you will be expected to complete a series of short exercises and to present research reports (to be allocated) in the tutorials (25%).
3. There will be a short answer test in the final week of the course that will assess the level of understanding of the material covered (25%).