The Open University and the University of London are the UK's largest distance-learning organisations - and Dotfive has worked with both of them.

In 2009 we got involved in the €60million EU4ALL programme - a Europe-wide ambition to improve eLearning services and establish new standards (see separate case study).

After four months of collaborating on EU4ALL, the Open University asked us to develop their innovative SocialLearn project. This is a fresh take on social networking - it allows students to post information they find to various existing social networks, as well as sharing with their fellow students through OU-based scrapbooks and learning trails.

One of the key elements of the project was the development of a JavaScript-based browser toolbar, which could be used on any site to quickly and easily post and share findings of interest. The OU turned to us because of the expert level of JavaScript development required.

• Develop a cross-browser, cross-site JavaScript-based browser toolbar to allow quick access to OU tools
• Integrate with various social networks such as Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and Digg to share information
• Manage and track this information centrally on OU systems to provide other students with access
• Establish learning chains so that students can follow information trails to aid learning
  

We completed the JavaScript toobar stage of the project in 60% of the time that the OU was expecting, and went on to develop other areas of the project, using technologies such as Google Gadgets, and integrating with Drupal platforms.

At the time of writing this project is still underway, and we look forward to many more pleasant years of working with the Open University.

• Ability to instantly share data and websites of interest using the unique JavaScript-based toolbar
  
• Integration with Drupal content management system
• Use of OpenSocial standards for social network integration with Google FriendConnect and other social web services