ALTO an introduction

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The ALTO project (Arts Learning and Teaching Online) at the University of the Arts London http://www.arts.ac.uk/ received funding in 2010 to engage the University with the rapidly growing global Open Education Resource (OER) movement¹.

Image 1 - ALTO landing page this is the central portal of the ALTO eco system (ALTO PORTAL) - http://alto.arts.ac.uk/

This landing page provides an overview of repositories, websites and blogs currently being used and developed across the University of the Arts London.

Image 2 - ALTO File store (FORMAL SPACE), this is where learning resources are deposited for long term storage (Formal repository for practice based learning and teaching) this is where you can off load your hard copy files, full qulity images, presentations and video, bit like an open Hard drive, dip in dip out when you want. - http://alto.arts.ac.uk/filestore/

Image 3 - process.arts is the place for developing and creating new resources (SOCIAL INFORMAL SPACE), its the play and experimentation area (Presentation and Social Network Layers) - http://process.arts.ac.uk

Image 4 – Affiliate Layer – that have adopted Creative Commons Licensing and an ALTO logo incorporating a link to a record in the repository - http://alto.arts.ac.uk/filestore/affiliates.html

ALTO credits

• John Casey � ALTO Project Manager
• Hywel Davies - ALTO college coordinator
• Hao Tu Dam � Video server configuration
• Jason Campbell, JISC Legal
• Chris Follows � ALTO college coordinator and Process.Arts concept
• Mike Kelly � Software Developer for Workflow
• Open.Michigan project at http://open.umich.edu/ for guidance materials
• Paul Tabak � Branding, graphic and web design
• Nancy Turner - Project Director
• Grzesiek Sedek � Software Developr
• Ed Webb-Ingall - ALTO college coordinator

ALTO have been exploring the opportunities and challenges that the open agenda presents to art education institutions and those that study and work within them – as well as those outside the traditional ‘walled garden’ of formal education. We begin to identify and explore the intersecting topographies of the physical, social and technical spaces that are involved to discover possible sustainable paths forwards, this is especially relevant in the current climate of cultural and financial austerity that is dominating public education in the UK in 2011.

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