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About Digibank

What is Digibank?

Digibank is a learning content management system for storing, organising, accessing and managing the institute's teaching and learning resources.

 

What are the benefits of Digibank and why do we need it?

• It's web-based and can be accessed anytime, anywhere
• Resources can be located quickly and easily
• Resources can be stored in Digibank and linked to courses in Blackboard
• Linked Digibank resources open much more quickly than files that have been uploaded to Blackboard (creating a better user experience)
• Resources can easily be modified, shared and combined to create new resources
• Digibank stores any type of digital resource
• Teachers and teams can share resources across the institute
• Intellectual property and moral rights are acknowledged and protected
• It provides a central repository for licence agreements and copyright consent forms.

All of which means:

• Teachers have access to current versions of teaching and learning resources on-campus, at home and in the workplace
• Savings are made in product development through sharing and re-use of existing resources
• The institute is better able to meet audit requirements
• Blackboard file storage is reduced
• The institute does not pay copyright fees for its own intellectual property or resources that have been obtained with a licence agreement or the owner's consent.

 

How is Digibank organised?

Digibank consists of six collections which are based on two resource types - those that are owned by Southbank and those that are owned by others (third parties). Users contribute resources to the appropriate collection and provide information (metadata) about the resource, its ownership and how it may be used. The metadata they input will differ slightly, depending on the collection they are contributing to.

 

How are resources classified?

Digibank's metadata or classification schema is based on Vetadata, the Australian VET sector's official standard, endorsed by the Australian Flexible Learning Framework. For more information visit the E-standards for Training Reference Site.

 

What types of resources can be contributed to Digibank?

Digibank supports all file types. However, Digibank was developed to store the institute's teaching and learning resources only. It is not intended to replicate other repositories, databases, library or record management systems.

Some file types cannot be added to Digibank - .exe, .bat, .shs, .com, .vbs - as they are considered potential network security risks.

Resources that can be contributed to Digibank are learning materials that are distributed to students in the classroom or online, including: student activities, workbooks and assessment tasks, lectures and presentations, examples of student work, simulations, class notes and course outlines. Staff research and professional development materials may also be contributed to Digibank.

Resources that should not be contributed to Digibank are: meeting minutes, mapping guides, policies, class rolls, evidence guides, procedures, student records, time sheets, training packages.

What´s the difference between Digibank and Academic Systems?

System	Objectives
Academic Systems	Ensures a consistent systemic approach to filing all formal documentation required for quality educational practice across the Institute. Audit documentation collated includes EPP planning and review, industry validation, orientation materials, assessment tools and benchmark answers, documentation for validation and continuous improvement of the program and its courses, staff matrix, performance, Learning & Innovation Framework documentation, and team meeting minutes.
Digibank	Integrates with Blackboard to facilitate online learning and reduce file storage. Provides educators with off-campus access to their teaching and learning resources. Enables educators to collaborate, share and re-use teaching and learning resources, saving product development costs. Stores, organises and manages SBIT´s intellectual property. Provides a central repository for licensed learning materials and their licences.

Educational staff should add to Digibank all teaching and learning materials that they distribute to students, either in the classroom or online. These materials may include Study and assessment guides (SAGs) and Assessment task and instructions (ATIs).

 

Who can use Digibank?

Digibank is password protected and is only able to be accessed by current staff of the institute. It is not accessible to students or to staff of other Institutes.

 

How to Participate

How do I contribute my work?

Digibank has an easy-to-follow wizard to assist with contributing a resource. You can also refer to the Resources section of this site for more information, or book a training session with your faculty liaison librarian.

Before contributing your resource to Digibank you should ensure that it meets copyright requirements. Resources should be labelled with the relevant copyright notice and date and all authors must be acknowledged. If a resource contains material owned by a third party other than Southbank Institute of Technology:

• all copied material must be appropriately referenced
• all material copied under statutory licence (Part VA or VB) or a licence agreement, must be labelled
• when a licence or permission is obtained from a copyright owner, (e.g. SBIT Project Consent Form) it must also be contributed to Digibank.

 

Do I need special software?

No. Digibank requires only a standard web browser. However one of the functions used to link resources to Blackboard requires Java RunTime 1.6 (JRE). All Institute desktop machines are JRE pre-installed - all teacher laptops are not. If required, log your laptop onto the institute network for automated JRE installation. We have also provided a Windows compatible JRE that works on your home PC. Right-click "Save As…" and then run to install. Follow the onscreen instructions.

 

How many items can I deposit?

There is no limit on the number of items an individual or team can submit to Digibank. If you have a large number of resources you wish to add, we may be able to assist you to bulk upload them.

 

Is there a limit on file size?

Digibank can handle any size file, but there are practical limitations (e.g. network bandwidth).

Copyright issues aside, teachers should not attempt to add entire CDs or DVDs because they consist of very large files. A half hour program recorded from TV can be 1-2 GB so it would take a long time for a student in Blackboard to download and watch it. Many people only have that much download allowance in their broadband plans for a whole month. When they exceed their plan limits they can be charged at a high rate for every additional Mb downloaded. Also, many commercially produced CDs contain .exe files which are blocked from being uploaded to the network for security reasons

 

Can I delete a file after depositing it?

Individual users are not authorised to remove items directly. There may be circumstances in which it is necessary to remove an item. In such cases, please contact the Digibank team and we will take the appropriate action.