YouTube

A strong presence on YouTube from the Saied Business School. Clearly they have realised that in a very competitive market they need to show that they understand the significance of social media. The mix of video clips with links to other aspects of the school helps present a fuller and more immediate picture of the programme offered. And the results speak for themselves, with over 500,000 upload views and 45,000 channel views. Effective marketing.

Podcasts

I'd already had some experience with these courtesy of my iplayer, but hadn't seen the range of material available from the 'cast sites. Good to see that the University has cottoned on to the applicability of the concept, with PodOxford for sixth formers, and was also very interested to learn of 'enhanced' podcasts from the English Faculty. In the college context I think an introductory podcast for induction would work well, with later 'casts covering more specialist topics such as an introduction to the Rare Books room. Podcasts win out on three counts: the majority of our students are used to working with mp3 players, and working with online digital content as part of their culture. Secondly, as with the BBC iplayer, the content can be accessed at a time convenient to the individual, and at a pace that suits them. Finally of course it saves a chunk of staff time if some of the learning about the library and its resources can be passed over to the student.