Archive for March, 2011

When writing content, it is good practice to assign a blog entry to a category; the default category is “uncategorised”. The categories appear on your blog homepage and are a really good way for readers to navigate your blog and jump to topics of interest. Examples of categories for a student blog could be: study, social life, hall, food tips, budgeting etc.

To create categoreis, see the third box down on the right hand side labelled “Categories”. Click on “+ Add New Category” and enter the name of your new category. You can either have a top level category, or create a category within an existing category.

Bloggers are responsible for accepting or declining comments to their blog entries. You will be notified by email of a new comment, and will be required to accept or decline it. To do this, you will need to login to your blog, read the entry and decide if you are happy to accept it. A declined comment will not appear on your blog.

Bloggers are reminded of the College’s blog terms and conditions, and should not accept any comments which break these. If you require any advice on whether to accept a comment, please contact the Service Desk
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It’s very straightforward to login to your blog and start posting.

• Login to your blog using the link at the bottom right of your blog homepage – use your normal College login
• This should take you to your blog “dashboard”. If you are already logged in, you should click on “Site Admin” from your blog homepage to reach the dashboard
• Click on “Posts” in the left hand navigation. A list of your current posts will appear in the window. You can edit your existing posts from here. To create a new post, click “Add new” from the left hand navigation.
• An editor window will appear and you can start drafting your blog, adding photos and videos where relevant. To add images, use the icon next to “Add media”
• You can use either the Visual or HTML view to compose your posts. Do try not to flick between the two, as this can introduce errors into the code.
• Make sure each blog entry has a different title
• Add a category and keyword tags so users will be able to easily find your posts
• Save a draft of your post
• Preview your post – so you can see what it will look like before you publish it. Please ensure you spell check and proof your blog entry before publishing
• When you are ready, click “Publish”

Our most popular blogs tend to stick to a few simple rules:

• Post regularly to keep your blog looking fresh and interesting: it’s better to publish short posts regularly than upload lengthy essays once a month
• Use photos and videos to make your blog more visual and eye-catching
• Enjoy your blog! Blogging should be fun. Encourage readers to comment on your posts and comments on other people’s blogs – they usually visit back
• Follow Imperial College London’s blog terms and conditions

Since the Media Library and iTunes U serve both common and divergent audiences and purposes, it is implicit that their users search in different ways.

Searches in the Media Library ostensibly originate primarily from internal users and may be driven by a specific subject (such an area of research, or an event), department, group, or centre, or an individual’s name. Therefore, for the purposes of searching and providing users with similar relevant content, a tagging system is employed by the Media Library. When you upload content using the Uploader you will be asked to provide appropriate tags for the material. In addition, tags also inform keyword searches for collections in iTunes U.

Searches in iTunes U originate from both external and internal users. Users are likely to be looking for educational materials with searches driven by subject or theme. Users may also browse the iTunes U application whilst looking for similar content from different providers, or simply for items that appear to be of interest to them. Items are therefore described in relation to their subject matter, as opposed to their provenance, using categories, channels, and collections.

Content in the Media Library which predates the launch of iTunes U was assessed to determine the most appropriate category, channel and collection in which to assign it. This assessment was completed by members of the Communications and Development Division with experience in the subject area of the content, prior to its publication on iTunes U.

In addition, since the College’s Media Library and iTunes U channel serve both common and divergent audiences and purposes, it is implicit that their users search in different ways. Thus the way in which content is labelled differs between the two. Please note that tags associated with an item of content are primarily for the use of the Media Library, but also inform keyword searches for collections in iTunes U. In some cases items may have tags which relate to the provenance of the content. For example, a video in which a professor from the Department of Physics discusses something unrelated to physics should be tagged with physics. However it should not be assigned to the iTunes U Physics collection because iTunes U categorisation is subject-driven and the video’s contents do not concern physics.

Nonetheless, if you still feel that content you have personally uploaded, which features yourself, or that you are responsible for has been incorrectly categorised in iTunes U (and which could be found in the Media Library prior to the launch of iTunes U), please contact Elizabeth Atkin, Digital Media Coordinator with your query.

All content which is uploaded to the Media Library using the Uploader is tagged and assigned to iTunes U categories, channels and collections by the uploader themselves (i.e. the content owner or custodian), and should therefore appear in appropriate searches of the Media Library and relevant areas of iTunes U. If you believe that content has been assigned incorrectly either within the Media Library or iTunes U but are not the person who uploaded it then please contact Emma Chesterman, Digital and Creative Media Manager with your query.

The vast majority of the content in the Media Library which predates the launch of iTunes U has already been published to our iTunes U channel.

All content in the Media Library which predates the launch of iTunes U was initially assessed for audio and visual quality, appropriateness and relevance, and completeness of branding prior to publishing on iTunes U.

Content which met these criteria were included in the initial launch of the Imperial College London iTunes U channel.

Items which did not meet one or multiple criteria are currently being processed and will be published on iTunes U as they become available. If your item is missing from iTunes U please contact Elizabeth Atkin, Digital Media Coordinator who will be able to ascertain the progress of your item.

For content which has been uploaded to the Media Library and iTunes U using the Uploader please see the post “Is content uploaded to iTunes U immediately?”.

Since the College’s Media Library and iTunes U channel serve both common and divergent audiences and purposes, it is implicit that their users search in different ways. Thus the way in which content is labelled differs between the two.

At step 2 of the upload process you will be asked to tag your item. This is to make it easier to find in searches of the College’s Media Library. It also allows the Media Library player to suggest similar content which may be of interest to the viewer. In addition, tags also inform keyword searches for collections in iTunes U.

Choose tags which describe the content, such as:

• the subject matter and/or research area of the material;
• the person(s) involved (e.g. the Rector, Professor Stephen Richardson etc.);
• the provenance of the subject discussed ( e.g. the Faculty/Department/centre of origin) and/or the person(s) involved;
• whether it is relevant to current or prospective students, or staff;
• if it’s an event, and of what type (i.e. event, lecture);
• if it’s an item for the archive;
• if it’s a podcast;
• a connection with an external organisation (e.g. the Natural History Museum, the Royal Society).

If you indicate your intention to publish your content on iTunes U (by clicking the iTunes U checkbox at step 3 of the upload process) you will also be asked to assign your item to a single category from a list supplied by iTunes U. You must also allocate the item to a channel (chosen from the Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Imperial College Business School, and University Life). Once you have selected the channel you will be presented with a list of collections to which you can assign your content. You may assign content to multiple collections at this stage.

Please see the post “What is the rationale for assigning content (items) to categories, channels, and collections in iTunes U?” for more information.

In iTunes U content is described in relation to its subject matter, not provenance

Since iTunes U is organised by subject, it is important to assign your item to the category, channel and collection which best describes the content. On some occasions (particularly in relation to the category, which is assigned from an arbitrary list supplied by iTunes U) this may not necessarily reflect the provenance of the item or individuals featured within. For example, for a video of a professor from the Department of Physics discussing climate change you would assign the category, channel, and collection according to the theme of climate change, as opposed to physics.

Non-research content on iTunes U – which category, channel and collection should I choose?

Items which do not explicitly discuss a particular aspect of research, that are related to (non-research) student activities or student recruitment (such as accommodation, Imperial College Union, or discussions of particular courses of study), or are more suited to the archive (such as Dennis Gabor repeating his Nobel prize speech) must be allocated to the 112 Teaching & Education category and to the University Life channel. An appropriate collection should then be chosen from those which exist within the University Life channel, or you may suggest a new collection.

Please note that tags added at step 2 of the uploading process are primarily employed by the Media Library to inform searches. In addition, tags also inform keyword searches for collections in iTunes U.

See the post “What are categories, channels, and collections in iTunes U?” for further explanation about categories, channels, and collections.

If, at step 3 in the upload process, you indicate your desire to publish your content to iTunes U a pop-up window will appear. You will then be asked to assign your item to a category, channel, and collection.

Categories

Items must be assigned to a single iTunes U-supplied category. Categories are a means for iTunes U to group together similarly-themed content from across all providers.

A category consists of a three or six digit code such as 100 Business, or 100 104 Marketing (which is a subcategory of 100 Business). Since iTunes U is an education resource it provides categories for all areas and subjects within the scope of higher education. As the areas of research and teaching at Imperial are heavily focussed on science, technology, engineering, medicine and business you may find that the iTunes U categories may not always exactly describe your content. Therefore, please assign your content to the category you feel it is most closely associated with from those available in the list.

Channels

A channel is a grouping of collections. The channels that exist on our iTunes U page are research driven and reflect the faculty structure of Imperial College London: the Faculty of Engineering, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Imperial College Business School. There is also a fifth channel named University Life, which contains all other non-research and archive content.

Please note that items which do not explicitly discuss a particular aspect of research, that are related to (non-research) student activities or student recruitment (such as accommodation, Imperial College Union, or discussions of particular courses of study), or are more suited to the archive (such as Dennis Gabor repeating his Nobel prize speech) must be allocated to the 112 Teaching & Education category and to the University Life channel.

Collections

A collection is a grouping of subject-related or themed items. Imperial’s iTunes U collections were informed by the process of collating the pre-existing content held in the Media Library into subject-related or themed groups. Such collections were assigned to a relevant channel (or channels, in the case of a collection which comprises a College-wide research theme such as “Health“).

Therefore the channel to which you assign your item will have some effect upon the collections that are made available to your item. Please assign your item to a suitable collection. If you feel that there isn’t a suitable collection available suggest a new collection using the “New Collection” button. This will then be sent to the Digital Media team for approval.

Please see “What is the rationale for assigning content (items) to categories, channels and collections in iTunes U?” for more information about how to assign items to the appropriate places.