Archive for the ‘iTunes U’ Category

The video statistics functionality in the media library allows you to see the popularity of your video uploads by giving you a breakdown of the visitor numbers. It shows the total number of views, the overall view ranking, a breakdown of views by month and a breakdown by source; iMedia, iTunes and YouTube.

Checking my stats

To access your video stats just log in to the media library and click on your ‘Dashboard’, this will take you to the ‘Your Content’ tab, scroll down to the video you wish to view and click on the stats link.

You will automatically be taken to the statistics page with four tabs; Overview, Imperial College London, iTunes U and YouTube.

1. The Overview tab shows the total number of views from all the channels, the overall rank, the breakdown source; iMedia, iTunes, YouTube and a graph shows the breakdown by month.
2. The Imperial College London tab shows the total number of iMedia views with a monthly breakdown graph
3. The iTunes U tab shows the total number of iTunes U views with a monthly breakdown graph
4. The YouTube tab shows the total number of YouTube views with a monthly breakdown graph. (Please note any YouTube videos are uploaded to the Imperial College YouTube account by the digital media team only and if you require assistance with this please contact Martin Sayers on m.sayers@imperial.ac.uk

The statistics you are entitled to view are for your video uploads only, if you would like to view other video statistics please contact Liz Swift on e.swift@imperial.ac.uk

The uploader accepts many of the most widely used file types.

Video file types accepted: flv, mov, mp4, m4v, avi

Audio file types accepted: aac, mp3, wav

wmv, wma and rm are available but are currently in the beta phase – please avoid uploading these file types if possible.

The uploader accepts m4a files as audio files, but not as enhanced podcasts. Please see our post on enhanced podcasts for more information.

Ideally, your video should be recorded and exported in one of the following resolutions:

Aspect ratio 4:3

320 x 240
640 x 480
800 x 600
1024×768
1280×960
1600×1200
1920×1440

Aspect ratio 16:9

320x 180
512 x 288
768 x 432
1024 x 576
1280 x 720
1920×1080

Please avoid using the format 720 x 576 and 720 x 480, as they are prone to look stretched or squished due to their ambiguous aspect ratio.

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.

Yes. All content that has been uploaded using the Uploader will appear in the Media Library once it has been branded and encoded. In addition, since the Uploader was created to allow the easy branding and distribution of content you may simultaneously choose to publish your content to iTunes U if desired. Please see step 3 of the post “How do I upload content?” for more information.

Because iTunes U is an external site any content that is designated for publication on our iTunes U channel will only become available once it has been approved by the Digital Media team in the Communications and Development Division. This process is initiated automatically when you indicate that you wish for your content to be published on iTunes U.

You can follow the progress of your content from the Dashboard in the Media Library, once logged in.

Can I publish my content to iTunes U at a later date?

Yes. If you initially chose to only publish your content to the Media Library it is still possible to publish it to iTunes U at a later date. Your content will then be approved by the Digital Media team in the Communications and Development Division.

Please note that it is not possible to solely publish content to our iTunes U channel. By default all uploaded material is included in the Media Library.