News Highlights
Author:
Debra Callaghan ,
Office of the Provost,
dc10@aub.edu.lb
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A(You)B launches branded channel on YouTube
 | AUB now on YouTube
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The American University of Beirut (AUB) has become one of only a handful of universities worldwide to launch a dedicated channel on YouTube, the enormously popular video-sharing website.
With over 100 million videos seen each day via its free on-line streaming service, YouTube is an ideal venue to introduce potential students, donors, and partners to AUB. According to the latest survey by eMarketer.com, YouTube, which permits users to view, critique and upload videos, is one of the top three websites favored by US college students. The company describes its demographic base more broadly still as ranging in age from 18-55 and "spanning all geographies." |
Since the 'AUB at Lebanon' channel was created in February 2008, the University has posted 25 videos organized into five playlists. Over half of the videos are short, promotional pieces that familiarize prospective students and their parents with AUB and its facilities. According to Dr. Rosangela Silva, director of the Academic Computing Center, which created the channel, "Films like these are a form of direct communication between AUB and young people living abroad who increasingly depend on the internet for information when choosing universities."
Another AUB offering is a seven-minute video on its "Campaign for Excellence," which attracted over $171 million to be used to upgrade facilities, recruit faculty, strengthen programs, and increase financial assistance to students. Narrated by President John Waterbury, the video provides alumni and other friends of AUB with an open window on the transformations taking place on campus. |
Three university research centers have set up their own playlists on AUB's channel. The Initiative for Biodiversity Studies in Arid Regions (IBSAR) is an open academic platform for research on the conservation and sustainable development of regional biodiversity. By posting videos that present just a few of IBSAR's community-related projects, the center's director, Professor Salma Talhouk, hopes to increase public awareness of biodiversity issues and attract research partners and funding.
Most YouTube videos cannot exceed 10 minutes in length, but those posted on dedicated channels face no such restrictions. As a consequence, both the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saoud Center for American Studies and Research (CASAR) and the Issam Fares Institute (IFI) for Public Policy and International Affairs have taken the opportunity to upload entire lectures by guest speakers on topics relevant to AUB's regional environment. |
"We live in a globalized moment," explained Professor Patrick McGreevy, the director of CASAR, "when we can use technology to broaden our reach and communicate with a wider audience." CASAR videos are the newest additions to AUB's YouTube channel and include Professor Lawrence Hatab's lecture on "Democracy and Conflict" and Professor Hisham Ahmad's discussion of "American Foreign Policy toward Palestine before 1948." They join four Issam Fares Institute videos largely drawn from its 'Ambassador in the Academy' series, which has hosted HE Aud Lise Norheim (Norway), HE Frances Guy (UK) and Commissioner-General Karen AbuZayd (UNRWA), as well as the Bill and Sally Hambrecht Distinguished Peacemaker series.
'AUB at Lebanon' might include an even wider range of perspectives before long. "We hope to find ways to involve students - perhaps through competitions that allow them to share their impressions of campus life," Dr. Silva said. |
Similarly, the videos generated by other universities with YouTube channels can bring diverse viewpoints into the classroom. "It only takes seconds," Dr. Silva observed, "to embed one or more open-source lectures into Moodle learning management platforms. By exposing students to different approaches to fundamental questions, faculty can stimulate discussion and deepen understanding."
While many privately produced YouTube videos are pure entertainment, a surprising number are educational, for instance, 3-D animations or 'learning objects' that illustrate mathematical or scientific concepts. A good example is a short video on Moebius transformations created by professors D. Arnold and J. Rogness of the University of Minnesota; by mid-March 2008, the video had been viewed more than 1.36 million times and over 4,000 people had posted comments. |
The first university to create a branded YouTube channel was the University of California at Berkeley, which began posting videos of full courses and events in October 2007. UC Berkeley's offerings range from an introductory "Physics for Future Presidents" course, which stresses the concepts behind important problems in physics and applies them to current events, to "General Human Anatomy," the course that made Professor Marian Diamond into an overnight video star after 40 years spent teaching her subject in the classroom.
UC Berkeley's YouTube debut was quickly followed by the University of Southern California, the University of New South Wales (Australia) and Vanderbilt University. Currently, about 20 universities have established branded channels, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, another well-known leader in open-source video in higher education, which has made most of its curriculum public on its website. |
AUB's YouTube channel can be viewed at www.youtube.com/AUBatLebanon.
AUB Faculty and Administration with videotaped lectures or other presentations suitable for the channel should contact the ACC to find out how to upload them. Future student participation will take place through the Office of Student Affairs. |
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