Education IT News For VARs 2-5-15: Digital Asset Management And Video Admissions
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
In the news, Baylor uses digital asset management to leverage social media, Goucher College is experimenting with video admissions, and drones are being used to further STEM curricular study.
Digital Asset Management Allows Baylor To Leverage Social Media
This article from Campus Technology examines how Baylor University in Waco, TX, has leveraged social media to become the sixth most influential college on Instagram, according to College Atlas. The college was able to leverage social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, YouTube, and Vimeo) with a digital asset management (DAM) solution, which enables college staff to post professional photos immediately to social media outlets, providing real-time updates for academic and athletic news and events. Baylor has more than 49,000 followers on Instagram with a 10 percent to 12 percent engagement rate, compared to the 4.2 percent average.
Should Your Higher Education IT Clients Make The Transition To Video Admissions?
This article from E-Campus News examines the development of an admissions-via-video project, called the Goucher Video App, at Goucher College in Baltimore. In just a few months of use, the college received 64 video applications from students representing 20 states and applying for nearly 30 majors. The app allows applicants to submit a 2-minute video with a short application form and two works of scholarship as an alternative to the traditional paper application process. The result has been an increase in early action applications. E-Campus News reports that officials from the school’s office of admissions experienced some technical difficulties viewing some files due to PC/Mac file confusion and other issues, and the school is working to make submission file types/size requirements clearer and more uniform.
Education IT Talking Points
Education Week reports that the use of education technology in schools across the state of Idaho may be facing some risks of expiration, due to a legal battle over a technology contract that has left the network’s future in limbo.
This article from e-Campus News investigates the use of drone technology in teaching STEM courses. 3D Robotics, which calls itself North America’s largest personal drone company, has started a program offering free and discounted unmanned aircraft and autopilot technology for college and university science, technology, engineering, and math programs. 3DR has donated quadrotors — a type of drone design — and other equipment to institutions across the country in an initiative to engage students and drive scientific study. The idea is that putting unmanned aircraft in the hands of future innovators will help develop the drone technology for industries, applications, and research opportunities.
The Texas State Board of Education has adopted a second techbook for statewide use as a core instructional resource, according to District Administration. The new adoption is the Discovery Education Social Studies Techbook, part of a series offered by the company. The Discovery Education Science Techbook was adopted in 2014, as a resource for elementary, middle, and high school science courses. The adoption reflects the growing trend towards e-textbooks and resources as a cost-effective choice by districts to provide quality and timely content to students.
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