Engage: Social Media Talks

The Oxford Community Collection Model brings together online crowdsourcing with personal, face-to-face interaction. It has been used successfully in a range of ways from collating Anglo-Saxon teaching resources to memories of WW1. Dr Ylva Berglund Prytz explains the origins, the concept behind and success stories of the Oxford Community Collection model. In particular she refers to The Great War Archive and Europeana 1914-1918. Lastly, she explains how the team at RunCoCo (IT Services) can help University staff in leading and curating their own community collections.

Dr Aquiles Alencar-Brayner walks through some of the extraordinary projects led at the British Library which aim to engage and encourage interaction with the general public. The role of libraries is changing. Dr Aquiles Alencar-Brayner will discuss how the British Library is embracing the new opportunities offered by digital media and tools, especially through its innovative BL Labs programme, fostering a closer and more dynamic engagement with different audiences.

Jill Fresen and Debra Garretson discuss the Lecture Capture project led at Oxford and the how the software can be used to offer students various benefits. From flipping the classroom to providing compelling feedback on assignments, lecture capture software is being used to support student learning in a variety of innovative ways. Live lectures, lecture snippets, or feedback can be recorded (audio, slides, video) for students to access via WebLearn.

Dr Kathryn Eccles discusses her knowledge exchange work with TORCH and comments on the various ways you can monitor the impact of your projects. Dr Kathryn Eccles is a Research Associate at the OII. This session draws upon her work with TORCH which helped their Knowledge Exchange Fellows think about ways that they could track their impact. She will give a quick walk through some of the methods used and the initial findings.

Simon Delafond and Jesse Alter explore the exciting staff initiative ('Computer Club') led at the Imperial War Museums which encourages colleagues to use digital technologies to support and enhance their work. Last year the IWM launched Computer Club, a museum-wide initiative to provide a space for IWM staff to get hands-on experience with technology with the aims of raising digital literacy within the organisation. This session will examine the practicalities and realities of running the programme.

Peter Robinson and Josh Carr explore the benefits of using Livestream to reach out to large audiences. Livestream is a dynamic online space where you can broadcast and watch live events. Peter Robinson and Josh Carr from Educational Media Services discuss their experiences of using Livestream to connect with different audience groups, from the Stephen Fry inaugural lecture to Flash Talk Physics.

Mechthild Herzog discusses how Twitter can be harnessed to engage large audiences with WW1 history in a range of creative ways. Making WW1 history accessible 100 years on can be challenging but social media has the potential to shed new light on what it means to remember. Mechthild Herzog from the University of Luxembourg discusses Twitter project @RealTimeWW1 which aimed to make these connections possible.

Liz McCarthy discusses a range of strategies for maximising the reach and effectiveness of your Facebook page. Facebook is huge and constantly evolving; everyone seems to be using it for marketing. But it's important to approach it with a strategy, using it to connect and engage with others. Liz McCarthy (Bodleian Libraries) explores not only the basics of Facebook, but also how to make sure your pages work to fit your goals.

Professor David Pyle discusses his public engagement work for the Department of Earth Sciences with specific reference to the London Volcano and Volcano top trumps project. The Department of Earth Sciences have recently used two activities to increase awareness of their research on volcanic risk: Volcanoes Top Trumps (a card game), and London Volcano (a 5 day exhibition). Professor David Pyle will discuss how social media (blogging, facebook and twitter) has allowed the team to engage with a wider audience.

Does using social media have an impact on disseminating your research papers? Dr Melissa Terras, UCL, gives her experiences and opinions on this question through her own personal findings.