The rapid development and pervasive use of new media tools have empowered almost anyone to create, shape, and disseminate information and narrative that engage and persuade.
ShareStream– a campus-supported YouTube alternative for streaming audio and video files – now provides one more opportunity for faculty, staff and students to connect with others through story.
What is ShareStream?
ShareStream allows users to upload video and audio files, tag content with metadata, and view, browse, and play media through easy-to-use media streaming software.
What can ShareStream do for faculty and students?
Easy access to ShareStream can be enabled by adding a widget within ICON. Once ShareStream’s Pick-n-Play has been enabled, instructors and students can upload media files, add media to specific courses, create assignment folders, and submit media projects, and more.
Once existing media have been uploaded to ShareStream, they can be embedded to share publicly or with select groups through a variety of sources, like a wiki or personal website. The new tool also allows for instructor and peer feedback, which can be provided using the comment feature.
In addition to ShareStream’s simple-to-use interface, media playback is now available on mobile devices and meets mobile and accessibility standards.
ShareStream is an important improvement for classroom assignments that explore student digital media publishing. Both instructors and students can be confident that their media are password protected and managed in a secure, controlled environment.
How to learn more about ShareStream?
If you are an instructor interested to setup your ICON course with ShareStream, please visit our online tutorials or contact the ITS Helpdesk at its-helpdesk@uiowa.edu or 319-384-4357.
And as always, the Center for Teaching (teaching@uiowa.edu or 319-335-6048) is available to provide one-on-one consulting to instructors interested to consider adoption of this new tool into their course.
Resources
Online trainings for how to use digital media creation tools (like iMovie) is available free of charge to instructors, staff and students through Lynda.com. http://lynda.uiowa.edu/
A recent blog post from the University of Notre Dame’s Kaneb Center outlines 15 student media creation projects, including TED style talks and voice recordings of an original poem.