WIU Listed In YouTube EDU Directory with More Than 100 Higher Ed Institutions

University News

WIU Listed In YouTube EDU Directory with More Than 100 Higher Ed Institutions

April 27, 2009

WIU Alumnus Joe Decker, a Guinness World Record holder for fitness, put WIU students through a rigorous workout on Friday, April 17 during his visit to the Macomb campus for College of Education and Human Services Week earlier this month. WIU uses YouTube to share events and activities occurring on WIU's campuses.

MACOMB, IL -- Where can you view Western Illinois University's mascot, Rocky, playing Wii at University Libraries' Game Nite? Or watch WIU students get their heads shaved in support of Tanner Hall's annual St. Baldrick's children's cancer fund-raising event? Or tune into last year's Hallwas Lecture? Or learn about how Western's Mobile Computing Task Force is helping to position the University for mobile learning?

All this and more can be found on Western's YouTube channel (youtube.com/westernillinoisu), which is now listed -- along with more than 100 other universities and colleges -- in YouTube's EDU directory.

According to a release notes' post on The YouTube Blog late last month (March 26), YouTube EDU was launched "as a volunteer project sparked by a group of employees who wanted to find a better way to collect and highlight all the great educational content being uploaded to YouTube by colleges and universities."

Like many other higher education institutions, WIU has been utilizing YouTube as a way to share original video content and information about Western's Macomb and Quad Cities campuses. The inclusion of WIU's YouTube channel in the YouTube EDU directory places Western's video content with that of such higher ed institutions as MIT, Stanford, Yale, Arizona State University, Harvard Business School and more.

"We're thrilled with our listing in the directory," said Darcie Shinberger, director of University Relations, whose office manages Western's YouTube channel. "This relationship with YouTube, the leading online video community, provides a way for WIU students, alumni, friends and fans to keep up with Western's events and activities. We also use our YouTube channel to keep parents updated about breaking news that could affect the students and/or campus community," she added.

For more information, contact Teresa Koltzenburg, social media manager in University Relations, at (309) 298-1993 or TE-Koltzenburg@wiu.edu. Visit WIU's YouTube channel at youtube.com/westernillinoisu.