Media contact: Lynn Whalen, 217.786.2219
SPRINGFIELD –The Lincoln Land Community College Instructional Technology and Distance Education Department has been notified that its educational channel on YouTube has been listed as an official YouTube EDU Channel.
LLCC is one of only eight community colleges in the country and the only community college in Illinois to earn this designation. LLCC joins more than 200 colleges and universities nationwide, including MIT, Duke, UCLA and Yale, on YouTube EDU.
YouTube EDU was launched in March, 2009 as the education hub of YouTube, the leading online video community that allows people to share originally created videos. YouTube EDU was developed to collect and highlight quality educational content created by colleges and universities around the world.
The LLCC channel (www.youtube.com/llccedu) includes lectures and informational videos for courses and programs such as nursing, physical geology, ethics and composition. There are also instructional videos on library topics, highlights of special campus events, and on-demand training for faculty and students.
LLCCedu was launched on YouTube this semester and has already had thousands of visitors. The most popular video, with nearly 2000 views, explains how to log in to the online instructional site Blackboard. Videos have been viewed by LLCC students as well as individuals from as far away as Pakistan and Egypt.
“We established this YouTube educational channel to assist both faculty and students,” said Becky Parton, LLCC associate dean of instructional technology and distance education. “Faculty can access important training when it best fits their schedule. Students can be trained and view lectures as often as they like, any time of the day or night. For instance, some high level nursing skills are taught in the videos. Nursing students can watch procedures as many times as they need to learn the skills involved.”
She added that geology instructor Samantha Reif created a “virtual field trip” for her online students by videotaping a lecture from the canyons in Southern Illinois and placing that video on LLCCedu.
“This is another way we are attempting to extend our educational reach,” said Ms. Parton. “The richness of multimedia adds to the learning experience, and addresses the various learning styles of our students.”