Trading Places
CURRENTS Article This article highlights a contest that Canada's York University began in 2012. A York undergraduate student won the right to switch places with the institution's president for a day while the president took on the student's classes and schedule for the day.

Stewardship Videos
Sample Collection The CASE InfoCenter compiled this collection of stewardship videos that were created to thank donors. The collection includes videos from independent schools, colleges and universities, including community colleges.

Say What?
CURRENTS Article Middlebury alumni and students have recorded memories, or Murmurs, to engage alumni and prospective students.

Copyright & Licensing for Images and Multimedia
Good Question Does CASE have information about copyright and licensing for multimedia? Where can we obtain inexpensive or free music and images to use on our website and in social media?

Did You See That?
CURRENTS Article Part art and part science, a good video can be an incredibly powerful tool to connect with your audiences.

Multimedia Tools Within Reach of Small Shops
Article With a little ingenuity and careful planning, communications and marketing professionals at small shops can make the most of today’s multimedia storytelling tools and still stay within their tight budgets, say two CASE faculty members.

Crème de la Crème
CURRENTS Article In 2011, 268 bronze, silver, gold, and grand gold Circle of Excellence awards went to 171 colleges, universities, independent schools, and nonprofit organizations worldwide. Eight of those grand gold and gold award winners are profiled here.

Multimedia Workshop
Conference Regardless of the size of your shop or the extent of your experience, audio and video content should be an integral part of your communications plan. This workshop will get you started or move you to the next level.

Virtual History
CURRENTS Article This brief article discusses the University of Massachusetts at Amherst's Digital UMass project, which has digitized documents, papers, other materials, and more than 13,000 photos that trace the history of the college and placed them online for the public and researchers to access and explore.

Holiday Hijinks
CURRENTS Article During the holiday season of 2009, marketing staff at the University of North Carolina used UNC School of Medicine faculty to create a humorous video in which psychology experts discussed the cantankerous nature of Dr. Suess' the Grinch. The video led to many hits on YouTube and was picked up by several news outlets.

The Sea of Social Media
CURRENTS Article As social media grows in use, institutions need to look closely at how they are using these new tools in communications and marketing. Some institutions are charting a course by using different mediums to meet its strategic goals.

Advance Work: Podcast Pushers
CURRENTS Article The use of podcasts is steadily growing, according to a May 2008 survey, and higher education is helping this growth.

General Information Features: Millbrook School - Gold Award
Best Practice The documentary film "Down School Road: Millbrook at 75" was produced in honor of Millbrook School's 75th Anniversary, celebrated during Alumni Weekend in June 2007. After its initial screening during that weekend, it was sent to all constituents as a memento of the occasion.

Creative Use of Technology and New Media: SAIT Polytechnic - Bronze Award
Best Practice When SAITVIEW arrived on campus in spring 2007, heads began to turn upwards. Digital information screens mounted from the ceiling in 17 locations captured the attention of three key audiences: students, staff and supporters/visitors. A new tool in the college's communications program, SAITVIEW offered the latest campus news in 15-second billboard bites, conveying breaking news and internal marketing information via an easy-to-access and engaging medium in strategically located gathering spots.

Creative Use of Technology and New Media: Virginia Tech - Silver Award
Best Practice After a day like no other, Virginia Tech needed a way to communicate with millions of people who joined the community to mourn the victims of the tragic shooting on April 16, 2007. One of the institution's objectives in developing web content related to that day was to think in terms of multimedia and Web 2.0; content came to include photo galleries, podcasts, live streaming of Convocation, a live webcam at the Candlelight Vigil on April 17, and a condolences/prayers site created on the fly.

Creative Use of Technology and New Media: Princeton University - Silver Award
Best Practice UChannel is an online collection of public affairs lectures, panels and events from academic institutions all over the world – to view, listen to, stream or download. Content is recorded and contributed by universities; distributed via UChannel to multiple audiences; and made available to the public for free. The goal is to enrich the public dialog with direct input from academics, researchers and practitioners who are focused on solving the problems of the world.

Creative Use of Technology and New Media: University of Alabama at Birmingham - Silver Award
Best Practice As the International Polar Year began in March 2007, leading marine researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham headed to Antarctica and invited the world to join them through an innovative Web site. The researchers contributed to blogs, posted pictures and responded to questions from the public and others. The resulting resource goes beyond the traditional media release and reaches out to everyone interested in Antarctica, the environment, education, diving, etc.

Creative Use of Technology and New Media: University of Calgary - Silver Award
Best Practice Connecting with students on their turf has been the primary goal of a two-pronged University of Calgary e-communications project that combines desktop widgets with large-screen LCD monitors. The U-Now widget and U-Now electronic billboards were designed to complement and "feed" each other, providing a new vehicle to reach out to students in the places they congregate and on their laptops.

Advance Work: Work with What You’ve Got
CURRENTS Article Live video of a robin's nest with eggs drew an unexpected following for Duke University's Web site and underscored the power of social networking.

Technology Innovations: Virginia Tech - Silver Medal
Best Practice In February 2006, Virginia Tech launched a new branding initiative called "Invent the Future." Among other things, the launch consisted of a new logo, viewbook, television and newspaper ads, and a revised Web page. One of the brand drivers, technological leadership, led to the creation of regular podcasts for the new home page. Podcasts from several ongoing series, special programming and a pod tour were made available.

Technology Innovations: University of Wisconsin, Green Bay - Gold Medal
Best Practice Stuff2Do is a video blog for student life events at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. It includes a wiki for viewers to submit events and ideas for the show, a Google map mashup so viewers can see who else is watching, and a photo contest where viewers submit photos of events they attended. It's an ever-evolving project that seeks to engage students.

Advance Work: The Future's in the Palm of Their Hands
CURRENTS Article To show that it understands how today's students like to get their news and information, Fitchburg State College is using podcast technology to send its acceptance letters. But mom and dad can still expect to receive the old-fashioned paper version in the mail.

Talking Points: Pod on the Quad
CURRENTS Article As campuses continue to explore ways to communicate with constituents, many are embracing new technologies such as podcasting. Podcasting allows users to download various types of audio content, including newscasts, speeches, and more to their computers and MP3 players so they can listen to it whenever they want. Many mainstream media outlets offer podcasts, and their uses for campuses are plentiful. This article explains what podcasting is, why it's useful, and how to use it. It also offers an inside look at how the University of Florida News Bureau is already putting this technology to good use and how it plans to use it in the future.

Advance Work: Up Close and Personal
CURRENTS Article A new video magazine is bringing the University of Texas football program into the homes of alumni and fans. The Texas V-Mag delivers full-screen, broadcast-quality video stories to paid subscribers.