The University of Minnesota, the Regions of the Learning Network of Minnesota (LNM), and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System (MnSCU) have signed a contract with Kaltura Inc. to provide a statewide media management platform for public higher education in the state of Minnesota.
The new media management platform provides UMN, LNM, and MnSCU with many advantages. First, and foremost, the new media management platform will be accessible by every public higher education institution in Minnesota. In addition, the technical capabilities of the new media management platform will enable departments to integrate the tool into their own systems.
To help define the timeline and implementation points, a steering committee has been created with representatives from the largest tenants of Media Mill and Media Magnet. Three implementation points have been identified: integration with Moodle 2.0, integration with Camtasia Relay, and development of a media management interface.
Integration with Moodle is scheduled to begin during the Spring 2012 semester. Moodle users will be able to seamlessly and securely add videos into Moodle courses without having to know HTML. Students will be able to securely hand-in video assignments, allowing instructors to utilize the Moodle gradebook functionality with media. OIT's supported lecture capture software, Camtasia Relay, will be integrated during late spring 2012. Development of a media management interface is scheduled to begin in summer 2012. The new interface will combine features of Media Mill and Media Magnet. For more information about this project, visit the Media Management website.
In addition, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) is creating a Media Management Implementation Group. The formation of this group is a part of OIT's effort to help facilitate the University of Minnesota's transition to this new media management platform. We plan to hold monthly meetings for this group with the purpose being to report progress, to share experiences and resources, and to serve as a forum for voicing questions and concerns. The members of the Media Management Implementation Group have the essential function of sharing information from and with their colleagues, departments, and colleges. All are invited.
Save the date for our next meeting on January 31 from 10:00 - 11:00 a.m. in 101 Walter Library. Online streaming will be available on the day of the event at http://umconnect.umn.edu/mmigroup. No RSVP is required.