Abstract
Falling University entries and top-up fees have contributed to a step-change in the operational environment for the HE sector. This change has resulted in an acute pressure on institutions to innovate for success. This presentation will explore some opportunities for institutions to capitalise on new and emerging Web technologies in response to such changes.
While there is much hype about web 2.0, there are some genuine opportunities for straightforward applications of Web 2.0 technologies in institutions that are low risk and low cost, and have potential for significant returns if they are introduced and managed correctly and the right people are involved.
While not a genuinely new technology, RSS and its content syndication and subscription model enable innovative applications, particularly for marketing functions in institutions. Podcasting and blogging, enabled in part by RSS, can form the basis for some low cost applications that, if deployed effectively, can have significant marketing benefits. The right and wrong ways of approaching such deployments will be reviewed.
Every HE institution provides the usual search interface to its courses, typically using an A-Z, subject area selector and school or department selector. The new bookmarking/tagging services, such as del.icio.us, provide platforms for a new class of more organic user interfaces to core HE content such as course information. The keys to success lie in empowering marketing staff to manage these interfaces in line with marketing initiatives.
Resources
The slides are available on the Slideshare service.