To complete Thing 13, I chose to explore Vimeo. I am very accustomed to YouTube and I have even been required to upload projects while at school as part of my university course. I have also used Media Hopper before for work. However, I have only used Vimeo once, to watch one of my favourite web series. At the time, I wondered why the creative team behind the series would use Vimeo, as YouTube is arguably the more well-known video sharing platform and would, therefore, reach a greater audience. After exploring Vimeo, I can now see that it would be a good platform for original, creative content. The content rules seem quite clear and there is a great guide on the different types of licenses that users can apply to their videos. Although there will always be problems with copyright infringement on public media sharing platforms, the smaller size of the Vimeo platform appears to allow for greater control over the content. The licensing information is easily found on individual videos, by clicking on the “more” button underneath the title, and you can even search for videos based on their license type. While YouTube also has this function, it only allows you to search for videos that have been tagged “creative commons”. As for accessibility, users can add closed captioning and subtitles.

Using OER Commons, I was able to find a brief course on how to use library resources at a university. Made up of videos and explanatory PDFs, it instructs the user on how to use the catalogue, databases and common citations. Although it is not the most up-to-date example of an OER, I chose it because it was relevant to my own work and ties in with “Bonus Thing C”. If I could create an OER, it would be a similar course on how to use the library resources available at the University of Edinburgh. Many universities offer these courses, online, for students to undertake in their own time. Some schools, like the University of Bologna, have tried to popularise them by requiring that student employees complete the online course before starting work. There are many wonderful resources available to students at the University of Edinburgh, like interlibrary loans or the request a book service, and an introductory course on the use of them would ensure students can make the most of what is available to them. There are several instructive pages on the University of Edinburgh website about how to use the library and its resources, but a succinct course would ensure that students learn about ALL of the resources, not just those they are specifically searching for. Video tutorials can also often be easier to follow than written instruction. The University of Bologna Information Literacy Tutorial is a great example of this.