Multimedia resources
Access a range of media resources on campus and beyond.
Multimedia spaces
The multimedia spaces (NLG.4 and NLG.9) are in the Open Learning Centre for Languages and Academic English (OLCLAE) on the lower-ground floor of Samuel Alexander Building.
These versatile language learning spaces are for languages students' priority use, and are equipped with:
- PCs (with headsets with microphones) for DVD playback, videoconferencing, etc;
- flexible work spaces for individual or pair/group work;
- access to specialised keyboards for inputting in different scripts;
- access to external drives for DVD playback;
- multi-region DVD/BluRay players for single or group viewing.
Film and TV viewing
The library of the Open Learning Centre for Languages and Academic English (OLCLAE) has a substantial collection of DVDs including more than 4,500 world cinema titles, over 700 TV dramas and documentaries, and recordings to accompany language courses.
Access the OLCLAE Library catalogue via the Library services page.
External drives for DVD/BluRay playback are available for loan from OLCLAE reception.
Box of Broadcasts (BoB) is a streaming video service which allows the scheduling of future recordings, and the viewing of previous recordings.
On-demand service from the British Film Institute, streaming acclaimed, landmark and archive films. Their subscription collection includes hundreds of films, which are free-to-view after registering through the University of Manchester Library.
Kanopy is an on-demand streaming platform for films, TV shows and documentaries. It can be accessed using your University of Manchester login.
Radio Times - TV and radio schedules for all broadcasts on British TV
Reelgood - Free streaming guide for freeview and subscription broadcasts
Off-air recording and AV duplication
OLCLAE offers AV duplication and off-air recording services. Request forms are available from reception.
The University of Manchester is covered by the Education Recording Agency Licence, which permits off-air recordings to be made for educational purposes.
- ERA Licensing - clarification of copyright issues.
- JISC - help with copyright law and its relevance and application to the use of information and communications technologies in UK further and higher education.
Multilingual word processing
Multilingual word processing is possible in all standard University of Manchester PC clusters.
You can type accented characters for many Western European (and other) languages in any Windows program by holding down the ALT key and typing a four-digit character code. If you are using Microsoft Word, you can also type accented characters using a special set of keyboard shortcuts which are quite easy to remember. Both methods are detailed in the following PDF document:
- How to type foreign language characters (PDF)
- Legacy 3-digit codes for foreign language characters (PDF)
The above method and character codes do not include many accented characters used in Central European languages (such as Polish) and Eastern European languages (such as Turkish). A slightly different method with additional character codes for inputting characters in Polish and Turkish is given in the following PDF document:
Keyboards for Arabic, German, Hebrew, Russian and Turkish are available for loan as reference items from OLCLAE Reception (NLG.6, Samuel Alexander Building).
Remember that it will still be necessary to set the input language.