Multimedia content is a great way to reinforce lessons by providing information in a format that is easy to process and recall. Students are accustomed to using sites like YouTube to learn new skills and information. They are also able to rewind and re-watch until they understand the ideas presented.
Adding video to your classes is an easy way to engage and enlighten your students. Sifting through thousands of videos looking for quality educational content is not though.
The library is here to help! We have created a short list of resources for educational videos to get you started.
We have included links to both library resources as well as some free sites from the Internet. The library video collections are generally larger. They also allow you options such as video segmentation and embedding.
Embedding videos in the Learning Management System can help reduce distractions because they allow the student to view the content without leaving your lesson. The segment tool helps you keep students focused by narrowing your selection to the most relevant content in a video.
Below is a list of seven places to look for free videos for your classes.
Library Collection Resources
Academic Videos Online
Academic Video Online is the most comprehensive video subscription available to libraries. It delivers more than 66,000 titles spanning the widest range of subject areas including anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more.
Curated for the educational experience, it contains several content types such as documentaries, films and demonstrations, covering a variety of topics. AVON is a useful resource for all types of learning.
This resource gives you options to embed videos, create clips, share to social and create playlists.
Kanopy Streaming Video
Kanopy is an on-demand streaming video service for educational institutions. It provides access to more than 26,000 films each year. Kanopy works directly with filmmakers and film distribution companies to offer award-winning collections including titles from PBS, BBC, Criterion Collection, Media Education Foundation and more
There are several options available in Kanopy including creating clips, viewing transcripts, social media sharing and playlists.
ICE Video Library
The ICE Video Library is specifically for those interested in physical and occupational therapy. It is a collection of over 200 patient interactions for PT and OT. It contains a wide range of diagnoses and treatments. The ICE Faculty Zone gives you teaching tips for adding dynamic learning activities to your classes.
Web Based Resources
Big Think
The site contains dozens of free videos on philosophy, science, history and more, with sprinkles of comedy. The site proclaims “actionable lessons from the world’s greatest thinkers and doers.”
CrashCourse
Crash Course’s mission is to provide free, high quality educational videos to everyone. They have dozens of videos arranged in over 30 categories. Topics cover many disciplines including history, biology, chemistry and more. Videos target students of all ages. The courses are arranged by subject on their web page. Videos are embedded on their web site, but can be viewed directly on their YouTube channel.
TEDEd
“Feed your students’ curiosity” is the tagline for Ted-Eds educators page. They set out to accomplish this with 100s of videos in the familiar and engaging Ted-Ex style.
TED-Ed is an education initiative from TED-Ex. They seek to provide a library of educational videos that celebrate the ideas of teachers and students. Videos cover a broad range of topics. Teachers can use the videos in the TED-Ed collection or they can create their own. Videos can be found on their website or on their YouTube channel.
VideoLectures.NET
VideoLectures is a collection of free, open access educational lecture videos. The speakers are notable scientists and scholars. The videos are recorded at conferences, workshops and other events. The goal of this project is to share scientific ideas to foster knowledge. Select the “Browse lectures” link to see a full list of titles and topics.
Conclusion
Video is a great way to improve engagement with your class. Hopefully this short compilation of video collections helps save you time in picking quality educational videos for your students. Please contact the library with any questions about our video resources.
