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Streaming Video & Multimedia Online

FAQ: Can I stream a video in class from my personal Netflix account?

Maybe. If you have a personal subscription to Netflix, you can stream some original Netflix content in class. This must be done synchronously, either in an in-class session or synchronous Zoom sessions. Do not record the session for future use.

FAQ: Where can students rent low-cost titles online?

Decider is a website that lists all the streaming platforms a video is available, including rental options. Sometimes students can use a free trial of a streaming service to view a video for free.

FAQ: Can I use this YouTube video?

Before using a video on YouTube, identify whether the channel was created by the person or company that created the content. For example, a clip of a tv show on the YouTube channel from the TV network that airs the show. Check whether the video is marked Creative Commons Licensed. Look for a website link in the Channel’s description. Check the website’s terms of use (usually linked on the bottom of all pages).  If the website’s terms of use allow educational/academic use, then you can use the video. If not, request permission from the video creator (via their website). Recorded lectures by faculty are often work-for-hire and owned by the university employing the instructor (regardless of who owns the YouTube Channel).

There are many “orphaned works” on YouTube (older videos and channels with no clear creator or owner information). Avoid using orphaned works and content clearly uploaded without the owner’s permission.

News Clips in Databases

  • 60 Minutes (CBS) some episodes from 1993-2015 are available through ProQuest Central
  • New York Times Videos (2018-present) up-to-date popular news and culture available through ProQuest
  • Economist Video (2000-present) clips of stories on business and the economy through ProQuest Central

Streaming Video & Audio Sources Online

  • Academic Earth: Videos of lectures by top scholars in a range of subjects. registration required, but free to use.
  • Academic Film Archive of North America: Academic films made between 1900-1985 about art, history, science, literature, and social science.
  • adViews: Duke University Digital Collection of 1000s of television commercials made between the 1950s to 1980s by D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles (DMB&B) advertising agency.
  • American Rhetoric: historic speeches presented in video, audio, and text
  • Annenberg Learn: Educational streaming videos covering a range of topics such as art, history, math, science, government, and literature.
  • Archaeology Channel: Streaming media website from the Archaeological Legacy Institute (ALI)
  • BBC Online Archive: Themed collections from radio and TV programs, documents, and photographs from the 1930s to today.
  • BioInteractive: Animation and short films on medical topics and biology
  • British Council Film Collection: 120 short documentary films from the 1940s about how “Britain lived, worked and played”
  • Cornellcast: A large video library of educational topics and faculty lectures.
  • Crash Course: YouTube series of education videos on a variety of topics
  • CSPAN Digital Library: Federal Government sessions, speeches, and events dating back to 1987
  • Digital Public Library of America: History and social sciences videos from libraries and museums. Choose “moving image” resource type in results.
  • EthicsUnwrapped: Videos and case studies about business and professional ethics from the McCombs School of Business at UT-Austin.
  • Folkstreams: Called a hard-to-find documentary films about American folk or roots cultures
  • Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies: Yale University’s collection of video interviews with witnesses and survivors of the Holocaust and the related aspects of World War II.
  • Harvard Business Review YouTube Videos
  • HippoCampus: high-quality, multimedia content on math, natural science, social sciences, and humanities.
  • Internet Archive: Collection of video including news broadcasts, television programs, television commercials,  films, cartoons & animation, concerts, and short films.
  • Khan Academy: instructional videos on math, science, computer science, economics, and test preparation.
  • Living Room Candidate: U.S. television commercials from Presidential Campaigns from 1952–2020.
  • NARIC Multimedia Collection: Videos related to rehabilitation and disability created by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).
  • National Film Board of Canada: short and feature-length Canadian films from 1939-present.
  • Open Video Project: Historical videos from government-funded projects, including NASA.
  • Oyez Project: Multimedia archive of audio and video from the US Supreme Court starting in 1955.
  • PBS Learning Media: K-12 videos on a variety of subjects.
  • Radio Days: A searchable database of audio clips from radio shows (1940s-1960s) including the genres drama, comedy, mystery, and news.
  • Sloan Science & Film:Short narrative films on science and technology funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
  • Smithsonian Open Access: Images, 3D images, sound recordings, data sets, and illustrated books from Smithsonian institutions and the National Zoo.
  • Sociological Cinema: Collection of videos organized by sociological themes and theory for educators and students.
  • TedEd Lessons Worth Sharing: Create lessons talks, and quizzes from YouTube videos or Ted Talks.
  • Ted Talks: 18-minute max presentations about a wide variety of topics by experts
  • UbuWeb: Repository of avant-garde film, visual arts, creative writing, and poetry
  • WGBH Boston (Public Television): Videos and transcripts of WGBH programming for Public Television (1960s-1990s). Excellent coverage of politics, the Vietnam War, and the Civil Rights movement.
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