Videos From Online College Courses: Academic Lectures

Videos

Video is the wave of the future for education. It combines the sense of sight and sound and immerses us in the scene. Rather than simply reading notes or listening to a lecture, students are transported into the scene as if it was part of their lives. With many channels of information, videos can teach more efficiently than textbooks or other traditional materials. Objects can be displayed, discussed and dissected simultaneously with clever camera work. For universities, high schools and other educators film is showing promise.

The improvements in internet speed and hosting services like YouTube have inspired a proliferation of video on the web. Many colleges now post recorded lectures for their students, and some even open this service up to the public. Broadcast corporations, museums, nonprofits and individuals are also getting involved, offering up clips and previews to assist learning. Everything from how to videos to debates on the meaning of life are discussed in these presentations. Get to know the best places for educational videos with these resources.

  • Academic Sources

    • Columbia’s Open Education Portal includes lectures and e-seminars on many different topics, but the site is unfortunately no longer updated.
    • Duke Law’s webcasts present biographies of professors, commentary on legal proceedings and debates on the law.
    • The John F. Kennedy School of Government records lectures, short seminars and campus events for an easy education in civics.
    • The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s MIT World displays videos of professor and guest lectures and noteworthy happenings at the school.
    • Oxford distributes webcasts of its Internet Institute on the changes that are occurring due to the impacts of new media, especially the web.
    • Pinceton’s Event Streaming hosts lectures by various professors and guest lecturers in addition to some campus activities.
    • The Humanities Center, again at Stanford University, offers short interviews and mini-lectures on different art and social science projects.
    • Webcast.Berkeley is an easily searchable collection of lecture and event videos covering a wide variety of subjects.
    • The Office of Instructional Development at the University of California in Los Angeles provides lectures, campus activities and specialty series in a wide array of topics.
    • Democratic Vistas is Yale’s discussion of the values of democratic societies and is reproduced for the public via their webcasts.
    • Yale Global Online produces videos of interviews with some of the world’s experts in global politics, finances and environmental issues.

  • Other Sources

    • @GoogleTalks provides talks with guest speakers including authors, political nominations, public figures and musicians.
    • Al Jazeera offers some of its exclusive coverage in English through its channel.
    • The American Natural History Museum centers its videos around scientific, ecological and anthropological studies.
    • Amnesty International includes interviews, exposes and news from around the world, reporting on human rights violations around the world.
    • Artists’ Space is a community of performers, painters and other creatives that promotes commentary and showcases of their work.The Aspen Institute covers a broad range of topics through their interviews and seminars including politics, technology and creativity.
    • There are plenty of misguided theories of the universe out there and Bad Astronomy aims to take them down through their educational videos.
    • The UK’s most trusted new station, BBC, comes to the web with videos on current events, entertainment and previews of their shows.
    • Big Think invites scholars from around the world to share their ideas on government, psychology, economics, life and anything else of interest.
    • The Bob Dylan channel is a trip into rock and roll history with early videos of the musician and some more recent performances.
    • BoingBoing Blog’s profile focuses on technology but has an array of funny, informative and entertaining videos for perusal.
    • BFI Channel is curated by the British Film Institute and brings the history of British cinema to life with clips of classic movies.
    • The Brooklyn Museum displays current and past exhibits, in-house concerts and special events.
    • Canal Educatif a la Demande investigates art history through its videos, although only three of them are currently in English.
    • PBS journalist Charlie Rose interviews influential figures of the world through his channel on a wide range of topics.
    • Expert Village explains how to do what you’ve always wanted to, no matter what it is.
    • FilmBuff is run by Cinetic and features trailers and clips of the most monumental films of the past and groundbreaking modern movies.
    • Citizen Tube exposes developing crises around the world with firsthand perspective of the action.
    • The Computer History Museum examines the past of computing technology through interviews with experts and lectures on different types of digital technology.
    • The Council on Foreign Relations shines a light on international affairs through their connections with journalists, celebrities and businesses around the world.
    • C-SPAN is available online with full time coverage of U.S. government institutions as well as interviews with politicians and other officials.
    • Christopher Hitchens addresses the big questions both through his own perspectives and interviews with philosophers and intellectuals.
    • FORA confronts the issues changing the world with videos from academics, celebrities, journalists, scientists and other knowledgeable individuals.
    • The United Kingdom’s Guardian news source supplements its print version with interviews, news stories and investigations of current events.
    • Technology news outlet Gizmodo submits product reviews, tests and examples through their channel.
    • Tech Talks by Google reports on research surrounding web development and design to promote communication and sharing around the world.
    • Harvard University Press interviews its authors on their works with contributions and critiques of classic literature.
    • Premium entertainment channel Home Box Office posts outtakes, interviews and special features from their show.
    • IQ Squared features talks with some of the world’s brightest individuals about some of the most pressing problems of the world and especially the United Kingdom.
    • The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library highlights the achievements of this American leader through video clips of his life.
    • Ken Loach shares some of his films along with clips, interviews and other productions of Sixteen Films.
    • Khan Academy has videos covering many educational topics including preparation for the SAT and GMAT.
    • San Francisco-based KQED hosts some of their content on the web with a focus on Bay Area issues, arts and news.
    • The Museum of Modern Art has exclusive interviews with artists, commentary on trends and educational videos on different techniques.
    • The National Geographic Channel goes to the ends of the earth to bring the latest discoveries about nature, culture and geology to your screen.
    • New Scientist Magazine underscores new developments in the scientific community including serious inventions, scientific investigation of everyday events and bizzare experiments.
    • Canada’s National Film Board showcases the best trailers, shorts, clips and documentaries from their collection.
    • Popular science show NOVA offers clips of its episodes as well as behind the scenes and special features.
    • Photographer and videographer Philip Scott Johnson shares his works on famous artists, film and art.
    • The Public Broadcasting Station provides clips of many of their shows from children’s programming to nature documentaries.
    • PoliticsTV dissects current events in government including campaigns, scandals and opinion.
    • The Pulitzer Center illuminates developing crises in the world through in depth reporting and high quality video.
    • ReasonTV promotes libertarian perspectives on society, government and the world, as well as home of the Drew Carey Project.
    • Reel NASA presents out-of-this-world videos from in-flight commentary from astronauts to the happenings at the control room.
    • Reuters covers issues around the globe ranging including serious political coverage and entertainment news.
    • ScienCentral investigates the factors that make the world work. Titles are along the lines of “Romance Genes”, “Warming Walden” and “Thin Brains and Depression”.
    • Slate V reports the news from a pop culture perspective with stories on Apple, Facebook and Sesame Street.
    • Poetry read by Tom O’Bedlam is some of the world’s most popular poems accompanied by photographs and delivered straight to your eardrums.
    • Steve Spangler Science instills his passion for science in the public with his simple but entertaining experiments.
    • The Sundance Channel features previews and clips of original series from their televisions outlet.
    • Mark Molaro’s Alcove features interviews with some of the world’s greatest thinkers and most successful entrepreneurs.
    • San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club discusses issues of interest to the public in the fields of politics, economics and society.
    • CommonCraft’s videos demystifies complex ideas and make them accessible to anyone.
    • The Davos Debates are the culmination of the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting where business people, journalists and politicians discuss the most pressing challenges we face.
    • TED Talks are well respected for their highly influential speakers, interesting topics and quality.