In this post, you will learn about ten, free sources of web videos that you can use in a variety of ways for your class(es).
Over 40 billion online videos are watched every month in the US. Moreover, more than half of web traffic is now online video. Online video consumption is here to stay and continues to grow.
So, what does this mean for education in both face-to-face and online settings? Certainly, it means there is a ton of noise that we need to sift through to find relevant, educational content. In this post, we have hand picked ten, free, online video resources that you may want to use as part of your syllabus, for both in- and out-of-class activities or assignments.
For more on how you may want to use video as part of class, check out our post “Five Ways to Use Video In the Classroom”.
YouTube
Overview: Virtually infinite content, great for general uses.
URL: youtube.com
The king online video, YouTube now ingests hundreds of hours of video every minute! This is the main advantage of using YouTube, that is, the sheer volume of useful content that can be found throughout the site. For instance, YouTube houses the likes of Khan Academy, TED Talks, and many other collections of educational and inspiring videos. However, with that kind of volume, the major downside of YouTube is the amount of noise and irrelevant content one has to sift through.
Vimeo
Overview: Great for high resolution, professional video content
URL: vimeo.com
Vimeo is perhaps the most “artsy” option on this list as it is house to most video producers and filmmakers around the world. With over 170 million users and 715 million views per month, Vimeo is certainly a powerhouse and great hub of content. Like YouTube however, it can take time to find the right videos given the sheer volume but presentations, talks, and other educational content is just a couple of searches away.
Metacafe
Overview: Great source for user generated content and an easy navigation.
URL: metacafe.com
Metacafe focuses on short form, original content. With millions of views and visitors, the site is rich with interesting videos. Using Metacafe is quite easy and the site has some great categories and simple tags to find the content you’re looking for. The downside of using this site is that the number of education specific videos may be limited.
Dailymotion
Overview: Big library, great for finding content you may not find on YouTube.
URL: dailymotion.com
The “YouTube of Europe”, Dailymotion is one of the most visited sites in the world. Much like YouTube, it has a ton of content which has its pros and cons.
PBS Video
Overview: Perfect for niche content.
URL: pbs.org/video
PBS has a great collection of videos across different categories. On this site, you may find TV shows, videos about arts & culture, or even history and food. With rich educational content, PBS is a great source of free web videos.
National Geographic
Overview: Beautiful, originally produced videos on inspiring and thought provoking topics.
URL: video.nationalgeographic.com
Nat Geo has some beautiful videos about a number of topics. The site is full of enriching, educational content.
Archive.org
Overview: Amazing variety from older, black and white films, to short clips.
URL: archive.org
“Internet Archive is a non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, and more”, as described on the site. Specifically, the video section has many short form and long form video content, from a ten second clip following a bee’s flight to old, classic films.
TeacherTube
Overview: Education centric, great for lesson plans and other class specific materials.
URL: teachertube.com/browse
TeacherTube is a great resource for any educator. There, you will find tutorials, lesson content, and other user generated videos. Very education specific, which is great, however it may lack the volume of content and topics breadth of some of the sites listed above.
Fora TV
Overview: Thought provoking content, great for presentations/talks.
URL: fora.tv
Fora.tv is similar to TED Talks in that the videos cover interesting speakers speaking about interesting topics. Lots of content and a great source for your class(es).
NASA Videos
Overview: Perfect source for space, science, and engineering related videos.
URL: nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery
NASA has some beautiful footage of space and other video content related to engineering/space. While it is narrow in focus, we thought it deserved a spot on the list as a source of content that can lead to interesting research and/or discussions in an educational setting.
About Acclaim
Acclaim is a secure, video platform used in classrooms across the country. Teachers and students can easily record, upload, organize, and collaborate around videos files as part of class activities, discussions, and assignments.