Online Video Project

Educational videos online anytime, anywhere!

Now the JMU community can access online educational videos from vendors such as Films Media Group and Annenberg Media. These videos can be viewed in the classroom or on the desktop without ever having to make a trip to the library for check out or return. After a successful pilot project with one hundred titles in Fall 2004 we are continuing to add new videos to the collection. The goal is to have 1400 online videos available by summer 2006.

Project status

There are 1052 online videos in the collection as of July 1, 2006. Three quarters of the way to goal!

Try it out, it's easy!

You can access the online video collection through the Madison Digital Image Database (MDID) at http://did.cit.jmu.edu.

Log in with your JMU eID and password, then click on Browse or Search and choose "Online Video Collection" from the collection menu. Direct links to the individual titles can be pasted into Blackboard, course web pages, email, etc. In MDID, change the viewing option to "Show More Information" and look for the URL in the Direct Link field to cut-and-paste.

The online videos will also be listed in LEO, the library catalog. The "Connect to online video" link in the LEO listing will take you to the MDID for viewing the video.

To view the online videos all you need is a supported web browser (Internet Explorer 5 or higher, Mozilla, or Safari) plus the free QuickTime media player (version 6 or higher). If you do not already have Quicktime installed on your computer you can download it here. Two streaming options are provided for each title: a 500k option for fast, on-campus connections, and a 300k option for off-campus broadband connections, such as cable modem or DSL. (Note: Dial-up modems will not work well.) Faculty also have the option to download videos for local playback if the license allows. This option is especially useful for group viewing in classrooms.

Tell us what you think!

If you have any questions or comments about the Online Video Project please contact Jeff Clark, Director of Media Resources, or the Center for Instructional Technology. We are very interested in getting feedback on your experiences with the online videos to help us improve the service as we continue adding program titles.

More Online Video Project Information

Online Video Collections: Transition to Media Check-Out to Media Streaming (pdf) - This presentation from the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference, October 2005 reviews project background, describes technologies used, and discusses copyright and licensing issues.