Video for Classroom Use
The information below is for streaming video for use in the classroom only. If you wish to show a film to a student group on campus as a co- or extra-curricular events, please consult Non-Classroom Use of Streaming Video on Campus.
The Ames Library's streaming video collections can be searched via Ames Library Catalog, by entering your keywords into the search box and limiting by "Format" to "Videos" on the left-hand side of the page. The results list will include licensed videos from Kanopy and Swank, videos from our subscriptions, and DVD's owned by the Ames Library. Watch our video on "Searching for Streaming Videos" for more information.
Information about finding and watching streaming videos from Kanopy and Swank is below.
Streaming Videos by Request
Kanopy: Streaming video database that offers a broad selection of over 25,000 films and documentaries, featuring such producers as Media Education Foundation, Criterion Collection, PBS, California Newsreel, HBO, Kino Lorber, and more.
- To request access to a film
- To request a film for your course, please visit Kanopy and search for your film.
- If we already own a license, you will be able to play the film immediately on the Kanopy site.
- If we do not already own a license, you will see an option to "request" the film. Fill out the request form, including the relevant course number, and we will approve your request. You will receive an email once the request has been approved.
- Please note that the Ames Library Catalog only includes streaming videos we have licensed. The Kanopy site is the best place to search the entire Kanopy collection.
- Other links
Swank Digital Campus: Swank Digital Campus provides colleges and universities with the largest academic streaming collection of its kind. With over 25,000 films, documentaries and TV shows, Swank Digital Campus simplifies film distribution by providing faculty and students a legal streaming resource both on and off campus.
- To request a film for your course, please visit the Swank Digital Campus site and click Login/Register to set up an account.
- Choose "Instructor" then "Create an Account or Log In" to set up an instructor account.
- From off-campus, choose "Sign in Another Way," then create your account.
- Login and search for the film you need, then click on the "request" button and fill out the form. (how to video)
- A library staff member will approve your request and you will receive the link to the film via email.
- All videos licensed through Swank can be found in the Ames Library Catalog.
- Please note that Google Chrome or Firefox are recommended browers for viewing Swank films. Safari is not supported.
- Please contact Stephanie Davis-Kahl with any questions, or see "Accessing Streaming Video with OpenAthens" for help.
Docuseek: provides streaming access to essential independent, social-issue and environmental films from renowned leaders in documentary film distribution.
- To request a film, contact firstname.lastname@example.org. Please include the title of the film and the relevant course number. A library staff member will follow up with you via email.
- To see a list of films we have licensed, please click on My Movies.
Streaming Video Collections
Academic Video Online (AVON) - Delivers more than 66,000 titles spanning the widest range of subject areas including anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more. Supported browsers and systems for AVON for viewing films; learn more about how to integrate active learning features with AVON videos.
Alexander Street Press (cross search all collections) - these streaming collections include subject specific content developed by the BBC, Creative Arts Television, ArtHaus Musik, Pennebaker, Hegedus Films, Insight Media, and many more. For more information about how to create film clips, please watch this short video . You can also integrate active learning features in Alexander Street Press videos.
Feature Films for Education - Hundreds of full-length feature films for educational instructional purposes. Brought to you in partnership with Global Eagle, this outstanding collection focuses on both current and hard-to-find titles, including dramas, literary adaptations, blockbusters, classics, science fiction, environmental titles, foreign films, social issues, animation studies, Academy Award winners, and more.
Filmakers Library Online (ASP) - Provides access to streaming documentatries of over 900 titles in the humanities and social sciences (1978-present).
Open Access videos - Check our Film Resources Research Guide for a listing of freely available streaming videos.
PBS Video Collection - This collection of more than 1,200 streaming videos provides an exceptional range of content with the most valuable video documentaries and series from PBS. From science to history, art to Shakespeare, diversity to business & economics, and more, the PBS Video Collection: Fourth Edition provides access to one of television’s most trusted networks.
Ethnographic Video Online: Volume I & II - This collection has a wide range of streaming video, written ethnographies, field notes, seminal texts, memoirs, and contemporary studies, covering human behavior the world over.
The Teaching Channel - Teaching Channel is a thriving online community where teachers can watch, share, and learn diverse techniques to help every student grow.
Dance in Video - Contain five hundred hours of dance productions and documentaries by the most influential performers and companies of the 20th century. Selections cover ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, experimental, and improvisational dance, as well as forerunners of the forms and the pioneers of modern concert dance.
DigitalTheatre+ - If prompted to Sign In, please enter your IWU email address. Digital Theatre+ is the world’s leading educational platform for the performing arts, providing access to performances and educational materials. "We want the range of content to reflect the diversity and excitement of contemporary theatre and performance around the world and to serve the needs of all our audiences."
Drama Online: Asian Theatre Video Collection - Includes interviews with leading performers and practitioners and as well as filmed performances, documentaries, rehearsal footage, and training videos from Butoh to Bollywood, Bunraku to Topeng.
Medici TV EDU - The world's leading classical music channel. More than 100 live events are broadcast each year, in partnership with the world's most prestigious venues, opera houses, festivals and competitions: Berliner Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Carnegie Hall, Bolshoi Theater, Opéra national de Paris, NCPA, Glyndebourne Festival, Lucerne Festival, Verbier Festival, Salzburg Festival, International Tchaikovsky Competition, International Chopin Piano Competition, Plácido Domingo's Operalia Competition.
Music & Performing Arts - Combines audio and video that spans all time periods, hundreds of thousands of seminal artists, composers, choreographers, and ensembles to provide an unparalleled learning environment for the teaching of music.
Music Online: Classical Music in Video - This collection contains performances of all forms of classical music, including major orchestral performances by leading orchestras, chamber music, oratorio, & solo performances, along with masterclasses & interviews with master teachers from around the world.
Nursing Assessment in Video - Provides demonstrations and step-by-step instructions for performing physical assessments of patients.
Nursing Education in Video - This collection of videos was created specifically for the education and training of nurses, nursing assistants, and other healthcare workers. All of the videos in the collection have been created with the guidance of the Medcom-Trainex advisory board, and are regularly reviewed for accuracy, currency, and compliance with US Federal regulations from agencies such as OSHA and CMS.
Netflix has provided access to selected documentaries for educational use in two ways:
Occasionally faculty will request access to films, documentaries, and original series that are only available as streamed content in Netflix, Amazon, or other subscription services. Unfortunately, these streaming video services generally do not provide a legal way for libraries to acquire and re-distribute their proprietary content, even for classroom use (exception above). Faculty should contact their library liaison to find alternative format or content.
These programs are designed for instructional purposes only and not intended for recreational or home use.