The Google Video Store has launched with paid content. I haven't visited Google Video for some time, so a lot of this may have been in there for a while now, but I thought I'd see what was available for the search library or libraries, and got 1,171 results! There seems to be a whole series of profiles of public libraries around the US, but there are also introductions to library skills and research for sale. Of those 1,171 results, you can buy 17 of them. Most of those come from the Nobel Video Library, but there are in fact three videos, Library Skills, A Kid's Guide to the Library, and A First Look at your Library Media Center, that can be purchased for between $2.49 and $4.99. Very interesting. I wonder if someone would buy one of my screencasts for a nickel?
There are 42 hits on a search for distance education or distance learning, all of which are available for free. Except fully half of those are a 21-part series on Hypnotherapy Certification from The Orca Institute. Most, but not all, of the rest seem to be promo-type spots for distance education opportunities at various institutions.
What an interesting resource for the distance student. One of the more difficult types of resources for us to obtain for our distance students is video content, and while the pickings are currently a little slim online, they'll only improve with time, and before you know it students will be able to access high quality resources via the web. Got a student who's looking for information about the Rainbow Warrior? Why not include the results of a Google Video search, which include a few free pieces from Greenpeace on the 20th Anniversary bombing of the ship?
We're going to have to starting putting together new guides to evaluating online content. I don't think I've seen any that address how to tell if a video is propaganda or authoritative!
BTW, the Google Video bookmarklet that I built one year ago(!) still works with the Google Video Store.
Technorati Tags: Google, Video, Bookmarklet, Libraries, DistanceEducation