Alexander Street is a comprehensive video database which delivers video titles spanning a wide range of subject areas, including anthropology, business, counseling, film, health, history, music, and more. Curated for the educational experience, the massive depth of content and breadth of content-types (such as documentaries, films, demonstrations, etc.) makes this database a useful resource for faculty and students alike. ("Academic Video Online")
Webster has access to three primary Alexander Street Collections: Academic Video Online (AVON), Counseling and Therapy in Video, and Music and Performing Arts. More specific subject collections can be found through the links below.
The AVON Collection currently includes collections of videos that are available to Webster University users, as well as some with 'sample' content that are not. To search only for content to which we have access, from the AVON Video Collection:
After you search, you may then click the 'Filter' menu to limit your results by subject, publisher, person, content type (documentary, instructional, news, performance) and release date.
Move your cursor over the video thumbnail and click on the (i) for more information and access to the video controls.
Play the video to access a menu that will allow you to view additional information and share the content.
Transcript*: A rolling transcript and the ability to search it.
Details: About the video production. May also include supplemental materials available for download.
Clips: Sign in to your personal Alexander Street account to create a clip from the video.
Interactions: Sign in to your personal Alexander Street account to embed discussion prompts or quizzes
Add to Playlist: Sign in to your personal Alexander Street account to add this video to a personal playlist.
Share:Copy the code to embed the video in a secure website like World Classroom / Canvas.
Cite: Capture the APA, Chicago, or MLA citation for a video. It is a best practice to include the citation when you link to or embed a video.
Closed captioning and transcripts* are available (and searchable) for Alexander Street videos. However, this content may be unedited, so it may not be a true representation of the audio.
By making a free personal account, you can have access to more tools from Alexander Street, such as creating clips, making playlists, saving videos to a watchlist, and embedding learning materials into a video.
"To create a detailed clip, select the Clips tab in the main header and ‘Create a New Clip’. Give your clip a useful title. Indicate the start and end times for the clip. Add some annotation or notes to give the clip some context. Indicate how widely you want this clip to be shared - just you, your class/group, your institution, or everyone, then hit Save. Please note, you must be signed in to your User Profile to create or edit a clip." ("General Platform Help")
"A playlist is a list of films, curated by a user. A playlist can be shared with others or can be kept private. Once logged into a user profile, a user can create a playlist by clicking the playlist icon, from any video. A user will be prompted to provide a name and description for the playlist, and select a visibility setting (private, institutional, or public). Playlists can be edited, copied, or deleted from within the user profile. Playlists can be shared with others, the same as videos, by permalink, embed code, or LTI launch URL." ("General Platform Help")
A new feature for Alexander Street, with an account you can embed different learning materials into an interactions menu on a video. Alexander Street has different kinds of interactions that can be created, such as quizzes, polls, discussion boards, and more. Follow the link below to learn more about this new learning tool.
Alexander Street groups its content into "Channels", which are a collection of videos with similar subjects. Channels can be sorted by genre, historical figure or event, or by shared publishers or series. This allows you to browse based on your specific topics of interest.
Disclaimer: A Channel may include samples of content that Webster does not have access to. See the "Sample Videos" box to learn more about this.
If you search "All Channels" (rather than searching AVON) or "All videos," you may retrieve content which Webster University does not have access to. These videos are labeled "Sample." You may watch a small portion of the video or be able to get access for a limited time.
The Library may be able to purchase AVON sample videos for faculty to use in teaching a course. Please consult your Subject Librarian or your international campus librarian for more information.
