Blackboard Users Can Access Digital News Reports via Global Campus License

University of Arkansas faculty, staff and students can access primary source videos, newsreels, documents and images from a national news network through a license acquired by the Global Campus.

The Global Campus bought a one-year license to the NBC Learn Higher Ed site to allow U of A Blackboard users to download or stream more than 12,000 videos of current and historical events. Providing services and tools to academic colleges and schools to enhance online and distance education is one of the Global Campus goals.

“We are excited about providing this resource,” said Miran Kang, director of instructional design and support services at the Global Campus. “This license gives educators – especially those teaching online or blended courses – another tool to engage students in the learning process. What attracted me is it is so easy to use.”

Students can search for topics that relate to assignments, and they can cite these primary source videos in reports or post clips to blog sites and other interactive course tools.

NBC Learn digital stories come from the NBC News archives, one of the largest news archives in the world. Images and videos date back to the 1920s.

With this tool, U of A Blackboard users can find clips about the 1937 disappearance of Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean; watch Martin Luther King Jr. as he delivers his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech; or hear President Ronald Reagan ask Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987 to tear down the Berlin Wall.

“It’s a trusted news source,” Sean Orme, instructional designer, said of NBC. “You can be sure of the information.”

Videos are edited for educational purposes and usually run about 2 to 5 minutes, Kang said. U of A Blackboard users can click the “Mashup” tool to access NBC Learn. Videos can be saved to a playlist, embedded into an online course or forum, or downloaded onto a computer or device. Videos include transcripts and citations, and they are captioned for the hearing impaired.

Videos can be used for research, projects and teaching online or in the classroom. To learn more, visit http://highered.nbclearn.com/portal/site/HigherEd.

The Global Campus supports academic colleges and schools in the development and administration of online and distance education courses, Independent Study (correspondence) courses, and continuing education offerings, including professional development classes.  Visit http://globalcampus.uark.edu to learn more.