Exploration through the periodicals may be a familiar, comfortable, method to conducting academic research. What if the opportunity to collect data came at the effort of clicking a single "Play" button? The Nancy Thompson Library offers this method through its subscription to two video-based research databases: ‘Films on Demand' and ‘Theatre
‘Films on Demand' is a digital educational video and multimedia provider which hosts thousands of titles spanning across subject areas of the humanities, social and physical sciences, history, visual and performing arts, instructional, and much more. With a July 2011 update to the databases navigation system, searching for just the right videos through the multitude offered is now even easier.
Users can view newly added videos to each subject included in the Nancy Thompson subscription to Films on Demand right at the database's homepage. This format not only features six videos of the most active and new added videos of a film section, such as ‘Anthropology' or ‘Archival Films & Newsreels', the first two featured sections; but this division will also detail the current title count within that section and provide a link into a subject filter if the user feels the section is what they are searching for. A subject filter link is also provided next to the ‘Home' link within the top bar of the database.
For more specific research subject searches, a newly cross-link search bar is also available. Films on Demand also offers a filter option that separates titles in platform collects, such as ‘ABC Nightline' specials and "History Channel Education' videos.
In order to make database usage even more accessible to users, July 2011 enhancements have adapted to iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. Conveniently, students may also access the Kean Mobile app on each of these devices, as well.
Students seeking videos specifically on topics within the world of theater, stage work, and opera, a more concentrated database is available – ‘Theatre‘Theatre‘Theatre
Both ‘Films on Demand' and ‘Theatre
Another application for the videos featured on these two databases is to incorporate videos or segments of the video into classroom presentations such as those based in Microsoft Powerpoint. This kind of application may increase the learning styles in which a presentation delivery is formatted.
