Google Video gets academic: Google 'coursecasting' university class lectures

Will “hitting the books" soon be replaced by "downloading the video”?

The University of California, Berkeley, announced it is “delivering educational content, including course lectures and symposia, free of charge through Google Video.” The campus is providing Google with more than 250 hours of video content for public viewing through Google Video at a dedicated micro-site (video.google.com/ucberkeley.html).

Proud UC Berkeley alum, Google CEO Eric Schmidt (doctoral degree, 1982, and master's degree, 1979) applauded the “progressive university” for making “undiscovered lectures and entire courses available to our users."

For UC Berkeley, its Google Video micro-site furthers its mission to be a “leader in knowledge-sharing through open-access online video.”

Christina Maslach, vice provost for undergraduate education underscores it is: 

a wonderful opportunity to share UC Berkeley's amazing faculty with a global community of lifelong learners. We see this endeavor as one part of our expanding digital bridge that is directly connecting the public we serve with the intellectual riches of the campus.

UC Berkeley’s collaboration with Google complements its “open video” initiative launched in 2001 to make academic content available to the public. Its Educational Technology Services division has been webcasting lectures and special events to students and the public and will continue to host (webcast.berkeley.edu) the campus's inventory of video content supplied by taped events and lecture rooms that are wired for automated webcasting.

UC Berkeley FAQ on copyright: 

Can I download a webcast archive to my harddrive or obtain a CD-ROM?
Copyright issues prevent us from supporting unauthorized copying of webcasts.

ALSO SEE: "Google vs. Microsoft: Do you want Google to be your 'librarian"?