The Netflix for higher education has arrived. GCC’s library has offered a free trial on the online streaming program, Kanopy, through Oct. 28.
Kanopy’s film collection is one of the largest in the world with more than 26,000 award-winning documentaries, training films and theatrical releases. Many of Kanopy’s films are released when it hits shelves in stores and on demand.

Kimberly Feig, ethnic studies and social sciences professor, recommended the program to the library when discovering that the majority of the videos pertaining to her class were on this streaming service.

“I found out about Kanopy by trying to find films about gender online,” Feig said. “I didn’t have access to the platform so it was really frustrating knowing that the films I needed for my courses were available online but I couldn’t get to them.”

Instead of spending thousands of dollars upfront, faculty and students are provided with free access to Kanopy’s library of films.

Payment is triggered only after a particular film has been watched four times within 12 months, according to the company’s website.
Films watched less than four times are not triggered and libraries don’t pay for those views.

“The library pays around from $150 to $300 every time they purchase a DVD (for educational purposes) it is cost prohibitive we don’t know if everyone will use it. But with Kanopy it is economically beneficial,” shared librarian Adina Lerner. “It is a cost-effective way to deliver information for us.”

It is also beneficial for student research since they can keep the clips in a playlist and embed the videos as a source to share in a presentation.
For example, users are able take a scene from a film and integrate it into their presentation to illustrate their points in a different way.
Freshman psychology major Evelyn Khachadourian gave the program a shot and discovered videos that provided her with additional insight on her current anthropology assignments.

“It’s simple yet effective and it has opened up a whole new spectrum on my mindset,” Khachadourian said.

Lerner also mentioned that the library is 95 percent certain that they will be adding Kanopy to their selection of resources for students.

They held a webinar on Friday for faculty members which demonstrated how they can implement this new program into their curriculum.

Kanopy has created a pathway for students to discover new material for assignments and continue their thought process within the classroom.
“The selection is astounding and intriguing; they have everything from Criterion Collection to older documentaries that are digitally unavailable anywhere else,” Feig said.