Students at the University of California, Berkeley can now make the claim that their higher education is brought to them by Google. That’s because Google Video is “delivering educational content, including course lectures and symposia, free of charge” as “part of UC Berkeley’s commitment to the broadest possible dissemination of knowledge for the benefit of our state, the nation and the world.”
“Because of the quality and quantity of these video offerings, UC Berkeley will be the first university with its own page on the Google Video Web site,” according to a press release. In terms of “quantity,” there’s a significant amount - “the campus is making more than 250 hours of content available to the public . . . “
Christina Maslach, the UC Berkeley vice provost for undergraduate education, was quoted in the release. “Google Video presents us with a wonderful opportunity to share UC Berkeley’s amazing faculty with a global community of lifelong learners,” she said. “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.”
Google’s CEO seemed happy to help. Eric Schmidt did, as the press release noted, receive “both his doctoral degree (1982) and master’s degree (1979) from UC Berkeley.”
“Google appreciates the opportunity to partner with progressive universities like UC Berkeley to make undiscovered lectures and entire courses available to our users,” Schmidt was quoted as saying. “UC Berkeley’s content - much of which wasn’t easily accessible online - will enhance the comprehensive and diverse range of offerings by Google Video.”
UC Berkeley’s Google Video page is available here. I’m not suggesting that you watch all of Professor Marian Diamond’s 50-minute lecture on the muscular system (not that you shouldn’t - I have nothing against Professor Diamond), but it’s interesting to see what’s available. It may only be a matter of time before other schools follow suit.
Tag: Google, UC Berkeley
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