Documentary Wire is a community driven search engine designed to bring you the documentaries on the Internet. View their collection and select from interesting and educational documentaries to watch free Online.
Type of Material:
Collection.
Recommended Uses:
This would be best used as supplementary material for a course.
Technical Requirements:
Ability to watch/stream documentaries. Tested in Firefox and Chrome.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
This is a collection of documentaries that allows educators to locate relevant documentaries on various topics. Topics of interest to sociologist might include: 9/11, biography, conspiracy, drugs, economics, environment, health, law, media, history, military and war, politics, religion, science, sexuality, society, sports, and technology.
Target Student Population:
Advanced high school students or college students would seem to be the target audience. The films represented cover the entire spectrum of documentary films: education, society, conspiracy theories, etc.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
None.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
This is a resource that provides access to hundreds of documentaries. There is something for everyone here. Because the site provides suggestions for documentaries that are similar, it makes it easier to find the right one. This would aid those that are interested in comparing perspectives on an issue. A skilled instructor could use this resource to shed light on nearly any social process.
Concerns:
Many videos are not viewable online. One of the films reviewed was hosted on YouTube and had been removed for copyright violations.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
Documentaries provide a visual and emotional spin on topics that can engage the students at a deeper level. Provides summaries of many wide-ranging documentaries.
Concerns:
Instructors will have to locate materials offline. The website is not easily searchable.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
Any person with a functioning internet connection could use the material.
Concerns:
No search function. Many of the documentaries are blocked from online viewing in the United States. Some videos have been removed for copyright violations.
Creative Commons:
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