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Streaming Video: Tips for Instructors: AVON

How to make best use of the library's streaming video databases for your courses!

Go to the database

Link to an AVON video

  1. Display the main page for the video you want.
  2. Click the Share tab.
    AVON tabs with "Share" tab highlighted
  3. Choose Copy Permalink from the bottom of the screen.
    "Copy Permalink" button with URL to the left of it
  4. Paste the URL into your Web page. 
  5. Add the library's proxy prefix to the front of the URL: http://libproxy.lib.csusb.edu/login?url=

A correctly formed URL will look something like this:

http://libproxy.lib.csusb.edu/login?url=https://video.alexanderstreet.com/embed/cyrano-de-bergerac-2 

If the URL you copied already had the proxy information included, that works too, and you don't need to add anything. Example:

https://video-alexanderstreet-com.libproxy.lib.csusb.edu/watch/cyrano-de-bergerac-2

Example: ​ Cyrano de Bergerac

NOTE: Embedding for AVON videos is available for Blackboard.

  1. From the Blackboard “Build Content” menu, choose Academic Video Online.
  2. You will see an AVON search screen. Look for the video you want.
  3. When you find the desired video, choose either one of the “Embed” options below the title.
  4. You will see a confirmation window, which should say "Success!"
  5. Return to your course content list. The video will not appear embedded, but when you click on the link, the video will load within Blackboard, ready to play.

Or, link out to the video as described above (in Blackboard, that's Build Content > Create > Web Link) .

Create & Link to a Clip

Create Your Clip

To create a clip in AVON, you must first have a personal AVON account. To create one, click the person icon in the upper right corner, then use the option to register as a new user. 
The person icon is next to the Search box.

  1. In AVON, navigate to the video you want to use. 
  2. Make note of the timestamp for the beginning of segment you want to clip, such as 35:46, and its end, such as 41:03.
  3. Click the Clips tab from the menu above the video player. 
    AVON menu bar with "Clips" option highlighted.
  4. ​AVON will prompt you to sign in to your personal account to create clips. If you have already signed in, you will get a button labeled "Create a new clip." Click it to proceed.
    AVON "Create a new clip" prompt
  5. The "Create a clip" options will appear. Clip Title is required; it will be visible when you share the clip. You may also want to enter a short description
    Create a clip with Title, Description, and start/finish values supplied.
  6. Drag the playhead markers to the appropriate start & finish points for your clip, or just type the timestamps into the start & finish boxes. 
  7. MAKE THE CLIP VISIBLE WITHIN YOUR INSTITUTION!!! Otherwise your students will not be able to view it.
    Change only visible to you to Institutional: Visible within your institution.
  8. Click the Save Changes button.

Link to Your Clip

Once your clip is created, it will appear in your Clips area.

  1. Click the 3-dot icon on the clip.
    Clip entry with 3-dot icon highlightedC
  2. Chose Share.
    Clip entry with option "Share" highlighted.
  3. Choose Copy Permalink and paste the URL into your Web page. (The library does NOT recommend the embed option!)
  4. Add the library's proxy prefix to the front of the URL: http://libproxy.lib.csusb.edu/login?url=
  5. When your students follow the link to the clip, it will play only the segment you have selected.