Films On Demand - Affirmative Action under Fire: When Is It Reverse Discrimination?

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Films Media Group is the leading source of high-quality video and multimedia for academic, vocational and life-skills content. Films Media Group serves the education community through its four brands: Films for the Humanities and Sciences, Cambridge Educational, Meridian Education, and Shopware.

A Wealth of Information. A World of Ideas

As the leading provider of media for higher education, Films for the Humanities & Sciences (FFH&S) provides academic content for discerning educators working to enrich their students' understanding and stretch their intellectual horizons. Films for the Humanities & Sciences is widely recognized as the exclusive source for educational programs with the broadest and deepest range of content available.

Educators count on Cambridge to provide outstanding media resources that support the development of the whole student, both in and out of the classroom. Cambridge programs provide a practical, accurate, and reliable foundation of knowledge that helps students think through opportunities and choices and reach their potential at school, in work, and in life.

Meridian provides educational resources that are ideal for Career & Technical Education instructors dedicated to the health and service industries. Meridian's library of content provides up-to-date, skill-based educational media that thoroughly prepares students to enter and succeed in the workforce.

Skill by Skill. Step by Step.

Shopware is the leading provider of skills-based, up-to-date educational media that thoroughly addresses specific trade and industrial skills. Shopware assists career and technical education providers in preparing students to enter the workforce through the use of video, print and interactive media.

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We are constantly working to improve the Films On Demand platform for our customers. To stay informed of the newest enhancements, please check this "What's New?" section on a regular basis.

December 9, 2011 Enhancements

We've added a new Admin feature called the Content Widget. Administrators can now display preview clips from any (or multiple) title(s) in their On Demand collection using any HTML page - and its as easy as embedding a video! Admins, please visit the Administration Portal for more information about the Content Widget.

September 30, 2011 Enhancements

We have updated our embed code to provide greater compatibility for our customers that utilize a proxy server. It now has the capability to authenticate using a "referring URL". If you are interested in using this type of authentication, please contact video.support@infobaselearning.com.

We also recognize that there is a rarely one piece of code that will work for every situation. Therefore, we continue to offer the option of using our our old embed code as well. This allows for the highest level of flexibility for our customers.

July 25, 2011 Enhancements

- Bit-Rate Setting – Users can now over-ride the new bit-rate switching functionality by setting their bit-rate in the “My Preferences” area.

July 20, 2011 Enhancements

A new version of the On Demand platform was released with significant enhancements including:

- Redesigned Interface - The new interface is designed to make it simpler to navigate the platform and easier to find and use the videos you need. Our new streamlined interface includes a revised home page that displays a dynamic list of all of the individual subjects to which your institution subscribes, showcasing recently added videos for each. In addition, each subject now has a unique landing page with an authenticated page link. To access a subject page, you can click on the new "Subjects" drop-down menu at the top of any page. To view a complete index of all of the subjects in your institution's collection, click on the new "Index" link at the bottom of any page.

- New Video Player - Our new video player now provides dynamic bit-rate switching for the optimum viewing experience, automatically adjusting within a 200K-through-1.5mb-bitrate range depending on the type of device being used and your available bandwidth; users no longer need to select their target bandwidth themselves from a drop-down menu. As a result of this new player, the Windows Media format is no longer available. Any users with Windows Media as their default setting will be automatically converted to the new embedded player.

- Now iPad Friendly - All of our videos have been re-encoded in H.264 format to allow playback on any iOS device. With our new video player, you can now watch any titles in your On Demand collection on an iPad, iTouch, or iPhone. And our new design is optimized to allow easy navigation of the On Demand platform from either a computer or an iPad with an Internet connection.

- New Special Collections for Key Producers - For our subscription customers, we've added a way to easily browse titles from some of our most popular producers. The "Special Collections" tab at the top of every screen lists these producers; just click on any producer's logo to access a list of all their titles in your collection, organized by subject category.

- Improved Search Options - The basic search has been enhanced with a new Search Assist autocomplete feature: when users type a keyword in the search box, suggested full titles or segment titles that contain that keyword appear as suggestions. Users can now also cross-search multiple subjects and Special Collections using the Advanced Search options.

- Enhanced Usage Statistics - Administrators will now be able to generate usage reports using the individual subjects in their collection. All of the usage data is collected and reported by individual title and subject.

March 31, 2010 Enhancements:

- Source Data - We now display the Title's Source data on the individual view video pages. Source data lets you know where the title originated. In most cases this will be the Producer. For example: If a film was produced by Films for Humanities & Sciences, that information will now display directly on the page below the video player.

March 24, 2010 Enhancements:

- URL Proxy Modifier Update - We have enhanced the URL Proxy Modifier tool to provide more proxy options for your On Demand administrator. These enhancements add greater compatibility options for users that utilize a proxy server. For more information, Account Admins should visit admin.films.com.

March 11, 2010 Enhancements:

- MARC Records - We are pleased to announce that MARC Records are now available for the On Demand video library. They are accessible to On Demand Administrators via the Administration Portal. More detailed information can be found in our Help area.

January 14, 2010 Enhancements:

- IP Address Identification - Users now have the capability to identify their IP address directly from the Configuration Test page in the Help Center. This now provides easy access to this information without having to visit a 3rd party website.

- Bandwidth Speed Test - In addition, we have also added a bandwidth Speed Test to the Configuration Test page. Users can now run this utility to determine their current upload/download speeds.

December 22, 2010 Enhancements:

- Authenticated Embed Code - Films On Demand users now have the ability to embed a Flash video player for all titles and segments into any HTML page. That means that you can now integrate videos from Films On Demand directly into a course website or a course management system and they can be accessed anywhere within your institution's authentication range. If viewed from off-campus or if you are not using IP authentication, users will be prompted to enter a username and password in order to view the embedded video. This allows for enhanced viewing flexibility, while maintaining a secure environment for the content. The authenticated embed code can be found in the Details tab on every View Video page. Simply copy the code and paste it into the desired HTML environment and the film will display. For more detailed instructions about using the embed code, please view the Video Integration Tips PDF.

November 12, 2010 Enhancements:

- Share A Segment - Films On Demand users can now share segments via email. Just click on a segment on the View Video page, click on the share tab, and enter your information to send an email that contains the segment URL.

August 27, 2010 Enhancements:

- New Segment URLs - Films On Demand users can now link directly to a specific segment in any video via the new Segment URL feature. These Segment URLs can be found in the Segments tab on every View Video page. Users can simply copy these URLs into any course management system, online lesson plan or class website. Segment URLs contain authentication information just like the full Title URLs and they can also be shared via email using the new red envelope icon displayed next to each segment.

August 12, 2010 Enhancements:

- Subject Menu Home Pages - Users now have the capability to set a specific subject page as their home page. The selected page will be the first page viewed upon opening / logging in to the platform, and will be accessible from any page via the "Home" tab. This feature can be set by selecting a page from the My Home Page drop down menu in the User Options section of the My Preferences tab. Administrators also have the added capability of setting a home page at the account level.

July 30, 2010 Enhancements:

- Automatic Subject Suppression - In an effort to simplify the browsing process, the View By Subject menu will now only display those subjects that apply to your account. You still have access to all the same titles as before, we simply eliminated all of the extra subjects that displayed overlapping content. This should allow for a more concise browsing experience for the user.

July 26, 2010 Enhancements:

- New Authenticated Title URL Format -On every View Video page and in various Admin Tools, the Title URL now includes authentication information. Any of the old format Title URLs that you have catalogued will still work, but all new Titles moving forward will have this new format. If you are not using IP-based authentication, these new links will take you to a login page, and then once logged in, it will take you to the appropriate video page. In addition to the authentication, another big benefit of the new Title URL format is that the links will now bring you into the platform to view the video, giving you full browsing and search functionality, unlike the Playlist URLs.

July 16, 2010 Enhancements:

- Export to Excel Option for Subject Menus - You are now able to generate an up-to-date list of all titles in a top-level subject area by using the new "Export to Excel" feature located near the bottom of each Subject Menu page. This provides an easy way to get a complete list of titles in a subject collection. The new Title URLs are included in these lists for every title.

- New Search Widgets - Account admins can now access customized HTML code to place an account-specific On Demand search widget on their library's home page. The search widget allows users to do a key word search by segment or by title without logging into the On Demand platform. The widget includes automatic account authentication and takes the user directly to the appropriate search results page. Widgets can be found in the Admin area of the My Preferences section.

To ask a question about any of these enhancements or suggest a future improvement, please contact video.support@infobaselearning.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

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In 1989, a New Jersey high school faced a painful decision: one of two teachers with equal tenure and equivalent credentials—one African-American, the other Caucasian—had to be laid off. By 1995, the reverse discrimination complaint lodged by Caucasian teacher Sharon Taxman had become a national issue of great political and legal significance, leading to a surprising out-of-court settlement funded by civil rights groups. In this program, ABC News correspondent Nina Totenberg reports on that remarkable case, while anchor Cokie Roberts moderates a spirited debate between the President of the NAACP and the Director of Litigation from the Institute for Justice. (22 minutes)

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Copyright date: ©1997

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