Video Lectures

Let's get started with a quick introduction to the variety of Kaltura tools available, which you can access by clicking the My Media tab on the left blue navigation bar in Canvas . The My Media tab contains a suite of tools for recording, storing, and sharing audio/video content in Canvas. Included is Kaltura Capture, a free screencasting tool you can use to record lectures, demonstrations, podcasts, and more.

This video offers a brief overview of Kaltura and its home in Canvas, the My Media tab.  We'll spend a few minutes describing the variety of tools available within to create and share multimedia content, with a particular focus on installing the free desktop recorder, Kaltura Capture.

Watch (5min): My Media and Installing Kaltura Capture

With the Kaltura Capture software installed, it's time to start recording.  This demonstration walks through the process of capturing your voice and screen to create an instructional video, as well as uploading your new video to the My Media tab in Canvas.

Watch(9min): Recording with Kaltura Capture

Many smartphones and tablets have exceptionally high-quality cameras, and when paired with a stylus can make for great digital whiteboards, so they can be great tools for creating video content.  If you prefer to create videos and screen recordings on a mobile device, use the video below to review the process of uploading from your phone or tablet to the My Media tab in Canvas.

Watch(2min): Mobile Device Video to Kaltura

Technology has made it easier to do a chalk and talk online. In this video we will look at three different tools you can use to accomplish this. You'll learn more about tablet computers, drawing tablets, and document cameras.

Watch(11min): Lecture Annotation Options

Watch(2min): How to Setup an Overhead Camera at Home

Add Video to your Course

Kaltura videos can be embedded just about anywhere you see the text box editor in Canvas. This means that it's easy to embed videos throughout your course, including within announcements, pages, assignments, discussion posts, and even test questions.

This next video demonstrates a versatile method for embedding Kaltura videos using the text box editor, allowing you to embed videos in items, announcements, discussion board posts, quiz questions, and more.

Watch(4min): Embedding Video in Blackboard

In-Video Quizzes add interactivity to asynchronous video instruction, allowing you to present quiz questions to students at scheduled intervals during video playback. Keep viewers engaged, aid retention, and perform low-stakes knowledge checks from right within the video player.

In-Video Quizzes add interactivity to asynchronous video instruction, allowing you to present quiz questions to students at scheduled intervals during video playback.  Keep viewers engaged, aid retention, and perform low-stakes knowledge checks within the Kaltura media player.  The following video will walk you through the process of adding interactive quiz questions to your media.

Watch (12min): Creating an In-Video Quiz

Embedding an In-Video Quiz

While a traditional, non-interactive video can be added to a variety of areas within a course, including announcements and discussion board posts, Kaltura video quizzes can only be added as an Assignment. The video below walks through the process of embedding a Kaltura video quiz that will automatically push student scores to the gradebook.

Watch (2min): Embedding an In-Video Quiz

In-Video Quiz Results

Kaltura can pass raw in-video quiz scores to the gradebook automatically, but unfortunately you can't head to the Grades menu to review a student's question-by-question results. To retrieve information about an individual's performance on an IVQ, or the class's overall performance on an individual question, you'll need to access the quiz's Analytics information through the My Media tab.  Follow the steps outlined in the video below to retrieve detailed information about your In-Video Quiz.

Watch (2min): Reviewing In-Video Quiz Results

Accessibility is our primary concern, ensuring that all students have equivalent experiences and access to instructional content, but transcribed audio can offer benefits to all viewers.

Captions as a learning aid

• Majority of caption users, including those without hearing impairments, report that captions help them focus and retain information.  

• Searchable transcripts are an option, allowing students to "skim" videos for keywords to review complex concepts.

A little understanding

• English as a second language - A college campus is an international square, with many students and faculty alike identifying English as their second language.  Some non-native English speakers may find it easier to read than listen.  Likewise, native English speakers who have difficulty understanding accents can benefit from reading along.

• Bad audio - Too quiet, distorted, noisy, echo-y, harsh sibilance.  Few of us have dedicated professional recording spaces at our disposal, so production values sometimes suffer.  When a video has poor audio quality, captions aid comprehension.

Environmental concerns

• Sometimes our content will be viewed in less-than-ideal conditions.  A student might view a video from the library where speakers aren't available or sound would be distracting to other patrons, or perhaps in a noisy environment like public transportation or a cafe.  Captions allow for comprehension of a video in environments that impede listening.

Request Captions

This video walks you through the steps involved in requesting captions for your video.  The process is simple and surprisingly fast, with captions often returned in as quickly as 20 minutes.

Watch (2min): Requesting Captions in Kaltura

Edit Captions

Computer-generated captions are much more accurate than they were just a few years ago, but you're still likely to find some errors in your captions.  What kind of errors are you most likely to encounter?  It's not uncommon for names to be inaccurately interpreted, along with complex scientific words you might regularly use in a lecture on pharmacology or anatomy.  You may also find that you have to add in some punctuation, as your captions may look something like a very long run-on sentence.  Luckily, editing captions in Kaltura isn't too complicated, as we'll see in the video below.

Watch (3min): Editing Captions in Kaltura

Recording lectures, discussion groups, and other similar course-related activities (collectively referred to as “Class Activity”) raises important privacy concerns. These answers to frequently asked questions aim to provide guidance for instructors facing common scenarios involving privacy and recordings of both in-person and remote/online class activities. Please look at the guidance provided by the University of Michigan Office of General Counsel.

Guide: Recording and Privacy Concerns