Kaltura

What is Kaltura?

Kaltura is a  video management platform for user-generated content. It is a sustainable and future-proof state-of-the-art solution for teachers, support staff and students to manage video, audio and other visual content. Kaltura works very well with Canvas. Teachers can easily publish their videos within their courses. It is also possible to publish and manage your videos in Kaltura's MediaSpace. In addition to videos, you can also upload audio files or images. Kaltura can handle many different video formats. It is possible to play videos on all kinds of different devices, such as tablets and smartphones.

Who can use Kaltura?

Kaltura can be used by teachers, support staff, and students of VU Amsterdam. 

How easy is it to use Kaltura?

To use Kaltura in Canvas, you need to add My Media and Media Gallery to your Canvas course menu. Subsequently, you can easily add videos to your Canvas course.  Kaltura MediaSpace, a YouTube-like environment, is also available to all VU employees and students. You can use Kaltura Mediaspace by logging in at video.vu.nl with your VUnetID and password. 

Why Kaltura?

Kaltura is  future-proof, open source, well-secured, and easy to integrate with other tools and platforms used by VU Amsterdam. Kaltura is a Software-as-a-Service video platform which was selected for teachers and students, because of its large existing user base, solid services elsewhere, and its seamless integration with learning management systems such as Canvas.

Kaltura is used by many major American universities. Due to its large existing user base, extensive user experience has been gained. Also for teachers and support staff a lot of  information is available.  As Kaltura is already used by many institutions worldwide, management and support of this videoservice can be performed cost-effectively.

Is this a future-proof solution?

Yes, Kaltura is well integrated with the different learning management systems which on the market.  At VU Amsterdam, Kaltura was previously integrated in Blackboard  and nowadays it can also be used in Canvas. In addition, Kaltura is a cloud application which allows us to quickly make use of the latest updates to this video platform and, therefore, also the latest features. 

As Kaltura is an open source system, we are not dependent on one supplier.

How do I manage my media library?

Your media library, My Media, can be managed in Canvas and in video.vu.nl. You can restrict access to your videos in many different ways. Recently, it is also possible with Analytics, to keep track of  all kinds of usage data. For example, you can track which of your videos are viewed the least and which are viewed the most.  

Can I always retrieve, transfer, edit or recode my material?

It is possible to download your own video, see also Kaltura in Canvas: How do I add videos to My media? (below Edit). In this way, you can retrieve the original file and edit your video locally with video editing software. A list with free available video editing software can be found here.  You can also edit your video material directly in Kaltura by using the Launch Editor button that can be found next to your video. For any further questions, see Who can I contact for support?

How much does it cost to use Kaltura? 

Kaltura is financed centrally.

How much material can I store?

Your general use of Kaltura in Canvas, or in video.vu.nl, is not limited to a set number of files or storage space.  For more info, see What is the maximum size of a file I can upload?