Research tells us that video is an effective medium to provide new information and facilitate learning (Brame, 2015). Using a tool to host course videos is an important step in academic video production - if your students cannot find and play your videos, your effort will be wasted.
Choosing a video hosting platform that fits your instructional needs ensures that your videos:
- play smoothly and reliably on screens big and small
- are accessible to all students
- produce video usage analytics that can inform your instructional practice
Why not put all my course videos in my Canvas site?
While it is technically possible to upload videos to a Canvas site, it is not recommended for the following reasons:
- Canvas is a course management system, not a video streaming service, so it does not have optimized playback. This means that Canvas cannot calibrate playback according to the viewer's screen size and bandwidth.
- There is no workflow to get your videos captioned or to collect video usage analytics.
- Large video files will reduce the 4 gigabytes course file storage allocation.
Using a designated video hosting platform, such as Kaltura or YouTube is a better option to host course videos. Both platforms are supported at the University of Minnesota and allow for embedding within Canvas, meaning that your videos will live on the Kaltura or YouTube platform, and students can view/play the videos within Canvas.
How to choose a video hosting platform?
There are several criteria you can use to determine if a specific video hosting platform is a good option for your needs.
- Video hosting options - uploading videos to a designated server and sharing online.
- Video recording options - capturing images and the accompanying soundtrack, if any, to be played back later.
- Video editing options - the process by which video shots are cut, rearranged, or manipulated to create a new work.
- Video privacy and security - privacy relates to any rights you or your students have to control personal information and how it’s used; security refers to how personal information is protected. All personal data must be protected.
- Accessibility - creating products that are usable by users with the widest possible range of abilities, operating within the widest possible range of situations.
- Usage Analytics - data on how your students are interacting with your video materials, e.g., who watched your video, for how long, how many times, and what hardware was used.
- Customization - organizing your video content by creating channels, playlists, and applying themes.
- Video quizzing - inserting questions or reflection statements in a video to help students stay engaged and focused.
Here is an at-a-glance comparison of Kaltura and YouTube functionalities. (Download a PDF version.)
Kaltura
Kaltura allows you to:
- upload videos recorded in multiple formats
- record new videos (webcam, screen capture, voiceovers, picture-in-picture)
- control access to your videos as private or published (on a course site)
- have your videos automatically captioned
- collect video usage data per video (who uploads/owns, total viewing time, how many times a video was watched)
- collect video usage data per user (what videos were watched, how many times, for how long, when skipped or stopped watching a video)
- customize the viewing experience for your students
- create low-stake assessment and evaluation activities using the Kaltura Video Quiz option
YouTube
YouTube allows you to:
- upload and host pre-recorded videos, but will not be able to use YouTube to record new videos.
- set your videos as public, private, or unlisted
- have your videos automatically captioned
- view video usage data: reach (number of unique viewers, geographic location, device type) and engagement (how many views, how long a video was watched, average and total viewing time)
- customize the viewing experience for your students
Recommendations: Which one is best to use?
Kaltura is our #1 choice as a video host because it is easy for students to search and access course videos within a Canvas course site. YouTube is your best option if your goal is to reach a broader audience, beyond course enrollment.
Citation
Brame, C.J. (2015). Effective educational videos. Vanderbilt Center for Teaching. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/effective-educational-videos/
Resource
To further explore this topic, enroll in Using media in course design. This self-paced online course provides an overview of:
- theoretical frameworks that guide the creation of videos for learning
- strategies to boost the quality of your videos
- examples of how to effectively embed video content within your Canvas course site