Kaltura


Kaltura is a platform that allows instructors and students to record, upload, and share video content. Kaltura is integrated with Canvas, and students can access video content directly within the Canvas course site.


NOTE: In April 2023 UBC moved Kaltura videos to the Kaltura cloud as part of the Enterprise Video Platform project.

Record a video using Kaltura

If you want to record a video using Kaltura and then make it available to students in Canvas, there are two options: (1) New Webcam Recorder and (2) Kaltura Capture. The table below describes the differences between the two. 


New Webcam RecorderKaltura Capture
  • No application download required before recording
  • Records you but does not record your computer screen
  • Cannot pause while recording
  • Automatically uploads to your personal repository (My Media) in Canvas.
  • Must download Kaltura Capture before recording
  • Records you and your computer screen
  • Can pause while recording
  • Automatically uploads to your personal repository (My Media) in Canvas.

 

NOTE: Once your video has been recorded (with either Kaltura Capture or New Webcam Recorder) and uploaded to My Media, the final step is to make it visible to students in Canvas.

Option 1: New Webcam Recorder

  1. In your Canvas course, click on My Media in the course navigation menu.
  2. Click on Add New > New Webcam Recorder.
  3. Click on the red round button to start recording. A three-second countdown will appear.
  4. Click on the white square button to stop recording. Once you stop the recording, a preview of the recording will appear, allowing you to play the recording. You will be presented with three options:
    • Record Again to discard the recording and start a new one.
    • Download a Copy to save a copy of the recording onto your computer.
    • Use This to confirm you want to use this recording.
  5. After clicking Use This, add a title and description to the video, then select the relevant Copyright Permission option from the drop-down menu and fill in any other details, such as title or tags, as needed.
  6. Scroll down the page and click Save. Your recording will automatically upload to your My Media in Canvas.

Option 2: Kaltura Capture

You will first need to download the Kaltura Capture Desktop Recorder to your computer.

Download Kaltura Capture Desktop Recorder

  1. In your canvas course, click on My Media from the course navigation menu.
  2. Click on Add New > New Webcam Recorder.
  3. You will be redirected to a page to download the application. At the bottom of the page, you will see two links: Download for Windows | Download for Mac. Click on the appropriate link to download the Kaltura Capture application.
  4. Once the application has downloaded, follow the instructions in the window that appears to install the application.
  5. Return to your Canvas course site and refresh the page.

After you have downloaded the application, you are ready to record your video.

Record a video

  1. In your Canvas course site, click on My Media > Add New > New Kaltura Capture.
  2. A pop-up message will ask you to open Kaltura Capture. Click Open Kaltura Capture.
  3. The Kaltura Capture toolbar will appear. Use the toolbar to enable or disable the following recording options:
    • Camera: turn on your webcam and record yourself
    • Screen: record your computer screen
    • Audio: record your audio

  4. NOTE: you can have one, two, or all options enabled at the same time. By default, the camera and audio will be off, and the screen will be on.


  5. Click on the red button in the toolbar to start recording.
  6. Click on the white square button to stop recording.
  7. After you stop recording, a new window will appear. Add a title and description to your video.
  8. A preview of the recording will also appear, allowing you to play the recording before saving it.
  9. When you are ready to save your recording, click Save & Upload. Your recording will be uploaded to your personal repository (My Media) in Canvas.

NOTE: It may take some time for your recording to appear in your My Media page. Refresh the page if you don’t see your video.

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Upload a pre-recorded video to Kaltura

If you have a video file on your computer (e.g., Zoom local recording, Camtasia video file), you can upload it to Kaltura so that students can access it in Canvas.

  1. In your Canvas course, click on Media Gallery from the course navigation menu.
  2. Click the + Add Media button in the top right-hand corner.
  3. Click Add New > Media Upload.
  4. Click Choose a file to upload and select the video from your computer.
  5. Select the relevant Copyright Permission option from the drop-down menu and fill in any other details, such as a title or tags, as needed.
  6. Click Save. The uploaded video will appear in your Media Gallery.

Your students will be able to access your recording by clicking on Media Gallery in the course navigation menu.

To view a detailed step-by-step video of this process, please see our How to Upload Pre-Recorded Videos to Kaltura tutorial.

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Edit a video using the video editor

  1. Upload the video you wish to edit to Kaltura. For instructions on how to do so, refer to the Kaltura user guide.
  2. Go to My Media in your Canvas course.
  3. Select the video you wish to edit by clicking on the title of the video.
  4. Under the video preview window, click on Actions, then select Launch Editor. This will bring you to Kaltura’s video editor.


  5. You can now use the editor to clip, trim, or splice the video.
  6. Once you are done, click Save.

For more details about Kaltura’s video editing tools, refer to Kaltura’s website. For FAQs and more general information about Kaltura, refer to the Kaltura user guide.

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Publish a video to Canvas

 

After your video is uploaded to your My Media page in Canvas, you will need to make your video visible to students. You can do this by adding it to your Media Gallery and/or embedding it in Canvas using the Rich Content Editor. By adding videos to the Media Gallery, students will be able to see them by clicking Media Gallery on the course navigation menu. The Rich Content Editor embeds videos on any page that has the editor, like an announcement or quiz.

 

Add Video to Media Gallery

  1. Click on My Media.
  2. Click on the video you want to make available to students.
  3. Click on Actions > Edit.
  4. Check to ensure you have a Copyright Permission selected.
  5. Click Save.
  6. Click Go to Media to return to the video overview page.
  7. Click on Actions > Publish.
  8. Select Published.
  9. Select the course(s) you want to publish the video to.
  10. Click Save.

 

Your students will be able to access your recording by clicking on Media Gallery on the course navigation menu.

 

NOTE: Instructors cannot view published recordings in the Media Gallery using Student View. To view your course content as a student, create a Basic CWL account by following the instructions here, then contact LT.support@science.ubc.ca to request that your new CWL account be added to your course as a “Test Student”.

Embed video using Rich Content Editor

In Canvas, Kaltura videos can be embedded on any page that has a Rich Content Editor (e.g., content page, announcement, discussion post, quiz, assignment).

  • A pop-up window will display media files that were previously uploaded and stored in your My Media.
  • Click on Embed and wait for the video to appear (it may take a couple of seconds).
  • Scroll to the bottom of the page. Click Save to save your changes to that page without publishing it or Save & Publish to save any changes and make the page visible to students.

To view a detailed step-by-step video of this process, please see our How to Publish a Video to Canvas tutorial.

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Publish a Video Outside of Canvas

If you need to share videos outside of Canvas, you can upload them to the Kaltura web portal (learning.video.ubc.ca.) and obtain a shareable link or embed code to post on another platform.

Upload a video to the Kaltura web portal
  1. Log into learning.video.ubc.ca using CWL.
  2. Click on Add New from the navigation bar.
  3. Under Media Upload, select any video from laptop or PC.  
  4. Add description and tags.
  5. Select publishing status as unlisted and set copyright settings as per your preference.
  6. Click on Save.

Embed/Link a video from the Kaltura web portal to another platform
  1. Click on your profile on the top right corner.
  2. Click on My Media.
  3. Click and go into the specific video you would like to embed/link.
  4. Scroll below the video and click on the Share tab.
  5. To get a shareable link to the video, go to the Link to Media Page tab. You can copy the shareable link that starts with learning.ubc.ca
  6. To get the embed code of the video, go to Embed tab.

Create interactive video quizzes with Kaltura

Adding Interactive Video Quizzes (IVQ) to Kaltura media lets you embed quiz questions directly in your video.

Create an Interactive Video Quiz (IVQ)
  1. First, log in to Canvas and click My Media in the Course Navigation for your course.
  2. Click Add New and select Video Quiz from the list of options that are displayed.
  3. On the left of the media for which you want to create a quiz, click Select. This action will launch the Kaltura Editor with the quiz options loaded.
  4. Play the video or click the bottom timeline at a point where you want to insert a question.
  5. On the media preview, click Add a Question and select the question type.
  6. To complete adding the question follow the prompts, then click Save.
  7. Keep repeating this process for every additional question.
  8. Click Done, once all quiz items have been added.

Edit an Interactive Video Quiz (IVQ)
  • To edit an Interactive Video Quiz (IVQ), first, log into Canvas and click My Media in the course Navigation for your course. Then click Filters and check the box for “Quiz”. After this, click on the pencil icon on the right side of the quiz you want to edit and click Launch Editor to open the editor and edit your quiz. Once you have finished editing you can click Done on the top right.

FAQs

Kaltura interactive quizzes cannot be added to the Media Gallery. Instead, you can assign interactive quizzes as assignments to allow them to be synced with the Gradebook:
  1. Select External Tool for submission type and select Kaltura - Video Quiz.
  2. Select a video from My Media.
  3. Click Select again in the Configure External Tool window.
  4. Save and publish the assignment.

To enable media downloads:
  1. Go into Media Gallery and select the video you’d like students to download.
  2. Click on the three dots, then select the Edit icon. This will bring you to a new page, where you can edit your video.
  3. Scroll down and select Downloads.
  4. Have the format you’d like to make available selected, then click Save.
Students should now be able to find the download option under Details.

Sometimes you may want to use media in a course where the original ownership rests with someone else. First, you will need to ensure that the copyright holder(s) of the media have agreed to provide UBC with a non-exclusive irrevocable license to use the media as part of UBC course materials. Then you can contact the LT Hub (email: LT.hub@ubc.ca) to help transfer administrative ownership of the media from their Kaltura account to yours. In taking on ownership, you will accept full responsibility of the content and agree to adhere to any copyright permissions previously assigned to the media.

You need to first upload the media to the Kaltura web portal by logging onto learning.video.ubc.ca. Please refer to the Publish a Video Outside of Canvas instructions.

You will need to ensure you have written approval from the original copyright holder(s) of the media. Please forward the approval to Science LT (LT.support@science.ubc.ca) and request to transfer the administrative ownership of the media to your account. In taking on ownership, you will accept full responsibility for the content and agree to adhere to any copyright permissions previously assigned to the media.

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Last updated on: August 17, 2023

Learning technology support

If you have any questions or if you would like to report an issue regarding a learning technology, please don’t hesitate to contact us at LT.support@science.ubc.ca. For in-person support, please join our LTRs at one of our drop-in sessions.