kaltura media - a guide for students · pdf filekaltura media - a guide for students (fbl) -...

Kaltura Media - A guide for students (FBL) - draft.

Glenn Duckworth, Learning Technologist, FBL, The University of the West of England. 4 September 2017.

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Kaltura Media - A guide for students Using Kaltura Media for creating, storing and sharing video

(draft version 4 September 2017)

Prepared for the Faculty of Business & Law.

Some of the information in this document is copied from UWE’s Blackboard Support guide to using Kaltura – you can access their Kaltura Media web pages from this link:

http://info.uwe.ac.uk/online/blackboard/students/guides/kaltura/default.asp

Introduction

As part of your programme of studies, you may be asked to produce a video presentation… perhaps for practicing your presentation skills or for an assignment submission. You may be asked to share your video with your tutor and/or your fellow students for assessment or peer comments.

This particular guide looks at one tool available to you through UWE called Kaltura Media. Kaltura Media integrates with Blackboard for uploading, recording, storing and sharing videos (including assignment submissions). For most purposes this solution should work well.

What does Kaltura Media involve? Kaltura Media allows you to:

• Upload and store existing videos you may have – e.g. recorded on your smart phone, tablet etc.

• Record web cam videos using a computer

• Record the screen of your computer – which can be useful for e.g. demos of software or recording a

voice over for PowerPoint

• Record a combination of your computer screen and the web cam, allowing your image to appear

on screen overlaid on your presentation;

All of these videos are stored on UWE’s Kaltura servers in your own personal area called ‘My Media’. You

can then choose to share the videos with others – for instance, your tutor or your fellow students…

basically, anywhere in Blackboard where you are able to type into a text box allows you to include your

Kaltura videos.

An example may be a blog area on your Blackboard module page – you could add a video to a blog entry.

You can also submit a Kaltura media file as your assignment submission. More on this later in this guide.

There are certain requirements for using Kaltura Media - depending on which function you are using...

For uploading existing videos, you should just need a computer with a decent web connection.

For web cam recordings... fairly obviously, you will need a web cam (and mic). Many web cams have

reasonable built in mics. The microphones built into laptops vary in quality - you may find the quality

isn't great - if so, perhaps consider using a headset mic (USB tends to work best).

http://info.uwe.ac.uk/online/blackboard/students/guides/kaltura/default.asp



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Section A: Uploading or recording using Kaltura Media Whether you want to upload an existing video file (e.g. from your smart phone) or record a new video using

the Kaltura tools, please follow these basic instructions to access Kaltura media…

This is where you can see all the videos you have uploaded or recorded using the Kaltura system. If this is

your first visit, then the area on the left will be blank, waiting for your first upload or recording.

This is also the area where you can choose to upload video files or make recordings… from the Add New

button towards the right.

- Media Upload – allows you to upload an existing media file (video or audio) – e.g. something you have

recorded on your smart phone.

- ‘Record a Presentation’ – This uses a program called ‘CaptureSpace’ and has a number of useful tools

for making recordings on your computer. More information on CaptureSpace follows.

You may find some other options here, such as ‘webcam recording’ and ‘screen recording’. Feel free to

experiment with any of the tools.

But please note: the recommended option for making recordings is currently ‘Record a Presentation’

(CaptureSpace).

Access Blackboard in the normal way,

and log in.

As a student you can access Kaltura

Media from the Welcome tab of

Blackboard - in the top left Tools menu.

Click on My Media …

and you will be taken to the My Media

page.



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To upload an existing media file (e.g. a video):

Most of the following is copied from the Blackboard Support Team’s guide on using Kaltura:

1. Select the Add New button and then select Upload Media.

2. Click on Choose a file to upload.

3. From the pop-up, browse to the file and select Open.

Note: if you have your mobile device plugged in and you can’t see your device/file, you may have to

copy the file to your computer first – and upload from your computer’s hard drive, rather than from

the device itself).

4. The file you have browsed to will start to upload and you will see a progress bar showing the upload.

Once complete you will see a green Upload Completed message.

5. Enter a Name and Description for your media.

6. In order for your media file to be searchable, you need to add Tags (descriptive words).

7. Students are only able to set the visibility to Private.

8. Select Save - you will see a green ‘Your changes have been saved’ message.

9. Either select:

a. Go To Media to view the file:

b. Go To My Media to return to your My Media area;

c. or, select Choose another file to repeat the upload process.

10. Once you return to your My Media area your file will be displayed. Please note that depending on

the size of your file, it may take a while to be converted and available to use.

Your media file will now be available in your My Media area. But at the moment, it’s there just for you to

see. In the section called ‘sharing your video’ we will look at different ways you can share it with others,

including sharing with your fellow students for peer review and using it as an assignment submission.

Using Kaltura Media to make a recording As well as uploading an existing video, you can create videos in Kaltura Media. You can:

• record yourself in front of your computer’s web cam or;

• record what you see on the screen (adding a voice over as you go along);

• and also create a video with a combination of screen capture and web cam.



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Using CaptureSpace for the first time

When you try to run CaptureSpace for the first time, you will be asked to install a small desktop app. This only needs to be done once on that computer. The app can be installed on PCs and Mac computers (with web cams).

To install the desktop app:

To install CaptureSpace, click … ‘Record a Presentation’

If this is the first time you use CaptureSpace, you will be prompted to install the desktop app (which you

need to do once on the computer you’re using)… see image on next page…

Access Blackboard in the normal way,

and log in.

As a student you can access Kaltura

Media from the Welcome tab of

Blackboard - in the top left Tools menu.

Click on My Media …

and you will be taken to the My Media

page.



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Click the appropriate download link and follow any instructions on screen to install.

Once you have finished installing, it is recommended to close down your web browser and start again…

Access Blackboard in the usual way;

Click Welcome My Media;

From the Add New button, select Record a Presentation.

If prompted, click Allow.

If the desktop app has installed properly, then you should see a new tool appear on your screen…

Download link for PC computers Download link for Mac computers

If this new tool does not appear, then I’m afraid it is likely

that your computer cannot make use of CaptureSpace.



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Using CaptureSpace Assuming the desktop app has installed correctly on your computer, you have a few options to choose

from… feel free to experiment and try things out (as soon as possible). Tutors will only see your final

submission.

You may find that you need to adjust some settings – e.g. to select an appropriate microphone… there is a

settings button (see top of image above) where you can make changes.

When you click on any of the options shown above, you can make a recording.

To stop a recording, click Done. If you can’t see the Done button, you may need to click on the Kaltura icon

on the task bar (bottom of screen) to make it visible…

Make sure you provide appropriate titles for your recordings when prompted… plus brief description and

tags (keywords) as appropriate.

At any point where you see an option to Save or Upload, click that option – and it will appear in your Kaltura

My Media area, ready to be used for sharing, adding to assignments etc.

Screen recorder plus mic – records

whatever is shown on your screen and

you can talk over the recording to

provide a commentary.

Screen recorder plus webcam plus mic

- records whatever is shown on your

screen plus a feed from your webcam…

and you can talk over the recording to

provide a commentary.

Webcam plus mic – A simple recording

of your webcam and microphone

Voice – A simple audio recording of

your voice only

Presentations and lectures – this

provides lots of options to try out –

including the ability to load up a

PowerPoint presentation, and include

web cam and voice.



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Section B: Sharing your video It’s great that you’ve uploaded or recorded a video using Kaltura Media, but generally you will want others

to see it – perhaps you need to submit it as an assignment for your tutor to mark.

Or perhaps for peer review with your fellow students etc. This section will provide some guidance on both.

Adding a video to an assignment submission You may be required to add a video to an assignment submission to be marked by your tutor. If so, please

follow the instructions below.

When an assignment is available for you to submit, it will become a clickable link on the Coursework tab in

Blackboard. Alternatively, you may access it directly through your course in a content area named

‘Assignments’ available on the left hand course menu. Your instructor should advise you where to access

your assignment if held in a different location in your course.

For students who have been asked to create and submit a video file using Kaltura Media, you first need to

access Kaltura Media and upload or create your media file in your My Media area. Once you have completed

this, you make your actual assignment submission following the quick steps below.

Important note 1:

It is essential that you allow ample time before the submission deadline to upload your media file to Kaltura

and then make your submission. Depending on the size of the file, Kaltura will take some time to convert the

file before it is available to attach to your assignment submission.

Important note 2:

Uploading or creating a file in your My Media area does not constitute a submission and instructors will not

be able to access your file. You need to complete the assignment submission process using the steps that

follow.



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QUICK STEPS: submitting Kaltura Media file to an assignment (copied from UWE’s Blackboard Support guide):

1. Enter the Assignments area of your course (or the location where your tutor has specified for the

submission link).

2. Click on the assignment’s title.

3. Review the Instructions and any files attached by the instructor.

4. Click on the Write Submission button and the text editor will display.

5. To show all the rows of the editor’s functions click on the Show More icon in the top right (two

arrows).

6. Expand the Mashups tool and select Kaltura Media from the list.

7. You will see the contents of your My Media area. Click the Select button for the file that you want to

attach to your submission.



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8. You will now see a thumbnail of your media file inside a table in the text editor. If you need to attach

any other Kaltura Media files, we recommend you click to the right of the table which contains the

first media file before repeating steps 6 and 7 again.

9. If you need to attach any other files to your submission use the Browse My Computer button to find

and select them.

10. When you have attached all the files you are required to, select Submit.

More information on assignment submissions using Kaltura Media Please see the information on the link below. On that page you will find more information on submitting

your assignment; checking your submission was successful; contact information for queries and more.

http://info.uwe.ac.uk/online/blackboard/students/guides/assignments/view-submit.asp

http://info.uwe.ac.uk/online/blackboard/students/guides/assignments/view-submit.asp



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Adding your video to other areas of Blackboard – e.g. for peer feedback The basic idea… anywhere you can use a text editor in your Blackboard module, you can submit a Kaltura

video using something called a ‘mashup’. So, for instance, if your tutor has set up a blog area for your group

in Blackboard, you could attach your video to a blog entry you create. For this example we will consider a

blog area on Blackboard.

Adding your video to a blog post Navigate in Blackboard to the blog area set up by your tutor. Note: your tutor may have set this area up with

a different title – e.g. ‘video uploads’, rather than mentioning blogs specifically

Click Create Blog Entry.

You will need to type in a title – Suggestion for blog entries: you put in your name and a descriptive title of

your video… e.g. ‘Jo Bloggs: Video presentation on risk analysis’.

Optional: You can type some text into the text entry area… e.g. “Please have a look at my video about

xxxxxxxxxx and leave comments for me”.

Press return on the keyboard to get yourself onto a new line. Then click the mashups button on the toolbar

for the text editor. If you can’t see the mashups button, you may need to click on the Show More icon in the

top right (two arrows pointing downwards).

Your My Media area will open – select the file you want to use by clicking the select button. Keep all the

settings as default, and click submit.

Your Kaltura video will be added to your blog post.

Finally, click Post entry to submit your new blog entry, including your video.

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