Panopto (Replay lecture capture service)

Panopto is a third-party tool that is integrated (via LTI) in Canvas. At Oxford, the service is called 'Replay'. A staff member can download the software onto their computer and record the computer screen, slides, video and audio. It is often used to record lectures and seminars. Students do not need to download the software.
Depending on the learning scenario, video is not always necessary to enhance the learning experience; thus a lecturer should consider simply recording a slideshow with an audio commentary. This is easy to do using your own computer and a USB plug-in microphone.

Index

 

Getting started

To get started, one would typically need:

  • A Windows or Mac computer with a built-in or external USB microphone, with the Panopto recorder software installed.
  • Advanced users who wish to add video to their recordings will need a USB webcam or external HDMI camera (if their computer does not have one).

 

How does it work?

  • The Panopto recorder will capture the audio from the microphone and synchronise it automatically with whatever is displayed on the computer screen, typically a PowerPoint presentation.
  • If a camera is connected, the software will also capture video.
  • Once the recording is completed, it will be automatically uploaded to the Panopto cloud server where, if necessary, it can be edited using a quick and easy-to-use web editor, before being delivered to your students via your Canvas site.
  • Recordings can either be released immediately or they can be reviewed and edited to make minor changes before being released.

 

Accessing Panopto

To access Panopto:

    1. Open your computer and start your preferred internet browser.
    2. Log in to Canvas using your Single Sign On and click on the relevant course.
    3. If Panopto Recordings is not visible on the Course Navigation Menu, click Settings and then the Navigation tab. Drag Panopto Recordings to the upper list and it will then appear on the Course Navigation Menu.
    4. The link to Panopto Recordings provides access to existing lectures and presentations, and enables a lecturer to record new ones.
    5. Once a recording has finished it will automatically upload to the secure Panopto cloud system where all videos are stored.
    6. Students can then follow the same process to log into Panopto and watch the recordings that have been made for them.

Alternatively, you can access Panopto directly by visiting https://ox.cloud.panopto.eu Links to an external site. and using your Canvas login.

Note: Lecturers need to download the Panopto software before you can create new recordings.

 

Canvas Integration

Canvas provides a 'gateway' into the Panopto portal, with the following benefits:

  • Single Sign On - no need for separate logins into Panopto.
  • Secure access for members of the Canvas site only.
  • Lecturers can review, approve and release recordings via Canvas.
  • Students view the recordings via Canvas.
  • Recordings are hosted in the cloud. No recordings are stored directly within Canvas.

 

Best Practice for Using Panopto

In order to make make the student experience as straightforward as possible, review these best practice guidelines for using Panopto within Canvas.

  • Ensure that the recordings are presented to students in a consistent manner. It is up to individual departments to decide how their recordings are organised and presented to students but it is important for the student experience that whatever method is adopted is used consistently.
    • You could rely entirely on the "Panopto Recordings" navigation item on the Canvas course and have the students access the recordings there directly. If you adopt this approach it is vital that the recordings are named with a consistent clear naming strategy and also preferably arranged into clear subfolders that suits your curriculum, such as by date/week or topic/paper.
    • You could hide the "Panopto Recordings" navigation item from students and embed Panopto recordings in Canvas "pages". This approach allows you to embed the recordings in the context of other information such as an introduction, associated activities and readings. 
  • Communicate to the students where they can expect to find Panopto recordings for their course. This could be in the form of an announcement made via the Canvas Announcements functionality and also in a page on Canvas called "How we will use Canvas" which is part of the standard Oxford Canvas templates.
  • Panopto has the ability to automatically caption recordings using voice recognition. This feature is enabled by default in order to make the recordings more inclusive. If your subject matter contains a lot of technical language or is in a language other than English, it is advisable to check the captions for accuracy and/or warn the students that the captions were automatically generated and may not be entirely accurate.
  • Do not use your "My Panopto" folder to store recordings that you intend to share for students. Instead these recordings should be moved to the folder for the course that they relate to. Using the "My Panopto" folder can cause issues including, but not limited to, when a staff member leaves and the recording can no longer be altered if it exists in a user's personal "My Panopto" folder.
  • Whenever possible edit the Panopto recordings to remove any time at the beginning and end of the recording before and after the teaching session is running. IT services have produced a video guide on how to edit a Panopto recording Links to an external site. using the built-in editing tool. 

 

More Panopto information: