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Kaltura Tutorials

Kaltura is the university's video hosting and delivery platform, most frequently encountered in the "My Media" and "Media Gallery" sections in Canvas. Kaltura makes it possible to record, upload, and present your videos without having to worry about file size restrictions or storage limits.

You can use Kaltura in two places: within Canvas as an integrated tool, and in MediaSpace (a standalone Kaltura-only site that allows you to organize your videos and share them more broadly). We link to knowledge base articles (KBAs) related to both Canvas- and MediaSpace-related topics.

Searching for a specific tutorial? We recommend you expand all the drawers below and do an on-page search.

Adding Videos

There are a variety of ways to add content to your Kaltura media repository ("My Media"). Below are links to related tutorials. Unless otherwise noted, each tutorial applies to instructions on how to perform the action in both Canvas as well as MediaSpace.

Manual Uploads

Kaltura Capture

Kaltura Capture is a piece of cross-platform software that allows you to capture your screen, camera, and microphone. It's available to everyone at UCSD with active directory credentials.

Quick / Express Capture

Quick Capture (aka "Express Capture") is a web-based application you can use to capture your screen, camera and microphone. Because it's web-based, you don't have to install any software, but you should keep your videos short when using it.

The Zoom-Kaltura Integration

UC San Diego has implemented an integration between Zoom and Kaltura: any time you record a video to the Zoom cloud, the recording automatically ends up in your Kaltura media repository. There are some ways you can take advantage of this integration.

Editing Videos

There are a variety of ways to edit your Kaltura media. Below are links to related tutorials. Unless otherwise noted, each tutorial applies to instructions on how to perform the action in both Canvas as well as MediaSpace.

General Topics

Captions

All Kaltura entries automatically receive machine captions. Users are able to edit these captions in a variety of ways.

Chapters

If desired, you can add chapters to your Kaltura media entries. This can make them easier for your viewers to navigate, particularly if the videos are on the long side.

Hotspots

You can add text boxes that layer on top of your video. They can be URLs, they can jump the user to another part of the video, or they can just act as a text label.

Stitching Videos

As of 26 June 2024, Kaltura users can "stitch" media together - that is, combine entries together to make longer entries.

Thumbnails

Kaltura allows media owners (and co-editors) to change the still image you see in the video player before "play" is clicked (commonly known as a thumbnail).

Sharing Videos

Kaltura users can share videos in a variety of different ways. Within Canvas, this is often within the context of courses and assignments, but MediaSpace allows for channel-based organization as well as wider dissemination options for your entries.

General Topics

Channels (MediaSpace Only)

Kaltura allows users to organize their content into channels, though this is only possible within MediaSpace.

Downloading Media

Embedding Media

As with most video services, Kaltura allows you to "embed" your videos on web pages. In Canvas, the integration makes this very easy with a button in the rich content editor that allows you to easily drop in one of your videos. But you can grab embed codes to drop onto websites (to which you have access) within MediaSpace.

Enabling Others to Download Your Media

Your media is not downloadable to any other users by default, but you can change this both with embedded and published videos.

Playlists

You can group together two or more Kaltura media entries into a playlist. The only catch is that playlists live in a Media Gallery or channel - you can't keep them in "My Media."

Publishing Media

When you publish a Kaltura entry In Canvas, it makes it visible within the course's "Media Gallery." When you publish it in MediaSpace, it makes it visible within a channel.

Analytics

Kaltura captures a basic set of video analytics that can provide insight on how your media are being used.

Video Assignments

Interested in creating some video-based assignments for your students? Here are some tutorials on how to set them up.

Kaltura In-Video Quizzes

Kaltura offers the ability for media owner (and co-editors) to layer on simple questions on top of an existing video (multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and reflection questions).

Assignments that Use Videos

Below are some tutorials on how to create assignments in Canvas that leverage videos, but don't actually use Kaltura's in-video quiz functionality.