At UC San Diego, "podcasts" typically refer to recordings of classrooms using integrated cameras, microphones, and screen capture hardware.

All classrooms managed by the Registrar are podcast-capable, so you can fill out our Podcasting Agreement form to request to have your lectures automatically recorded and uploaded to the Podcast website where students can watch or subscribe to the recordings, to your Kaltura account ("My Media" in Canvas), and/or to the class's Media Gallery in Canvas.

Yes. There are no charges to faculty or students for podcasts.

As of the time of this article's publication, there are over 150 classrooms at UC San Diego that support podcasting. View the Classroom Details for Podcast-Ready Rooms to see which rooms are podcast-ready, as well as to learn about other room attributes such as environment (windows, darkenability, ventilation) and available equipment.

Ensure your class is scheduled in a podcast-ready lecture hall and sign the Podcasting Agreement.

For classroom assistance, contact Classroom Support at (858) 534-5784 or classroom-support@ucsd.edu.

For signup and scheduling questions, contact ITS at (858) 822-3315 or podcast@ucsd.edu.

If you have questions related to managing your podcast recording in Kaltura ("My Media" in Canvas), contact kaltura@ucsd.edu.

If there are specific class dates that you don't want recorded, please email podcast@ucsd.edu and they will remove the recording from the schedule.

You can also leave the wireless microphone off and no audio will be recorded.

This can vary depending on a variety of factors, such as the length of the class, the recording type, and server load. 

• Screencasts (recordings of just what's on the room's projector) in low-usage rooms may be available as quickly as 30-60 minutes. 
• Dualcasts (recordings of the projector feed side-by-side with camera footage of the instructor) may be available within 2 hours. 
  

A completed recording passes through several steps before it is published to the course Media Gallery. The recording is processed locally to produce a file suitable for uploading to Kaltura, which then re-processes the file. Once Kaltura reports the file is 'Ready', it will be published to the course Media Gallery in Kaltura, which makes it available for viewing in Kaltura/Canvas.

The amount of time required depends on the length of the recording and what content was recorded. A 50-minute screencast will typically be available in 20 minutes; an 80 minute DualCast is typically available within 65 minutes. Factors beyond our control can delay processing.

This is determined by your selections in your podcast agreement. Generally speaking, though, podcasts may be viewed on the podcast website and in your Canvas course's Media Gallery (using Kaltura).

On the podcasting agreement, you can elect to:

• Restrict viewing to enrolled students in the class
• Restrict viewing to anyone with UCSD credentials (Active Directory credentials)
• Record a private podcast saved to “My Media” which allows you to manually publish your recordings to Canvas

Note that if the camera in the room is recorded (i.e. a dualcast or camera-only recording), access to the podcast is only available to enrolled students in the class to protect student privacy.

The files will be available on the Podcast website until the end of the quarter. You may elect to leave them online indefinitely on the Podcast Agreement. However, the recordings are also in your Kaltura media repository ("My Media"), which will remain there indefinitely. Do note, however, that Kaltura's data retention policy dictates that if a video isn't watched for 4 years, it will be deleted. You can reset this "countdown" by watching the video for 10 seconds.

A recording will be hidden from students automatically on the podcasting site when you unpublish it from your course's Media Gallery in Canvas. If you need it removed entirely, or want it off the Podcast site but available in Canvas, please send your request to podcast@ucsd.edu.

Use the wireless microphone that is located inside the Media Station in order for your voice to be recorded. This is often the same microphone that will project your voice on the classroom speakers. Note that the wired microphone connected to the wall is NOT connected to the podcast recording equipment.

Many smaller classrooms have a permanently-wired ceiling microphone that is always recording. The audio from these microphones cannot be disabled during conversations with students, but has the advantage that batteries never need to be changed.

The Classroom Details Search Tool can help you determine which rooms have ceiling microphones and which rooms have lapel microphones, if you wish to schedule your class according to your preference.

Clip the wireless microphone to your shirt about 8 inches from your mouth. Try to clip it right in the center, and not to the side.

Your podcast starts at the beginning of your scheduled lecture time regardless of when you turn the microphone on. The podcast start time will most closely match with your cell phone's time, NOT the clocks in the lecture halls (which are sometimes a few minutes off). The recording will stop at the end of your scheduled lecture time regardless of when you turn the yellow wireless microphone off.

The Podcast Agreement allows you to schedule your recordings to last up to 5 minutes beyond the scheduled end of class. For a class where you have already submitted the agreement, contact podcast@ucsd.edu and we can schedule future recordings to continue a few minutes longer.

Please do not adjust the volume control on the wireless microphone. The volume level for the podcast is preset. If you feel your voice over the room speakers is not loud enough, please call the Help Desk at (858) 534‑5784 and we will send a technician ASAP.

In some classrooms, if you play a movie or audio clips through the Media Station during class, the audio will not be captured. Your podcast will be silent when a video or audio clip is being played.

Most computers now support encrypted video, called HDCP, which prevents that video from being recorded. While many computers will only encrypt their outgoing video while you are showing copy-protected content (e.g. from Netflix or a DVD/Blu-Ray), many popular laptops and tablets will automatically encrypt video any time they connect to our systems.

Since our projectors know how to display copy-protected video and can legally do so, you shouldn't notice any difference while you're lecturing. However, our podcasting screen recorders must respect the DMCA and aren't able to record copy-protected video. This may result in the screencast recording a black screen during your lecture.

If you are projecting from a Mac, iPhone / iPad, or Microsoft Surface and would like to screencast, use the podcast tab on the room's control panel to monitor your recording and ensure that the screen is not blank. If it is blank, call Classroom Support (858-534-5784) and a technician can troubleshoot the issue.

The system was originally built to share lectures on the iTunes Podcast platform. The original name has stuck around even as the system has expanded and changed.

Once your podcast has made its way to Kaltura, it will be available in your "My Media" in Canvas. Once it's there, you can use Kaltura's video editor to trim off whatever you need to.

If you've chosen to allow students to watch your video on the podcasting website, you'll need to ensure that you click Save and NOT Save a copy when making your edits. Clicking Save will make the edited video overwrite the original - so be certain about your edits - but the video that plays on the podcasting website is the original copy of the video. If you save a new copy of the video, your changes won't be reflected in the podcast site video.