New Features in Kaltura

The Kaltura Media tool in myLesley has recently been updated to a new and improved version. The basic features of Kaltura remain unchanged. However, there are some nice new features and options available to you.

 

Kaltura Media Mashup – No Changes

There have been no changes to the Kaltura Media Mashup tool and it still functions the same as the previous version.  Kaltura Media is available under Mashups in the myLesley text editor or from the Build Content menu.

buildcontentmenu mashuptexteditor

 

Upload Directly From Your Mobile Device

Kaltura Media has been redesigned to allow you to upload videos directly to myLesley from your mobile device. Simply record a video on your iOS or Android device, use the device’s browser to navigate to your myLesley course, and upload as you would if using a laptop or desktop computer. Check out our support site for complete instructions.

iOS Android
ioskaltura androidkaltura

 

Record Your Computer Screen

You can now use Kaltura Media for screencasting. Record a demo of an application process or give a tour of your myLesley course site. Anything you can show on your computer screen you can record using Kaltura and share with your students. Your students can use it, too. Check out our support site for complete instructions.

addscreenrecord launchbutton

 

Learn More….

The IT and eLearning Support site has step-by-step instructions for using Kaltura. Be sure to visit us to learn how to use the new features or to get started with Kaltura for the first time. Have questions? Email us at elis@lesley.edu.

 

Learning Online: It’s a Process

Nancy Beardallprofile image teaches dance therapy courses for the Expressive Therapies program. This September, she taught her Body/Movement Observation and Assessment course online for the first time. To prepare for this new experience, Nancy worked with an eLIS instructional designer over several months to reimagine what her face-to-face content would look like online.

During the design process and while teaching online, Nancy had several realizations. As a dance therapist there’s an intuitive sense that informs her teaching. When teaching online, there’s also an intuitive sense to using and smoothly integrating the technology, but she didn’t have that technology vocabulary to guide her. This created a feeling of discombobulation of how the two would fit together. To overcome her obstacles, Nancy continued working through her content with an instructional designer and attended eLIS’ Summer Technology Institute, The Institute allowed her to use an inquiry model to re-examine her content with other faculty while at the same time exploring technologies and how they might ‘fit’ her content.

One of Nancy successful blendings of content and technology was the students’ final presentations. Students recorded and analyzed their application of specific movement theories. Their videos were uploaded to a course media gallery using Kaltura Video in myLesley. Nancy then scheduled synchronous online meetings in Lync. Each student had ten minutes to present their work and five minutes for follow up. Students reviewed each other’s videos in advance of the online meetings and posted feedback to the students within a few days after the meeting. Nancy found that the wait time between the presentation and the responses was an unexpected benefit. Students could review presentations at their own speed as often as they needed and they had time to think and process what they had experienced. She found their responses to be much more thoughtful as they balanced their initial reactions against longer reflections when they wrote their comments. They were simply “terrific.”

Nancy’s second realization was that she probably talked too much in her face-to-face classes. She wasn’t able to do that online. As a result was that the students did more of the talking and presenting while she listened and guided. Nancy liked the result of hearing her students as they worked through the content so much that she is now trying to shift the balance in her on-campus classes and talk less allowing her experience teaching online to inform her face-to-face teaching practice.

If Nancy had one piece of advice for faculty new to teaching online, it would be to realize that “it takes a village” to learn. You won’t be doing this by yourself. Work with the eLIS designers, other faculty and even your students to learn the design, teaching and technology skills you will need. It will be an iterative process. There will be frustrations, but there will also be successes and unexpected benefits. The final result probably won’t be what you originally envisioned. With time, patience and a willingness to adapt, it can be much better!