Introducing Kaltura Personal Capture

Kaltura Capture is Kaltura’s updated presentation and production tool, replacing CaptureSpace Lite. You may use Kaltura Capture to record any combination of your screen, voice, and webcam. These videos can then be easily uploaded to your My Media library in myLesley.

Some sample use cases for Kaltura Capture include:

  • Create a webcam recording as part of your course introduction.
  • Narrate a PowerPoint presentation and post it in your course.
  • Record an application demo on your computer.
  • Walk your students through a process or analysis while providing commentary.
  • Give a tour of your myLesley course.

If you can view it on your computer, you can record it, narrate it, and share it with your students. Your students can then review it as often as needed.

Kaltura Capture will be replacing the older tool: Kaltura CaptureSpace Lite. If you have been using CaptureSpace Lite, we recommend switching over to Kaltura Capture.

More information and detailed instructions may be found on our support site: Kaltura Capture

Teaching presence in online courses: The role of instructor-created video

The concept of teaching presence in online course environments originated from the Community of Inquiry framework of online and blended teaching, developed by Randy Garrison, Terry Anderson and Walter Archer from the University of Alberta Canada.  They define teaching presence as the design, facilitation, and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes” (Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, & Archer, 2001).  While there are many elements supporting teaching presence, faculty are often interested in the impact of instructor-created videos on student learning.

Garrison's teaching presence

The effectiveness of video in supporting learning depends on a wide range of factors, but some broad guidelines can be helpful. For example, using video for whole-class feedback or guidance created specifically for one particular class or learning activity might be more impactful and less time-consuming to create than pre-scripted, canned videos. You may be curious as to the impact of your recorded visual presence within videos you create. In this video, the presenter reviews some research regarding the impact of having an instructor’s face in the video itself, as well as some general guidelines on the use of video.

In general with regards to instructor-created videos, we advise you to:

  • Focus on a specific assignment, on a challenging concept, or for a course or weekly overview
  • Use video for feedback or other facilitation
  • Use short clips or chunk into short clips (4-5 minutes)
  • Choose visuals that support the spoken narrative
  • Avoid using a talking head as the only visual
  • Do not be overly concerned about verbal mistakes
  • If you are creating videos to be used for multiple classes, consider how much time this may take and focus on issues or topics that are durable across longer periods (years) so that you can reuse the resource.

Additional resources on teaching presence:
Role of course design on teaching presence
One instructor’s point of view (research study)
Strategies for teaching presence

Introducing Kaltura ASR Captions

Kaltura Media has the ability to automatically add captions to your video content using automatic speech recognition (ASR). When a video is uploaded, the ASR processes begins immediately. Captions are created based on the audio track and the content is assumed to be in English.

Why are captions important?
Accurate captioning of audio and video content ensures that people who are Deaf and hard of hearing can understand the content. Additionally, captions are very useful to non-native English speakers, viewers watching in a sound-sensitive environment such as a library, can help viewers with learning disabilities or attention deficits maintain concentration. and can help all learners improve comprehension.

The following video effectively explains the importance of captioning.

 

How are captions created?
All videos created after August 6, 2018 will be auto-captioned. This means that once you create your video or upload your video to Kaltura, ASR captions will be automatically ordered and applied to your video. The process may take several minutes to several hours, depending on the length of your video.

What about older videos?
You can request ASR captions for any videos created before August 6, 2018. Detailed instructions may be found here: Add Captions to Previously Uploaded Video Content.

How accurate are ASR captions?
ASR captions are only 80% accurate and accuracy may vary depending on the audio quality, clarity of speech, background noise, etc.

While 80% accuracy may seem pretty decent, please keep in mind that this means that, in general:

  • 1 in 5 words will be incorrect
  • An 8-word sentence will be about 17% accurate
  • A 10-word sentence will be about 11% accurate

How do I improve the accuracy of my captions?
While ASR captions are a step forward for accessibility, we recommend editing them for accuracy. You can edit your captions right in your web browser – no additional software is needed! For more information and detailed instructions, see Review and Edit Captions.

 

Provide Grading Feedback With Audio and Video

Blackboard now allows you to embed an audio/video recording of your feedback as you grade attempts. This feature is available for all graded content, including assignments, graded discussions, or in the Grade Details area of any Grade Center column.

Why Provide Audio or Video Feedback?

Providing feedback using audio or video allows you to connect with your students, especially those at a distance. You can give them a glimpse of your personality and show them the real person behind the text. Creating this connection can make it easier to interact, share information, and ensure that your students don’t feel isolated.

Text-based feedback can lend itself to misinterpretation – students may weight all of the feedback equally or be overwhelmed by a lot of text on the page. Audio allows you to add tone and emphasis, perhaps even humor and support, while video allows you to add facial expressions and gestures.

How Do I Add Audio or Video Feedback in my Course?

You can add audio or video feedback on any gradable item in your course. To do so, access the Feedback to Learner area. You may do this directly from an Assignment or from within the Full Grade Center.

From within an Assignment:

From your student’s submission, navigate to the Assignment Details area. In the Feedback to Learner area, In the Feedback to Learner area, click on the Full Content Editor button. This will open the full text/content editor.
Screenshot of Feedback to Learner area of Assignment

For more information on grading assignments or accessing the students’ submissions, see Grading Assignments in myLesley.

From a Grade Center column:

Navigate to the Full Grade Center and hover your mouse over the item you wish to offer feedback. Click the chevron to open a menu and select Quick Comment.

screenshot of accessing Recording Feedback from within the Full Grade Center

Launch the Recorder:

From the Full Text/Content editor, click the Record Feedback Button (first button on the third row of the text/content editor).screenshot of record feedback button

This will launch the recorder. Click the video button to launch your webcam or click the record button to record audio only. Each recording may be a maximum length of five (5) minutes.screenshot of record feedback

Once you have finished recording, your audio or video recording will be added to the student’s feedback area. Detailed instructions for using the Record Feedback option may be found here: Record Audio and Video.

What if I want to upload a video I recorded elsewhere or provide my students with a screencast?

If you recorded a video in a different tool, you may upload it using the Kaltura Mashup Tool. You may also upload a video to Kaltura directly from your mobile device.

If you would like to record a screencast, you may use Kaltura CaptureSpace Lite.

Where can I find more information on providing feedback to my students?

To find out more about providing feedback to your students, check out the resources below:

 

Introducing Kaltura Media’s Interactive Video Quiz

Kaltura Media’s new Interactive Video Quiz tool allows users to seamlessly embed multiple choice questions at any point in a video through a user-friendly interface. As viewers watch the video, the questions will appear at the chosen points and the video continues after each question is answered. Flexible settings allow creators to choose whether viewers can repeat sections, skip questions, revise answers, get hints, and discover the correct answers, allowing the Interactive Video Quiz to be used to increase engagement, test knowledge and retention, gather data, and more.

The following video tutorial will walk you through the process of creating an Interactive Video Quiz.

More information on creating an Interactive Video Quiz may be found here: Creating an Interactive Video Quiz.

Interested in seeing the video quiz from the student perspective? The following video tutorial will walk you through the process of taking an Interactive Video Quiz as a student.