Instructor Guide to Student-Created Mobile Video Assignments Submitted Through Canvas
While this article is written for "instructor use" there’s an additional article that you can give your students with succinct instructions. You'll want to supplement the directions with specific examples (e.g. the name of the assignment, length of the video, name of the assignment to be used for submissions, etc.)
Student Guide for Submitting a Video Assignments Created on a Mobile Device:
Special considerations for video assignments
There is an upload file size limit of 500MB in Canvas. In most cases, students should not exceed this limit. However, to be on the safe side, it's strongly recommended that the instructor perform the process of creating a video following their own assignment guidelines, including the required length of the video. Test the process and export the video file to ensure that the exported video is under 500MB.
If your test video exceeds 500MB, try reducing the resolution of the video that will be uploaded to Canvas. Most mobile devices default to creating high resolution video (1080p), but some phones may be set to record up to 4k resolution. These settings result in very large video files that may not upload to Canvas successfully. For online submissions, a lower resolution of 720p should provide enough information for you to assess students without exceeding the 500MB file size limit.
Guides for reducing video resolution can be found here:
- For iOS: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209431
- For Android: https://support.google.com/googlecamera/answer/2838995?hl=en
Setting up an Assignment for student video submissions
In order for you to view your students’ video in the SpeedGrader, you’ll need to create an Assignment in Canvas and set the “Submission Type” to “Online” and the “Online Entry Options” to "Media Recordings” using these instructions: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-10113-415241285
Instructors should review the technical steps below. These steps can also be found in the student-facing article above, which can be distributed directly to students.
Before students begin:
In order to successfully upload a video from your mobile device that your instructor can view and grade, you'll need to use the Canvas Student App.
Download and install the Canvas Student App:
- For iOS: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-9831-18561185379
- For Android: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-9758-18555199445
- Record a video on your iOS mobile device: https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/take-videos-iph61f49e4bb/ioshttps://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-9831-18561185379
- Record a video on your Android mobile device: https://support.google.com/googlecamera/answer/7064897?hl=en&ref_topic=6164365
Log in to the Canvas Student App, navigate to your course site, and locate the appropriate Assignment, using these instructions:
- For iOS: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-9715-how-do-i-log-in-to-the-student-app-on-my-ios-device-with-a-canvas-url
- For Android: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-9755-18555199446
More help with the Canvas Student App:
- For iOS: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-4100
- For Android: https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-4104