How to Present Videos to Students in Canvas
Before You Get Started
Storing Course Videos
Where to Store Course Videos: My Media
✅ My Media (Kaltura)
- My Media is the correct place to store all your videos.
- My Media is the streaming video server that is integrated with Canvas.
- My Media is the right place to store your videos because:
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My Media automatically generates captions for videos and allows you to edit captions to meet accessibility standards.
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My Media videos have no impact on your course’s storage quota.
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Where Not to Store Course Videos: Canvas Files
🚫 Canvas Course Files
- The Files area in your Canvas course is an incorrect place to store videos.
- Video files should not be stored as Canvas course files because:
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They cannot be captioned, so they are not accessible to all students.
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They take up your limited course file storage space in Canvas.
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Important: Any video files stored in your Canvas course’s Files area must be moved to My Media so they can stream properly and include captions for accessibility. For more information, see Move Your Videos to My Media.
Video Accessibility Standards
To ensure all students can access and understand your videos, each video in your course should meet basic accessibility standards.
What Makes a Video Accessible?
✅ An accessible video includes:
- Accurate Captions – Automatically-generated captions are a good start, but you must review and edit auto captions to ensure:
- Spelling, punctuation, etc. is accurate.
- Text matches spoken words and relevant sounds.
- Text is correctly synchronized with the audio and video.
- Clear Visuals and Contrast – Visuals such as PowerPoint slides in your video should:
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Use high contrast between text and background (e.g., dark text on a light background).
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Use at least 18 pt text on PowerPoint slides so that it’s readable.
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Avoid flashing, blinking, or low-contrast text or graphics.
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- Descriptive Narration – Important visuals or on-screen actions are described aloud so that students who can’t see the screen still get the same information.
Tip: My Media automatically generates a transcript from your captions. Students can read or download a transcript directly from the My Media video player.
What Makes a Video Inaccessible?
🚫 A video is inaccessible if one or more of the following are true:
- Video has missing or inaccurate captions.
- Video was uploaded and stored in Canvas Files instead of My Media (Canvas videos can’t be captioned.)
- Video contains important visuals that do not have an audio description. (E.g., In a lecture video, the instructor refers to a chart on a PowerPoint slide but does not describe what information the chart contains.)
- Video contains important visuals that have low contrast colors or small text.
- Video has flashing or blinking elements.
Workflow 1: Add a Single Video Just in Time to a Canvas Page
Complete the following tasks in order:
1. Upload Video Files to My Media
Once you've downloaded your video files from Canvas, upload your videos (one at a time) to My Media, the streaming video server that is integrated with Canvas.
Video Procedure – Upload Video File to My Media
Written Procedure – Upload Video File to My Media
Do the following to upload a video file to your My Media account:
1. In Canvas, click Account and select My Media.
Your list of My Media videos appears.
2. To upload a new video file to your account, click Add New and select Media Upload.
3. Read terms and conditions and click the "I agree to the above terms and conditions" disclaimer.
4. Click Choose a File to Upload.
5. Select the file to upload.
Audio and video file formats you can upload to My Media - AVI, ASF, FLV, MP4, MP3, MPG, MOV, M4V, QT, M4V, WMA, WMV, and more. Click here for a full list of file formats My Media supports.
6. Once your media uploads, do the following:
A. Name - Give the video a meaningful name. Note that this name appears to all your media's viewers/listeners.
B. Description - Optionally enter a brief description.
C. Add Collaborator button - Optionally add collaborators (for example, you might want to add co-instructors or TAs as collaborators so they can link to or embed this video in Canvas. See Kaltura - Media Collaboration: Changing media ownership, adding co-editors, co-publishers, and co-viewers.
D. Publishing Status - Leave the video status as Private. Do not change it to Public.
E. Save - Click the Save button to save your changes while your video uploads.
Processing
My Media will take additional time to process your video. While the video is processing, an animation indicating that the video is still processing will display in the video player. The amount of time it takes is dependent on file size, duration, and quality. Generally processing takes about 2-3 times the video's duration.
Auto-Captions & Accessibility
After the video has been processed, My Media will automatically generate captions for your video. The captions might take up to two hours to appear.
Important: While the automatically-generated captions are mostly accurate, for your captions to be considered accessible, you must review and edit your video's captions for accuracy.
Repeat this process for each video you want to upload to My Media.
Tip: When you upload videos to My Media. They are stored in your private My Media library. In the next steps, we'll show you how to share your videos in your Canvas class.
2. Link and Embed Your My Media Videos in a Canvas Class
Now that you've uploaded all your video files to My Media, you're ready to share the videos in your Canvas course by doing one of the following:
- Add a Video Link to a Canvas Module
- Add a Video Link in the Text of a Canvas Page, Announcement, Assignment, Quiz, Discussion, etc.
- Embed a My Media Video in a Canvas Page
3. Edit Your My Media Video Captions
When you upload a video to My Media, machine-generated captions are automatically created and added to your video. This process may take a couple of hours.
Videos uploaded to My Media before December 1, 2021 do not include automatically-generated captions; however, you can still order machine-generated captions for My Media videos that don't have captions. See Manually Ordering Machine Captions for Older My Media Videos
Important: Machine-generated captions are not 100% accurate. To meet accessibility standards, you are responsible for reviewing and editing your video's captions for accuracy.
Tip: When you edit a My Media video's captions, the captions update wherever the video is embedded or linked.
Characteristics of Accessible Captions
For auto-captions to be considered accessible, you must review and edit them to ensure:
- Spelling, capitalization, and punctuation errors are corrected.
- Text matches spoken words.
- Text is correctly synchronized with the audio and video.
- Relevant/meaningful sounds are added to captions.
- If the video has multiple speakers, captions indicate which speaker is speaking.
Tip: Not sure what good captions look like? See the DCMP Captioning Key, a practical guide that shows how captions should handle punctuation, speakers, sound effects, and timing to be accessible for all students.
Captioning Tips
- Sounds – If a sound adds meaning to the video, add it to the captions. For example:
[door opens]
Carlos: Hello! I'm so glad you could make it.
Julia: We're so excited to be here.
- Pause, hesitation, or trailing off – Use an ellipsis to indicate a pause, hesitation, or trailing off. For example:
I thought it would work, but…I guess not.
I...I'm not sure what to do.
- Identify multiple speakers – If the video has multiple speakers, captions should indicate which speaker is speaking. You don't have to label the speaker in each line. Just label the speaker initially and when the speaker changes. For example:
Ed: Welcome to our presentation.
We're happy you're here.
Kathy: We'll be recording the presentation and will send you a link.
- Interruption or overlap – Use an em dash ( – ) to show a speaker is cut off or if two people speak at once.
- Interruption – If the current speaker is interrupted but speech doesn't overlap, place an em dash at the end of the caption. For example:
Ed: We should probably start –
Kathy: The Zoom recording?
-
- Overlapping words – If the current speaker is interrupted and the words overlap with the next speaker, place an em dash at the end of the first caption and at the beginning of the next line. For example:
Ed: We should probably start –
Kathy: – The Zoom recording?
Video Procedure – Review and Edit Captions in My Media
Written Procedure – Review and Edit Captions in My Media
1. In Canvas, click Account in the left-hand navigation column, and then select My Media.
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Click the title of the video whose captions you want to edit.
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Click Actions . Then click Caption & Enrich.
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Click the pencil to the right of the captions.
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In the left-hand panel, click the text you want to edit, change the text, and click Save when done.
Refer to captioning best practices for more information on captioning.
After you click Save, the captions will be updated in your video and will display correctly wherever the video is embedded or linked.
Workflow 2: Move ALL Your Videos Out of Canvas and into My Media
Complete the following tasks in order:
1. Enable the Canvas File Cleanup Tool, TidyUP
TidyUp is a cleanup tool inside Canvas that helps instructors declutter and streamline their Canvas courses by removing unused or duplicate files. To use TidyUP, you must first enable it in your Canvas course.
Video Procedure – Enable TidyUP
Written Procedure – Enable TidyUP
- In your Canvas course, go to Settings.
- Then select Navigation.
- Scroll down the page, and locate TidyUP.
- Click the kebab to the right of TidyUP.
- Select Enable.
- Click the Save button.
TidyUp will now appear in your course's left-hand navigation.
For more information, go to TidyUP Resources.
2. Use TidyUP to Find Video Files in Canvas
Once you have enabled TidyUP in your Canvas course, you can use it to scan for video files stored in the course.
Video Procedure – Find Video Files in Canvas with TidyUP
Written Procedure – Find Video Files in Canvas with TidyUP
- Once TidyUP is enabled in your Canvas course, click TidyUP in the course menu.
- Click Authorize to give TidyUp access to your course.
- Under the Scan Course button, click Custom.
- Uncheck all boxes except Video (MP4, MOV, etc.).
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Click the Scan Course button to scan your video content.
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Once the scan is complete, go to the Files tab.
- Do one of the following:
- If no video files appear in the TidyUP search, you're done! This means you don't have video files in Canvas that you need to move. Skip to Upload Video Files to My Media or Edit Video Captions for Accessibility to learn how to upload videos and edit their captions.
- If video files appeared in the TidyUP search, proceed to the next step.
- Review the list of video files:
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- Check when each video file was last updated.
- Look in the Used In column to determine where each video file is used in your course content. If the Used In column in blank for a video, it means the video is in the Canvas Files area but is not linked or embedded anywhere in your Canvas class.
3. Download Video Files Stored in Canvas
Now that you've identified the video files stored in your Canvas course, use TidyUP to download them all at once. This saves time and helps you prepare for uploading to My Media in the next step.
Video Procedure – Download Video Files with TidyUP
Written Procedure – Download Video Files with TidyUP
- In TidyUP, review the list of videos and determine which files you want to download.
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Check the box next to each video file you want to download.
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Click the Download Selected button at the bottom of the page.
- Click the Download button.
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Select where you want to save the files on your computer, and click Save.
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Your browser will download a ZIP file containing all the selected videos.
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Locate the ZIP file on your computer and extract (unzip) the contents to a folder that you can easily locate:
4. Upload Video Files to My Media
Once you've downloaded your video files from Canvas, upload your videos (one at a time) to My Media, the streaming video server that is integrated with Canvas.
Video Procedure – Upload Video File to My Media
Written Procedure – Upload Video File to My Media
Do the following to upload a video file to your My Media account:
1. In Canvas, click Account and select My Media.
Your list of My Media videos appears.
2. To upload a new video file to your account, click Add New and select Media Upload.
3. Read terms and conditions and click the "I agree to the above terms and conditions" disclaimer.
4. Click Choose a File to Upload.
5. Select the file to upload.
Audio and video file formats you can upload to My Media - AVI, ASF, FLV, MP4, MP3, MPG, MOV, M4V, QT, M4V, WMA, WMV, and more. Click here for a full list of file formats My Media supports.
6. Once your media uploads, do the following:
A. Name - Give the video a meaningful name. Note that this name appears to all your media's viewers/listeners.
B. Description - Optionally enter a brief description.
C. Add Collaborator button - Optionally add collaborators (for example, you might want to add co-instructors or TAs as collaborators so they can link to or embed this video in Canvas. See Kaltura - Media Collaboration: Changing media ownership, adding co-editors, co-publishers, and co-viewers.
D. Publishing Status - Leave the video status as Private. Do not change it to Public.
E. Save - Click the Save button to save your changes while your video uploads.
Processing
My Media will take additional time to process your video. While the video is processing, an animation indicating that the video is still processing will display in the video player. The amount of time it takes is dependent on file size, duration, and quality. Generally processing takes about 2-3 times the video's duration.
Auto-Captions & Accessibility
After the video has been processed, My Media will automatically generate captions for your video. The captions might take up to two hours to appear.
Important: While the automatically-generated captions are mostly accurate, for your captions to be considered accessible, you must review and edit your video's captions for accuracy.
Repeat this process for each video you want to upload to My Media.
Tip: When you upload videos to My Media. They are stored in your private My Media library. In the next steps, we'll show you how to share your videos in your Canvas class.
5. Link and Embed Your My Media Videos in a Canvas Class
Now that you've uploaded all your video files to My Media, you're ready to share the videos in your Canvas course by doing one of the following:
- Add a Video Link to a Canvas Module
- Add a Video Link in the Text of a Canvas Page, Announcement, Assignment, Quiz, Discussion, etc.
- Embed a My Media Video in a Canvas Page
6. Delete Video Files From Your Canvas Class
After uploading your videos to My Media and embedding or linking them in your course content, you can safely delete the original video files from your Canvas Files area. This frees up storage space and ensures students aren’t accessing outdated or inaccessible versions.
Video Procedure – Use TidyUP to Delete Video Files
Written Procedure – Use TidyUP to Delete Video Files
- In your Canvas course, click TidyUP in the course menu.
- Click Authorize to give TidyUp access to your course.
- Under the Scan Course button, click Custom.
- Uncheck all boxes except Video (MP4, MOV, etc.).
- Click the Scan Course button to scan your video content.
- Once the scan is complete, go to the Files tab.
- For each video, review the Used In column to confirm the file is no longer in use (i.e., the old videos should no longer be embedded or linked in your course). If a file is marked as Used, double-check that you’ve replaced it with the My Media version before deleting.
- In TidyUP, select the video files you want to delete by checking the boxes next to them.
- Click Delete Selected, and then click Delete.
Important: Deleting files through TidyUP is permanent and cannot be undone. Be sure you’ve uploaded the video to My Media and linked or embedded it in your course before removing the original.
Tip: You can always download a copy of a video before deleting it
7. Edit Your My Media Video Captions
When you upload a video to My Media, machine-generated captions are automatically created and added to your video. This process may take a couple of hours.
Videos uploaded to My Media before December 1, 2021 do not include automatically-generated captions; however, you can still order machine-generated captions for My Media videos that don't have captions. See Manually Ordering Machine Captions for Older My Media Videos
Important: Machine-generated captions are not 100% accurate. To meet accessibility standards, you are responsible for reviewing and editing your video's captions for accuracy.
Tip: When you edit a My Media video's captions, the captions update wherever the video is embedded or linked.
Characteristics of Accessible Captions
For auto-captions to be considered accessible, you must review and edit them to ensure:
- Spelling, capitalization, and punctuation errors are corrected.
- Text matches spoken words.
- Text is correctly synchronized with the audio and video.
- Relevant/meaningful sounds are added to captions.
- If the video has multiple speakers, captions indicate which speaker is speaking.
Tip: Not sure what good captions look like? See the DCMP Captioning Key, a practical guide that shows how captions should handle punctuation, speakers, sound effects, and timing to be accessible for all students.
Captioning Tips
- Sounds – If a sound adds meaning to the video, add it to the captions. For example:
[door opens]
Carlos: Hello! I'm so glad you could make it.
Julia: We're so excited to be here.
- Pause, hesitation, or trailing off – Use an ellipsis to indicate a pause, hesitation, or trailing off. For example:
I thought it would work, but…I guess not.
I...I'm not sure what to do.
- Identify multiple speakers – If the video has multiple speakers, captions should indicate which speaker is speaking. You don't have to label the speaker in each line. Just label the speaker initially and when the speaker changes. For example:
Ed: Welcome to our presentation.
We're happy you're here.
Kathy: We'll be recording the presentation and will send you a link.
- Interruption or overlap – Use an em dash ( – ) to show a speaker is cut off or if two people speak at once.
- Interruption – If the current speaker is interrupted but speech doesn't overlap, place an em dash at the end of the caption. For example:
Ed: We should probably start –
Kathy: The Zoom recording?
-
- Overlapping words – If the current speaker is interrupted and the words overlap with the next speaker, place an em dash at the end of the first caption and at the beginning of the next line. For example:
Ed: We should probably start –
Kathy: – The Zoom recording?
Video Procedure – Review and Edit Captions in My Media
Written Procedure – Review and Edit Captions in My Media
1. In Canvas, click Account in the left-hand navigation column, and then select My Media.
-
Click the title of the video whose captions you want to edit.
-
Click Actions . Then click Caption & Enrich.
-
Click the pencil to the right of the captions.
-
In the left-hand panel, click the text you want to edit, change the text, and click Save when done.
Refer to captioning best practices for more information on captioning.
After you click Save, the captions will be updated in your video and will display correctly wherever the video is embedded or linked.