Panopto

Panopto is a cloud based platform for recording and sharing video content that seamlessly integrates with Moodle for video/audio course content and can be used for DIY lecture capture and screencasts.

What is Panopto?

Panopto is a lecture-capture platform that supports asynchronous learning. With a single sign-on through Moodle, instructors can create and share videos with slides, in-session quizzes, searchable transcripts, and variable speed playback. Students can annotate content with notes and create recordings as part of class assignments.

Why should I use Panopto?

Panopto is an exceptionally versatile video management tool that lends itself to a variety of pedagogical and scholarly uses.

  • Course Materials: Record videos and embed them in Moodle for students to view; create in-video quizzes to assess your students’ comprehension of recorded material; or have your students record and submit their own Panopto videos as assignments.

  • Flipped Classroom: Break up your instructional content into short videos for students to watch outside of class, leaving class time open for active learning activities.

  • Session Capture: Record course meetings, guest speakers, or presentations and make the recordings available for others to watch and review.

  • Live Streaming: With the Panopto app, easily and quickly create a webcast and broadcast it either to a select audience or to a public link. You can share your computer screen, add a PowerPoint presentation to your webcast, and more.

What can I record with Panopto?

With Panopto’s Recorder software, you can capture your voice, webcam, and on-screen activity. Just about anything you do on your computer can be turned into a recorded presentation and published on your Moodle page. By default, students can just stream the video, but you can set the permissions so they can download it.

Note: The instructor or student who makes a recording owns that content. Remember to follow copyright protections when incorporating multimedia content into a Panopto Session. For more information, consult Occidental College’s copyright policy.

How to use Panopto

In just a few steps, Panopto is easily integrated within any Moodle course page. Embedded videos mean that students never have to leave the Moodle environment; however, you may wish for them to use the full Panopto site to leverage a wider range of features.

Note: some Safari users may encounter difficulty launching the Panopto editor within the Moodle text editor or accessing videos properly. If you have encountered such a problem, consult this document.

  • How can I add Panopto to my Moodle page?

    • Panopto is already provisioned for all courses for the remainder of Spring 2020. The Panopto logo in the Moodle text editor will allow you to insert videos.

  • How can students access videos?

    • If you have installed the optional Panopto block in Moodle, links to recent recordings will automatically populate in the block on the right side of your course page. You may also embed video content almost anywhere else in Moodle by using the Panopto tool in the text editor or by providing a sharable link.

Making your first recording is remarkably easy. Panopto allows for the simultaneous capture of multiple streams of content, including webcam video, screencasting, and voice-over narration. In the full Panopto player, a thumbnail on the left displays a lecturer’s webcam (known in Panopto as “primary” content), and a larger player displays “secondary” content like Powerpoint slides, videos, or screenshares.

  • Install the Panopto recorder

    • Downloading Panopto on Windows

      • Within Moodle, select “Add an activity or resource” and add a Label.

      • Click on the Panopto toolbar button (a green triangular logo) and select Record in the following dialog window.

      • Select the “Click here to download” link.

      • Locate PanoptoRecorder.exe in your downloads and run the application. The installer will self-extract and begin the installation.

      • Select a Destination Folder to install the recorder, a Storage location where you would like your recordings saved, and the URL (without “http”) of your Panopto Web Server.

      • Once Panopto for Windows is installed, you will be able to open the software and log in.

    • Downloading Panopto on Mac

      Select the “Click here to download” link.

      • Within Moodle, select “Add an activity or resource” and add a Label.

      • Click on the Panopto toolbar button (a green triangular logo) and select Record in the following dialog window.

      • Run the "Panopto.pkg" file and click Continue in the installer.

      • Select the Drive where you would like to install Panopto for Mac and click Continue.

      • If prompted, insert credentials to allow installation on your computer.

      • In order to upload videos through Panopto, you must give the installer security permissions. Select OK on the security warning pop-up to enable the recorder to do so.

  • Record with Panopto

    • Log in to Panopto by going to http://panopto.oxy.edu or open the Panopto tool from the Moodle text editor and select “Record.”

    • Click on the "Create New Recording" button in Panopto. Under "Folder," select your class (if you launch Panopto from within Moodle, your class folder will be pre-selected). Under "Session," you can specify a name for the recording.

    • In the window that appears, select Open Panopto to launch the Recorder. Then, select your recording options: you can record a screen capture, video from a webcam or external camera, and audio from internal or external microphones. Depending on your needs, you can enable or disable any of the audio/video sources.

    • When you are ready, click "Start Recording". You can pause the recording at any time. When done, click "Stop Recording".

The resulting recording will be automatically uploaded to Panopto's servers. It will take some time to process the recordings. Allow a few hours for a class-length recording. When the processing is complete, the recording will appear as a link in the Panopto block in Moodle (if you have it installed) and can be embedded in Moodle sites using the text editor toolbar button.

Helpful Links:

If you prefer to use other software to make screencast recordings or hope to incorporate PDFs and other file types into a Panopto video, you may circumvent the Panopto Recorder entirely. The “Build a Session” feature offers the widest array of features, but you may wish to simply upload a local recording you’ve made directly.

  • Upload an individual recording

    • Log in to Panopto by going to http://panopto.oxy.edu or open the Panopto tool from the Moodle text editor and select “Upload.”

    • Within the Panopto site, click the big green "Create" button next to the search bar.

    • From the drop down menu select "Upload media."

    • Choose the folder assigned to your Moodle course page. It should be the same name of your course.

    • After you’ve selected which folder you want to upload to, you can upload files from your computer by dragging them into the "Choose video or audio files" area or by clicking and selecting file(s) from your computer.

    • The audio or video will begin uploading.

    • While the video is uploading you can edit the video title.

    • Once the video is uploaded it will begin processing. Once it has reached this stage you can exit the upload screen.

    • Once you return to the course folder in Panopto, the new audio or video file will show the processing status and will become available for all students to view once complete. At this time, if desired, you can edit the video description under the video "Settings" tab.

  • Batch upload with “Build a Session”

    • Log in to Panopto by going to panopto.oxy.edu.

    • At the top center, click the big green "Create" button next to the search bar.

    • From the drop down menu select “Build a Session.”

    • Choose a name for your session and a description should you choose to add one, then click Create.

    • The editor will now open in Build a session mode, starting with adding your Primary video or audio. This is usually video or audio of the presenter and appears on the upper left side of the viewer. Add video or audio by dragging and dropping the file here, or click to open a file explorer and choose the file from your computer.

    • Once you have added Primary video, you will be given the option to Drop another audio video or file on the right side or Drop a secondary video or powerpoint file on the left side. Secondary videos appear on the right side of the viewer and usually contain the content that is being presented.

    • Once the files are uploaded and done processing, the video can be edited like any other video. You may trim sections, add powerpoint slides, or the table of contents.

    • When your video is finished, select Publish in the top right corner. It may take some time for edits to process before the video is available.

Helpful Links:

Panopto’s suite of editing tools allow for a viewing experience tailored to asynchronous learning. There are quite a few tools at your disposal, including a traditional video editor for trimming content; an interface dedicated to secondary streams like slides or screencasts; a quiz-builder; and a sidebar for the table of contents, captions, or bookmarks.

These tools are available by selecting the “Edit” button next to any video in your library. Consult the tutorials linked below for detailed instructions for adding any of these functions to your uploaded video.

Note: Auto-Captioning is only available in English, although you may manually caption your videos in the Panopto Editor.

A video inherits sharing permissions from its parent folder (in most cases, a course folder). An instructor may adjust this sharing permission to be more public than the parent folder setting, but not more private.

  • Sharing with individuals or specific groups

    • Hover over a video and select the “Share” icon. This will open your sharing options.

    • To invite specific people, type their names or usernames into the Invite people area. You can add a message that will accompany an email, much like a shared file in Google Drive. Click “Save Changes & Share.”

    • To share with a wider group, click on the button under “Who has access.” Choose from the following:

      • Specific People: This option allows you to share the video with specific people as viewers.

      • Anyone at your organization with the link: Choosing this option will enable viewing access for anyone who can log into your Panopto site and has the direct link.

      • Anyone at your organization: This option will enable viewing access for anyone who can log into your Panopto site.

      • Anyone with the link: Choosing this option will enable viewing access for anyone on the Internet who has the direct link, no sign-in is required.

  • Adding a video to Moodle

    • By default, recordings appear within the Panopto block on Moodle if you have added the block to your course page. You can also find a sharable link as described above and embed it into a syllabus.

    • You can also insert the video anywhere in Moodle that has a rich-text editor. To embed a video, click on the Panopto icon on the editor toolbar. Select “Choose,” find your video, and insert it into the page.

Helpful links:

An Assignment Folder is a specially provisioned subfolder that allows viewers to create Panopto videos. Students may submit assignments as video recordings to this folder via an interface similar to the “Record a New Session” feature used by teaching teams. By default, students cannot see their peers’ video submissions. Instructors may enable this from the cog icon in the upper right hand corner, however. To add an assignment folder, follow these instructions:

  • Go to panopto.oxy.edu and find the folder that matches the name of your Moodle course page.

  • Go to the Settings tab of the selected folder and click the Overview tab.

  • On the Overview screen, click on the button labeled "Create Assignment Folder."

  • On the main interface page, you will see that the folder has been added as a subfolder to the original with the word "[assignments]" added to the end.

  • Now your students will be able to add content to the newly created [assignments] folder.

  • Add the Panopto Folder link to Moodle.

Helpful links:

Contact ITS
Academic Commons

1st Floor, Suite 116

Phone: (323) 259-2880
helpdesk@oxy.edu

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