Note: To view the images associated with this post, click on “View Announcement” and read the article in Canvas.
Did you know there is a way to bring any YouTube or Vimeo video you want directly into your course media with no ads? You can then use any features you could use for your other course media, such as adding annotations. You can even create video quizzes by adding questions into the video timeline.
This article will go over the basics of adding an external YouTube video in Canvas.
Limitations
Adding YouTube or Vimeo videos to your course is easy, but there are a few limitations to be aware of.
Both Canvas Studio and Kaltura allow you to bring external YouTube content into your Canvas course, but only Canvas Studio offers the ability to use Vimeo videos at present.
Some videos, such as videos that are "Private" or "Unlisted" on YouTube and Vimeo, are not viable to be brought into your course media.
At present Canvas Studio does not support the import of captions created by YouTube. Fortunately, you can easily request captions using the features in Studio. (Kaltura does allow the use of captions from YouTube.)
Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Canvas Studio captions are ADA compliant. Canvas Studio's captions generally have a minimum of about ~85% accuracy, while to ensure ADA-compliance captions should be 99%-100% accurate. If you request video captions for your videos in Studio, it is well worth taking the extra time to scroll through the transcription and ensure that they are as close to 100% as possible. This is generally a straightforward process in the Studio caption editor, and these accurate captions will remain applied to your course media in Studio from semester to semester once completed.
For more on the topic of adding accessible captions to your Canvas Studio videos, visit the following resources:
How do I use the Canvas Studio Caption Request Tool? (Links to an external site.)
Captioning 101 | Student Accessibility Services | Ithaca CollegeLinks to an external site.
How to Add a YouTube or Vimeo Video in Canvas Studio
1. First, navigate to the Canvas Studio tool. You can do this either by clicking the Studio in the left-hand global navigation or by going to the page to which you wish to add the video and clicking "Edit", then clicking the Canvas Studio tool in the Rich Content Editor.
2. Click "Add."
3. Copy the URL from your YouTube or Vimeo video, and in the “Add to My Library” popup, paste it in the “Paste External Link” field.
How to Add a YouTube Video in Kaltura
1. Navigate to the Kaltura tool. You can do this by navigating to media.ithaca.edu, or by going to the page in your course you want to add the YouTube video, editing that page to see the Rich Content Editor, and clicking the Kaltura icon.
2. Click “Add New.” This is located on the top-right screen of media.ithaca.edu, or via an option in the Kaltura media editor popup.
Then select “YouTube” from the dropdown option list.
3. Paste the URL from YouTube into the text entry box. Kaltura will cut down the URL to the alphanumeric code at the end of the link.
4. Click "Preview" to load the video.
5. After the video loads, modify the title and description, if desired. By default, the YouTube or Vimeo description is used.
6. Save your video.
7. Review the video in media.ithaca.edu or in your Canvas course to make sure things are working properly.
You can use the videos brought into your course media as video quizzes to test your students and their comprehension. For more information on creating quizzes in Canvas Studio and Kaltura videos, you can visit the previous Weekly Tip: Topic: Weekly Canvas Tip #14: Adding Quizzes to Your Videos in Canvas Studio and Kaltura
For more information on bringing YouTube and Vimeo media into your course, you can visit the following resources:
Additional Resources