Video or audio-based presentations, whether individual or done in groups, can help students practice professional communication, demonstrate mastery of course concepts, and increase social presence in your class. They also provide a more authentic demonstration of student learning, verifying that the work reflects the student’s own understanding and voice.
This guide explains how to effectively set up Canvas assignments for audio/video presentations.
Our Audio/Video Assignment Tools article walks through options students can use to create media-based presentation assignments.
Choosing the Right Submission Setup
Selecting the correct submission type ensures smooth uploading, viewing, and long-term storage. Consider whether videos need to persist beyond the semester, whether closed captions are required, and whether peer sharing is part of the assignment.
Panopto Assignment Submissions (Recommended Default)
Best for:
- Recordings that need to be stored/saved for future use or reference
- Creating a class repository of submissions for all students to see (if used in Discussions)
- Courses that require all videos to be captioned for a student accommodation.
The Panopto video tool is used to host all lecture content in WSE courses. In addition to hosting lecture videos, Panopto is available to all users in Canvas, as one of the options in the Rich Content Editor (RCE). When students click the Panopto icon in the RCE, they will be given the option to upload and embed a video as part of their response.
To set an assignment up for Panopto video submissions from students, select Text Entry under Submission Type in the assignment settings.
In the instructions for the assignment, advise students to click on the Panopto icon in the RCE, and follow these instructions to upload their video.
If you want students to be able to share their Panopto videos with each other, you can use the Text Entry setting within a Discussion Topic. When students share their replies with the videos included, they will be able to review each other's video submissions as well.
VoiceThread Assignment Submissions
Best for:
- Assignments of any length or media type
- Creating a class repository of submissions for all students to see
- Recordings that need to be stored/saved for future use or reference
- Courses that require all videos to be captioned for a student accommodation.
VoiceThread assignments can be used in a variety of ways to allow multimedia submissions by students. They can upload audio, video, or other types of files that they can then record audio over in order to complete their assignment.
To set up a VoiceThread assignment in your course, follow these instructions under "How to Use."
Zoom-Based Assignments
Recommended for:
- Live presentations
- Collaborative videos
- Recordings that are not needed beyond the current semester
All JHU students can use Zoom through https://jhubluejays.zoom.us/ to host meetings and record themselves. However, student accounts cannot share cloud recordings via link. They can only generate a video file, which they may then upload to another platform, such as Panopto, for sharing.
Faculty can also use Zoom for live presentations or oral examinations (see the Zoom Quick Start Guide). When using a faculty Zoom account, events can be recorded to the cloud and shared with students via a link once processing is complete. These recordings typically do not need to be stored elsewhere, but if you wish to keep them for future use, enable automatic upload to Panopto.
Depending on your assignment needs, there are several ways to incorporate Zoom. If you have questions about using Zoom for coursework, contact CMTShelp@jh.edu.
Canvas Media Recording
Recommended for:
- Short, graded assignments
- Quick updates with bare-bones technical requirements
- Recordings that need to be stored/saved for future use or reference
When setting up a standard assignment in Canvas, you have the option to allow submissions via Media Recordings. This allows students to submit an audio or video recording, either via upload of existing media or by recording themselves with the built-in Canvas recorder that launches when they start the assignment. Video and audio uploads to Canvas can be up to 500 MB, but the DocViewer annotations are not available to Instructors for providing feedback on this type of assignment. Additionally, media recording submissions cannot be downloaded.
Note: This submission type should only be used for graded assignments. If students submit audio and video files for an ungraded assignment, it will count against their user storage and ultimately cause problems for them in your course or future courses.