Latest Updates to Zoom (with bonus Kaltura content!)

 There have been quit a few updates to Zoom this summer. We'll do a dive into each of them in this blog and include links to Zoom's content so you can learn more. 

Video Waiting Room

You can now add a video to your waiting room (if you use one.) This can be welcoming the attendees, going over any housekeeping or rules, or just be something cute and interesting to look at. Learn more about this and get a downloadable customized video by going to https://bit.ly/3j3CsKw

Zoom Apps

Zoom now has the capability to add certain apps to its platform, rather than having to share your screen and have students participate that way. This is especially helpful for anyone wanting to use Kahoot! or Mentimeter in their meetings. You can learn more about apps within Zoom, as well as what apps are available, by going to https://bit.ly/3kdT29G

Kaltura Integration 

Management of the Kaltura Zoom Integration is now set in the Kaltura Management Console instead of in Zoom. This allows for improved Zoom integration setup and management workflow. You do not need to do anything to enable this change. 

Kaltura Transcoding

Starting on 8/15 Kaltura introduced a new method of transcoding their videos. The new transcoding profile generates a Full HD flavor and a SD flavor for smaller screens. The Full HD flavor is marked as the source and the original source flavor is not retained. Previous content is not affected. The new transcoding profile is applied only to the new Zoom recordings ingested to the system from now on. You do not need to do anything to enable this change.

Add Kaltura Quizzes to YouTube Videos

If you've used the quiz feature in Kaltura and like how it keeps your students accountable for watching course videos, you can now utilize that same feature on top of a YouTube video (think TedTalks, etc.)

 

As always, contact Learning Technologies with any questions about these changes!                          

Kaltura Video Quizzes

Many instructors use Kaltura videos to convey course content. But did you know there's a way to check if students are watching the videos and absorbing the content?

Kaltura gives content creators the opportunity to add pop-up quizzes to their videos. These quizzes can even be integrated with Canvas's grade book.

From Kaltura's Knowledge Center: "Video quizzes are created and edited using the Kaltura Video Editing Tools Quiz Creator. The Quiz Creator enables you to create an unlimited number of multiple choice questions with 2-4 optional answers per question." You can add these questions at any point in the video, and the video will continue after the viewer answers the question. 

For an overview of how to add video quizzes to Kaltura, this video from Virginia Commonwealth University's ALT Lab is a great resource:

You can also find more information on how to create Kaltura video quizzes in the Kaltura Knowledge Center. They have a great tutorial on how to integrate the quiz answers with the Canvas grade book as well.

Captions in Zoom

Accessibility continues to be an important focus in the abrupt transition to distance education and communication. While our Zoom accounts allow us to enable audio transcripts of meeting recordings, Learning Technologies wants to take this opportunity to make you aware of the pros and cons of this transcription.

The setting to enable transcriptions of recorded meetings can be found by opening your Zoom client, clicking the settings cog in the upper right corner, selecting Profile from the left hand menu, and then choosing View Advanced Features.

 

 

Image of Zoom window, with arrows pointing to the settings cog and the profile menu option

Once in your options, select Recordings and then look for the Audio transcript option.

Image of Zoom settings window with audio transcript box checked

As you can tell, my audio transcript option is checked. Now we get into the pros and cons.

Zoom uses AI to add captions to their meeting recordings. AI captions are a great start, but frequently get their captions wrong (for example, I was watching a Pride and Prejudice video on YouTube and the captions were talking about Bruce Wayne. Might be an interesting crossover!)

So the Zoom captions are better than nothing, but not by much. If it's a meeting you're recording just to have a record of it, this type of transcription might be okay. But if it's a lecture you're recording and you want it to be accessible to students, then Zoom's AI is not going to cut it. Also, no one will be able to see the captions while the meeting is ongoing; these captions are only available after the meeting is completed.

Here is where you have a few options. Learning Technologies is piloting a new program called Otter.AI which provides real-time AI captions in Zoom meetings. Again, this is AI captioning, so it's not always 100% accurate, but it's a bit better than the Zoom captions. These captions aren't added to the video itself but are opened in another window. Again, this is better than nothing, but some users report that having to switch their view between the Zoom window and the transcript window to be less than ideal.

So what if you're recording a lecture using Zoom and want to make sure your captions are spot on for accessibility purposes, your best bet is to use Kaltura. Its AI captions are a lot better and you have the opportunity to edit the caption file to make it match up 100% with what you actually said (no Bruce Wayne here!)

The trick here is to turn off the Zoom captions before you record, if you plan to use the Kaltura captions. Zoom captions "bake into" the video before it transfers to Kaltura, meaning you can't remove the Zoom captions and replace them with the more accurate Kaltura captions. To turn them off, follow the steps above.

So there you have it! Captioning in Zoom is doable, but how you do it depends on the end result you want. Once you've done it a few times, it should be a pretty simple process but, as always, contact Learning Technologies if you have any questions!

Which Video Tool Should I Use?

Emporia State supports three instructional video resources for faculty and staff: Kaltura, Zoom, and Panopto. What's the difference between these tools and why are there so many options? Which one is the best option for accessibility?

To answer that question we need to provide a brief product history to understand how we got here. Roughly ten years ago, the Counselor Education on campus program needed a solution to replace an aging VHS recording system. Panopto, a new lecture capture product developed at Carnegie Mellon, provided the perfect solution. It integrated into the campus LMS, supported two camera recording capabilities, could be used in multiple rooms at the same time, and was completely digital. Since then it has been used to record and upload thousands of videos. 

About the same time, the campus migrated its webconferencing system from Wimba (later acquired by Blackboard) to Adobe Connect. Webconferencing software had a very narrow niche in the mid 2000s - there was virtually no overlap between a lecture capture product and a webconferencing product.

Fast forward a few years, the campus has since replaced Connect with Zoom and acquired Kaltura. Like Connect and Wimba before it, Zoom is branded as a webconferencing/meeting product. Kaltura, in contrast, is branded/marketed as a video hosting, streaming, and curation product. Again, little or no overlap among products a few years ago, but that's changing. 

Each of these products, which are still very viable and highly ranked in Gartner's Magic Quadrant, are now vying to expand their reach and become a one-stop solution for lecture capture, desktop recording, curation, and more. However, shifting a campus that is deeply entrenched in each product to a single solution is easier said than done. Hence, we're likely going to continue licensing these products indefinitely. Let's break these down and see which product is best to use for your purposes:

The primary application of Zoom is live meetings. The campus supports approximately 600 Zoom meetings every month during the semester. However, Zoom can be used for much more:

• Live meetings - Best Use ✓
• Support for 100 simultaneous participants
• Live webcasting ✓
• Support for up to 1000 simultaneous participants
• Two-way communication limited to chat
• Screen capture/recording ✓
• Lecture capture ✓
• External video upload ✘
• Cameras
• Single ✓
• Dual ✘
• Desktop and mobile app ✓
• Accessibility ✓
• Automatic captions ✘ (forthcoming)
• Automatic transcripts ✓
• Cross product integration
• Panopto (Possible, but not currently supported at ESU) ✘
• Kaltura ✓
• Canvas (Limited) ✓ 

  

The primary application of Panopto is lecture capture. The campus supports approximately 200 lecture captures every month during the semester. Like Zoom, Panopto can be used for much more: 

• Live meetings ✘
• Live webcasting ✓
• Support for up to 10,000 simultaneous participants
• Two-way communication limited to viewer Notes and Comments
• Screen capture/recording ✓
• Lecture capture - Best Use ✓
• External video upload ✓
• Cameras
• Single ✓
• Dual ✓
• Desktop and mobile app ✓
• Accessibility ✓
• Automatic captions ✓
• Automatic transcripts ✘
• Cross product integration
• Zoom (Possible, but not currently supported at ESU) ✘
• Kaltura ✘
• Canvas (Deep) ✓

The primary application of Kaltura is video hosting, curation, and streaming playback. The campus supports approximately 600 monthly hours of video playback/viewing during the semester. Like Zoom and Panopto, Kaltura can be used for much more: 

• Live meetings ✘
• Live webcasting ✓
• Screen capture/recording ✓
  •  Using Kaltura Capture desktop app
• Lecture capture ✘
• External video upload - Best Use ✓
• Cameras
• Single ✓
• Dual ✘
• Desktop and mobile app ✓
• Accessibility ✓
• Automatic captions ✓
• Automatic transcripts ✓
• Cross product integration
• Zoom ✓
• Panopto ✘
• Canvas (Deep) ✓