Panopto is a tool for streaming audio and video files on your Canvas course site. It's a third-party streaming tool that UChicago has integrated with Canvas. While Canvas has its own audio and video tools, Panopto offers a number of features that the Canvas media features do not.

Features include:

• Acceptance of large, high-resolution media files. Panopto is designed to handle large, high-resolution video files. In contrast, Canvas will not accept any media file larger than 500 MB.
• Media file editing capabilities. Panopto allows you to edit the media file, including trimming it, creating a new file that is a shorter clip of the original, creating a time-stamped table of contents for the video, inserting slides, and adding captions.
• Media file information capabilities. In addition to the title, you can enter a searchable description for each media file in Panopto.
• In-video quizzing. You can create quizzes within Panopto videos. Students' scores on in-video quizzes can be passed to the Canvas Gradebook.
• Student engagement tools. Panopto offers a number of tools to increase student engagement with your videos, such as adding bookmarks, creating discussion threads, and taking notes on videos.
• Automatic captioning capabilities. Panopto automatically generates captions for your videos. The machine-generated captioning can then be revised and edited easily if necessary.

To find out more about these tools, click on the topics below.

Recommended Browser

It is recommended that you use up-to-date versions of Chrome or Firefox. Panopto video player tends to freeze in Safari.

Video and Audio Formats Supported by Panopto

Panopto supports most video and audio formats, including AVI, MP4, MPG, WMV, MOV, QT, ASF, 3GP, WMA, MP3, and M4V files. For a complete list of the formats and specifications supported by Panopto, consult Panopto's list of supported formats.

Enable Panopto Video in a Course (Optional, Instructors Only)

By default, Panopto Video will be enabled when you create a new Canvas course. If it is not, you as the instructor can enable the course navigation link to Panopto Video so that course members can access the Panopto Video page on the course site and take advantage of its capabilities. To do so, please follow the steps in the article How do I manage Course Navigation links?

Note: You can embed a media file directly into a Canvas content page without enabling the Panopto Video page. For details, see the Embed a Panopto Video or Audio File into a Content Area in Canvas section below.

Manage Your Panopto Media Files

Use the Panopto Video tool to manage access on Canvas.

Access Panopto Video

To access your Panopto media, simply log into your Canvas course site and click on Panopto Video on the left-hand course navigation menu. If Panopto Video does not appear in the course navigation menu, then the instructor must enable this navigation tab under Settings > Navigation. For more detailed instructions on how to enable this tab, see Enable Panopto Video in a Course (Instructors only).

Add Content to a Panopto Folder

Panopto Folders

When you click on the Panopto Video tab, you will be taken to the default Panopto folder for your course. If you wish to create subfolders within this folder, there are two ways to do so:

1. Method 1: Click Add folder and enter the name of your new folder.
2. Method 2: From the +Create drop-down menu, select New folder.
   
   This option will open a dialog box allowing you to enter a name and (if you wish) description for the folder, as well as controlling whether or not the new folder will inherit permissions from its parent folder.
   

Record a New Panopto Video

You can record a Panopto video file directly from your computer, using your webcam. There are two methods of recording: via the Panopto app or via the browser-based Panopto Capture.

• To record with the Panopto app, see the articles How to Record with Panopto for Windows and How to Record with Panopto for Mac.
• To record with Panopto Capture from your browser, see the article How to Create a Video Using Panopto Capture.

Upload an Existing Video to Panopto

To upload an existing video on your computer to Panopto, please see the article How to Upload Video Files.

Organize Your Panopto Videos

By default, when you record or upload a video using the Panopto Video tab in Canvas, it will be uploaded to a folder named after your course under Default Folder. If you have multiple courses, it can be difficult to find the correct folder. One option is to choose My Folder when recording or uploading a video. You can then create subfolders within My Folder and organize your videos for ease of navigation.

Permanently Delete a File from Panopto

To permanently delete a file from Panopto, click on the column of three dots on the video thumbnail and choose Delete from the menu that appears.

Request Automatic Closed Captioning for Videos

As a recipient of federal funding, the University of Chicago is required by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act to provide effective auxiliary aids and services for qualified students with documented disabilities if such aids are needed to provide equitable access to the University's programs and services. This includes academic programs as well as extracurricular activities.

If you use videos in your courses, you can comply with the federal requirements by providing closed captioning to your videos. In Panopto, all videos are provisioned with automatic speech recognition (ASR) captioning at no extra cost. ASR captioning may take one day or more, depending on the length of the video, to become available. After which, instructors simply need to Edit the video, select Captions, and select Import captions, then Publish the changes to make captioning available.

Note: Machine-generated captions often need to be revised and edited before they are acceptably accurate. For step-by-step instructions on how to request and edit ASR captioning, see How to Add ASR (Automatic Speech Recognition) Captions into a Video.

Embed a Panopto Video or Audio File into a Content Area in Canvas (Instructors Only)

As an instructor, you can embed a Panopto video or audio file directly in a Content Page or other content area on a Canvas course site. Students can only embed media files into a Content Page if the instructor has enabled student editing for that Content Page. For a step-by-step guide, please see the article How to Embed Panopto Videos in a Canvas Course.

Link Panopto Media in Canvas Modules (Instructors Only)

You can link specific Panopto media in Canvas Modules. To do so, please see the article How to Insert a Video Link into a Canvas Module.

Share Your Panopto Videos outside Your Course (Instructors Only)

If you have recorded or uploaded a Panopto video for a particular course and wish to make it available to people outside that course, please see the article How to Share a Video.

Use Panopto Media in Canvas Assignments (Instructors Only)

You can include Panopto media as part of a creative assignment. For example, you might have your students record an explanation of a concept with one prop, a short argumentative speech, or an interpretative close reading of a poem. See our articles Panopto: Using Panopto to Collect Student Video Assignments in Canvas and Panopto: Creating and Editing In-Video Quizzes for more information.

Edit Panopto Files

Panopto's editing function allows you to manipulate your media files in a number of ways. For example, you can add or change metadata such as the file's title and description; trim a video file or create a new file that is a shorter clip of the original; mark the file into chapters; insert slides; add captions; create in-video quizzes; and more. For a step-by-step guide, please see the article How to Edit a Video.