Using the Kaltura Video Resource in Moodle

We have come a long way since the days of uploading video files onto our LMS (Blackboard, and now Moodle) and the DSS server for student view. Our LBCC Media YouTube Channel has served us well, and we will continue to use it for specific needs, but we are really excited to be able to offer instructors and students the ability to share video directly through Moodle without having to deal with large video files. Well, you still have to upload your video file, but the people on the other end don't - all they will need to do is click a link, and they will be able to watch your video as it streams (not downloading) on their device, whether a computer, tablet, phone, etc. Yes, we really are there!

There are currently two basic ways to use Kaltura, new video tool in LBCC Moodle: instructor-generated video resources, and video assignments, where students can upload video content to share with their instructor (and fellow students, if needed).

Let's start with the Kaltura Video Resource:

1. Turn editing on in your Moodle course.

2. Click the "Add an activity or resource" link in the content block in which you want the item to appear.

3. Select "Kaltura Video Resource"

4. Input in the Name and Description fields, and select the "Upload media or record from webcam" option.

5. Browse for your video.

6. Click the "Upload" button.

7. Give your video a title, tags, and a description, and click the "Next" button.

8. You can click the "Preview" button to preview your video. 

If you see this announcement: "Your video is still converting. Please check the status of your video at a later time," you will need to… well, do what it says.

9. If you click "Save and display," you will be taken to the resource you just built.

10. Here is the finished product, ready for student access!

Yours may not look quite this scary, but we can't all be so lucky!

Comment below!

We Need to Take Our Own Advice

I received this question from an Instructor:

How many of us, percent & numbers, are actually using Moodle for class? Many of my students tell me that my classes are the only ones that use Moodle. If there are others, usually writing or math but not across the board. I have been told that some faculty are pulling out of Moodle because it is adding extra work just to do daily updates. (And it does.) What do you think about this?

Hi X:

The number of instructors using Moodle fluctuates from term to term, and it also depends on how you define the phrase "using Moodle." There are dozens of faculty using Moodle in a superficial way - links to files, manual grades, etc., similar to how instructor websites are typically used. There are others who invest the time and effort to learn the tool, and make it work for them, with worthwhile benefit for them and their students.

My observation is that the user who has missed the value of eLearning technology enough to let that technology do some of the work for them, and only uses the tool superficially, are the ones most often frustrated with it because it adds "extra work just to do daily updates."

An instructor who grabs ahold of even just a couple or three ways that Moodle can take a lot of the mundane, administrative work out of the equation soon realizes they suddenly have more student contact time.

Be the instructor who is willing to make the learning and effort investment up front, to reap the benefits later, in the form of a payoff with tangible benefits of lower effort and/or more effectiveness for years to follow. Don't be the person who lets themselves fall into the crisis-management rut, and not expand their knowledge and expertise to make the technology work for them and their students. Ok , now I'm sounding a little like my mom… sorry about that. ;-)

Speaking of learning the tool, and making it work for you, there are some seriously awesome upgrades along those lines in each new version of Moodle. Of course, as always, only the Instructors who take the time to look, and then realize the benefits of learning and using those tools, and then make the necessary investment of time and effort will benefit from them.

There's my 2¢ - probably a bit more than you bargained for?

If You Don't Believe in What You Do, Then Why Do You Do It?

Once upon a time, in a previous life as an Employee Development Specialist (a glorified name for "Training Coordinator") with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, I started pushing for what we called "CBT" or Computer-Based Training. I didn't like the term then, and I don't like it now, because, to some it implies that the learning process is completely facilitated by technology. "What am I going to do for work when all the computers take over?" was a question I heard from not only many of the instructors I trained and supported, but from my supervisor, and his, and his, etc.

I was only partially successful in getting them to realize the value of… well, I prefer "eLearning" now, but I'm going to coin a new label soon, so stay tuned for that. Back on topic: I was only partially successful in getting enough people there to realize the true value of CBT before I left for a new position. Actually, I had two things in mind regarding the value and benefit of CBT: content consistency and time flexibility - both very valuable learning concepts - concepts only available since eLearning technology started taking root just a few years ago.

Fast forward about twenty years, and read how 72% of professors who teach online courses don't think their students deserve credit. If you are looking for an answer to the obvious question, "then why are those professors teaching online?" you won't find it in that article. You might enjoy reading the comments below the article, though.

Asynchronous & Synchronous eLearning

A study of asynchronous and synchronous e-learning methods discovered that each supports different purposes.

Today’s workforce is expected to be highly educated and to continually improve skills and acquire new ones by engaging in lifelong learning. E-learning, here defined as learning and teaching online through network technologies, is arguably one of the most powerful responses to the growing need for education. Some researchers have expressed concern about the learning outcomes for e-learners, but a review of 355 comparative studies reveals no significant difference in learning outcomes, commonly measured as grades or exam results, between traditional and e-learning modes of delivery.

Read more here.