Kaltura - Effective Practices for Creating Video Content [UW-Madison]

This document provides a summary of key effective practices and information to be aware of when creating audio, video, or online lecture material for a course.

When recording audio or video for your course, please follow the best practices suggested in this document. 

As an alternative to making your own recordings, you could search for an adequate substitute on Kaltura MediaSpace, Canvas Commons, TED, or YouTube. However, if you use existing material, be sure to properly cite it/credit the author. 

Before recording:

  • Prepare and use a script or an outline if you have time to do so. It will help keep your video succinct and on track. A script can also be the basis for captions.
  • Plan to keep your videos short, below 5-10 minutes in length. If your lecture would normally last longer than that, divide it into smaller sections and organize into playlists.
  • Insert a learning activity between videos if you include multiple videos in a module for a single class session equivalent. Activity examples:
    • Have students briefly derive a potential test question from the video they just watched.
    • Ask students to post a reaction on your course's Canvas Discussion forum.
    • Have students take a brief Canvas quiz about the content. These kinds of engagement breaks make face-to-face lectures more effective, too.

Recording:

  • If you do want to record audio and video, your laptop or mobile devices’ internal microphone and camera will work. But, for better quality it is recommended you use a dedicated microphone or headset and/or camera.
  • If you're recording your own videos on a phone or similar device, use a tripod if you can, to keep the picture steady.
  • If you find that you must choose between audio quality and video quality, prioritize audio quality. Otherwise, don't worry too much about production values; just focus on delivering the content students need. When you export your video, compress your video and use the MP4 format to ensure broadest compatibility with your students' devices.
  • Keep a backup copy of any files you upload to Kaltura MediaSpace.

Accessibility, FERPA, and HIPAA compliance considerations:

  • Consider captioning your media to make it more accessible to all users.
  • Content hosted in Kaltura MediaSpace identifying students, or content contributed by students, constitutes an educational record and FERPA regulations apply. Those regulations require that the content be protected from disclosure without student consent. Disclosure in this context includes use outside of the class such as posting student content openly on the Internet. Faculty who intend to post original student work in such a manner may do so with the students’ permission or by providing an opt out option for individual students. For additional information on FERPA please see the Office of the Registrar's resources on FERPA.
  • Be careful to not store or accidentally record and share material with electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI) in Kaltura MediaSpace. For more information in HIPAA please see the Office of Compliance's resources on HIPAA.