Since Northwestern IT recently announced the launch of Panopto, the Office of Distance Learning has been working to evaluate uses of this Learning Technology. There are many simple ways to use Panopto in Online Courses and a few will be shared in this blog post.

Use Panopto for sharing videos you’ve already made

If you have a large video library, possibly in another video hosting platform or in your Canvas course, you can move those videos into Panopto to free up space in your course or gain more insights into how your students are engaging with your videos. Since Panopto videos are connected to Canvas accounts, it’s easy to see if your students are viewing your videos to completion. Allow students to post discussion comments on your videos for another layer of discussion in your course, or include chapters on longer videos to make them easier to navigate quickly. You can put captions on your videos for accessibility, and Panopto scans the audio and images in your videos to identify words to make your videos searchable.

Use Panopto to record new videos

Even if you’re already using another tool to record videos can install Panopto for free and try the Panopto recorder on your Mac or Windows computer. The Panopto recorder is simple to use and is capable of recording from a camera input as well as screencasting your desktop. You can even make basic edits to your recordings using the Panopto editor if you decide later that you need to trim a part of your recording. If you teach a hybrid online course you can even use a video enabled classroom to record a classroom based event or presentation. As always, you can work with the Distance Learning team to record videos using available video Learning Technologies.

Use Panopto to add quizzes to your videos

Panopto multiple choice quizzes integrate with the Canvas, so students can answer quiz questions as they watch your videos. This is another way to check that students are engaging with your videos in addition to video discussions and Panopto analytics.

Have your students use Panopto to create a video assignment

Panopto is available to everyone with a Northwestern NetID so students can create Panopto videos in addition to viewing them. The Panopto web editor is easy to use and works in a web browser, which means students can collaborate on video projects without needing to install and learn to use advanced editing software. Video discussions allow students to give peer feedback on videos as well.

Other ways to use Panopto in Online Courses

If you want to learn more about Panopto, visit our Learning Technologies page on Panopto, check out the Northwestern Digital Learning Resource Hub page, watch tutorials from Panopto, and attend the November Online Learning Webinar where WIlliam Guth and Aaron Bannasch will show Panopto in action. Have you thought of any other uses for Panopto? Share your experiences in the comments!