Overview

In Canvas, there are two main ways to make your videos in "My Media" visible to members of your course:

• publishing them to the Media Gallery
• embedding them on Canvas pages 

This tutorial will walk you through how to embed a video on a page in Canvas. It only applies to Canvas users, and while students are able to embed media in Canvas (for example, in discussion boards or text submission assignments where the rich content editor is visible) this knowledge base article largely applies to instructors. 

Critical Concepts

What Does It Mean to Embed a Video?

Normally, embedding a video on a web page means opening up the source code for a web page and pasting in what's called an "embed code," which, when the page is rendered by a web browser, shows a media player ready to play a desired entry. In Canvas, you're able to embed Kaltura media within a variety of instructional tools, such as quizzes, pages, or discussion board posts. You can also add content (text, images, etc.) above or below the player as desired. 

The nice thing about the Kaltura integration in Canvas is that you don't have to mess around with any embed codes or HTML. With a few clicks, you can select a video from your "My Media" and drop it onto a Canvas page.

When we refer to "publishing" a video, on the other hand, this is about making a Kaltura entry visible in a Canvas course's Media Gallery. (See our tutorial on publishing media to a Media Gallery if needed.)

Note that you can both publish to a Media Gallery AND embed that same piece of media within your modules in Canvas. It's totally up to you.

Things to Keep in Mind

• The Kaltura media player was upgraded on August 2, 2024. The impact of this change is that all players used in Media Galleries and in "My Media" immediately switched to the new player. Videos that were already embedded within modules, however, were unaffected and will continue to use the old player. Because of this, we strongly recommend that instructors re-embed any videos using the old player within their Canvas modules. Note that the only player options you have now for embedding videos are new players. 
• Embedding a video doesn't publish it to the Media Gallery. If you also want it to be visible in the Media Gallery, you'll need to publish it yourself. See our tutorial on publishing to a Media Gallery if needed.
• Anywhere you see the rich content editor in Canvas, you're able to embed a video. You embed a video within Canvas by clicking the "Embed Kaltura Media" icon in the rich content editor. But this editor isn't just on Canvas "pages." On any page that uses that editor, you can embed a video, such as Canvas quiz questions, discussion forum posts, or text submission assignments. This applies to students as well.

• You can embed multiple videos on a page. We wouldn't recommend putting too many on the same page, though - this can trigger an error in some of the players. We recommend five or fewer videos on one page.
• When embedded, Kaltura technically labels the media as "embedded in context." We like to draw a conceptual distinction between publishing media and embedding media. The former is about what's in a Media Gallery and the latter is about what's within modules, discussion forum posts, etc. But if you go and look at a piece of media that's only been embedded in a module, you'll see that Kaltura claims it's published in a Media gallery, but "embedded in context." It's a bit misleading; the label claims that it's published in a Media Gallery when it's not. Just know that even though it says it's "published in a Media Gallery," if it says it's "embedded in context" that just means you've embedded it somewhere in that course. 

Assumptions

• In the instructions below, we're assuming you're embedding a video on a Canvas "page" within your modules that's already been created. As mentioned above, though, you can embed Kaltura media in Canvas wherever you see the rich content editor (a quiz question, a discussion forum post, etc.). So if you're in another type of course element that has the rich content editor and you want to embed a video, you can just jump to step 2 below.

Steps to Take

There are two high-level steps involved in embedding Kaltura media in Canvas:

1. Editing the course element where you want to embed the media
2. Embedding your media

As mentioned above, for the sake of developing this tutorial, we're assuming that you want to embed your video on a Canvas page, but you can embed a video wherever you see the rich content editor. Feel free to skip to step 2 if you're embedding on a different type of course element or if you're already seeing the rich content editor.

Step 1: Edit the Course Element

First you'll need to get to the course element where you want to embed your media. We're assuming it's a Canvas page. Skip to step 2 if it's a different type of course element or you're already seeing the rich content editor.

1. Log into Canvas.
   1. Go to https://canvas.ucsd.edu.
   2. Enter your active directory credentials.
2. Enter the course in question by either clicking on it in your dashboard or by finding it in the Courses menu item in the left global navigation.
3. Click Modules in the course navigation on the left.
4. Locate the page in which you want to embed a video and click on it.
5. Click Edit.

Step 2: Embed Your Media

1. Click the Embed Kaltura Media icon in the rich content editor. It looks like wheel spokes in rainbow colors.
2. Find the video you want to embed and either click </> Embed in its row or the gear icon if you want to configure your embed a little more (choose the size, player, etc.). Note that you can use the tabs at the top of the window to see videos and playlists in the Media Gallery. You can also use the search and filter options to find your media more easily.

Configuring Your Embed

Note that you can set a few settings for your embedded video by clicking the gear icon instead of </> Embed. You're able to configure things like:

• Choosing the specific player, such as one that doesn't have a transcript or one that allows students to download the video
• Selecting the size (in pixels) of the embedded video on the page
• Electing to embed the video as a small thumbnail that expands when clicked
• Electing to have the video play automatically when a user arrives at the page
• Setting start and end times for the video (although users can choose to go beyond those boundaries)

When you're done configuring your embed settings, be sure to click </> Embed near the top of the window.

Now your video should be visible within the text box of the rich content editor. If you think it's the wrong size or want to, say, use a player with different features, delete the existing embedded video from the editor and see "Configuring Your Embed" above to re-embed it to your liking.