[ARCHIVED] Using Canvas with high school band.

[cdavitt]

We have about 230 students in our high school marching band. The band teachers have run into some issues with students uploading videos to Canvas, mostly due to the size of the file exceeds 500 mb.

This is their process -

Kids go home and have to record themselves playing and marching.

Teacher then opens speedgrader to watch, give feedback and grade each submission.

Issue -

Many of the kids want to record on their phone so they can rewatch the clip to make sure it is good before submitting it. Most uploads will fail due to file size.

I know they could upload to drive but that makes it wicked hard for the teacher to grade as the video does not show in the speedgrader.

Is there any workaround?

Studio would be great but it is just a one shot solution. They can record and upload but they can't watch it. It also does not add the video to their camera roll which is an issue due to uploads sometimes fail. If it fails the video seems to disappear.

[mary_mincy]

We use videos for assessments as well - in our orchestra, choral and piano programs.  We too are having issues with uploading videos to assignments.  When students upload a video, it requires me to download it to the computer first and then watch it - I can't do it through speed grader which makes it difficult to use a rubric which is what we primarily use for this type of assignment.  

[cdavitt]

Have you used Studio? I am somewhat unfamiliar with exactly how it works. Maybe this work?

[Bobby2]

Hi  @cdavitt , interesting question.

I've seen some teachers set up a Youtube channel that the students upload to then just submit as a link. make sure the students know to NOT make their videos public, but make them unlisted instead. Change video privacy settings - Computer - YouTube Help 

I'm not familiar with Studio but that could also be a handy option. 

[scofieldc]

What if they record through the Canvas app, instead of trying to upload a video?  They could open the assignment, click on the "Record Media" option, then record themselves.  I don't know if they're able to rewatch the video before submitting, though.

[Bobby2]

I like that idea  @scofieldc . 

[chadscott]

 @cdavitt ‌ is already having them do a "media upload" submission, but there is a 500mb limit when uploading files recorded on a device. If you use the built-in recorder, you are able to preview the submission in the browser, iOS, and chrome apps, however it doesn't save a local copy of the recording.

[chadscott]

Here are a few suggestions I've made to our Choir/Band/Orchestra teachers -

Since you are already having students submit a "Media File" upload -

1. If students are recording on their own devices first, turn down the recording resolution to the lowest it will go. It will reduce the file size.

• For iOS: Settings > Camera > Record Video
• For Android: (Varies) Open Camera App, click “More” > Settings > Under Video, Back Camera video resolution

2. Also reduce the length of the recording, nothing longer than 3-5 minutes. Students can submit multiple times, if needed.

[BethCrook]

The only problem I have with this is then you are asking them to turn it down on their personal devices.  And when they go to use their personal devices to take photos and video for personal memories and then cannot actually use them to print the photo or make a movie project, there's no going back and fixing that.  So students would need to remember to change that resolution setting every time they are submitting something for a class.

Just my two cents, for what it's worth!  If it was a school owned device being used in a lab cart, totally different story!

[lauren_sayer]

I agree the studio option would be the best.  However the idea of recording from the app would also work 

[BethCrook]

If you have Studio, this is the perfect solution!  Students can use the Canvas Student app on their iOS or Android device, from within the assignment, choose "Media Recording - Record Audio".  Then when completed, they have the option to play back and Submit, or delete and rerecord then Submit.  And it's super fast too!   (I actually just walked through the steps on my phone and verified it all as I typed this, so all good!)