[Studio] Open Video in New Tab for Students

[CorvusS]

Problem statement:

I've been part of a self-paced AP Computer Science A class on Canvas for the past year, and there has been a feature missing that has been bothering me. I am graduating next year and I won't have to cope with the issue much longer, however, I do not want this to be a problem for future students. Several videos require the student to follow along in their own code in a separate tab, but the video window size with split windows makes this extremely difficult, as well as impossible to read what's in the video. In its current state, I have to either: go full screen on the video, try to remember what was written, then minimize it and write the code in another tab/window, or, wait until I have access to a computer (most student Chromebooks don't allow inspect), open inspect element, find the link to the file, and open it in a new tab. With these workarounds, I am able to see the lesson and example code while being able to work on my own code at the same time, but most students do not have access to the easier workaround and both are frustrating regardless.

Proposed solution:

The best solution that I have seen many other sites use is to implement a way to open the video externally into the UI. This could be a button, maybe at the top right or included in the dropdown after clicking the three dots, that allows the student to open the video by itself in a new tab. This would also be a simple solution to implement since a link already exists for the video file in the module/quiz/assignment page. A solution like this would allow students to see information in the video that isn't visible in the minimized mode, allowing students to easily watch the lesson and work along with it in a separate window. This solution also allows Canvas to be more accessible to students with vision issues or students using devices with lower resolution. Overall, it would allow students to learn the content much easier and make UI much less frustrating to use on the student end.

User role(s):

student

[Dalma_Schnell]

Thank you for sharing your idea! We reviewed your contribution and the Product Team feels that it aligns well with our existing theme 'Improved video management in Canvas Studio'. Please subscribe to that theme to receive updates.