What is the difference between submitting a "media recording" submission and a "Studio video" submission?

[smathews]

We have Canvas Studio for video submissions to assignments. What is the difference between that and "media recording" submissions? Are they the same? Does Media Recordings still have limitations compared to Studio? There is no choice for submitting just Studio videos for Assignments -- you must choose "File Upload" or "Text Entry," which seems counterintuitive. 

[ryan_corris]

Hey @smathews !

They are somewhat similar from my perspective.  Simply put, you can upload or record a video and submit it to an assignment either way.  I looked at both of these about a week ago when we were trying to figure out the best way for third graders to record and submit a video to a Canvas Assignment.  I found that the media recording option had fewer clicks and was quicker and easier overall.  

Would love to hear what others have to say about this as well.

[dbrace]

Hi @smathews,

This has the potential to be a really involved discussion and it will be interesting to see how others respond.

In my opinion, if you subscribe to Canvas Studio (or any other third-party video streaming platform) - for consistency with where content is stored, and how it used, and in order to make use of that subscription - I believe that it is best to place a checkmark next to "Disable uploads to Canvas Media from the enhanced rich content editor".

I would recommend that you poll your faculty (potentially your students) before making any adjustments because it could mess up courses.

-Doug

[ryan_corris]

Interesting perspective @dbrace .  I was looking at it purely from a record it, submit it, and forget it stand point.  If you would need to go back to the video and potentially use it for something else later, Studio would be a good way to store / organize your resources.  So much depends on what the ultimate purpose is for creating and submitting the video.

[dbrace]

While my perspective / thought process might be different than others, I generally prefer to create content ahead-of-time (in this case, before officially going through the submission process for an assignment) so that I have a sort of back-up (in this case, already stored in the Studio Library but in the case of a paper it would be stored on my computer / device or "in the cloud") and then it can be used (in this case, submitted) in other locations as needed.

[smathews]

I totally agree with this workflow preference -- Thanks @dbrace and @ryan_corris -- which is why it's interesting that the media recording submission type is still an option. 

[smathews]

Thanks so much @dbrace  -- but I think that setting is something different (still) than the "media recording" Assignment submission choice? I just checked and we have disabled that New RCE account option already, but instructors can still choose the Media Recording submission type. I don't know if there's a way to disable this option for online submission types.  

[dbrace · Accepted solution]

You are welcome, @smathews, and thanks for that additional context.

I do not believe it is possible (in a supported by Canvas way) to prevent using the "Media Recordings" option when creating an online assignment.

It is my understanding that the "Disable uploads to Canvas Media from the enhanced rich content editor" setting only impacts the ability to record media using the RCE and does not impact online assignments and the "Media Recording" submission type.

For current Canvas functionality, it is best to train faculty to not use the "Media Recording" option and instead use "File Uploads" (or "Text Entry") if the desire is to use Studio for submissions.

Any proposed changes to Canvas LMS and/or Canvas Studio functionality would need to be submitted as an idea.

-Doug

[SaluBakri]

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@dbrace wrote:

You are welcome, @smathews, and thanks for that additional context.

I do not believe it is possible (in a supported by Canvas way) to prevent using the "Media Recordings" option when creating an online assignment.

It is my understanding that the "Disable uploads to Canvas Media from the enhanced rich content editor" setting only impacts the ability to record media using the RCE and does not impact online assignments and the "Media Recording" submission type.

For current Canvas functionality, it is best to train faculty to not use the "Media Recording" option and instead use "File Uploads"  (or "Text Entry") if the desire is to use Studio for submissions.

Any proposed changes to Canvas LMS and/or Canvas Studio functionality would need to be submitted as an idea.

-Doug

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Thanks, Doug! That makes sense. However, do you think there could be a way to better integrate Studio into assignments, such as having a direct 'Submit Studio Video' option instead of relying on 'File Uploads' or 'Text Entry'? It seems like this would simplify things for both instructors and students. Have you seen any discussions or ideas already submitted to Canvas about this feature or is it something worth proposing?

[dbrace]

You are welcome @SaluBakri!

I took a quick look at Canvas Ideas and I could not find any previously submitted ideas for this but there might have been one that I could not find.

I think that this enhancement would be beneficial because it would help to increase usage of Canvas Studio and reduce confusion for how (and where) videos should be uploaded/submitted.

Go ahead and submit it as an idea and they come back here to share the link.

-Doug

[BethCrook]

Hi @smathews Great question/conversation!  Let me list a few of my favorite reasons that come to mind:

• Studio is a separate file storage and doesn't count against your course size.
• Studio editing! This one is so worth it! 
• All media uploaded in Studio can be played back within Canvas and SpeedGrader without having to be downloaded by the faculty. Cannot say that for all video files uploaded with Media Upload. Always a frustration on our end.
• In-video commenting, to specify exactly where in the video they are leaving feedback. This has been very valuable for our language courses. 
• When uploading media recordings that were live recordings (as opposed to uploading), it is always biting nails that a hiccup in our wifi network doesn't drop the upload and loose the recording (language exam).  We do not have this issue with Studio recordings. 🙂 

I think I've covered everything. 😊  You could say I'm a fan of Studio. Original user of Arc. ✌️