Canvas Studio video annotations not appearing.

[PaulNagami]

I used the Canvas Studio app button (not an embed code) to put annotated videos on lecture pages. I rely on annotations to create pause points and questions. The videos are nearly unusable without these.

The annotations suddenly vanished for my students with the update. When I visit a Course Collection, the ability to view or add annotations in Canvas Studio for those videos no longer exists.

 When I view videos in my Library, not in the course or on a Course Collection page, then click "Annotate Video," the annotations become visible for me.

I have tried re-embedding videos using the app again. No luck.

There are at least 75 videos affected. I have not checked my other course, but if this is not fixed by fall, there will be another 70.

Is there any fix? This has broken my course very suddenly.

EDIT: I have also tried using an embed code by accessing the video via My Library, copying an embed code using the Share button, and then embedding. No luck with that approach, either. It's not just the app.

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi there, @PaulNagami ...

So I *think* that I am able to replicate most (if not all) of what you are experiencing while using Studio.  In my own Studio library, I had a short 8-second video that I decided to add an annotation to.  (I clicked on the "Studio" button in the far left-hand global navigation menu to access this video in my library.)  My video was not in a Collection folder, but I don't think that really matters.  Anyway, I added an annotation the normal way (How do I add annotations to my media in Canvas Stu... - Instructure Community - 456910) to the video.  Then, I tried embedding the video onto a new page in my sandbox course.  When I saved the page and viewed it, I did not see the marker on the timeline where I had expected to see my annotation that I had created.  It just wasn't there at all.  So, I went back to my Studio library to ensure that I had actually saved the annotation.  Yup, it was still there.  I then went back into the course to delete the Studio video from the page and re-embed...just to see if there were any other settings I had somehow missed during the initial embed.  But, once I saved the page again after re-embedding I got the same results.  Within my course, I also clicked on the "Studio" course navigation menu (not the "Studio" global navigation icon).  While I did see my 8-second video listed on this "Studio" page, when I clicked on the video, my annotation was nowhere to be found.  😕  I even tried to use the drop-down menu below the video to select between the name of my course and "My Library" to see if the annotation would show up in either of those, but that didn't give me any positive results, either.  I also tried to use the "Student View" to see if a student would be able to see my annotation, but that did not work, either.

I'm not sure what else I can offer for suggestions at this point.  However, I am going to tag @AkosFarago in my response in hopes that he might see this and have a chance to reply with his feedback.  I would also like to know if this is a known issue or if this needs to be reported, etc.

I hope this will be of some help...for what it's worth.

[AkosFarago · Accepted solution]

@PaulNagami , @Chris_Hofer would you mind trying it out again? We have deployed a fix to production today.

Let me know if you still see the issue!

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi @AkosFarago ...

I tried viewing the same 8-second video that I had embedded on a new page (described above) with your patch in place.  However, even though the annotation icon does show up now (see screenshot), when I hit the play button to watch the video, the timeline completely ignored the annotation like it wasn't even there.

I even tried clicking on the annotation icon several times (while the video was stopped and while it was playing), and it would not show the annotation that I had created.

Then, I tried clicking on the "Studio" icon in the global navigation menu, and then I created a quiz on this video with a True/False question.  The True/False question was put a couple seconds after the annotation.  (I also told it I wanted to show annotations, too.)  After I built the question, I went back to my course and re-embedded the video on the page so that it would use the quiz.  When I tested out the video this time, the video did stop on the annotation so I could see it.  However, I had to click on the "Continue" button several times (at least four or five times) in order to make the annotation disappear.  Each time I clicked on "Continue", it was like a quick flicker of the screen on the video...showing the video for a quick fraction of a second but then returning to the annotation.  Once the annotation went away, then it stopped on the quiz question.

Also, if I were to place the cursor back on the timeline of the video near the start of the video and play it again, it skips over the annotation and only stops on the quiz question.

So, it seems like there are some bugs yet that need to be addressed...at least from my perspective.

Thanks....

[PaulNagami]

It works now, mostly. Thanks.

A student has reported that SOMETIMES annotations don't pause, but it's unclear how to replicate the circumstances where that happens.

EDIT: I've tested further and auto-pausing isn't working for at least some videos.