While instructors are not required to record their class sessions, to facilitate instructional continuity for students who are in quarantine, isolation, or absent because of COVID or suspected, but yet unverified, cases of COVID, we recommend recording your class sessions where pedagogically appropriate. As an additional benefit, these recordings can be useful to all students for study and review purposes.

Classroom recordings can take a variety of forms. Depending on the particulars of your course, you can use:

• the camera and microphone on your laptop.
• your cell phone.
• an external webcam.

One of the least complicated approaches involves capturing your course slides and the associated classroom audio. In other contexts, it may be appropriate to use the camera on your computer or cell phone to also record yourself in the classroom.

The recommended process for recording your classes and making them available to your students generally involves using Canvas and Zoom. When Zoom and Panopto are enabled within your Canvas course site, and you schedule your Zoom meetings within Canvas, your Zoom recordings will be saved automatically to your course’s “Panopto Video” folder, and will be available to all your students within Canvas.

If you require supplementary equipment, technology, or additional assistance to support recording your classes, please contact Classroom Services to discuss options for equipment loans, training, and additional resources.

Below are the high-level steps necessary to record your class meeting in Zoom (and sharing with remote students, if necessary). Each of the following step links to the relevant section of the video above.

Before the class meets

1. Add and enable Zoom and Panopto to your Canvas Course site. If you have not already done so, you will need to add and enable Zoom and Panopto to your Canvas site. This will enable you to schedule Zoom class meeting within Canvas and automatically load recorded class sessions to the Panopto folder in your Canvas course site.
2. Schedule Zoom sessions in your Canvas Course site. Set the meeting to recur on a weekly basis that matches your course schedule. You can enable a passcode to limit the access to the live, synchronous Zoom meeting. Enable automatic recording in the cloud and disable join before host to ensure recordings only begin once the professor (host) arrives.

In the classroom

1. Connect your device to the classroom media rack. Connect your laptop (or tablet) to the media rack using your HDMI cable and/or video adapter. If you do not have a HDMI cable or adapter you can pick them up from B10 Alumni Hall.
2. Start your Zoom session. Launch your Zoom session from within Canvas or from the meetings tab in you Zoom desktop application.
3. Set up your audio. Make sure your microphone and speaker settings are turned on and appropriately selected.
4. Share screen. If you are using slides, start the Share Screen functionality in Zoom.
5. Start recording. Your Zoom meeting will begin recording automatically if you enabled the automatic record setting during scheduling. If not, please press the record button to begin the recording.
6. Enable video. If you wish record or share video of yourself, enable your computers onboard camera or connect a USB external camera.
7. Stop recording. At the end of class please press the “End” button and select the “End Meeting for All” option. This will conclude the meeting and the recording.
8. Save recording. After the recording processes on Zoom’s cloud it will automatically be transferred to your courses Panopto video folder, where students can access it.

After the class meets

1. Control access. To control access to these recordings, click the share button on either the folder (to affect all items within) or on the individual video (to affect only one video). Once in the sharing window, where it says “Who can access this video” click “Change” and you can update the sharing option. You can also add or remove users in the “People or Groups” section.
2. Edit videos. To edit a video within your Panopto folder, mouse over the video you wish to work on and click the “edit” button. This will open the Panopto editor in a new tab. Proceed to mouse over the far left or right ends of the timeline to click and drag the handles to cut off any unwanted video at the beginning or end of the recording. You can also click and drag anywhere in the middle of the timeline to edit out other unwanted sections. All edits are non-destructive, meaning anything action that has been applied can easily be undone. Once your edits are complete, please click the “Apply” button in the top right corner of the window.

If you require supplementary equipment, technology, or additional assistance to support recording your classes, please contact Classroom Services to discuss options for equipment loans, training, and additional resources.

Additional Resources

How to Record Your Classes Using Zoom

This short video demonstrates basic steps on how to record your classes using Zoom. In this case, the Teaching Center recommends recording to the cloud rather than your computer.

Best Practices for Recording Class Zoom Sessions in Canvas

This video describes how to set up a Canvas course with Zoom and Panopto and have it available for students to view in Canvas.

Storing and Editing Zoom Recordings

Information on how Zoom recordings are automatically transferred to Panopto for storage, and then deleted out of the Zoom Cloud. You can then edit, use, and share these recordings in several ways, both in and outside of your Canvas courses.

Creating and Using Video

Visit the video resource hub for a variety of support articles that can supplement your instructional needs.