Access Studio videos without embedding

[bgergens]

I would really, really like to be able to allow students to see Studio videos on their own page without

1. creating a public sharing link, which removes the ability to post comments and such; or
2. creating a new blank Page for an individual class and then embedding the Studio video in that page.

Why can't we send students a link to the page that we see in Studio when we create a video? Surely someone has wanted to do this before, it can't be that odd. I'm asking how I can do this, but given my previous experience with Canvas, I have a sinking feeling that this was simply never a design consideration.

Why is it that every metaphor for sharing content in Canvas involves embedding in items and not simply pointing students to the resources directly. It adds so much time and work.

[Chris_Hofer]

Hello @bgergens …

As you may know, Studio is a paid-add on product that your school has purchased from Instructure.  When users first click on the “Studio” button, I believe it is still the case that the person would have to authenticate or confirm his/her e-mail address.  I’m pretty sure that Studio is considered an external LTI tool made by Instructure (the folks that make Canvas).  When you click on the “Studio” button, you are accessing your own personal video “library”.  Similarly, when a student clicks on the “Studio” button, he/she is accessing his/her own video “library”.  In this interface, you can upload your own user-created videos, or you can even add YouTube/Vimeo videos.  So, while I do recognize the use case that you describe…of somehow linking to the interface so your students can access one or more of your videos…I’m not sure exactly how that would be accomplished.

But, there might be other ways you can accomplish something similar.  Do you use the “Collections” feature within Studio?  “Collections” essentially act as a folder where you can store videos for a single course, for example.  You could then share that “Collection” right within Studio with your students.  Now, if you had a lot of students (let’s just say 50 for this example), I could see where selecting each student’s name to share your “Collection” with might be a bit time consuming…but it could be done.  Then, when students access their Studio “library”, they would go to the “Shared With Me” area to view any videos you’d shared from your own Studio “library”.

• How do I create a collection in Canvas Studio?
• How do I add media to a collection in Canvas Studio?
• How do I share a collection in Canvas Studio?
• How do I use Canvas Studio? (this one shows where the “Share With Me” option is)

So, this option does not involve embedding videos into your courses, but it may accomplish something similar to what you’d want to do by creating a “Collection” of videos to share with your students.  The thing to keep in mind, though, is that your students also need to verify/authenticate their account in Studio, too.  This is explained more in the third link I’ve provided above (in the blue box of that Guide).

You could certainly submit a Feature Idea here isn’t he Community around this topic…if the above isn’t going to work for your needs.  Here are a few more Guides to look through:

• How do idea conversations work in the Instructure Community?
• What is the feature development process for Instructure products?
• How do I create a new idea conversation in the Instructure Community?

I hope these things will be of help to you.  Please let Community members know if you have any other questions about this…thanks!

[bgergens]

Hi @Chris_Hofer, I appreciate all the time and effort you put into this reply. Unfortunately, this isn't the behavior I'm looking for either. I just want a single link to a single video in Studio; I've had poor experiences in the past with things like sharing collections, so while I'm sure that will work for some folks, it's not going to work for what I'm doing.

I haven't ever had to authenticate to Studio separately from Canvas, and honestly didn't even know it was a separate, standalone product. It's presented as part of Canvas (icon appears in the sidebar and everything) and it honestly never even occurred to me it was a separate product. I just figured it was a licensed feature. I appreciate the insight.

I'll have to stick to public links, I guess that'll have to do. Again, my appreciation for your reply.

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi @bgergens ...

Thanks for the reply.  Authenticating into Canvas Studio is pretty much a one time thing...so you probably did it a long time ago and may not have realized it.  Yup...we also have Studio, and it also appears as a separate "Studio" button in our left-hand side global navigation menu.  But, because it is made by the same folks who make Canvas, maybe submitting a Feature Idea based on your question would be worth-while.  You never know, there may be other folks here in the Community that would like to see something similar available within Canvas Studio.  This would give people a chance to comment on your idea and give it a star rating (just one of the ways that Instructure gathers feedback from folks like us).  Give it some thought...

Take care, stay safe, and be well.