- Add the Panopto block and connect your course
- Change the settings of the Panopto folder
- Panopto block contents
- Change which roles can create and publish recordings
Add the Panopto block and connect your course to Panopto
Adding the Panopto block will create the Panopto folder and link to the Moodle course. After this, all of your course participants will be able to view the published recordings.
1. Within Moodle, go to the course where you want to add the Panopto block.
2. Click the course Actions cogwheel and select Turn editing on (or use Alt+Shift+E).
3. Click on the Add a block dropdown and select Panopto in the dropdown field.
A new Panopto block will be added to the course.
If you do not see Panopto, either:
- your course may not be in a category that is authorised to use Panopto
- you do not have the correct role to add this block to the course
Please contact the Moodle Helpdesk for further assistance.
4. Click on Provision Course in the block.
Your course will now be provisioned with a link to Panopto. A folder with the same name as the course (in the format ‘short name: full name’) will be created in the Panopto system.
Once course members visit the course in Moodle, their role in the course will be mapped to the Panopto roles of Creator, Publisher or Viewer. These initial mappings will be displayed to the Coordinator when they provision the course.
5. Click Back to course to return to the course. The newly provisioned block has new details, including a link to Course Settings, which takes administrators and teachers directly to the folder of recordings in Panopto.
You will see the Links section where you can download a copy of the Panopto recording software - see the guide on setting up and using the recorder.
You can reposition the Panopto block by clicking and dragging the Move icon.
Reviewing and changing the settings of the Panopto folder
The ‘Availability’ setting tells you when recordings are made available to students in the course. The default setting is currently to publish recordings immediately.
When users make recordings on their own devices, the recording software does not allow them to review or edit their work. Recordings must be uploaded to a Panopto folder, such as the creator’s ‘My Folder’ or to a course folder, before they can be reviewed and edited.
You need to have a controlled release procedure for handling raw recordings from upload through to content ready to be shared with students.
1. Go to the course where you are a Moodle Coordinator, Teacher or Non-enrolling Teacher and where a Panopto block has been added and the course provisioned.
2. Click on Course Settings in the Panopto block.
3. This will open Panopto in a new window. The details for the folder will appear and content in the folder will appear just behind.
4. The setting Allow viewers to make notes public is ticked by default. This setting does not make anything visible to the public. It does allow students, who may make their own notes in Panopto when viewing a recording, to share their notes with all the other course members via Panopto.
5. The setting Notify viewers via email and Microsoft Teams (if connected) when new videos are ready is turned off by default. Personal notifications in Panopto are also turned off by default. If you need to notify course participants about changes to content, it is recommended that you use the Announcements forum in the Moodle course.
6. Disable comments on all sessions in this folder is disabled as a default
Enable public comments by default on all videos in this folder is enabled.
Public means all users with access to the videos rather than ‘public’ in a more general way.
7. Downloads only allows Panopto Administrators (UIS), videographers and Creators to download the recording files. The alternative settings are:
- No one
- Admins only
- Authenticated users with Access which means any user who can view the session.
The use of Panopto is governed by the University’s Lecture Capture Policy.
8. Smart Chapters creates a table of contents using character recognition from the screen rather than from uploaded presentations.
The default setting is available on demand which can be changed to Disabled or Automatic.
9. Availability determine how recordings within the folder are released and the duration of their availability.
Sessions become available has:
- When approved by a publisher - this will generate an email notification for all users with the Publisher role in the Panopto folder when a new recording is uploaded.
Any Publisher can then visit the folder and approve the recording for release. This method can generate many emails, but it does ensure that all releases are approved by a trusted user.
- Immediately - this is the default and means that the minute any recording is placed in the folder, it will become available to all course members.
This may not be needed if creators upload their raw recordings directly into the folder. If all creators upload their recordings to their personal ‘My Folder’ space and only move them to the course folder when they are ready for release, this setting might be appropriate. However, any raw content accidentally added to the course folder would be released immediately, so creators need to feel confident before using this setting.
- Never - this setting would require each recording to be manually released.
- Starting on - this defines one date and time when all recordings in the folder will be released.
Sessions remain available has:
- Forever - this is the default.
- Until - this defines the date and time when access will be withdrawn.
Individual recordings can have specific dates and times set for availability, but this involves editing settings at the recording level. When users are unenrolled from a Moodle course, they will automatically have their access to the Panopto folder withdrawn.
Panopto block contents
All videos and audio files uploaded to Panopto and stored in the Panopto folder connected to the course will be displayed in the Panopto block.
What a given user sees in the block will depend on their role. Those with only viewing permissions will only see published content listed. Those who can create and publish content will see links for all recordings. It is not possible to determine from the display in the block, which recordings are published, and which are not.
The status of recordings can only be viewed and altered by following the links to Panopto.
All course users can click on the Live Sessions or Completed Recordings to view the sessions or recordings. All users will be taken to the Panopto system and the video or audio file will be played:
If many videos are available, only the first few are shown and a Show more link is displayed at the bottom of the list.
It is possible in the Panopto folder to create sub-folders. Whilst this may seem like a good approach to organising content, any recordings stored in subfolders on the Panopto system will not display automatically in the Panopto block. We do not recommend creating course sub-folders in Panopto.
Change which roles can create and publish recordings
If the Panopto folder uses the availability setting when approved by a publisher, the moment a recording is added to the folder, all Publishers (by default the Moodle roles of Coordinator, Teacher and Non-enrolling Teacher) will receive an email.
This can generate a large volume of emails and some courses might wish to re-consider which Moodle roles are given the Publisher role.
It is possible to change which Moodle roles are given this role:
1. Click the course Actions cogwheel and select Turn editing on (or use Alt+Shift+E).
2. Click Actions in the Panopto block to select and select Configure Panopto block.
3. The settings will be shown.
4. Click on Change Panopto Role Mappings to expand these options.
5. Select which roles to give Creator access and Publisher access.
Creator access: A user can upload new videos into the Panopto folder. If recordings are set to become available immediately, they will be published right away. If recordings require the approval of a Publisher, an email will be sent to Publishers and will become available once approved.
Publisher access: If recordings require the approval of a Publisher, an email will be sent to Publishers and will become available once they are approved in Panopto.
6. Use your computer’s keystrokes (for example Ctrl + Left Click in Windows) to select multiple roles.
7. Click Save changes.
8. Click the Actions cogwheel in the Panopto block to select the menu and select Configure Panopto block.
9. Click Sync this course to Panopto to re-sync the users and their new permissions in Panopto based on their roles in Moodle.
10. Click Back to config (at the bottom of the page) to return to the configuration screen.
11. Click Save and return to Course to save the changes.
Please note: Users whose roles have been changed will have to visit the Moodle (just visit the course, no actions are required) in order to trigger their update in Panopto.