Instructor Guide: How to Record with Panopto

Panopto is a video creation and storage platform that integrates into Canvas. Panopto allows instructors to seamlessly capture, edit, and upload video to Canvas. This guide will walk you through the steps for downloading, starting, and uploading a video via Panopto.

Before recording, we highly recommend using Panopto for webcam or screen recording ONLY. Due to the interface design of this recording tool, you cannot see yourself from the webcam and the slide deck side by side on the same screen intuitively. If you plan to record webcam and the screen simultaneously, please refer to the solution article on How to Record with Zoom for detailed instructions.

Step 1: Log into the Canvas site where you'd like this video to live.

If Panopto is already enabled, you'll see it ("Class Recordings") in the course menu and can click on it to use:

Optional: Follow these steps to enable “Class Recordings” in your Canvas course if not already active:

Settings --> Navigation

Scroll down, click on Class Recordings --> Enable --> Save

Step 2: Download the Panopto Recorder to your machine if not already.

Verify that the Panopto Recorder isn't already installed on your machine by checking your applications folder/Start Menu or using your operating system's search function.
If it isn't installed on your machine, download the app using the following links:
Panopto Installer for Mac (MacOS 10.15 and up)
Panopto Installer for PC (Windows 8.1 and up)
Follow the prompt to install Panopto.

Step 3: Start a Recording

Click the blue "Create" button in the upper right corner

Select "Panopto for Mac/PC" to record a new session

Note: Panopto will detect your machine model (Mac or PC)

Since you downloaded and installed the Panopto app already, you can click "Open Panopto" to launch the Panopto recorder from your Mac/PC.

The Panopto Recorder app will launch from your Mac/PC.

At the top of the screen is the folder into which your video will be saved. By default, it is set to the Canvas site from which you launched Panopto. You can change this by clicking on the Folder list and selecting another folder (the folder shown in the screenshot above is My Folder), just be sure your students have access to that folder.

For Mac

Video: Recording with Panopto for Mac (Starts at 1:10, 4:00 in total)

For PC

Video: Recording with Panopto for Windows (Starts at 1:11, 2:48 in total)

Before you hit the big, red Record button there are a few options you should know about.

The Panopto app is capable of recording three sources simultaneously:

Primary Source - Listed at the left of the app window, this source is your webcam, or other attached camera, and microphone.
Secondary Sources - By default the first secondary source is PowerPoint. (Under Slides section in the screenshot above, you can check or uncheck the box next to Record PowerPoint). You can also record another monitor if you wish, though we recommend you stick with recording your PowerPoint and webcam.
If you only want to record your PowerPoint and not your webcam, click on the Video menu and select None:

Leave the Record PowerPoint option checked and click the red Record button.
Switch to your PowerPoint presentation and start the slide show.
Start voice over the slides. When you're finished with your lecture, switch back to the Panopto app and click the Stop button.
Enter a name for your video in the Session Name, a description, and then click the Upload button:

As your video uploads to Canvas, you can preview it in the lower right corner of the window. If you'd like to delete the video, click the Delete button on the lower left corner of the window. Before you click delete, make sure you've selected the correct video:

Your video is now listed in the Class Recordings tab of the Canvas site you uploaded it to.

Managing Your Recordings

Recording Availability

After a recording has been uploaded to Canvas, you'll be able to adjust the beginning and ends dates of its visibility to students.

Hover over the newly uploaded recording.
Click the Settings button.
On the Overview tab, scroll to the Availability section at the bottom.
Adjust the availability start date by selecting the radio button of the option with the customizable date field and update the date and time fields accordingly.
Adjust the availability end date by selecting the radio button of the option with the customizable date field and update the date.

Copying a Recording

Click Manage tab and scroll down to the Copy video section.
Rename the video and select the desired target Canvas course site from the dropdown list of "Copy video to."
Select Create Full Copy.
You may need to first click Class Recordingsagain in that target Canvas course to see the moved video.
- For semester-long viewing dates, choose With its folder for start and end.

Questions?

Request help with using the Panopto Recorder app by emailing gse-cnvs@gse.upenn.edu or submit a ticket to GSE-IT.