Multimedia Assignments

Last updated on May 14, 2024

What if your favorite restaurant only prepared and served one dish, regardless of the time or occasion? No matter the quality of the dish, the expertise of the chef, or type of cuisine, all parties involved will eventually find themselves disinterested and unengaged from the food. Maybe worse than becoming disinterested in your favorite restaurant is the fact that the chefs may be able to demonstrate their mastery in other areas of cooking or methods of preparation, but you’d never know it without a different meal. The same is true about cooking up quality teaching and learning experiences. Students, too, must be able to demonstrate mastery in your course using varied skills and tools. One way you can encourage this is by taking advantage of multimedia assignment submissions.

The same is true about cooking up quality teaching and learning experiences. Students, too, must be able to demonstrate mastery in your course using varied skills and tools. One way you can encourage this is by taking advantage of multimedia assignment submissions.

Using multimedia submissions helps students to engage with the material and gain a better understanding of your content by transferring their knowledge to a range of activities. Varying the medium used to demonstrate knowledge gives students the opportunity to engage with your course’s content in an interactive and personalized way.

Using multimedia submissions can also bolster the accessibility of your course. Those who are hard of hearing may prefer a visual experience and those with auditory impairments may benefit from a more visual approach. When using some of these tools, students can also make captions available in their submissions — this can be very useful when students are participating in video discussions.

This Canvas Spotlight will focus on three types of multimedia assignments: the built-in Canvas audio/video recorder, Yuja, and GoReact.

Let’s look at some ways using multimedia submissions can increase engagement, accessibility, and knowledge transfer in your course.

Contents

1 Best Practices
2 Let’s walk through it together

Best Practices

When should I use this?

The learning objectives of your course should inform whether you should use multimedia submissions. Look for opportunities to incorporate multimedia submissions by examining where your objectives may align with them. Whether a multimedia submission type is aligned with your objectives will always depend on your instructional goals and your course’s content.
Class discussions, presentations, or demonstrations are great places to start using multimedia assignment submissions.
Vary submission types to increase the accessibility of your course. Doing so will create a more inclusive space for those with auditory or visual impairments. Depending on your submission type, students will be able to use or download captions as well.

When should I set this up?

Look at your course objectives and the assessments that align with them, then decide which are best suited for multimedia assignments. You are always able to edit existing assignments and change the submission type to a “multimedia submission”, but it is best to do this well before the beginning of your course.

When should I not use this?

When the multimedia assignment does not align with the objective(s) it means to measure, consider a different submission type. For example, if the objective requires a text submission you would want to choose another submission type.
You should not use multimedia submission types when they can’t meet the accessibility needs of your students. Do not use the Canvas audio/video recorder when students will be viewing each others’ work, as it does not caption their audio. Use GoReact or Yuja for discussions or peer review activities.

Let’s walk through it together

Click to view in fullscreen

Which Multimedia Submission Type Should I Use?

While there are many types of multimedia files that can be uploaded in Canvas, this spotlight will focus on using the Canvas audio/video recorder, Yuja, and GoReact submission types.

All three of these multimedia types are capable of creating audio-only recordings for a podcast-like product. Students may simply turn off their cameras before recording to do this.
YuJa and Canvas audio/video recorder submissions are available to students anywhere the Rich Content Editor (RCE) appears. To learn more about how to use YuJa, review the CTLD Spotlight on incorporating YuJa in your course. GoReact assignments must be set up by the instructor. To learn more about creating GoReact assignments, review the CTLD tutorial on using GoReact.
- Note: You must select “Text Entry” for the “Submission Type” while editing an assignment for the Rich Content Editor to appear for students. The RCE will automatically appear in all Discussions.
The “Submission Type” feature is only available when creating an assignment in Canvas. A “Submission Type” drop-down menu is not available in any other type of page. Instruct students to use the YuJa media recorder or Canvas audio/video recorder in the toolbar above the Rich Content Editor to complete their submission. To learn more about submission types, review the CTLD Spotlight on Submission Types.

Examples

The following section will demonstrate situations in which you may want to use each of these tools based on your learning objective.

Canvas Audio/Video Recorder

Best Uses: The Canvas audio/video recorder is best used for simple recordings that only the instructor will see. The Canvas recorder does not caption videos, so it is not advised for activities in which students will see or review each other’s work.
Example Learning Objective: Students will submit a recorded speech explaining the benefits of using Generative AI in education.
Why Choose This Submission Type: This learning objective requires students to perform a speech to demonstrate mastery of the content. A multimedia assessment is aligned with the learning outcome and the product will not be seen by other students, only the instructor. Furthermore, this assessment does not require the use of a screen recorder or editing features, making the Canvas audio/video recorder the best type of submission to use.
Student Perspective: When the “media recording” submission type is checked, there will be a button in the center of their screen that is labeled, “Record/Upload Media.” Once this button is clicked, the Canvas audio/video recorder will launch and they can begin recording. Once it is finished, they must click the “Save Media” button, then the “Submit Assignment” button.
- Note: If the “Text Entry” selection is made for students to submit their videos, they must select “Upload/Record Media” in the toolbar above the RCE, then click “Record” for the Canvas recorder to launch.
Mobile Use: The Canvas audio/video recorder is mobile-friendly. Students will be able to record and submit recordings with this tool from their cellular devices.

GoReact

Best Uses: GoReact is best suited for assignments that require instructor feedback and peer reviews. Using GoReact is a great choice when students need to respond to each other’s work.
Example Learning Objective: Students will debate the benefits of using AI in education in a virtual setting.
Why Choose This Submission Type: This learning objective requires students to debate to demonstrate mastery of the content. A multimedia assessment is aligned with the learning outcome and the product will be seen and critiqued by other students. This assessment requires captions and the ability to comment on submissions made by peers, making GoReact the best submission type to use.
Student Perspective: When students click on the assignment, they will see a red button that reads “Start Assignment.” Once this button is clicked, the Canvas audio/video recorder will launch and they can begin recording. Once it is finished, they must click the “Save Media” button, then the “Submit Assignment” button.
- Note: If you wish to allow students to view and leave comments on each other’s work, you must select the “Open Peer Review” option under “Recording Feedback and Privacy” when creating the assignment.
Mobile Use: GoReact is mobile-friendly. Students will be able to record and submit recordings as well as leave timestamped feedback on each others’ recordings.

YuJa

Best Uses: YuJa offers many editing features to students. From their Yuja account, students can make simple edits, add images, and add captions to their videos. Yuja also auto-captions recordings, making for a more accessible video. Using YuJa requires students to download the YuJa software and the interface can be difficult to navigate. Using YuJa is best suited for assignments that require students to record their screens.
Example Learning Objective: Students will present a PowerPoint explaining the benefits of using AI in education.
Why Choose This Submission Type: This learning objective requires students to record their screen to deliver a presentation. A multimedia assessment is aligned with the learning outcome. This assessment may require students to make edits to their recordings and it will be auto-captioned, making it accessible if a critique from other students is needed.
Student Perspective: If the student has not downloaded the YuJa recording software, they will need to do this first. When students click on the assignment, they will be able to upload a YuJa recording they have already created or record directly from the RCE if “Text Entry” was selected as the “Submission Type.”
Mobile Use: YuJa is not mobile friendly. Students that prefer to record from their phones will not be able to do so if YuJa submissions are a requirement for the assignment.