Last updated on September 18, 2026
Students benefit from opportunities to demonstrate mastery of your course’s content in a variety of media. Multimedia submissions are a fantastic way to offer learners the means to do this in a dynamic and personalized way. The Canvas Media Recorder is a tool students can use to record themselves in order to submit an assignment. It is built into the Rich Content Editor and can also be used as a “Submission Type” in assignments.
The Canvas Media Recorder is best used for simple audio/video recordings that don’t require screen sharing, such as a speech or demonstration, since it can only record video and audio. Additionally, students have to follow extra steps to have their videos auto-captioned when using Canvas Media, so it is best for videos submissions that only you, the instructor, will see.
Consider using GoReact or YuJa for more complex media assignments or assignments where students need to view each others videos. For more information on the different multimedia tools you can use for assignments, view our spotlight, Multimedia Assignments.
Directions
[Length 3:08, CC Available]
- Log in to your Canvas Account.
- Select the Course you’d like to work in.
- Locate the Assignment you want to set up to use the Canvas Media Recorder for student submissions.
- For guidance on creating an assignment, view our tutorial, Create an Assignment in Canvas.
- Click the name of the assignment.
- Click Edit in the top right corner.
- Scroll down to the Submission Type menu, below the main text box.
- Click the Drop-Down Menu to the right of Submission Type.
- Select Online from the drop-down menu.
- Check the box next to Media Recordings and/or Text Entry from the Online Entry Options menu.
- Media Recordings: Students will have the option to either record a video, or upload a video file from their device.
- Note: Videos will not be captioned for Media Recording submissions.
- Text Entry: Students will click the Record/Upload Media icon from the toolbar in the RCE to open the Canvas Media Recorder, where they can record or upload a video to be embedded in the RCE. They can also add text or images to support their video.
- Note: If captions are needed, students will have to request Canvas to generate them through the Video Options settings, which can take up to 24 hours. It is recommended to use YuJa or GoReact for video submissions that require captions.
- For guidance on how to use the Canvas Media Recorder in the RCE and generate auto-captions for videos, view our tutorial, Enable Captions and Rolling Transcripts in Canvas Media.
- Note: If captions are needed, students will have to request Canvas to generate them through the Video Options settings, which can take up to 24 hours. It is recommended to use YuJa or GoReact for video submissions that require captions.
- Media Recordings: Students will have the option to either record a video, or upload a video file from their device.
- Enter any Other Details for your Assignment as you normally would, like the Title and Point Value.
- Click Save or Save and Publish at the bottom right of the screen.
Have questions?
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