Environment
Canvas
MiVideo
Issue
How an instructor can share a link to a MiVideo video published in the course Media Gallery through email or the course syllabus.
Resolution
There is no straightforward solution due to the way external tools integrate with Canvas. See the next section for more details why direct links won't work.
Here are some workarounds. Keep in mind you need to balance your content security and privacy expectations when using them.
- Recommended: Embed the video onto a Canvas page and use the link for the Canvas page. This link will direct unauthenticated students to the Canvas login screen before redirecting to the page. This would also give you the advantage of being able to add text on the page to augment the video(s). This is the most secure and reusable approach because the pages can be easily copied from one course to another.
- Link to the video from a Canvas module and use the link for the module item. This link will direct unauthenticated students to the Canvas login screen before redirecting to the page. This is also a secure and reusable approach because the modules can be easily copied from one course to another.
- Link to the course Media Gallery. This link will direct unauthenticated students to the Canvas login screen before redirecting to the Media Gallery. This is not a direct link to the video, rather the entire Media Gallery, however students can search for the video based on the title. This is also a secure and reusable approach because the Media Gallery can be easily imported from one course to another.
- Make a copy of the video, and use the MiVideo Mediaspace instead of Canvas to generate direct links. See how to publish and share videos in a Mediaspace. Videos can be secure or open as you prefer:
- Publish videos as unlisted (user's with the link). This method offers NO security (anyone not affiliated with the University can view them) or viewer tracking. While the videos are not searchable on the site, the links are publicly shareable by anyone who has them.
- Publish videos in a restricted (by login) channel. Restricted channels and their content are searchable by logged in users (anyone affiliated with the University), but not visible to the unauthenticated public.
- Publish videos in a private channel where you manage user access explicitly. This is a labor intensive option.
- Add students as co-viewer collaborators from your My Media (Canvas or Mediaspace) > Edit>Collaboration tab. This will drop the video into the student's/collaborator's My Media so they can watch it. The drawback is that you will not be able to direct link another person's My Media, and you'd have to let them know when you assign that video to the student.
Why a direct link won't work
When accessing the video from outside Canvas, through a link in an email or a link in a PDF syllabus, and the student is not logged into Canvas, MiVIdeo has no way to authorize who is viewing the video and therefore blocks access.
If you copy and share the link to the video from Media Gallery it will look something like the following:
https://aakaf.mivideo.it.umich.edu/media/t/1_z4ajmqq3/243650122
If the student is already logged into Canvas (in this browser session) and opens the link the video will display. Otherwise the unauthenticated student sees "access denied" and the video will not display. Notice the above link does not include umich.instructure.com which means unauthenticated students will not be directed to the Canvas login screen and won't know how to proceed after seeing "access denied".
This "access denied" message is due to the authentication between MiVideo and Canvas. When the student views a video from within the course, Canvas knows who the student is because they authenticated with Canvas, knows the student is enrolled in the course, and knows the student should have access to this video. Canvas provides the authorization to MiVideo to play the video for this student.
Additional Information
For additional questions, please contact the ITS Service Center