In Kaltura, videos and other media content can be managed in several ways. Your own recordings can be found in the My Media view, where you can search, filter, and sort them. Content can also be grouped into channels and playlists, making videos easier to share, maintain, and use appropriately in teaching or communication.

This page brings together Kaltura’s key tools for organising your own media content, building shared video collections, and sharing content with different target groups.

At HAMK, Kaltura is used from two different places:

• Kaltura Media Space, which is accessed in a browser at kaltura.hamk.fi
• Moodle (Learn) learning environment using the Kaltura plugin

If you want to learn about organising and sharing Kaltura videos specifically in the Moodle learning environment, see Using Kaltura videos in Moodle (Learn).

My Media

My Media is your personal media library in Kaltura. Through it, you can browse your own videos and other media content, and search, filter, and sort them in different ways.

The My Media view helps you find your own videos quickly. If you have many videos, you can filter the search results by, for example, recording date, publication status, license, or content type.

Watch Kaltura’s tutorial video on using the My Media view (external website).

My Media is also available in the Moodle learning environment.

Grouping videos

In Kaltura, videos can be grouped in several different ways depending on whether you want to manage content on your own, together with others, or as part of a course environment. The grouping methods are channels, playlists, and the Media Gallery of a Moodle course area. These differ in who manages the collection, how the content is shared, and in which environment it is used.

Channels work well for shared content collections that are maintained collaboratively. Playlists work well when one user wants to create a curated content collection. Media Gallery, in turn, works as a shared video library for a course area in Moodle.

Channel

A channel is a shared content area in Kaltura where videos and other media related to a specific topic, course, project, seminar, or other collection can be gathered. The strengths of channels include shared use, multi-user management, different publication levels, and the option to allow users to subscribe to the channel. A channel is suitable for use cases where content is maintained collaboratively and users need one clear place to find the materials.

Use channels when you want to:

• build a video collection around a specific topic, either alone or together with others
• package shared media content in connection with an event
• share maintenance responsibilities with other users
• make use of analytics collected from views
• restrict visibility to specific users
• allow users to receive notifications about new content

Watch Kaltura’s tutorial video on creating and using channels (external website).

This tool is not available in the Moodle learning environment. When you want to package media content in Moodle for a specific course area, use the Media Gallery tool.

Playlist

With a playlist, you can gather selected video content into one collection in the order you choose. You can then share the playlist with users using a link or embed code.

With a playlist, you can:

• gather several videos into one learning material or communication package
• create a curated list of media content from separate channels
• share selected video content, for example, on a website

Watch Kaltura’s tutorial video on creating playlists (external website).

This tool is also available in the Moodle learning environment.

Channel playlists

A channel playlist is a playlist built inside a channel, allowing the channel’s content to be organised in the desired order. It can be used to group videos that belong to the same subject area but fall under different main headings into their own collections. A channel playlist is especially useful when a single channel contains a large amount of content and also when the channel serves several different user groups.

Use this tool when you want to:

• organise the content of a channel with many videos into clear viewing collections
• highlight specific videos, such as new, featured, or otherwise current videos, in the order you choose
• make a large amount of content easier to understand

Example of using channel playlists: Digipedagocical training recordings (Kaltura, login required)

Watch Kaltura’s tutorial video on using channel playlists (external website).

This tool is not available in the Moodle learning environment.