Videolab

Design philosophy

Online video management

Videolab: technical outline

Upload / Compressio

n

User contentFTP-server (1)

CompressionEpisode EngineFTP-server (1)

WeblecturesFTP-server (2)

Management/ Storage

XSAN storage(fiber 10GBps)

6TBMetadata controller servers

(5,6)

Webserver (3)

Distribution

Flash Interactive Media Server (4)

Web Server (3)

PC teacher/ student

(uploader)

Auditoria

Mobile Units

PC (client)

(1) FTP server for user uploads(2) FTP server for weblecture uploads(3) Webserver for storage and distribution(4) Flash Media streaming server (RTMP)(5) (6) XSAN Storage controllers

Constraints

• Time– Teachers don’t have a lot of time

• for teaching• for new ways of teaching

• Knowledge– Teachers have limited ICT-knowledge

• using online video required HTML, PHP knowledge• available tools not user-friendly, steep learning curve

• Incentive– Teachers see no (short-term) added value

• change resistance• time investment without high returns

Challenges and objectives

• Resources– Media & Learning has limited resources at its disposal

• Create sustainable support within the university for online video• Combine available technologies, knowledge and tools efficiently

• Technology– Use industry standards (Adobe Flash for online video)– Future proofing (H264 encoding, MP4 container)– Use available libraries (JQuery)

• User friendly– Identify user requirements– Identify user profiles

• Assess ICT-knowledge of teachers• Use workflows, interfaces people know

Make teachers creators

• Give teachers authorship over their content– to change, – to edit,– to add chapters– to update, – to add interactivity,– to share their work

• Make all of this as easy as typing in Word

Workflow

• Create:– Upload videos from your desktop or laptop– Record weblectures in an auditorium or with a mobile recording

unit

• Enrich– Combine video’s, screencasts and weblectures in albums– Add attachments, interactive features to your video

• Share– Distribute video’s through interactive playlists– Share video’s with a simple link: no HTML knowledge required

Workflow: Create

• Push content as fast as possible to the server– Quick-select the format– Batch upload files– Save videos in existing or new albums during the upload

process– User feedback of upload status

Enrich

• Add features and edit your video– Add chapters and edit out parts of a video– Add multiple choice, webcam response,…

Enrich

• User-friendly interface– Recognizable interface

• Windows Explorer / iTunes inspired interface– Folders, windows, context menus

• Drag & drop interface: drag video’s to folders, drop features onto a video– Maximum two level depth

• Features are not more than one window away

Share

• Share single video’s or entire interactive playlists– With a single link

• Add video’s and playlists to the learning platform by simply copy pasting the link.

• iFrame code is available for more advanced users

Examples

• Weblectures for students, embedded in a wiki (Junior College)• Live stream sessions with interactive features (Faculty of Law)

General remarks and user feedback

• Avoid feature creep:– Focus on the most important tasks and options– People want every feature in a product but use only .01% of it– Focus on activities and actions in the tool. Make the tool itself

as invisible as possible

• User feedback– Very positive– User base has grown enormously

• Old version: +/- 3000 uploads over 3 years• New version: 2010: 6095 videos uploaded

2011: 17492 videos uploaded• Over 450.000 videos were watched by students in the past 12 months• Over 2.400.000 video streams (including live sessions) were sent out