Introducing Panopto - NMU's new video system
During the past school year, the Center for Teaching and Learning, Audio Visual Services, and Information Technology worked together to review NMU’s options for hosting and streaming video internally. Use of video for academic purposes has expanded over the past several years, and video tools have evolved to meet these growing needs. We wanted to assess whether there was a way we could both streamline and improve the video streaming tools available to NMU faculty and staff.
After researching and testing several options, a video content manager called Panopto was selected. Panopto will replace both NMU Wildcast and Media Site Live.
We are excited about the powerful and user-friendly features that Panopto provides, including integration with EduCat and Zoom and the ability to record both from AV classrooms and from user’s own laptops. Below, we’ve outlined some key points about the Panopto implementation. We will provide additional information throughout the summer and will soon launch a web page with information and resources for the Panopto rollout.
Launch Timeline
Panopto will be fully available and supported for the fall semester. We will be “soft launching” it later this summer. If you are teaching this summer and interested in trying it out, please contact your CTL liaison.
Migration of Existing Videos
There is currently an extensive library of videos stored on Wildcast and Media Site. Some are relatively new and/or still regularly viewed, while others are outdated and likely no longer needed. We will be able to automatically migrate videos that are still in use. Owners of videos that do not meet the criteria for migration will have the opportunity to download and save their videos before Wildcast and Mediasite are taken offline. We will send a separate message later this month with more details about migration.
Impact to Other Video Hosting Options
Only Wildcast and Media Site Live are being phased out. For most academic uses, we will encourage using Panopto rather than hosting videos on YouTube or Google Drive, but both of those tools will remain available. VoiceThread, which is used for multimedia threaded discussions, will also remain available.
Questions?
Please feel free to contact the CTL (ctl@nmu.edu) or AV (av@nmu.edu) if you have questions, and stay tuned for additional information.