Have you ever posted a video for your students and questioned whether they watched it? Canvas Studio’s analytics can show usage metrics like view count and percentage viewed, giving you an overview of engagement and individual insights. These insights can be incredibly useful when addressing student questions, particularly those where additional detail might be needed or when the student may have missed the information covered in the video. Ultimately, utilizing these analytics can help you create a rich learning environment tailored to your students’ needs.
To access data about your students’ viewing habits, begin by opening the video you want to analyze in Canvas Studio and clicking on the “Insights” tab. Here, you can review usage metrics such as total views, time viewed, and number of unique views. Next, there are two interactive graphs: the Unique Viewers graph, which shows how many unique viewers watched each part of the video, and the Number of Plays graph, which displays which sections were replayed most often. These visualizations help identify which parts of your video resonated most with students or potentially caused confusion. The last section contains completion rate information for each viewer in the course, which you can use to personalize your follow-ups with students based on their specific interaction with the video content.
Canvas Studio’s analytics provide a window into your students’ learning processes, allowing you to move beyond posting content to actively shaping the learning experience. By understanding how students interact with your videos, you can create more engaging content, provide targeted support, and foster a more interactive and effective learning environment. For instance, if a student viewed the entire video and asked a question because something was not clear to them, you may want to consider adding that information to the video or addressing it in some other way with all students.
While instructors can gain insights on video viewing habits using Canvas Studio data, it’s important to be aware of potential technical limitations. For example, discrepancies in view counts can occur due to network issues. Additionally, it is important to respect student privacy and use data ethically; thus, ensuring that analytics are used to support, rather than surveil, students.
When teaching graduate-level courses, it is advisable to inform your students about analytics usage. This can promote self-awareness and accountability, encouraging proactive engagement with course materials. You can use announcements or Canvas messages to share general insights, such as: “Analytics show active engagement with video content. If you’ve missed certain sections, I recommend revisiting to ensure a thorough understanding.” By sharing this information, you encourage students to interact more deeply with the content and provide them with the opportunity to seek assistance if needed.
For questions or further assistance with Canvas Studio, please refer to Canvas Studio: Engaging Higher Education and the Studio Guide (also available via a link on ITHelp). Also, you can always reach out to Online Learning at onlinelearningstaff@alliant.edu with questions.