Teaching with MediaPlus

MediaPlus is ASU’s media streaming and management platform, developed in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS). It is designed to support the secure and reliable delivery of video and audio content for teaching and learning across the university.

Table of Contents

• Why Use MediaPlus?
• Uploading Videos to MediaPlus
• Embedding MediaPlus Content in Canvas
• Managing Captions in MediaPlus
• Organizing Media with Collections and Playlists
• Additional Resources

Why Use MediaPlus?

Faculty use MediaPlus to manage and share instructional media in a way that is centralized, accessible, and easy for students to use. MediaPlus supports:

• Secure hosting of video and audio content
• Automatic captioning and transcript generation
• Consistent playback across devices and locations
• Direct embedding of media into Canvas content
• Organization of media for reuse across courses

Together, these features make MediaPlus a reliable foundation for teaching with video in Canvas.

Uploading Videos to MediaPlus

To upload media, first log in to MediaPlus. From the global navigation menu at the top of the page, select Media to access your media library. This area displays all video and audio files you have previously uploaded.

1. Select the maroon New Media button in the upper-right corner of the screen.
2. Add files from your computer by either:
   • Clicking the light gray upload area to open your file browser, or
   • Dragging and dropping one or more files into the upload area.
3. Confirm the file names listed below the upload area.
   • To remove a file before uploading, select the trashcan icon next to its name.
4. Review the Acceptable Content Policy.
   1. If your content meets the requirements, check I Accept.
   2. If you are unsure or your content does not meet the requirements, contact MediaPlus support for guidance.
5. Select Upload Media to begin the upload process.

Once the upload begins, you will be taken to the Pending Uploads area, where you can monitor upload progress.

For detailed instructions, refer to MediaPlus Tutorial: Uploading Media.

Embedding MediaPlus Content in Canvas

The Rich Content Editor (RCE) is the most common way to embed videos or playlists directly into course content. The RCE is available anywhere you edit content in Canvas, including Pages, Assignments, Quizzes, and Discussion Boards. To embed media using the RCE:

1. Open the page, assignment, quiz, or discussion where you want to add media.
2. In the Rich Content Editor, select the plug icon (next to the quotation mark icon).
3. Choose View All and select MediaPlus from the list of apps.
4. MediaPlus will open in a pop-up window showing your media library.
5. Locate the media you want to embed and select Embed.
   • If you want to embed a playlist instead of a single video, click the menu icon in the upper-right corner (three horizontal lines), then select Playlists.
6. The media will be inserted directly into the Canvas editor.
7. Select either Save or Save and Publish when you are finished.

For detailed instructions, refer to MediaPlus Tutorial: Canvas - Google Docs.

Managing Captions in MediaPlus

MediaPlus automatically generates captions for all new media uploaded to the platform. Once a video or audio file is uploaded, it is sent through MediaPlus’s speech-to-text service, which produces English-language captions and a transcript. When processing is complete, the caption file becomes available under the Captions tab in the media’s details view.

To review captions for a piece of media, log in to MediaPlus, locate the media, and click on it to open the details view. From there, select the Captions tab at the top of the details panel. Once captions are available, they will be listed in this area and can be managed directly from the interface.

Editing Captions

While automatic captions reduce the initial workload, reviewing and correcting captions is an important step for accessibility and clarity. To edit captions:

1. Log in to MediaPlus and locate the media you want to edit.
2. Click the media to open its details view.
3. Select the Captions tab to see available caption files.
4. Click Edit beneath the caption file you want to modify.
5. Use the built-in editor to correct any errors. (Tip: Select Open full caption editor to expand the editing workspace.)
6. Click Save to apply your changes.

Changes to the active caption file become visible to viewers immediately after saving.

Captioning Older Media

Some media uploaded or migrated into MediaPlus before automatic captioning was introduced may not include captions. In such cases, the media owner can request captions on demand.

When the Generate Captions and Transcript option is selected, MediaPlus sends a copy of the media to the automatic captioning service. Once processing is complete, the generated caption file appears in the Captions tab alongside any existing caption files. From there, captions can be reviewed, edited, and activated just like captions on newly uploaded media.

For detailed instructions, refer to MediaPlus Tutorial: Captions - Google Docs.

Organizing Media with Collections and Playlists

In MediaPlus, you can organize related videos as either a Playlist or a Collection. 

Playlists

Playlists enable faculty or staff to distribute content to their audience as an ordered list of media through a single playback experience. Viewers will be able to play through the content in the order the faculty or staff has selected, or they may select individual items to play from the list. A given piece of media can be included in many different playlists; however, that piece of media itself is never duplicated. If the piece of media is deleted, it will no longer appear in any of the playlists it was a part of.

For detailed instructions, refer to How to Create, Edit, and Share Playlists in MediaPlus - Learning Experience.

Collections

As videos are uploaded to MediaPlus, ensure the videos are organized through the use of collections. Think of a collection as a personal, private folder of set items. Unlike playlists, they cannot be distributed to viewers. Collections are available to conveniently organize media into customizable groupings. They can be used for various purposes, such as courses, projects, or any other means. Items in a collection can be placed in a desired order simply for convenience.

Additional Resources

• ASU Enterprise Technology: ASU MediaPlus
• ASU Enterprise Technology: MediaPlus FAQs
• ASU Enterprise Technology: MediaPlus Resources
• TLC Guide: MediaPlus: Uploading Video
• TLC Guide: MediaPlus: Embedding Video in Canvas
• TLC Guide: MediaPlus: Managing Captions
• TLC Guide: MediaPlus: Playlists and Collections