PlayPosit Introduction

PlayPosit is a learning tool that embeds interactive components within a video. For example, it can pause a lecture video to ask a multiple-choice quiz question, end a video with a free response prompt, or automatically skip students to another video or segment based on a response. PlayPosit can be synced with Canvas Gradebook, or PlayPosits can be informal ungraded comprehension checks. In this way, PlayPosit interactions can increase student engagement and reflection with video content.

When creating PlayPosits, the tool will use the terms “Bulb,” “interaction,” and “linking”. Bulb refers to a video that contains PlayPosit questions. Interactions is in reference to a variety of questions or responses that can be inserted in the video. Linking means connecting the Bulb to the Canvas page or assignment.

For more info, follow this link to the IU informational page on PlayPosit.

Interactions and Use Cases

PlayPosit are created by importing a video into the PlayPosit platform and inserting interactions at various timestamps. PlayPosit has a large set of possible interactions.

Image caption: screenshot of the interaction options in PlayPosit

Some possible uses are:

• A series of multiple-choice questions that help breakdown major events in a history lecture.
• Fill-in-the-blank questions for a math lecture where students identify components of a formula or complete an equation.
• Poll for students to reflect on their learning and rate their understanding of a video.
• Matching exercise for a psychology video to engage students with making predictions and identifying variables in a scientific experiment.
• Discussion for a news segment or clip to encourage personal connections to course content.
• Free response for a science lecture to have students explain concepts in their own words.
• Pause to provide more current information/updates in an instructor’s previously recorded lecture.

Click here for a link to info on creating a Bulb as well as the different types of interactions you can use.

Some additional features beyond interactions include settings that turn on/off a student’s ability to

• Fast-forward in a video.
• View score after completing a bulb.
• Retake a bulb.
• Skip interactions.
• Rewind a video.
• Require a score of 100% to proceed.

After a Bulb has been made, it will need to be linked to Canvas.

• For a graded PlayPosit synced with Canvas Gradebook, the video will be set as an external submission in a Canvas assignment. Because it is synced, only one PlayPosit can be set per assignment page.
• For an ungraded PlayPosit, the video can be embedded using the plug-in icon (“open external tools”) in the Canvas RCE. With this, multiple PlayPosits can be added to a page.

Click here for a page about assigning bulbs.

If a PlayPosit is not synced with Canvas Gradebook, an instructor can still access student scores and “grade” free responses in the Monitor screen. Within the PlayPosit site, instructors can access their course’s folder which contains a gradebook.

Accounts and Ownership

As videos are edited and shared by various team members, they will be housed in a common group account.

• Group accounts
  • Undergrad videos/PlayPosits will be owned by “edsasset” group account
    • Adam M, Carrie, and Peter currently have access to edsasset account
  • Graduate videos/PlayPosits will be owned by TBA
  • Fairbanks videos/PlayPosits will be owned by “mphstuff” group account
• ID Leads
  • ID should add themselves into the group before changing ownership
  • IDs can be set to co-editor and co-collaborator
  • Group account should be set to owner
• Instructor
  • When a course is copied, it doesn’t create a new bulb, but the instructor only has access to the student data from the bulb’s instance in their course
  • If the bulb needs to be updated in a future course run, the ID will have to go into the “edsasset” account to make the changes

Suggested Workflow

When creating a large number of PlayPosit, the following is suggested.

• Create a checklist or spreadsheet to track videos, where they belong, and their status.
• Have the instructor provide a list of timestamps for questions and the correct answers.
• Upload all videos to Kaltura before working in PlayPosit.
• Work through the PlayPosit site instead of the Canvas tool. The tool will close after a Bulb is created whereas the site will return you to the main page.
• Create all your PlayPosits before embedding/linking them into Canvas to reduce moving back and forth between pages.
• Tag your PlayPosits to remember which Module or Page they belong to
• Use the search bar when embedding/linking the video.

Additional Notes

Note on Captions

If you use a Kaltura video, captions requested on that video through Kaltura will “fetch” and update in the PlayPosit video (source).

As of May 2024: If the Kaltura video you’re using was originally a YouTube video, it will keep the original YouTube captions. Here’s what to do: once professional captions have been generated for the video in Kaltura, download the caption file from Kaltura. Then, upload the file to PlayPosit (more detailed instructions available here).

Note on Previewing a PlayPosit

To see PlayPosit as an interactive video, Canvas will need to enter Student View.

Note on Analytics Data

You can access Analytics for detailed data regarding student performance. This page will present information such as how many attempts a student took, how long they spend on the video, and scores. More information can be found on this PlayPosit FAQ page about monitoring Bulbs.

Note on Linking and Copied Courses

If a designer creates the bulbs for a course, the instructor will have a facilitator role by default and cannot edit the original bulb. While it is possible for the faculty to copy the bulb, this should be carefully considered (see step 4 below).