Tools
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Using Kaltura to Stream Movies on Recent Versions of macOS and iOS
Kaltura is the tool Trinity College uses to deliver streaming video for classes, and in general it is working pretty well on various browsers and operating systems. However, many people who access Kaltura on an up-to-date iOS or macOS device are greeted with a puzzling error: “It seems your browser is blocking 3rd party session cookies which are required for the Kaltura application. To resolve this issue, please update your settings to allow 3rd party cookies.” This is happening because in recent updates Apple have changed a default preference, turning on a new feature called “Prevent Cross-Site Tracking.” This breaks Kaltura, which needs to be able to set a cookie…
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Kaltura: Ordering and Editing Captions
This post describes how to request, edit and download closed captions and a transcript file from Kaltura, whether you are working in Moodle or in Mediaspace (https://trincoll.mediaspace.kaltura.com). Closed captions are machine generated and are typically 70 – 85% accurate, however, the results greatly depend on the clarity and enunciation of the speaker. Turnaround time once captions are requested is typically less than the length of the original media. There is also a built-in caption editor you can use for improving the accuracy of the captions. If you have not already uploaded Media for captioning, upload your media to “My Media.” In Moodle, this is right under the Dashboard: If you…
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Immersive Storytelling
Digital Storytelling is not a new concept. It has been a popular format for projects for years and is growing in popularity here at Trinity. With the increasing availability of 360 degree cameras and Virtual Reality Headsets (from cheap Google Cardboard type headsets to Oculus Rift and HTC Vive systems) Digital Storytelling is evolving to include a new format often called Immersive Storytelling. Immersive Stories can be 360 degree videos or fully developed interactive Virtual Worlds. The formerly passive viewer is now an active participant in the storyscape. For a sample of the power of this approach see a The Wait which is a Masters Thesis project created by students…
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ToW: Make Timelines with Timeline JS
Want to tell a story? Need to organize a lot of information? TimelineJS is a powerful, flexible, and easy way to quickly make a compelling and interactive visualization that can includes diverse kinds of media like images, video, audio, tweets, and even whole documents. Check out this example, from the makers of TimelineJS: [iframe src=’https://cdn.knightlab.com/libs/timeline3/latest/embed/index.html?source=1xuY4upIooEeszZ_lCmeNx24eSFWe0rHe9ZdqH2xqVNk&font=Default&lang=en&initial_zoom=2&height=650′ width=’100%’ height=’650′ webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen frameborder=’0′][/iframe] Developed by the Knight Lab at Northwestern University, this free and open-source tool will format and present your work for easy navigation, using a simple google sheets template. It’s been used by CNN and Time, and here at Trinity, in courses like Gender, Sexuality, and Space and Memory, Power,…
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ToW: Protecting Your Digital Identity
Are you interested in protecting your digital identity? Doing so not only provides a layer of protection from online harassment, but also promotes positive data practices. To do so, visit the Center for Solutions to Online Violence and follow their guide on locking down your digital identity. Some helpful tips they recommend include the following: This simple step will make it much more challenging for anyone to log-into your accounts. This also is a great way to ensure that your account is not accessible on devices where you have logged in previously (just make sure you always log out of your accounts!) Another great tip is to assess what information…