Need to upload a video for a class?

Students here at Gulf Coast State University often need to upload a video for a class presentation, discussion, or submission for a grade. Videos are usually very large in file size. This creates many issues when trying to upload a large video file to Canvas. It can take an extremely long time to upload or it may not upload at all. There is an easy way to upload and submit videos and it is free. By uploading your large video to YouTube, you can forgo the frustrating experience of trying to upload to canvas and merely provide the YouTube link for your presentation, discussion or submission for a grade.

To be able to upload videos to YouTube you need a YouTube Channel. To start a YouTube channel, you need a Google account. If you do not have a Google account simply pull up google.com click the sign-in button at the top right and create an account by filling in the appropriate forms. Once you have your Google account information log into YouTube.

To upload a video, click on the Video + sign in the top right corner. You can then search for your video on your computer or drag and drop the file right into YouTube. YouTube then takes the file and compresses it. Depending on the size it may take a little while, but the service is very stable and usually always succeeds. After it finishes uploading you can select a video thumbnail and choose whether you want the video to be publicly available or not. Don’t forget to hit the publish button. YouTube provides the link to your video.

Now you can go to Canvas. In a discussion board click the link button and insert the link YouTube provided. The thumbnail you choose should show as a place holder and anyone else who clicks on it should be able to view it. This should save you a lot of time and frustration the next time a video is required for a class. Good luck and happy YouTubing!