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Streaming Video: Tips for Instructors: Kanopy

How to make best use of the library's streaming video databases for your courses!

Go to the database

Link to a Kanopy video

  1. Display the main page for the video you want.
  2. Copy the URL displayed in your browser's location or address box and paste it into your Web page.
  3. Add the library's proxy prefix to the front of the URL: http://libproxy.lib.csusb.edu/login?url=

A correctly formed URL will look something like this:

http://libproxy.lib.csusb.edu/login?url=http://csusb.kanopystreaming.com/node/81278

Example: Latinos Beyond Reel

Embed a Video in a Page

  1. Display the main page for the video you want.
  2. Click the Share icon.
  3. Click the Embed icon.
  4. Copy the Embed html code provided and paste it into your Web page. 
  5. Make sure that you add the library's proxy prefix in front of the Kanopy URL  in the embed code.

​Be aware that embedded players look cool, but may pose accessibility issues; for this reason we recommend linking directly to the video rather than embedding it.

Kanopy screenshot with Share and Embed icons highlighted.

Create & Link to a Clip

Navigate to the point in the video where you want your clip to begin. Options for navigating:

  • Drag the playback head along the time bar below the video.
  • In the transcript, double-click on a line of dialogue near where you want to begin.

Make note of the timestamp for the beginning of segment you want to clip, such as 00:35:46, and its end, such as 00:41:03.

The trick with Kanopy is that you must first create a playlist before you can create any clips. Clips cannot exist independent of a playlist, so even if you want only one clip, you must create a playlist to hold the single clip.

  1. From the information page for your video, click the More button, then choose Create Clip/Playlist.
    More button selected circled in red
  2. You will be prompted to sign in to your personal account. You will need to create one if you haven't already.Kanopy login box
  3. Give your new playlist a name and click Create (or choose an existing playlist if you have created some already). 
    Create new playlist box
  4. On the Edit Playlist screen, choose "Edit" for the video you just added to the playlist.
    Screenshot of the "Edit playlist" screen
  5. On the Edit screen, give the clip as name and description. You can use the Capture Start and Stop buttons to define the clip, but it's often easier to manually enter the start and stop timestamps.
    Edit clip screen with fields highlighted.
  6. Click Save Clip. You will return to the Edit Playlist page. 
  7. At the upper right corner of the page, click your login, then choose My Playlists.
  8. For the playlist that contains your clip(s), click the More button, then Share.
  9. Copy the URL provided and use it to link from your web page. Remember that you will need to add the library's proxy prefix to the front of the URL!