Video - desktop recorder

1. Plan  |   2. Build   |  3. Test   |  4. Administer  |  5. Review  ||   Support  

My Media iconThis entry relates to Kaltura, and its Desktop Recorder tool that you can use to build videos. 

The Desktop Recorder is a free tool you can use to make simple videos for learning and upload directly to your My Media repository in FLO. You can use it to capture screen recordings, webcam and audio. When making screen recordings, you can also add annotations like drawing and highlighting to the slides, webpages or applications on screen as you record. It also has a whiteboard mode where you can record yourself drawing basic diagrams and graphics.     



Download the Desktop Recorder

To download the Desktop Recorder, please follow the instructions below.

Note for Mac users: You will need session cookies enabled. Safari is the recommended browser for downloading this program.

  1. Log in to FLO. In the top right of screen next to your name and profile picture, open the drop-down menu then click My Media.
    My Media access

  2. On the right of your screen, click the Add New button, then Desktop Recorder. (If it's already installed on your computer, the Desktop Recorder will launch as per step 5 below). 
    Add new desktop recorder

  3. The next steps vary depending if you are using a Windows or a Mac computer. Use the tabs below to see instructions for your computer.
Windows users
  1. Click Download for Windows 
    download for Windows 
  2. Check your browser for the downloaded installation file (in Chrome you'll see it appear in the bottom left; in Firefox, click the download arrow top right). When it's finished downloading, open the file

    Downloaded exe file

  3. The file will install; follow any prompts you see on screen. When the install is finished, Desktop Recorder will launch.

    Desktop recorder toolbar
Mac users
  1. Click Download for Mac 
    download for Mac

  2. Open and run the download file from your browser

  3. Drag the Kaltura Capture Desktop Recorder icon into the Applications folder and authenticate as prompted 

    Drag to Applications

  4. The application will launch and you'll see a new icon in the Dock that looks like this:

    kaltura icon in Dock




Create and upload a video with the Desktop Recorder

  1. Open The Kaltura Capture Desktop Recorder, either:

    • from the icon on your desktop (Windows) or from Applications (Mac)
      Kaltura capture icon

    • or, from within FLO. Open the drop-down menu next to your name and profile picture, click My Media > Add New > Desktop Recorder
      Add new Desktop Recorder

  2. The Recorder opens. Select the recording inputs for the type of video you'd like to create. You can click an icon to toggle the input on/off. See the table below for which inputs to use for different kinds of video. 

    desktop recorder toolbar

    Video type Use cases Recorder inputs to select
    Screen recording (no audio) Record a simple, short process or demonstration on screen that doesn't need explanation / narration. Screen only. Click Camera and Audio to turn them off. 
    If you have multiple monitors, you can use the drop-down menu to select which one to record. Choose whether you want Full Screen recording, or to select a specific area on your screen. 
    Screen recording only inputs
    Screen recording (with audio)

    Record presentation slides with narration (good for lecture videos).

    Record a demonstration of using a website or database, software application, or other learning resource. 

    Show an image, diagram etc and talk about it.

    Optional: Use the annotation tools to overlay a markup over the content on screen.
    Screen and Audio. Click Camera to turn it off. 
    If you have multiple monitors, you can use the drop-down menu to select which one to record. Choose whether you want Full Screen recording, or to select a specific area on your screen.
    screen recording with audio inputs
    Talking head (webcam video) Present directly to camera. Great for explainer videos, welcome, or announcement videos.  Camera and Audio. Click Screen to turn it off
    webcam and audio recording
    Multi-stream recording (screen recording plus webcam talking head) This is useful for when you want to show slides, websites or images on screen, but also want to connect to your audience by  being visible as a 'talking head'. Research shows that students find this more engaging than just slides with narration. 

    When you record in this way, the Desktop Recorder will create two video streams – one for the screen recording, and one for the webcam. When students watch the video, they'll be able to choose how the two streams are displayed, and change it as they watch (it's interactive).

    They can view as:

    • picture in picture view, with one stream displayed in the bottom corner and the other filling the screen. The student can switch between the streams whenever they like, that is, they can maximise the screen recording and have your talking head in the bottom left corner, or maximise your talking head, and have the screen recording on the bottom corner. 

    • side-by side: splits the screen in half and plays both streams side by side. 

    You don't need to do any additional editing to make this interactive viewing experience possible. When you create a multi-stream recording, the video player students to watch the video in FLO provides that functionality. 
    All three inputs – Screen, Camera and Audio
    If you have multiple monitors, you can use the drop-down menu to select which one to record. Choose whether you want Full Screen recording, or to select a specific area on your screen.

    Multistream recording inputs selected
    Audio only You could use this for voice-only content, for example, as a way to 'speak' to your students for a reminder or topic announcement.  Audio only. Click Screen and Camera to turn them off.
    audio only recording input

  3. Click the red Record button. You'll see a 3-2-1 countdown, then the recording begins. 
      Click record

  4. The recording toolbar will reduce in size and display in the bottom right of screen. You may need to move it or minimise it to make sure it isn't included in your video. As you record, you can pause and resume at any time. If you make a mistake and want to discard what you've recorded, click the cross icon to cancel the whole recording.

    Note: if you make a mistake while recording, don't worry! You can always cut it out after uploading your video to FLO, with the editing tools available in My Media.  



    If you minimise the toolbar, you will need to know these keystrokes to pause and stop your recording. TIP: write them on a sticky note by your screen.

    PC Mac Action
    Ctrl + Shift + R
    ⌘+ Shift + R Record / Pause(Rest) / Resume
    Ctrl + Shift + S
    ⌘ + Shift + S Stop
    Ctrl + Shift + C
    ⌘ + Shift + C Control

  5. When you're done, click the Stop button then Yes, Stop it to confirm. 
    Stop recording

  6. A preview of your video opens in a pop-up window. Enter a name and description (both mandatory fields that are required to publish the video for use in teaching activities), and optional, add tags (keywords) to increase the 'searchability' of your video in FLO. 
    Video name descriptions and tags added

  7. Click Save & Upload. This saves the recording and uploads it directly into your My Media repository in FLO.

    Note: the Save option saves the video into your Desktop Recorder library, but won't upload to FLO. You can always access the video in the Recorder library at a later stage and upload it. 
    Click save and upload

  8. You'll see the upload progress percentage displayed; it may take a few minutes to complete. 
    Upload progress

  9. When the upload is complete, you can click the URL displayed under the video to access it in My Media. From there, you can edit the video if necessary, publish it to topic Media Vaults for use in topic activities, add captions and more. 
    Click URL to open in My media

  10. Kaltura has options to delete videos. These links (highlighted in red in the below image) delete copies of the videos stored on your computer. This is particularly handy for computers with smaller hard drives.

    Note that this won't delete videos in My Media.
    A 'Delete all uploaded files' link is above the first recording. Each recording also has an individual delete link that deletes just that video.



Publish a video to the Media Vault

After uploading the video to your My Media, you will need to publish the video to your Media Vault. Instructions on how to do this are in a separate resource, with different methods depending on how the video was added. When using the Desktop Recorder we recommend using option 2.

Publish videos to a topic media vault



Edit a video created with the Desktop Recorder

Any video uploaded to FLO can be edited inside FLO

» How-to glossary