One year of Panopto – A year of capturing your lectures

Posted on: 13 January 2025 in Innovation

In IT Services we’re always looking to improve your digital experience at our University by rolling out the best new technology. But sometimes things do go wrong and then the team are ‘all hands on deck’ to keep you working and studying at your best.

Craig Goacher, Education Services Team Leader and Tracy Hamilton, Digital Education Services (DES) Technologist (Lecture Capture) share the ups and downs of rolling out Panopto, our lecture capture service, and what you can look forward to seeing from Panopto in the future.  

Why was Panopto rolled out?  

Our University previously used Stream Capture, which had several limitations that didn’t make it the best lecture capture experience for our students or staff. 

For example, it’s possible to have multiple owners on video content created in Panopto and choose when to release your content to students. These features prevent any issues occurring if someone is unavailable, eg due to absence. 

Feedback had also shown us that staff wanted analytics of their lecture capture content and Panopto has detailed analytics capabilities built in. 

You can also edit your video and the automatically generated captions without needing to download your video, with captions also being available in multiple languages.  

Embedded quizzes have enriched the teaching experience for our students, and improved accessibility creates a better experience for everyone. With downloadable transcripts, variable playback speed, video search, keyboard shortcuts and the ability to watch downloaded recordings offline on the Panopto mobile app, Panopto creates an enhanced experience for everyone at our University.  

That all sounds great! So, how did the rollout go?  

Panopto was initially rolled out in the School of Medicine and School of Dentistry.  

After successful implementation and positive feedback, the University decided to roll this out University-wide for the 2023/24 academic year.  

Unfortunately, an issue with the Panopto for Windows desktop application became apparent in the second week of teaching so we had to remove access to this while we worked with Panopto to find a solution. We were however able to provide a workaround to allow our users to continue using Panopto via the web. We collaborated with our Central Communications team to ensure our staff and students were made aware of both the issue and the workaround and continued to work with them up to the resolution being implemented in the fourth week of teaching.  

While it’s unfortunate to encounter problems so soon after the rollout of a new product, by working hard and keeping our staff and students informed, we were able to keep the experience positive and retain all the great benefits Panopto offers to our University community. 

What’s next for Panopto? 

We’ve already been busy making improvements! Based on feedback we received the default settings used in Panopto for Windows in our lecture theatres and seminar rooms were updated to allow greater flexibility when capturing the screen, audio and webcam as standard. There is also the option to revert to the previous settings, when required. 

Our lecture theatres and seminar rooms will be improved for the 2025/26 academic year with upgraded hardware standardising the experience across campus. Future software updates will also enhance the teaching experience for everyone.  

Panopto will also be rolling out video assessment improvements, additional language support and more interactive editing functions, so there are many developments for us to incorporate in the future.  

You can find out more about Panopto on our help pages for staff and students. Stay up to date with the latest developments of Panopto and other improvements to the teaching experience by following IT Services on Instagram and LinkedIn. You can also receive updates straight to your inbox by signing up to our newsletter, YOUR I.T. Insight.