Educators and students alike have long relied on the seamless integration of YouTube videos within Blackboard Learn to enhance the learning experience. YouTube’s rich repository of educational content has been an invaluable resource, providing everything from tutorial videos to full-length lectures. However, a change is on the horizon that will impact how these videos are consumed within Blackboard: starting August 1st, YouTube will increase the frequency of advertisements displayed on any embedded videos.
What’s Changing?
Currently, YouTube videos embedded in Blackboard Learn are subject to the same ad policies as videos viewed directly on YouTube’s platform. This includes pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads. These ads may disrupt playback in the classroom or extend the time required for students to watch videos on their own. Google has announced that starting August 1st, the number of ads shown in these embedded videos will increase. This means more interruptions during video playback. This could affect teaching and learning activities that rely heavily on video content.
Why the Change?
The decision to increase ads in embedded YouTube videos is part of a broader strategy by Google to boost ad revenue. With millions of users consuming content through embedded players across various platforms, YouTube aims to capitalize on this extensive reach. For educators and learners, this means an unavoidable shift and impact in their digital learning environment. Anthology has no part in this decision and has no revenue share agreement with Google for YouTube videos embedded into Blackboard Learn.
Preparing for the Change
Start preparing for these changes by using Kaltura to share YouTube videos:
The YouTube integration tool in Kaltura allows you to index and embed a public YouTube video within your Kaltura Media library for later use in your courses and playlists. The video is not downloaded and uploaded, rather it is played through the Kaltura player. This has the added benefit of suppressing commercials and related videos.
- Login to Kaltura via Blackboard or Mediaspace.
- To add a YouTube video to your Kaltura My Media Library, click the Add New button and choose YouTube. [The YouTube video must have been set to Public.]
- Paste the YouTube URL in the text box. The YouTube video will be scanned and indexed. The title and description will be imported from YouTube.
- Edit the Recording Information, including Title, Description, and tags if desired.
- Return to your Kaltura My Media page in Blackboard. The YouTube video will now be displayed in your Kaltura My Media library.
For more information on how to use Kaltura to create and host media, review our Kaltura support guides.
