Panopto is Penn’s video creation and storage platform. In Canvas, Panopto is labeled Class Recordings in the course navigation menu. Many instructors use Panopto to store recordings to share with students. They may ask you to interact with Panopto for assignments.
This page is intended for students. Instructors should review Panopto for Instructors.
Accessing Panopto
To watch videos in a Canvas course, you may click directly on a video if it appears on a Canvas page, or go to the Class Recordings section of the course navigation menu, then click on the video you wish to view. If you use Open Canvas for Penn Learners, this item will be called Panopto Recordings.
The first time you access Panopto, you will need to confirm its permissions and acknowledge the End User License Agreement.
To watch videos in the Canvas Student mobile app on iPhone, you may need to Allow cross-site tracking in order for videos to play. To do so, go to Settings > Canvas Student app, then toggle on the switch for Cross-site tracking.
Let your instructor know if you have difficulty accessing videos for class. Additionally, check that your Penn email matches both your listing in the Penn Directory and your preferred email address in Canvas (indicated with a star).
Using Panopto
Panopto videos can be viewed within Canvas Pages, from the Class Recordings area of the course, or opened in the Panopto player window.
The Panopto player provides access to additional features, such as search and note-taking functions. Select the arrow in the bottom right of a video (pictured below) to open the video in the player and access these additional features.
Panopto player features
- Inside video search: Search for any word spoken or displayed on screen in your video and fast-forward to that portion of the video.
- Variable speed playback: Speed up (1.5x or 2.0x) or slow down (.75x or .5x) the video.
- In-video navigation: Use the table of contents on the left side of the screen or the thumbnails at the bottom of the screen to navigate to different slides in the video, if the video uses a presentation tool such as PowerPoint or Google Slides.
- Configurable captions: Toggle captions on or off, change the color, and change their location on the screen.
- Take notes in the Player: On the left side of the screen, take notes as you watch and access them later.
- Discussion area (if enabled by your instructor): Add comments about certain points in the video, visible to everyone in the class.
Student media projects
Instructors may create an assignment and ask you to submit a video or other media to a special assignment folder in Panopto. You may need to click the Panopto icon (pictured) in the Rich Content Editor to upload your media to the assignment folder.
Panopto quizzes
Instructors may embed quiz questions inside Panopto videos. These will pause the video and prompt you to answer a question before continuing. If you have a specific question concerning a Panopto quiz or assignment, contact your instructor.
Important Information
Archival policy
- Panopto videos will be archived if they are (1) three years old or older, and (2) have not been played in the last 13 months.
- Videos that have been in the archive for an additional 13 months with no activity will be permanently deleted. Videos will not be deleted before October 2025.
We recommend that you keep a local copy of any video you submit as a Panopto assignment in Canvas.
Copyright information
Penn makes students aware of their obligation to protect copyright while using Panopto through the End User License Agreement that appears the first time you log in to Panopto, which requires you to acknowledge that class recordings and other recorded materials are subject to the Policy on Unauthorized Copying of Copyrighted Media.
Some instructors may adjust settings so that this notice also appears at the start of each video.
Getting Help
Please contact your Local Support Provider or submit a request to canvas@pobox.upenn.edu.