Introduction
Panopto is Virginia Tech’s chosen video content management system and video creation tool that allows users to create, share, and manage video content easily.
Panopto is integrated into Virginia Tech’s Canvas platform, allowing instructors to record, upload, and share videos directly within Canvas. Panopto also provides tools for organizing videos, tracking engagement, and enabling students to review content.
This guide covers viewing statistics in Panopto for creators. For additional Panopto topics, please see: Virginia Tech Panopto Resources.
Contents
Instructions
Limitations for Analytics
Statistics can give you insights on your folder or video's performance, but please keep in mind that they are not always accurate. If the analytics do not show that a particular person has viewed your media in a specific timeframe, that does not mean they did not view it. Therefore, it is recommended to not base grades for attendance or participation solely on analytics.
- Many factors can impact viewership data, such as ad blockers, browser settings or extensions, virtual private networks (VPNs), shared viewing (e.g., watching with a classmate), and other technical limitations.
- If you set a video’s access to Public (link), viewers who access the video through the link will not be prompted to log in and may appear in the analytics as “Anonymous.”
- If you enable downloads for your video, any views of the downloaded version won’t be tracked, since the playback occurs offline and outside of Panopto’s system.
Folder Level Statistics
Folder-level statistics in Panopto allow you to view engagement data across all videos within a specific folder, such as a course folder, for a specific period of time that you set. These reports provide insight into overall viewing activity, including total views and downloads, unique viewers, and minutes delivered over time. If you have subfolders in your folder, you’ll also see statistics for subfolders as well. Folder statistics show a broader view of how viewers are interacting with video content.
- In Panopto, navigate to the folder where you want to see statistics.
- Click on the three dots icon, then Stats to pull up the analytics.
You’ll see up to three sections for the selected time period for the folder as well as the corresponding downloadable reports:
- Views and Downloads by Day: An overview of the video views and downloads within the folder. This can help you identify when people are viewing your videos, periods with the most activity, and how engagement changed over time.
- Subfolder Roll-up: If your folder contains subfolders, you will see a breakdown of Views/Downloads or Minutes Delivered for subfolders in your folder. This will show you how viewer activity is distributed across subfolders.
- Top Sessions: The most viewed videos within the folder is compiled in this section and allows you to identify which videos have high engagement.
Resources
Session Level Statistics
Session-level statistics provide engagement data for a single Panopto video. These reports allow you to see how viewers are interacting with a specific recording, including total views, viewing duration, and engagement patterns over time. Session statistics are useful when you want to evaluate how students engaged with a particular lecture, review session, or assignment video.
- In Panopto, locate the video where you want to see statistics.
- Hover over the video, click on the three dots icon, then click Stats to pull up the analytics.
You’ll see three sections for the selected time period for the video as well as the corresponding downloadable reports:
- Views and Downloads by Day: An overview of the video views and downloads. This can help you identify when people are viewing your video, periods with the most activity, and how engagement changed over time.
- Viewer Engagement: A breakdown of how viewers interacted with your video through views, comments, or notes. You can see where viewers replayed or skipped portions of the videos or where they left a comment or note.
- Top Viewers: A list of viewers who generated the most engagement for the video. If viewers were logged into Panopto, you’ll be able to see their information. If the video is publicly available with a link, viewers may appear as Anonymous.
Resources
Getting Help
If you need help with Panopto in general:
- Check Panopto System Status.
- Review Panopto documentation.
- Contact Panopto Support.
If you still have questions:
- For questions about Panopto in Canvas or at https://virginiatech.hosted.panopto.com, go to the 4Help Portal, log in, and click Get Help. Specify where you are having the issue and include the video name, ID, and/or URL if applicable.
- For questions about intellectual property, contact your department chair or the University Council.