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How do I share Kaltura media in a bCourses Module?

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8.0 - Updated on 2024-01-23 by Judith Stern

7.0 - Updated on 2021-10-26 by Sara Viray

6.0 - Updated on 2021-10-22 by Sara Viray

5.0 - Updated on 2021-08-24 by Sara Viray

4.0 - Updated on 2021-03-09 by Judith Stern

3.0 - Updated on 2021-01-21 by Tim Gotch

2.0 - Updated on 2021-01-21 by Tim Gotch

1.0 - Authored on 2021-01-11 by Tim Gotch

The recommended best practice for adding Kaltura media to a bCourses Modules is to first create a Page and then embed the media there using the Rich Content Editor as described here - How Do I Embed Kaltura Media in bCourses Using the Rich Content Editor? Then simply add the Page to your Module at the appropriate location.

This article is only relevant for the specific task of adding Kaltura media in a bCourses Module by linking to it directly. This functionality is not implemented in an intuitive way and these instructions must be followed exactly as described below in order for the link to work correctly.

This process is easiest if you have the course site Media Gallery and the course Modules page open in separate tabs or windows.

If you have not done so already, publish the media that you want to link to the course site Media Gallery as described here - How do I publish media from My Media to a Media Gallery in bCourses?

In the course Media Gallery page, right-click on the media thumbnail preview window and select “Copy Link Address”. (Control-click on Mac, Option-click on Windows)

Do not use the URL from your browser address bar. Do not copy the link from the preview window in your My Media; it must be obtained from the preview window in the specific course Media Gallery.

Go to the Modules page and in the module where you want to embed the media, click the + icon to the right. (Do not use the Upload Files tool.)

In the Add Item to "module name" dialog box that appears, the below must be followed exactly.

  1. In the Add to “module name” dropdown menu, select External Tool. (Do NOT select External URL.)
  2. Do NOT select a tool from the options presented in the tool selection sub-window. This will break the functionality.
  3. Copy the URL from the media into the URL field under the tool selection sub-window.
  4. Give the Page a name.
  5. Do NOT select the "Load in New Tab" option, as this will break the functionality.
  6. Leave Indentation as Don’t Indent.
  7. Click Add Items.


Verify the link is working correctly by clicking on the item in the Module. Note that the media will always seem to work for you as the owner. Check the below items to make sure that it will work for everyone!

When you click on the Module item, the media should look like the image here where the path to the top left above the video shows the module path and there are module Previous and Next navigation buttons below the video (if relevant.)

The URL in the browser address bar should be within bCourses (eg - “https://bcourses.berkeley.edu/courses/.../...”.) If it starts with "kaf" (eg - “https://kaf.berkeley.edu/media/.../...” then the module item is misconfigured and needs to be deleted and recreated in order to work properly.

In addition, if there is a grey frame around the media with the page title at the top like this image (red arrow), while the video or audio will play within the border it is actually misconfigured. It should be deleted and recreated to prevent access issues that can occur if the viewer clicks on the link in the gray top bar.


If you receive reports that your viewers are receiving “Access Denied” error messages when trying to view the media, this indicates that the item was misconfigured in one of these ways. The remedy is to delete the module item and recreate it making sure to follow the above instructions exactly.

Please email kalturahelp@berkeley.edu if you have any questions or issues with this process.


Revised by Tim Gotch
Last modified 2021-01-21 12:23:26