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How to share a Kaltura video 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 a Kaltura video to a bCourses Modules is to first create a Page and then embed the video 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 a Kaltura video 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 video 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 video 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 video preview 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 video, 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 video 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 video 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 video 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 video with the page title at the top like this image (red arrow), while the video will play within the border but it actually is misconfigured and 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 a linked video, 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 11:38:02