An update to Planet eStream will be launched across Lancaster University on 23rd April 2025. It is quite a big change and users will be automatically moved to the new version on this date.
If you aren’t already familiar with the platform, Planet eStream is the recommended method of embedding on-demand videos into Moodle courses. You can also use it for multimedia student submissions without file type or size limits. Another feature is Planet eStream Connect which makes it easy to record upcoming TV and radio programmes, with access to an extensive archive of pre-recorded shows that can also be embedded directly into Moodle. The TV and radio archive currently goes back to 2007 and eStream are aiming to backfill the archive to 1987.
This new update doesn’t just provide a new look; there are great improvements to a user’s experience through a more streamlined navigation and recording is now available across all browsers without the need for additional plugins.
In this post, I’m going to introduce you to some of the key changes and a couple of features you may not have noticed.
The new look
Your area in eStream is now a side bar that can be opened and closed and appears on the right hand side of the screen. It automatically pops up when you enter the site and can be closed via the ‘X’ sign. To reopen the sidebar click on your profile/initials icon in the top right hand corner. The default section of your area is the “favourites” tab but you can also access other tabs relevant to you such as your watch history, your media area, quizzes, video edits and conversions. You might remember that your personal eStream area used to default to the quizzes tab so the default to the favourites tab is a small change.
The Lancaster University eStream homepage also looks quite different and in my opinion, more attractive. The most popular videos for eStream users at Lancaster University are displayed on this page for easy access.
The icons to search categories, create new media or open tools are slightly different but can still be found at the top of the page to the right of the search bar.
Creating new media
To create or record media in eStream go to the cloud icon at the top of the page and this will open the “Create Media Options”.
From here you can access the web recorder as well as other ways to add content to eStream such as the options to create a playlist, upload media, add external links and access the TV and radio archive (eStream Connect). eStream also has a separate option where you can import Microsoft Teams Meetings from your OneDrive which is useful for captioning and sharing online lectures or events with students and other staff.
The web recorder no longer needs additional browser plugins to work and can work on any browser. For example, when using Chrome as your browser, to use the web recorder you had to enable a Planet eStream extension – this no longer applies in the updated version.
