November 4, 2026 7 minute read
On September 16, three people from Fox Valley Technical College in Wisconsin joined us for a practical session on how Blackboard LMS: Video Studio works in real courses. Elizabeth Jones is Instructional Excellence Manager and works with faculty on teaching and assessment. Sara Williamson has been a Business Technology Instructor at the college for 28 years. Nate Lison is Manager of LMS and Analytics and pulled the data behind the session. Ben Burrett from Blackboard® product marketing hosted, and Andrea Cardenas from the Video Studio product team closed with a live demo.
The short version: video spread across the college, including among students, without a single training session. Jones explained why in one line: “This is literally click, record, click. And then you can go on to teaching.”
Watch the full Video Studio in Practice recording for the data slides and demo. Here’s what we learned.
Why students asked for video in their courses
Students asked for video before anyone pushed it.
Fox Valley builds its programs around the skills students will use on the first day of their new job, and video is a natural fit for that. Before the pandemic, Jones said, video use was limited to pockets of programs. The pandemic made everyone more comfortable with it, and when students returned to campus, they started "requesting and then even demanding, but in a nice way, the use of videos."
Her favorite example comes from the welding lab. During lockdown, instructor Jim Berry started recording short videos to keep students engaged, first from his couch, then his garage, then on campus with a document camera. Students didn't want the videos to go away. Today many of them run Berry's videos at their stations while he teaches in the room. As they put it, they have Jim Berry live and Jim Berry on demand.
Replacing a separate video platform with Video Studio
The barrier was friction, not interest.
Before Video Studio, Fox Valley used a separate video platform connected through LTI. Jones said that even with that connection, "it was almost as if you had to completely get out of our system." Some faculty waited overnight for a video to be ready. One speech instructor spent a full lesson teaching students to use a free recording tool.
Williamson had the same problem. She ran whole lessons on installing a recording tool, and students still pushed back on creating another account and another password. "It's nice as a faculty member not to have to record the video, set up another account, upload it somewhere else, then attach it into my course," she said.
Cost was the third issue. Storage bills for the old platform kept growing. Because Video Studio is part of Blackboard LMS, Jones said, explaining it to leadership got simpler: it's just part of what the college gets from Blackboard.
Four ways one instructor uses video in online courses
Most of Williamson's teaching is online, and video keeps her present in every course.
- Module overviews: a 4- to 6-minute video every week, covering what's coming, what to watch for, and what went well last week.
- Video announcements: occasional encouragement in place of a written post, so students see and hear her.
- Video feedback in Blackboard assessments: she selects the Video Studio button inside the feedback box, records her screen with the student's own file open, and points out what worked and what needs fixing. The video lands in the feedback box, and she moves on to the next student. Students find it "very hard to miss," and they thank her for explaining.
- Student discussions and presentations: in her online soft-skills courses, students record themselves talking through a mock interview or their week, and share it with classmates.
Her advice to other instructors was direct: start using it, and don't be afraid to implement it, because students find it easy. Her next step is adding knowledge checks to her videos.
360° video and other uses in technical programs
Video spread to programs you might not expect.
Across the college, faculty found uses no one prescribed. Diesel mechanic, truck driving, manufacturing, and public safety faculty build 360° videos that students can look around in, including a crime scene where students identify priorities. Some instructors start students in the journal tool, where only the instructor sees the video, as a private first step before posting to a discussion. Others use screencasts to explain an assignment or the layout of a course. A social science instructor runs asynchronous debates where each point is a 30-second video.
Video Studio adoption results at Fox Valley
Steady growth, with no campaign behind it.
Fox Valley turned Video Studio on in March 2025. "You couldn't even call it a soft launch. We literally just turned it on," Jones said. The library grew from 9,192 videos in September 2025 to 33,108 a year later.
The slide that drew the most reaction showed who was uploading. Faculty use was steady, but students now upload more than faculty in most months, and use held up through the summer. Unique viewer data showed the watching was widespread too, not a handful of heavy users.
None of it came from a push. "We thought we were going to have to do trainings. We keep planning to do that. And we haven't had to," Jones said. Business is the biggest user, and general studies uses video heavily. Manufacturing, historically slow to adopt instructional technology, now sits in the middle of the pack. Transportation has pockets of use, and aviation programs are starting to show interest. In those divisions, Jones said, the main job is simply letting people know the tool is there.
Video Studio adoption without heavy support
Faculty and students got started with very little help.
Because Video Studio works inside Blackboard LMS, faculty and students found it on their own, and support stayed quiet. Lison said the team rarely gets emails or calls about it. His advice to other admins: "If you get it, you're going to be so happy, because you're not going to get those emails and calls during the day, in the middle of the night."
Video Studio FAQ
Can students record video on a phone?
Yes. Mobile recording is supported for students and instructors.
Are Video Studio knowledge checks graded?
No. Knowledge checks are embedded questions that help students check their understanding. They're formative and aren't graded.
How do you record a video in Video Studio?
Choose camera, screen, or both, optionally blur or replace the background, then start, pause, and end the recording. You can give the video a title and description, and choose whether students can download it.
Does Video Studio create captions automatically?
Yes. Captions and a searchable transcript are created automatically, so students can follow along or jump to a specific point in the video.
Can students watch videos offline?
Yes, when the instructor allows downloads.
An easier tool
Looking at Fox Valley's viewing data, Jones explained the growth simply: "It's literally just been answering a need. We've always known how important video can be in teaching. We didn't realize just how important until we had an easier tool."
Keep going
- Watch the full Video Studio in Practice recording to see Fox Valley's data slides and the live demo
- Read how KCTCS adopted Video Studio across 16 colleges
- See the latest Video Studio updates
- Request a Video Studio demo for your institution
