Embed Video or Audio on a Moodle Page

Source : http://www.oit.umass.edu/support/moodle/embed-video-or-audio-a-moodle-page

Audio and visual media can be very powerful tools in a Moodle course. Students can access information in multiple formats, view material from the web, catch up on lectures they have missed, and see demonstrations of content discussed in class.

Ways to Share Media through Moodle

There are a number of ways to share media with your students. Which method to use depends on whether the media is stored on Moodle or offsite, and the format of the media.

In most cases we recommend embedding video on a Page. While it is possible to embed video in aLabel within a Topic Section, or in an HTML block, posting media, especially video, within a Pageresource makes it more accessible, and saves space on your course page. If you do decide to embed a video on the main course page be sure the width of the video is no more than 450 pixels in a Section, or 200 pixels in a Block, or it may affect the way the page displays.

?Note: ? In order for media to play without downloading, users must have the correct plug-ins installed in their browser. When a user opens a page, they will be prompted to install the plug-in if they need to.

On this page:

• Upload and Embed a Video or Audio File
  If you have an audio or video file, such as a .mp3, .swf or .mp4 file, you can upload it as a Fileresource.  A media player will appear on the page where the file is embedded, and your students will not need to download the file to view or listen to it.
• Embed a Video from a Media Sharing Site
  Most video hosting sites (such as YouTube and Vimeo) allow you to embed a video on your own web site (i.e., your Moodle course) by copying a specific HTML code unique to that video. Keep in mind that this method is not always reliable–videos can be taken down without warning.
• Embed a File Using a URL
  Embed media by linking to the URL for a publicly available file. For instance, you can link to the URL for files stored on UDrive that you have made public. You can also use this method to link a URL for media made available to you from the UMass libraries eReserves streaming server. This is a fairly reliable method for files you control, but over time, URLs from outside sources may break or become and need to be renewed.
• Upload a Screencasting Video to Moodle
  Instructors who record screencasts that produce a folder of files (such as Camtasia or Captivate), need to upload the entire folder of files for the video to play correctly.  Note that you upload it as aFile resource, not a Moodle Folder.

Upload and Embed a Video or Audio File

When a media file is added to a Page or Label, the file contents will display in a media player. This allows students to watch or listen without having to download the file to their own computer.

1. Step 1:On your Moodle course page, click Turn editing on (top right). Editing icons and links will appear.
2. Step 2:Locate the Topic or Weekly Section where you would like to add the media.  (If you are using the Collapsed topics format, open the Section.)
3. Step 3:At the bottom-right of the Section, click + Add an activity or resource. The Activity chooserwill open.
4. Step 4:In the Activity chooser, Activities are listed above Resources. Scroll down to view all theResources:
   • To display the media on a new Page, select Page (best for video*)
   • To insert the media directly in the Section on your course page, select Label (best for audio)
5. Step 5:Click Add. The Adding a page (or label) ?screen will open.
6. Step 6:If adding the media to a Page:
   1. In the Name field, enter a title for the page (required). The Name will be used in the link on your course page.
   2. In the Description field, enter a description (optional).
   3. To display the description on the course page immediately below the link to the Page(optional), check Display description on course page.

   (If adding the media to a Label, these options do not apply.)

7. Step 7:In the Content area, in the HTML formatting toolbar click the Moodle media button (  ). TheInsert/edit embedded media pop-up window will open.
8. Step 8:Click Find or upload a sound, video or applet…. The ?File picker window will open.
9. Step 9:Click Upload a file?, browse for the file on your computer, then click ?Upload this file?. The ?File picker? window will close. You should see the file name listed in the Insert/edit embedded media dialog box.
10. Step 10:Click ?Insert. The dialog box will close and the file will appear as a hyperlink in the ?PageContent? field. Do not worry if you don’t see a preview of the video.
11. Step 11:Scroll to the bottom of the Adding a page screen and click ?Save and return to course.
12. Step 12:If you added the media to a Label, you should see the media embedded in the section. If you added the media to a Page, click the link to open the page. Ensure that the media plays correctly. The file should display in a media player as seen below:
      (Click to enlarge)

Embed Video or Audio from a Media Sharing Site

Part One: Copy the Embed Code from the Sharing Site

Another way to embed media is to link to a file via a URL in a Page resource. Use this method to:

• Link to a media file stored on UDrive
• Link to media you have arranged for your class to access through the library’s e-Reserves system

Note: When a Moodle page contains a hyperlink to a media file, the file will be displayed in a media player. In order for the media player to work, the URL must link directly to a specific file, not to a directory of files.

1. Step 1:On your Moodle course page, click Turn editing on (top right). Editing icons and links will appear.
2. Step 2:Locate the Topic or Weekly Section where you will add the page. (If you are using the Collapsed topics format, open the Section.)
3. Step 3:At the bottom-right of the Section, click + Add an activity or resource. The Activity chooserwill open.
4. Step 4:In the Activity chooser, Activities are listed above Resources. Scroll down to view all theResources and select Page. A description will be displayed at right.
5. Step 5:Click Add. The Adding a page? screen will open.
6. Step 6:In the Name field, enter a title for the page (required). The title will be used in the link on your course page.
7. Step 7:In the Description field, enter a description (optional).
8. Step 8:To display the description on the course page immediately below the link to the Page (optional), check Display description on course page.
9. Step 9:Scroll down to the Content area and in the HTML Editor entry box, type the title of the video.
10. Step 10:Drag across the title you just entered to select it, and in the ?Formatting toolbar click ?Insert/edit link?  (chain-link icon?). The Insert/edit link pop-up window will open.
    Note: The Insert/edit link button will be grayed-out and unclickable if text has not been selected.
11. Step 11:In the ?Link URL? field, enter (or paste) the file URL.
    Note: For information on how to find the URL for files stored on UDrive, see Make Files & Folders on UDrive “Public”. If you are storing a screencast or other collection of Web files on UDrive, be sure to get the URL for the main page (usually index.html, or index.htm). For information on media available through eReserves contact UMass Amherst Course Reserves.
12. Step 12:Click ?Insert??. The pop-up window will close and the title will show as a hyperlink in the ?Content? box. Do not worry if you do not see a preview of the video.
    Note: The hyperlinked title will not show when the Page is viewed.  You may wish to add additional text to the page, for example, a Heading above the link, or a citation, descriptive text, or instructions below the link.
13. Step 13:Scroll to the bottom of the page and click ?Save and display? to view the page and ensure that the media plays correctly.

Upload a Screencasting Video to Moodle

Screencasting software (such as Camtasia or Captivate) produces a folder of files. For this type of video to play, it must be uploaded with its supplemental files. This will ensure that the video player displays correctly, and that students can access features such as Closed-Captioning or a Table of Contents. Posting a screencast involves combining the screencast files into a .zip file, and then uploading that .zip file to Moodle.

Note: If you store your screencast files in a public folder on UDrive, rather than uploading it to Moodle, follow the instructions to Embed a File Using a URL (above).

Reminder: You cannot post a project file such as a Camtasia or Captivate file (.cmprj, .camproj, .cp, .cptx, etc.). You must publish the project in a Web sharable format.

Part One: Create a ZIP File of the Folder Containing the Screencast Files

1. Step 1:On your computer, right-click (or Control-click for Mac) the folder containing your published screencast files and select ?Archive? (for Windows) or Compress? (for Mac). This command may be different depending on what software is installed.
2. Step 2:Follow any dialog windows and select Finish. A new file should appear ending with “.zip”.

For more detailed instructions on creating a .zip file, refer to Add a Folder of Files to a Moodle Course.

Part 2: Upload the ZIP File to Moodle

1. Step 1:On your Moodle course page, click Turn editing on (at top-right). Editing icons and links will appear.
2. Step 2:Locate the Topic or Weekly Section where you will add the page. (If you are using the Collapsed topics format, open the Section.)
3. Step 3:Upload the .zip file containing your screencast:
   To upload using drag-and-drop:
   1. Arrange your computer desktop windows so that you can view both your browser window and your files on your computer (e.g., in an open folder or on your desktop), then drag the zip fileinto the Section. A pop-up window will ask: “What do you want to do with the file…”
   2. In the pop-up window, select Create a file resource and click Upload. A link to the .zip file will appear at the bottom of the section.
   3. Click the Update icon for the .zip file (  ). The Updating File screen will open.
   4. In the ?Name? field, enter a title for the screencast (required). The title will be used in the link on your course page.
   5. In the Description field, enter a description (optional). To have the Description show on the course homepage under the link, check Display description on course page.
   6. Note that the .zip file icon appears in the Files box.
   7. Proceed to Part Three (below).

   To upload with the Activity chooser:

   1. At the bottom-right of the Section, click + Add an activity or resource. The Activity chooserwill open.
   2. In the Activity chooser, Activities are listed above Resources. Scroll down to view all theResources and select File. A description will be displayed at right.
   3. Click Add. The Add a file? screen will open.
   4. In the ?Name? field, enter a title for the screencast (required). The title will be used in the link on your course page.
   5. In the Description field, enter a description (optional).  To have the Description show on the course homepage under the link, check Display description on course page.
   6. Scroll down to the Content area, and click Add (top left). The File Picker opens in a pop-up window.
   7. Click Upload a file, then Browse to select the file on your computer, then click Upload this file. The .zip file icon will appear in the Files box.
   8. Proceed to Part Three (below).

Part Three: Unzip the ZIP File, and Set the Main File

1. Step 1:To unzip the .zip file, on the Update/Add a file screen, in the Files box, click on the .zip file icon. A pop-up window for the file will open: click Unzip (at top).
    (Click to enlarge)
   The pop-up window will close and the folder containing your published screencast will appear in the Files box.
2. Step 2:If you uploaded a .zip file from a Mac, you may see a folder named “_MacOSX.”  To avoid confusion and clean up your files, you can delete this folder: At the bottom left of the _MACOSX folder, click the small Action icon ( ),  ?and in the pop-up window that opens, click Delete.The pop-up window will close and the _MACOSX folder will be gone.
    (click to enlarge)
3. Step 3:You no longer need the .zip file. To delete it, click the .zip file again, and in the pop-up window, click Delete (at top). The pop-up window will close and the.zip file will be gone.
4. Step 4:Next you need to direct Moodle to the main file in your screencast folder: Click the screencast folder (do not click its Action icon). The Files box will refresh to show the contents of the folder.
5. Step 5:In the list of files, locate the file that ends with .htm or .html. This is the file that students need to access in order to play the video.
   Click the file icon for that file, and in the pop-up window that opens, select Set main file?.
    (click to enlarge)
   The pop-up window will close, and in the Files box, the file name for the .htm or .html file should now appear in bold.
    (click to enlarge)
6. Step 6:Important! Scroll down the page to Options? and change the Display? drop-down to ?Open? so that when students click the link a webpage with the video will open (do not use the default setting of Force download).
7. Step 7:Scroll to the bottom of the page and click ?Save and display? to confirm that the screencast displays correctly.

Embed Video or Audio on a Moodle Page