Overview

Multimedia links within WebCT can be a great learning tool, which is a good thing. However, it can also quickly fill up the WebCT hard drives, which is a bad thing. So to allow you to use multimedia files in your classes AND keep WebCT's drives from filling up we have created a new way of adding media files to your WebCT classes.

This tutorial will cover two types of media files:

• streamed video and audio.
• downloadable video and audio.

Let me begin by saying that the college's streaming server is a Quicktime server. Therefore, all streamed audio/video files must be .mov (streamed Quicktime) formatted files. If you are in need of instruction on saving a file as a Quicktime streamed file contact your TLT Instructional Technologist.

Uploading the Streamed Audio/Video file to the streaming server (stream.cofc.edu)

Requesting a Folder on Stream

Before you can use Stream  you have to contact the webmaster and request a folder be created.

• Send an email to webmaster@cofc.edu requesting him to create a user folder. 
• In the request please include the following:
  • you wish to have a folder created on Stream > QTMovies.
  • if you wish anyone else to be able to add to or edit movies in your folder specify who else can read/write to their folder.

 

Mac - this can only be done from on campus or with VPN

• From your Finder click on Go > Connect to Server

• In the Server Address text box, type:

  • smb://stream

• Click Connect

• At the login prompt type in your Cougars username and password (the Workgroup or Domain is Cougars)

  • NOTE: if this is your personal or work computer you may click the box next to Remember this password in my keychain (do not do this in a classroom. It will give others access to your files. )

• Click OK

• From the dropdown menu on the next window choose QTMovies and click OK

• A new window will open that lists the files/folders on the server.

• Double-click your folder to open it.

• You can now drag STREAMED ONLY .mov files from your computer into this folder. It will copy the video onto Stream.

 

Windows XP - this can only be done from on campus or with VPN

• From the Start menu choose Run
• In the run dialog box type \\stream
• If prompted, login using your Cougars username and password
• A window will open listing four folders. Double-click on QTMovies to open that folder
• Double-click your folder to open it.
• You can now drag STREAMED ONLY .mov files from your computer into this folder. It will copy the video onto Stream.

Connecting to the Streamed Audio/Video from within WebCT

 

The method you use to connect will depend upon the WebCT tool you are using. You can connect directly to the audio/video using the URL tool or connect through a link on a webpage in a content module, on a single page or in mail or threaded discussions.

 

Using the URL tool

1. From within your WebCT class make sure the Designer Options tab is selected
2. Click on Add Page or Tool from your right-hand Action menu
3. Under Pages, click URL. The Add screen appears.
4. In the Enter a title for this item text box, enter the title as you want it to appear.
5. In the Address text box, enter the URL address you want to add. The url to stream will be as follows:

   http://stream.cofc.edu/yourfolder/yourmovietitle.mov

   (where "your folder" is the name of your folder on stream and "yourmovietitle.mov" is the name of the streamed video file you put in the folder and wish to connect to.)

6. For Open in, select the browser window in which you want the page to display.
7. Under Decide where to show the link to this item, select where you want the link to be displayed. Note: You can select both options
   • To add the link to the Course Menu, select On the Course Menu.
   • To add the link to an organizer page, select On an Organizer Page. From the drop-down list, select an existing organizer page.
8. If you selected to display the item on an organizer page, select the appearance of the link:
   • To have the link appear as text only, select Link shows item title.
   • To have the link appear as an icon only, select Link shows icon.
   • To have the link appear as an icon with a text title, select both Link shows item title and Link shows icon.
9. If you selected to display an icon, select an icon image file:
   • To use the WebCT default icon, select Use default icon.
   • To use a custom icon:
     1. Select Use custom icon.
     2. Next to the Choose icon text box, click Browse. The WebCT Browser appears.
     3. Select the icon file. The Add screen appears, and the filename you selected appears in the Choose icon text box.
10. Click Add. The URL is added to your course.

    Note: If you have added the URL to an organizer page, the Organizer page appears. From there, you can update the link to the URL by clicking it.

Adding it as a link to a tool such as a single page, content module, mail or discussion message

 

This is a more complicated process as there are two ways to accomplish your goal. Both methods require that you create a webpage (.htm/.html) that will contain the audio/video. You can either code your webpage so that the user clicks on a link that takes them to the audio/video or so that the audio/video plays within the webpage.

 

1. Make your webpage using the html editor of your choice (ex. Netscape Composer, NVU, Dreamweaver)
2. To reference your audio/video as a link you will use the following code

   <a href="http://stream.cofc.edu/yourfolder/yourmovietitle.mov">Your Audio/Movie Title</a>

   (where "your folder" is the name of your folder on stream and "yourmovietitle.mov" is the name of the streamed audio/video file you put in the folder and wish to connect to, and "Your Audio/Movie Title" will be the name of the clickable link on your page.)

3. To have your audio/video play within the body of the webpage you will use the following code

   <embed src="http://stream.cofc.edu/yourfolder/yourmovietitle.mov"></embed>

   (where "your folder" is the name of your folder on stream and "yourmovietitle.mov" is the name of the streamed audio/video file you put in the folder and wish to connect to.)

   • Inside the main EMBED command you have the ability to place different attributes or sub-commands:
     • AUTOSTART="--" This tells the browser to start the video right away ("true") upon its download completion or to wait for viewer clicks to start playing ("false" or no use of the command).
     • LOOP="--" This states if the video will play again and again ("true") or if it should play once and stop ("false" or no use of the LOOP command.)
     • HEIGHT="--" and WIDTH="--" This sets the height and width of the space in which the embedded item will play. You will need to note the size you save your video file. You may need to add an additional 10 or so pixels in the height to display the media player controls.
   • Sample Code – Embedding Video

   • <html>

     <head>

     <title>Your Page Title Here</title>

     </head>

     <body >

     <embed src="http://stream.cofc.edu/yourfolder/yourmovietitle.mov" autostart="false" loop="false" height="240" width="480">

     <noembed>Sorry, your browser doesn't support the embedding of multimedia.</noembed>

     </embed>

     </body>

     </html>

Adding Non-streamed (Downloadable) Video and Audio to your WebCT Class

Requesting a Folder on Stream

Before you can use Stream you have to contact the webmaster and request a folder be created.

• Send an email to webmaster@cofc.edu requesting him to create a user folder. 
• In the request please include the following:
  • you wish to have a folder created on Stream > Podcasts
  • if you wish anyone else to be able to add to or edit movies in your folder specify who else can read/write to their folder.

 

Mac - this can only be done from on campus or with VPN

• From your Finder click on Go > Connect to Server

• In the Server Address text box, type:

  • smb://stream

• Click Connect

• At the login prompt type in your Cougars username and password (the Workgroup or Domain is Cougars)

  • NOTE: if this is your personal or work computer you may click the box next to Remember this password in my keychain (do not do this in a classroom. It will give others access to your files. )

• Click OK

• From the dropdown menu on the next window choose Podcasts and click OK

• A new window will open that lists the files/folders on the server.

• Double-click your folder to open it.

• You can now drag audio and video files from your computer into this folder. It will copy the video onto Stream.

 

Windows XP - this can only be done from on campus or with VPN

• From the Start menu choose Run
• In the run dialog box type \\stream
• If prompted, login using your Cougars username and password
• A window will open listing four folders. Double-click on Podcasts to open that folder
• Double-click your folder to open it.
• You can now drag audio and video files from your computer into this folder. It will copy the video onto Stream.

Connecting to the Audio/Video from within WebCT

The method you use to connect will depend upon the WebCT tool you are using. You can connect directly to the audio/movie using the URL tool or connect through a link on a webpage in a content module, on a single page or in mail or threaded discussions.

 

Using the URL tool

1. From within your WebCT class make sure the Designer Options tab is selected
2. Click on Add Page or Tool from your right-hand Action menu
3. Under Pages, click URL. The Add screen appears.
4. In the Enter a title for this item text box, enter the title as you want it to appear.
5. In the Address text box, enter the URL address you want to add. The url to stream will be as follows:

   http://stream.cofc.edu:8083/yourfolder/yourmovietitle.mov

   (where "your folder" is the name of your folder on stream and "yourmovietitle.mov" is the name of the audio/video file you put in the folder and wish to connect to. NOTE: you must use the :8083 on the url)

6. For Open in, select the browser window in which you want the page to display.
7. Under Decide where to show the link to this item, select where you want the link to be displayed. NOTE: You can select both options
   • To add the link to the Course Menu, select On the Course Menu.
   • To add the link to an organizer page, select On an Organizer Page. From the drop-down list, select an existing organizer page.
8. If you selected to display the item on an organizer page, select the appearance of the link:
   • To have the link appear as text only, select Link shows item title.
   • To have the link appear as an icon only, select Link shows icon.
   • To have the link appear as an icon with a text title, select both Link shows item title and Link shows icon.
9. If you selected to display an icon, select an icon image file:
   • To use the WebCT default icon, select Use default icon.
   • To use a custom icon:
     1. Select Use custom icon.
     2. Next to the Choose icon text box, click Browse. The WebCT Browser appears.
     3. Select the icon file. The Add screen appears, and the filename you selected appears in the Choose icon text box.
10. Click Add. The URL is added to your course. NOTE: If you have added the URL to an organizer page, the Organizer page appears. From there, you can update the link to the URL by clicking it.

Adding it as a link to a tool such as a single page, content module, mail or discussion message

This is a more complicated process as there are two ways to accomplish your goal. Both methods require that you create a webpage (.htm/.html) that will contain the audio/video. You can either code your webpage so that the user clicks on a link that takes them to the audio/video or so that the audio/video plays within the webpage.

 

1. Make your webpage using the html editor of your choice (ex. Netscape Composer, NVU, Dreamweaver)
2. To reference your video as a link you will use the following code

   <a href="http://stream.cofc.edu:8083/yourfolder/yourmovietitle.mov">Your Movie Title</a>

   (where "your folder" is the name of your folder on stream and "yourmovietitle.mov" is the name of the audio/video file you put in the folder and wish to connect to, and "Your Movie Title" will be the name of the clickable link on your page. NOTE: you must use the :8083 on the url)

3. To have your audio/video play within the body of the webpage you will use the following code

   <embed src="http://stream.cofc.edu:8083/yourfolder/yourmovietitle.mov"></embed>

   (where "your folder" is the name of your folder on stream and "yourmovietitle.mov" is the name of the audio/video file you put in the folder and wish to connect to. NOTE: you must use the :8083 on the url)

   • Inside the main EMBED command you have the ability to place different attributes or sub-commands:
     • AUTOSTART="--" This tells the browser to start the video right away ("true") upon its download completion or to wait for viewer clicks to start playing ("false" or no use of the command).
     • LOOP="--" This states if the video will play again and again ("true") or if it should play once and stop ("false" or no use of the LOOP command.)
     • HEIGHT="--" and WIDTH="--" This sets the height and width of the space in which the embedded item will play. You will need to note the size you save your video file. You may need to add an additional 10 or so pixels in the height to display the media player controls.
   • Sample Code – Embedding Audio/Video

   • <html>

     <head>

     <title>Your Page Title Here</title>

     </head>

     <body >

     <embed src="http://stream.cofc.edu/yourfolder/yourmovietitle.mov" autostart="false" loop="false" height="240" width="480">

     <noembed>Sorry, your browser doesn't support the embedding of multimedia.</noembed>

     </embed>

     </body>

     </html>