Illinois Compass 2g, Adding multimedia files
This page contains information about adding multimedia files to your Illinois Compass 2g course.
Pictures, audio, and video content can be added to Illinois Compass
2g courses. The benefit of multimedia content is that engages learners
and different ways and may improve learning.
Before you begin
Multimedia files can come from a
variety of sources. Files can be added from the Web through a mashup,
uploaded from your computer, or found on the system, either in Course
Files or the Content Collection.
Note: You can add video content using the Illinois Media/Kaltura integration in Illinois Compass. Learn more about Kaltura on the "Kaltura Integration with Illinois Compass 2g" page.
Displaying image files
When adding an image file to a course, consider:
- Alt Text: For many reasons, a user may not be able to see the image. Adding text that explains the image and its purpose is standard Web practice and will allow users that cannot see the image to continue learning without distraction.
- Dimensions: For images, the height and width in pixels should match the original image. If the image is too big, customize the dimensions, but keep the same ratio between height and width. For example, and image at 640 x 800 pixels could be resized to 320 x 400. Changing the ratio of the dimensions will make the image appear stretched.
- Border: Add a solid black line frame to the picture. The width of the border is measured in pixels.
- Target URL: Make the image a link, clicking on the image will take the user to the specified URL.
Displaying Audio Files
The audio file appears as a player in the course. The player has options for play, pause, forward, and rewind. When adding an audio file to a course, consider:
- Transcript: For many reasons, a user may not be able to hear the audio file. Including a text transcript is standard Web practice and allows users that cannot hear the audio to continue learning without distraction. If the audio file is an MPEG file, you can use the Include Transcript field to add a SAMI transcript file. Otherwise, add a text file as a separate file in the same folder.
- Autostart: The file will begin playing when the user opens the folder that includes the audio file.
- Loop: The file will play again from the beginning until stopped by the user.
Displaying Video Files
When adding a video file to a course, consider:
- Dimensions: For video files, the height and width in pixels should match the original settings. If the size of the video picture is too big, customize the dimensions, but keep the same ratio between height and width. For example, and image at 640 x 800 pixels could be resized to 320 x 400. Changing the ratio of the dimensions will make the picture appear stretched.
- Transcript: For many reasons, a user may not be able to hear the audio file. Including a text transcript is standard Web practice and allows users that cannot hear the audio to continue learning without distraction. If the video file is an MPEG file, you can use the Include Transcript field to add a SAMI transcript file. Otherwise, add a text file as a separate file in the same folder.
- Autostart: The file will begin playing when the
user opens the folder that includes the video file.Loop: The file will
play again from the beginning until stopped by the user.* Quality:
The higher the quality, the better the resolution of the image.
However, higher quality videos are much bigger files and can take a
long time to load before playing. Consider the balance between
resolution and load time and test it out to find the right settings
for the video.
Adding a Multimedia File
- From a folder in a course, click Build Content.
- Select the type of multimedia file to add.
- Browse for the file from your computer, from Course Files, or from Mashups.
- Set the options. Each file type will have a set of unique options for displaying that type of content. Multimedia files have the same options for permissions and tracking as other content items.
- Preview the content and click Submit when finished.