Embed a Video

Owned by Adam Dinnes
Last updated: Jul 15, 2020
5 min read

Storage space on Beloit Moodle sites is limited and as a consequence, it cannot handle large video files. For that reason, LITS staff recommends posting videos to YouTube or Google Drive, which have unlimited storage, then either linking to those videos or embedding them in your course page to share with students. The sections below detail the process for adding a video using three different methods.

 

 

Link to a Video Using the URL Resource

 

The URL resource is a quick and easy method to link students over to a video you want them to watch. This method has some pros and cons. One negative to this method is that it takes the student away from the Moodle course in order to view the video. The advantages are that the URL resource takes up very little space on the course page and it redirects the student to the host site for the video, which will provide the best playback experience, especially for those on mobile devices or tablets.

  1. From your Moodle course page, click the Turn Editing On button in the upper right corner.

  2. Locate the week or topic section in which you want to add the video link.

  3. Click the Add an Activity or Resource button in the bottom right corner of the section.

  4. From the Activity/Resource menu, scroll to the very bottom of the list and select the URL resource and click the Add button.

  5. Input a Name for the resource.

  6. Paste the URL or Share link into the External URL field.

  7. Add a Description for the video.

  8. Select any other settings you want to add (defaults should be fine for most of these settings).

  9. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Save and Return to Course bottom.

  10. Your video link will now appear at the bottom of the week/topic section.

 

Embed a Video into a Label Resource

 

Utilizing the Label resource, you can embed a video directly onto the course page. This method is helpful in that it keeps the student on the main course page to view the video, but it does present some challenges. Adding via a label takes up quite a bit of space on the course page and can make the page very cluttered and difficult to locate other resources. Unintentional cropping of the edges of the video can also occur when a student is viewing the video on a smaller screen.

While the steps for this method are provided below, LITS staff recommends using one of the other methods instead, either linking to the video with a URL resource or embedding the video in a Page resource.

  1. From your Moodle course page, click the Turn Editing On button in the upper right corner.

  2. Locate the week/topic section in which you want to add the video link.

  3. Click the Add an Activity or Resource button in the bottom right corner of the section.

  4. From the Activity/Resource menu, scroll to the bottom of the list and select the Label resource and click the Add button.

  5. In the Label Text section, click the Show More icon on the far left of the toolbar to expand the editing options.

  6. In the More Tools bar, click the HTML <> icon on the far right to enter HTML edit mode.

  7. Locate the embed code for the video you want to share.

  8. Paste the video embed code between the two paragraph tags.

    1. Example: <p><INSERT EMBED CODE HERE></br></p>

    2. The correct code should look something like the example YouTube embed on the right.

  9. Set any other options you want for the video page (defaults should be fine in most cases).

  10. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Save and Return to Course button.

  11. The video should now appear on the main course page at the bottom of the topic section.

 

Embed a Video into a Page Resource

 

The Page resource may be a better method of embedding a video into a course, as it redirects the student to a separate page. The advantage to this method is that the embedded video can be much larger, and it does not clutter up the main course page. The disadvantage to this method is that the video playback options will be more limited and viewing may be difficult for students using a mobile device.

  1. From your Moodle course page, click the Turn Editing On button in the upper right corner.

  2. Locate the week/topic section in which you want to add the video link.

  3. Click the Add an Activity or Resource button in the bottom right corner of the section.

  4. From the Activity/Resource menu, scroll to the bottom of the list and select the Page resource and click the Add button.

  5. Input a Name for the resource.

  6. Add a Description for the resource.

  7. In the Content section, click the Show More icon on the far left of the toolbar to expand the editing options.

  8. In the More Tools bar, click the HTML <> icon on the far right to enter HTML edit mode.

  9. Locate the embed code for the video you want to share.

  10. Paste the video embed code between the two paragraph tags.

    1. Example: <p><INSERT EMBED CODE HERE></br></p>

    2. The correct code should look something like the example YouTube embed on the right.

  11. Set any other options you want for the video page (defaults should be fine in most cases).

  12. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Save and Return to Course button.

  13. The page resource should now appear at the bottom of the topic section.

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