D2L (the company that owns Brightspace) recognized that video is a core part of the learning experience clients create in Brightspace. In an effort to do more to help clients have better audio/video experiences, D2L announced some amazing new Media features to the Core product suite that were not previously available in our Brightspace system.
When uploading video topics, your videos will now store and play similarly to Video Notes. Videos will be converted to playable formats automatically and streamed, viewers can downscale files if they are on slower connections, and they can search inside videos for keywords. They have also worked to bring some of their video editing capabilities into Core for media creators including: auto-captioning, clipping, chapters, and caption editing.
What’s New?
Media Editing:
Video files uploaded as topics in Classic Content (through the Upload/Create > Video or Audio workflow) can be edited from course content. Video Notes can be edited with the new Audio-Video Editor as well.
Editing timelines allows users to skip unwanted sections of a video recording.
Chapter titles can be used to create a Table of Contents for videos to allow quick navigation to specific sections.
Captions can be uploaded from a .vtt or .srt file or automatically generated to make videos accessible to all users.
Versions and Drafts allows users to roll back to earlier versions and revisit previous edits. The latest Saved version appears wherever the file is used within Brightspace.
NOTE:
- The editor features are available for all Video Notes AND for newly uploaded audio-video files. The editor features DO NOT apply to files that were uploaded prior to the January 2022 Continuous Delivery Updates. Audio/Video files that were uploaded prior to the January 2022 Continuous Delivery Updates and are located in Manage Files, will not see the Advanced Edit workflow. Migrating these videos is currently a manual process involving downloading and re-uploading your media files through the Upload/Create > Video or Audio workflow in Content.
- Videos uploaded as Assignment submissions or uploaded to a course’s Manage Files area continue to use the legacy method for handling files.
- D2L recommends using the desktop experience when editing audio-video files.
Player Improvements:
To improve the functionality of the Audio-Video player in Brightspace Learning Environment, multi-bitrate streaming, and search functionality are now available.
Multi-bitrate streaming allows high-definition videos to be played at standard definition to reduce the bandwidth necessary for users to watch videos.
The new search functionality allows users to locate key words in video captions and quickly navigate to those sections.
For additional information, including screenshots, of the updated Audio-Video player and editor refer to the Evolving the Audio-Video Experience article in the Brightspace Community.
Follow these steps to do it.
To upload an audio/video using the Audio-Video Editor:
- Go to the content module where you want to insert an audio or video.
- Click Upload / Create and select Video or Audio.
- In the Add Video or Audio window, select the Upload tab.
- Browse for your file, or drag your video file into the upload space.
- The upload process begins Note: The transcoding process starts when the file reaches 70% upload and may result in a momentary pause.
- When the upload is complete enter a title and select Advanced Editing.
To edit an audio/video using the Audio-Video Editor:
- Go to the content module where you uploaded the audio or video.
- Locate the audio or video you want to edit.
- Click on the context menu and then select Edit Video or Edit Audio.
- Click on the Advanced Editing link.
Want more information?
Audio-Video Editor
Evolving the Audio-Video Experience
View all the Brightspace training recaps
Instructors Quick Start Tutorial
Continuous Delivery release notes
Brightspace Known Issues
Request a sandbox course
Sign-up for Brightspace training sessions
You can find Brightspace help at D2L's website.
Join the Brightspace Community.
Try these Brightspace How-To documents.
Visit our Brightspace FAQs for additional Brightspace information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.
Note: Are you doing something innovative in Brightspace or perhaps you've discovered a handy tip? Share how you are using Brightspace in your teaching and learning in The Orange Room.