EchoVideo: Embedding Media into Sakai

The look and feel of the Player is changing! Upcoming changes are identified in this article by providing screenshots labeled "Old UI" and "New UI".

Prerequisites for using the EchoVideo Embed button:
1) A Sakai Administrator must have installed and enabled the EchoVideo Embed button for your Sakai instance.
​2) For Students to embed media, the Student Library MAY need to be turned on for your institution. OR Students can embed media from any Collection where they have the Post permission.

If a Sakai Admin has enabled it for your institution, EchoVideo provides a content embed button (also called an "easy embed button") that appears in the toolbar of a content window, shown in the figure below. This embed button opens the EchoVideo Embed media dialog box.

The EchoVideo Embed Media dialog box provides the ability to:

• Embed media from your EchoVideo directly into your Sakai course as described on this page
• Upload a media file then embed it as a single process
• Create new media with Universal Capture then embed it in a single process
• Post a link to the media (instead of embedding it) into Sakai
• Create a playlist and embed it directly into Sakai

You can access the Embed media dialog box from any content window where Sakai provides the EchoVideo Embed button (e.g., Lessons, Assignments, etc).

LMS-Embedded media provide view data such as view counts and heatmap data, along with individual user viewing information, all of which is displayed in the Analytics tab of the media details page.

The steps below are for selecting audio, video, or interactive media already resident in EchoVideo. The media selection list includes media you own OR media in any Collection where you have the Post permission. Administrators can embed any media they have access to.

If you need to upload or create the media first and need instructions, use the links above for more information.

The procedures below add Content to a Lesson for a course worksite in Sakai. You can add any element you like to hold the media, as long as the element contains a content window with the EchoVideo Embed Media button as shown above.

To embed existing EchoVideo media into a content window

1. Log in to Sakai and enter the course where you want to embed your media.
2. Open the location in the course where you want to post the media.
   

   The below figure shows the Lessons page in a Sakai Site with the Add Content selection buttons circled, and the Add Text option identified.

   
   

   While it seems a little counter-intuitive to "embed content" without using the "Embed Content on the Page" option, using the Add Text option provides the content window with the rich text editor toolbar, which is where the EchoVideo Embed media button lives.

3. Click Add Text as identified in the above figure.
4. In the new item screen enter a name or title for the thing you are posting.
5. Directly above the main portion of the content window, click the EchoVideo icon, as identified in the above figure.
   

   A dialog box appears with a content selection screen, presenting the options available to you. Click the Launch Media Picker option to choose from your existing content and see the EchoVideo audio, video, or interactive media you own, as well as media in any Collection where you have the Post permission. If you need to upload media to embed, click the Upload Content option, and refer to the instructions in the link if necessary. 

   

6. If necessary, use the Search text box and / or Filters options to find the media you want to embed into the window.
7. Select the media you want to embed and click Next.
   

   The dialog box changes to show the selected media as well as playback configuration options, all of which are described below the figure.
   If you want to post a link to the media instead of embedding it directly into the page, enable the Link toggle and if necessary see Posting a Link to EchoVideo Media in your LMS / VLE Course.
   If you want to embed multiple items together as a Playlist, see EchoVideo: Creating Playlists in your LMS / VLE Course.

   
8. From the Player Style drop-down list, select the style you want to be applied to the player.
   

   The Player Style drop-down only appears if your institution has created custom player styles to choose from. If you have selection options, pick the one for your department or organization (or the default) that you want applied to the playback of this media.
   Selecting a style may automatically select Size, Autoplay, and Automute options for you; these can still be changed.

9. From the Select size drop-down list, select the size for the media playback. It is 640x420 by default.
10. If appropriate, enable the option to Autoplay the video (it will play as soon as a user opens the page you are embedding it into).
11. If you enable Autoplay, Automute is automatically enabled, to accommodate browsers that no longer allow autoplay with sound. You CAN enable Automute separately without Autoplay.
12. If appropriate, set a Start At time. If set, the video will begin playing at that timestamp, although viewers will be able to rewind / fast-forward the player to view any segment of the embedded video.
    This option is NOT available for interactive media.
13. If desired, disable the Discussion option to prevent EchoVideo Q&A functionality for your embedded content.
14. When finished, click Embed.
    

    The content area will show an "IFRAME" notification to indicate there is an embedded item there.

15. Complete whatever remaining fields are on the Page you are adding, then click SAVE.

Once the item is added, students can open the page and view the embedded video. If you selected Autoplay or Start At configurations for the video, those are enacted for the user upon viewing.