Uploading Videos to Blackboard: A Best Practices Guide

Transcription

1 Uploading Videos to Blackboard: A Best Practices Guide Preparing a video to upload to Blackboard So you have to upload a video to your online course. Maybe it s to the discussion board, maybe it s the digital drop box, maybe another area of the course entirely. You ve already recorded your video (click HERE for webcam best practices), and now you re ready to submit your video. But video files are large ones that can be difficult to upload, tie up your computer for long periods of time, and be difficult for your instructor to view. The following tips will help you prepare your video in a format appropriate for uploading. Note: Every computer, camera, and webcam is different, and these tips may not work on every computer for every student. For more help on uploading your online video, contact the Bellevue Service Desk or check out support materials for your camera or computer. Tip 1: Test drive your video upload process BEFORE the assignment is due. If you know that your course is going to require you to upload a video, try creating and uploading a sample video at least a week before the actual assignment is due. This video could simply be you letting your webcam run in an empty room for as long as your actual assignment video will last, or it could be a dry run of the actual assignment. By attempting to upload a video of the actual size and type of your assignment a week before the assignment is due, you will be giving yourself, your professor, and the service desk time to trouble shoot the issue before the due date, should problems arise with the upload and viewing process. This will also give you a chance to see how much time you need to plan for the actual uploading of your video. Note: If you are going to test drive the upload process, you will probably want to warn your instructor (or group members) ahead of time. Ask them to make sure they can view the video in your test, letting you know if there are any problems with the file size or format, but to disregard the video contents. 1 Video Upload Tips Bellevue University Center for Learning Innovation

2 Tip 2: Produce your video in a small format. Some computer programs give you several options when it comes to producing your video, ranging from minimal to high quality. While you may be tempted to submit a high-quality video for your assignment, it will be much easier to upload and deal with your video online if you produce the video in a smaller, more manageable size. It is a good rule of thumb to choose the smallest size possible for producing your video. Tip 3: Submit your video as a.wmv file. Video files come in many different types, and those types are identified by the 3-letter extension that gets saved after the file name. For uploading videos to Blackboard, the ideal file extension is.wmv. If you have the option to save or produce your video file as a.wmv, choose that. If this is not an option for your video or your video software, you may be able to convert the video to a.wmv file. There are a variety of free programs online you can find them by searching for *the name of the file extension automatically saved by your camera/computer+ to wmv converter free A note on cell phone cameras: Higher-end smart phones may be able to record video in a.wmv or other easily-accessible movie file, but many cell phone movie files are not uploadable. If you are going to try and record a video with your cell phone to upload to Blackboard, you should definitely test drive this process beforehand as described in Tip #1. 2 Video Upload Tips Bellevue University Center for Learning Innovation

3 Tip 4: If you re purchasing, purchase smart. If you re going to buy a camera for your online course, make your life easier by selecting one that shoots files that are easy to upload. Recommendation 1: Webcams. Most webcams automatically create very small files, most of which are already in.wmv format. You should be able to upload videos shot from your webcam into Blackboard with no problem. (Note: Logitech brand cameras are used widely throughout the University and even required for some courses.) Recommendation 2: Use a FlipCam (NOT a high quality Digital Video Camera). If using a webcam is not an option for you (perhaps because your assignment video needs to be recorded AWAY from the computer), you will have much better luck uploading a video you created using a FlipCam (or similar pocket camera ) than one recorded on a regular digital video camera. High quality digital cameras record very large files (often with uncommon extensions) that can be difficult to impossible to upload to the online classroom, especially if you have a slower internet connection. Even if these videos do get uploaded, they can also be difficult for your instructor to view. As with export size, when it comes to video uploads, the smaller the file, the better. 3 Video Upload Tips Bellevue University Center for Learning Innovation

4 Tip 5: Use Movie Maker to shrink your video file. If you ve followed the tips listed above, and your video file is STILL too large to upload easily, you can use free programs like Movie Maker (on Windows) to save the video at a smaller size. (NOTE: Movie Maker comes free on many, but not ALL Windows machines.) You can find downloads for Movie Maker here: ( ) Import your video into Windows Movie Maker. Edit or add titles if you wish, then click Save to My Computer. (shown right) Give your movie a title and click Next. (shown below) (The Important Step!) For Movie Setting, select Best fit to file size and use the down arrows to select the size of the video you wish to add. (Recommended = 5MB or less). Then click Next. This will produce your movie in a very small, very upload-able file! 4 Video Upload Tips Bellevue University Center for Learning Innovation

5 Tip 6: Record your video in pieces. If the file shrinking methods listed above do not work for you, there is another, low tech option. Simply chop your video into small pieces (either by recording it in segments or by using some sort of video editing software to crop the video). Each of these individual pieces will be a much smaller file than the complete video, and you should be able to upload them into your Discussion Board, Blog, Wiki, or as Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, etc. Note: You may want to check with your instructor prior to using this method often, instructors would prefer that video presentations be recorded in one, single take. However, if it is a choice between uploading a video in pieces vs. not uploading it at all, you would definitely want to have SOMETHING to turn in. Tip 7: For Mac (and imovie) Users. Recording and editing your presentation in imovie is an easy way to generate a very polished finished product, but imovie files tend to be very large and very difficult to upload to Blackboard. Use the following tips to make your Mac video easier to upload and view. After you have recorded and edited your video, Export it as a Mobile movie file. This will create a movie file with an extension of.m4v. This extension will play in itunes or Quicktime, both of which are available as a free download online. If your instructor or group members cannot view these kinds of files, you may have to use one of the file converters described in Tip 3 above. 5 Video Upload Tips Bellevue University Center for Learning Innovation

6 You can also use the Garageband program (also available free on newer Macs) to save your video as a podcast and shrink it down to an even smaller size. To add a video to a podcast, simply drag it into the recording area. To make the file size as small as possible, when exporting your video, select as the Video Settings option. Tip 8: Use YouTube as a last resort. If you can t get your video file to upload to Blackboard and you have to get the assignment turned in, you can upload to YouTube as a last resort. Anything uploaded to YouTube will, of course, be accessible to anyone on the internet (unless you password protect it), but it can be a last resort option for you if your video will not upload to Blackboard any other way. Most webcam software (including imovie on a Mac) has an instant Upload to YouTube option. If, after trying all these tips and tricks, you still need assistance uploading your video presentation, contact the Bellevue University Service Desk. 6 Video Upload Tips Bellevue University Center for Learning Innovation