You have successfully installed the UbiCast plugins for Moodle using the article ‘Moodle | Install UbiCast plugins’, so now it's time to learn the details of how they work. In this section, we will look at the buttons and functions that the plugins unlock, as well as their effects and options.
Table of content
1/ The main ‘Activities’ plugin
1.1/ Upload a video
1.2/ Record or livestream
4/ The Ad-Hoc filter for the Atto button plugin
4.1/ Playlists creation
4.2/ Assignment rendering
4.3/ Course duplication
The main ‘Activities’ plugin
This module is essential to the operation of all the other UbiCast plugins for Moodle, as it is the one that enables you to upload a Nudgis resource directly from your Moodle portal. Without it, you will not be able to access the Nudgis catalogue from your LMS, so it must be installed and configured before reading this article.
If the plugin is correctly installed, you will be able to add a Nudgis resource to your courses. To do this, switch to Edit mode on Moodle, and click on ‘Add an activity or resource’ in the course you wish to enrich:
Then select the ‘Resources’ tab, then the ‘Nudgis resource’ button:
You will then open a page for adding content, including the Nudgis content manager, which will give you access to all the solution's functions for adding :
Start by giving your new resource a title, and give it a description if you wish, which can be public or private. Note that adding a title is mandatory. Then select one of the three manager options, depending on your objective:
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Upload a video
If you want to send a video from your workstation, click on ‘Upload a video’. A new page will open, allowing you to select media from your directory and add it to the Nudgis channel of your choice:
On this page, you can also title the media, define the language spoken in your video, which can be essential for the automatic generation of subtitles, and choose different processing options.
To find out more about these options, see the article ‘Add media in Nudgis’
You also have access to your storage data, which you can use to manage the space remaining for new videos. Once you have completed your settings, click on ‘Add media’. You will see it appear in the resources window, with icons indicating the state of processing of the video on Nudgis. Hovering over the icon with your cursor will bring up a message summarising the processing status:
Clicking on the icon will open an iframe of the media in Nudgis, so that you can check it, see how far it has progressed, and edit it if your administrator has given you the rights to do so:
To find out more about managing rights and permissions in Nudgis, please see the article ‘Managing permissions’
Once you have added the video of your choice, click on ‘Save and return to the course’ to see the activity available in your Moodle course:
The media is now available by clicking on the activity, and includes all the interaction and sharing features of the Nudgis media player:
To find out more about the Nudgis player and its features, please see the article ‘The Nudgis Dynamic Rich Media Player’
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Record or livestream
The second method offered by the Nudgis resource manager is to record a video or set up a live stream using the Nudgis tools directly from Moodle. First click on ‘Record or livestream’ :
You will then open the Nudgis WebStudio, which allows you to use your computer's video and audio peripherals, such as the webcam, and/or capture your screen to display a complete presentation in the recording window:
Choose the source(s) to use for your recording. In this example, we will use screen capture only. A new window will show you the screen capture mode, based on the windows, tabs and applications you have open.
Once you have selected the desired capture mode, click on Share to open the WebStudio itself:
In this window, you can title your video, check the audio level, check the display of your source, and access the selected window via a shortcut at the top of the page. Finally, of course, you can record your content. You can also launch a livestream, which will automatically be recorded for replay.
By default, content recorded by WebStudio is directed to your personal channel or, if you don't have one, to the site's default channel. To find out more about the functions of this tool, please see the article ‘The WebStudio’
Once you are ready to start, click on ‘Record’ to start a 5-second countdown:
Once the countdown is complete, the recording starts, and you can present your content. Note that you can pause the recording if you need to, and check the current duration of your recording:
Recording time on WebStudio is limited to four hours by default, to avoid heavy content or forgetting to stop recording. This time limitation can be changed or removed in the ‘Settings’ menu from the source selection screen
Once you have finished recording, click on ‘Stop’. The corresponding video will immediately be created on Nudgis, and a preview will be made available in the Moodle activity, showing the status of the video on Nudgis. Hovering your cursor over the icon will display a message summarising the status of the video:
Click on ‘Save and return to the course’ to see the activity available in your Moodle course:
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Select an existing media
The final method offered by the media manager is to add content that already exists on the Nudgis portal. To do this, choose ‘Select existing media’:
This opens a window on the video catalogue of the Nudgis portal, opened by default on the last media uploaded:
You can choose from several search modes: by Channel tree, by filtering the most recently posted media, by keywords, on your personal Channel, and finally in the Trash (available only to administrators). You can also use the filters provided to refine your content search.
To find out more about using filters, please see the article ‘How to navigate Nudgis?’.
Select the media you are interested in:
A preview will immediately be available in the Moodle activity, showing the status of the video on Nudgis. Hovering your cursor over the icon will display a message summarising the status of the video:
Click on ‘Save and return to the course’ to see the activity available in your Moodle course:
Note that you can also use the ID of your video directly to integrate it into Moodle, without using the selection tool:
To find the ID of your video, go to Nudgis and go to the page of the video you want to embed. Switch to Edit mode, and look at the URL of your media. There you'll find its ID, which you can use in Moodle :
You can also find this ID in the links provided in the ‘Settings’ tab of the video:
The video ID will always begin with the letter ‘v’
Fill in the corresponding field in Moodle, and click on ‘Save and return to the course’ :
The activity is now available in your Moodle course:
The TinyMCE button plugin
This plugin allows you to use the text field to add a resource using the TinyMCE toolbar. To start, switch to Edit mode on Moodle, then create a new Resource or Activity. For this example, we'll create a new ‘Page’:
In this activity, you can add a resource using the text field. Note that it is also possible to insert media in the description, so that the selected video can be read from the list of activities. The two videos (description and content) can be different:
Media inserted in a description can only be viewed if the description is made public using the ‘Display description on course page’ checkbox
To add media to a text field, use the UbiCast icon in the TinyMCE toolbar:
This will open the Media Manager page, the use of which is detailed in the previous chapter:
Here, you can change the size of the iframe inserted in the course. Once you have selected your video, click on ‘Insert’ to display the media in the text field:
The media is managed like a word processing character, but the player functions remain available in the iframe. Once the videos have been correctly inserted, click on ‘Save and return to the course’:
The video description is available on the course page:
And the activity displays the second video:
All text fields equipped with the TinyMCE toolbar will allow you to add content in this way. In addition to the Ad-Hoc Filter for the TinyMCE/Atto button plugin, which we'll explain in detail in a next chapter, this functionality for adding a Nudgis video to a text field will make it easier for all your users to record and upload media to Moodle.
The Atto button plugin
This plugin allows you to use the text field to add a resource using the Atto toolbar.It works exactly like the TinyMCE add media button, described in the previous chapter. If you have already read it, you can skip this section.
To start, switch to Edit mode on Moodle, then create a new Resource or Activity. For this example, we'll create a new ‘Page’:
In this activity, you can add a resource using the text field. Note that it is also possible to insert media in the description, so that the selected video can be read from the list of activities. The two videos (description and content) can be different:
Media inserted in a description can only be viewed if the description is made public using the ‘Display description on course page’ checkbox
To add media to a text field, use the UbiCast icon in the Atto toolbar:
This will open the Media Manager page, the use of which is detailed in the first chapter:
Here, you can change the size of the iframe inserted in the course. Once you have selected your video, click on ‘Insert’ to display the media in the text field:
The media is managed like a word processing character, but the player functions remain available in the iframe. Once the videos have been correctly inserted, click on ‘Save and return to the course’:
The video description is available on the course page:
And the activity displays the second video:
All text fields equipped with the Atto toolbar will allow you to add content in this way. In addition to the Ad-Hoc Filter for the Atto button plugin, which we'll explain in detail in the next chapter, this functionality for adding a Nudgis video to a text field will make it easier for all your users to record and upload media to Moodle.
The Ad-Hoc filter for the TinyMCE/Atto button plugin
This filter adds three possibilities to the TinyMCE or Atto toolbar's functions: creating playlists, duplicating lessons and rendering assignments.
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Playlists creation
Playlists are created by ‘stacking’ media in the text field to display several videos on your activity:
It is not possible to select several media simultaneously, and videos will have to be added one by one to the text field using the UbiCast button on the TinyMCE/Atto toolbar.
While it is still possible to add several videos to the text field without the Ad-Hoc filter, the latter adds a playlist interface that simplifies navigation and improves the user experience.
The playlist without the Ad-Hoc filter
The playlist with the Ad-Hoc filter
The filter is applied retroactively to playlists: if one of your Moodle pages includes several videos in a row integrated using our TinyMCE or Atto button plugin, they will be transformed into playlists when the option in the Ad-Hoc filter is activated
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Assignment submission
This functionality is not apparent on its own, but the Ad-Hoc filter must be activated and functional to enable a video to be integrated into a text field from an Assignment activity in Moodle. If the filter is not enabled, the students will have access to the activity and the Nudgis media manager from the UbiCast button in the TinyMCE/Atto toolbar, and will be able to drop their video into the text field, but clicking ‘Save changes’ will not let them submit their assignment:
The Ad-Hoc filter makes it possible to submit assignments in the eponymous activity. Once activated and configured by your administrator, you only need to make one change when creating the assignment. Once you have set the title, instructions and settings for the homework activity, go to the ‘Submission types’ section, tick ‘Online text’ and untick ‘File submissions’:
The student will now be able to add a Nudgis resource to the response text field via the UbiCast button on the TinyMCE/Atto toolbar:
The student inserts the media, then clicks on ‘Save changes', and the assignment is returned:
To find out more about assignment rendering, we recommend that you consult the following video tutorial: ‘How to setup assignment into Moodle ?’
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Course duplication
This function is not a duplication of the course itself, which exists in Moodle, but of the Nudgis media contained within it in combination with the application of legacy media access rights to the new course. The old course can be safely deleted, and the duplicate course and its media content will then only be accessible to the new class of students, to whom you have given rights to the new course. When copying the course, the filter allows the <iframe> tag to be replaced by the <img> tag, thus circumventing certain Moodle limitations and allowing this smoother copying of Nudgis media rights. Media can be copied without the filter, but access rights cannot be automatically modified.
Medias copied during a course duplication inherit the Moodle access roghts from the new course; nut don't change the access rights from LTI roles.
The filter acts invisibly on the process, so there is no manual intervention required when copying, but its presence is essential to be able to duplicate your courses including Nudgis content with complete peace of mind.
Let's take a closer look at the procedure for copying a course. First of all, access the settings for your original course:
Then select ‘More’ and ‘Course reuse’ from the drop-down list:
In the window that opens, choose ‘Copy course’ :
A new page appears, where you can set up the new course. The essential information is the title of the new course, its short name and its category (the category of the original course will be proposed by default):
Once you have made your settings for the new course, click on ‘Copy and view’. A page will open allowing you to check the progress of the copy:
Once the copy operation is complete, the new entry can be configured, modified and enhanced independently of its source:
The Ad-Hoc filter for the TinyMCE/Atto button plugin is therefore a must when you use the text field video repository. If you use the TinyMCE button or the Atto button, we highly recommend that you also install the Ad-Hoc filter.
The ‘Block’ plugin
The latest Nudgis for Moodle plugin on the list allows you to add a block of Nudgis videos to the Moodle sidebar. To do this, click on ‘Add a block’ from the Moodle sidebar, and select ‘Nudgis Media List’ from the list:
Once the block has been created, you can configure it by clicking on the corresponding cogwheel icon :
Finally, you need to retrieve the ID of the Nudgis channel you want to include in the block. You'll find it in the URL of the channel, in Edit mode:
You can also find this ID in the Edit mode of the selected channel, ‘Settings’ tab, ‘Links to this channel’ section:
The ID of a string is always in the format c123456ab7cdefghij8k (this is an example). The string ID always begins with the letter ‘c’
Once you have retrieved the chain ID, insert it in the ‘Nudgis chain ID’ field, and save changes:
Your block is now ready to be used with the selected channel:
We have come to the end of this article on the various uses of Nudgis plugins for Moodle, and we hope that you're now familiar with their use. We encourage you to familiarise yourself with the Moodle-specific possibilities offered by our plugins by trying them out now. We hope you enjoy your Nudgis and Moodle experience!
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