Publishing Unitube videos on a Moodle course

In Finnish: HY-Unitube-videoiden linkitys Moodleen - På svenska: Publicera en video från HU-UniTube på din Moodle-kurs

Moodle has file size limit (50 MB) which limits uploading videos directly to Moodle. Use Unitube Uploader ("Lataamo") when you want to add video to your Moodle course, because Moodle is not meant for storing big video files.

Unitube is a recording service for all Helsinki university students and employees, providing a platform for uploading, watching and saving recordings, publishing them in different environments and managing the publishing rights of your own recordings.

Steps in Unitube-lataamo before taking the video or video series into Moodle

Before you can take a video from Unitube-lataamo to Moodle, it has to be included in a series.

The series at Unitube-lataamo determines if the video or videos in this series are public or private. a) A series is public when ‘Publish the series in Unitube and enable video embedding’ is ticked from the series settings b) A series is non-public when ‘Publish the series in Unitube and enable video embedding’ is not ticked in the series settings The series visibility setting largely determines which method you should use for adding the video(s) into Moodle.

Link to public Unitube-series or videos in Katsomo

If you want to direct viewers away from Moodle and into Unitube-katsomo's public video page with simple links, use this method.

1. Make sure that in Unitube-lataamo, the video or videos have been linked to a series in the video’s settings.
2. Make the video series public at Unitube-lataamo series settings, by ticking ‘Publish the series in Unitube and enable video embedding’.
3. Find your public video from Unitube-katsomo. The easiest way to find the video is by using the ‘Recording ID’ from the video’s settings while using the search function at Katsomo.
4. Copy the link from your browser’s address bar where the videos is located. Add the link to Moodle, for example by clicking ‘Add and activity or resource’ and choosing ‘URL’.

Embedding a public Unitube-video to Moodle with a link

If you want to embed a public Unitube-video into Moodle, for example, to an assignment description, page, label or wherever you have the standard text editor available in Moodle with a simple link, use this. Moodle embeds the video automatically for you.

This method’s link-based embedding takes the whole space of the space in which the video link is added to. The next method’s embedding code allows you to define the space the video takes.

1. Make sure that in Unitube-lataamo, the video or videos have been linked to a series in the video’s settings.
2. Make the video series public at Unitube-lataamo series settings, by ticking ‘Publish the series in Unitube and enable video embedding’.
3. Find your public video from Unitube-katsomo. The easiest way to find the video is by using the ‘Recording ID’ from the video’s settings while using the search function at Katsomo.
4. Copy the link from your browser’s address bar where the videos is located. Paste the link, for example, to a page and Moodle converts it automatically into a video.

Embedding a public Unitube-video to Moodle with an embedding code

If you want to embed a public Unitube-video into Moodle for example, to an assignment description, page, label or wherever you have the standard text editor available in Moodle, use this method.

With this method’s embedding code, you can decide the space the video takes.

1. Make sure that in Unitube-lataamo, the video or videos have been linked to a series in the video’s settings.
2. Make the video series public at Unitube-lataamo series settings, by ticking ‘Publish the series in Unitube and enable video embedding’.
3. From Unitube-lataamo and video’s settings at 'My recordings', copy the 'Embedding code of video'.

Embedding the video inside Moodle with the text editor

1. Turn editing on inside a Moodle course
2. Select ‘Add an activity or resource’
3. Add a page
4. Give the page a name and add the embedding code inside the page with the text editor in HTML mode. You can enable HTML mode in the text editor by first clicking on the ‘Show/hide advanced buttons’ and than HTML, which is indicated by </>.
5. You can choose the size of the video (iframe) by changing the height and width in the embedding code. Typical sizes (width x height) for videos are: 426 x 240 (240p), 640 x 360 (360p), 854 x 480 (480p),1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p) ja 3840 x 2160 (2160p).
6. Save

Embedding a non-public video to Moodle with an embedding code

If you want to embed a non-public Unitube-video into Moodle for example, to an assignment description, page, label or wherever you have the standard text editor available in Moodle, use this.

"After each visit in Moodle, the user has to click a link provided by the external tool to unlock the videos. Otherwise, the videos will not be visible and seen only as black boxes."

1. Make sure that in Unitube-lataamo, the video or videos have been linked to a series in the video’s settings.
2. At Unitube-lataamo series visibility, add the series to a Moodle course by using it's own ID. You get the Moodle course-ID when inside your course on the front page (i.e. initial page when you enter the course) from your browser’s address bar. For example, inside a sample course, the front page website address is “https://moodle.helsinki.fi/course/view.php?id=36811”. Therefore, the course ID is 36811 for this course.
3. From Unitube-lataamo and video’s settings at 'My recordings', copy the 'Embedding code of video' of the video you want to embed into Moodle.

Creating an activation link with the 'External tool' in Moodle

1. Turn editing on
2. Select add an activity or resource
3. Select external tool > Add
4. Give the activity a name. For example, 'Click here if the videos do not work'
5. Choose the External tool type > Unitube activation
6. Save

Embedding the video inside Moodle with the text editor

1. Turn editing on inside a Moodle course
2. Select ‘Add an activity or resource’
3. Add a page
4. Give the page a name and add the embedding code inside the page with the text editor in HTML mode. You can enable HTML mode in the text editor by first clicking on the ‘Show/hide advanced buttons’ and than HTML, which is indicated by </>.
5. You can choose the size of the video (iframe) by changing the height and width in the embedding code. Typical sizes (width x height) for videos are: 426 x 240 (240p), 640 x 360 (360p), 854 x 480 (480p),1280 x 720 (720p), 1920 x 1080 (1080p), 2560 x 1440 (1440p) ja 3840 x 2160 (2160p).
6. Save

Adding a single non-public Unitube-video inside Moodle

When you want to add a non-public Unitube-video into Moodle to it's own page, use this. This differs from embedding so that it is not possible to add text to the video page, but the viewer does not have to click a video activation link separately either. This works on public videos also, but it is easier to link a public video directly to a page by using a link from Katsomo (see: Embedding a public Unitube-video to Moodle with a link)

1. Make sure that in Unitube-lataamo, the video or videos have been linked to a series in the video’s settings.
2. At Unitube-lataamo series visibility, link the series to a Moodle course by using a Moodle course-ID. You get the ID when inside your course on the front page (i.e. initial page when you enter the course) from your browser’s address bar. For example, inside a sample course, the front page website address is “https://moodle.helsinki.fi/course/view.php?id=36811”. Therefore, the course ID is 36811 for this course.
3. Copy the video’s Recording ID from ‘my recordings’ inside the video settings at Unitube-lataamo

Linking the video with an External tool in Moodle

1. Turn editing on

2. Select add an activity or resource

3. Select external tool > Add

4. Give the activity a name. For example, 'View video X'

5. Choose the External tool type > Unitube, single video form a series

6. Click ’Show more…’

7. Add to the ’Custome parameters’ field

• Text: id=

• Paste after id= the Recording ID

For example, id=90229f61-f916-49b6-91fc-1aa12fc2d4ea

The video is added inside a Moodle page by default. If for some reason you want the video to open in a new window, select from the external tool settings ‘Launch container’ > ‘New window’

8. Save

Adding a public or non-public Unitube-video series inside Moodle

When you want to add a a whole public or non-public video series into Moodle to a single page, use this. Video series later added to the Unitube-series will become automatically available also in Moodle.

1. Make sure that in Unitube-lataamo, the video or videos have been linked to a series in the video’s settings.
2. At Unitube-lataamo series visibility, link the series to a Moodle course by using a Moodle course-ID. You get the ID when inside your course on the front page (i.e. initial page when you enter the course) from your browser’s address bar. For example, inside a sample course, the front page website address is “https://moodle.helsinki.fi/course/view.php?id=36811”. Therefore, the course ID is 36811 for this course.
3. Copy the series’ ID from ‘my series’ inside the series’ settings at Unitube-lataamo

Linking the series with an External tool in Moodle

1. Turn editing on

2. Select add an activity or resource

3. Select external tool > Add

4. Give the activity a name. For example, 'View series X'

5. Choose the External tool type > Unitube, all videos form a series

6. Click ’Show more…’

7. Add to the ’Custome parameters’ field

• Text: series=

• Paste after series= the Series ID

For example, series=90229f61-f916-49b6-91fc-1aa12fc2d4ea

The series is added inside a Moodle page by default. If for some reason you want the series to open in a new window, select from the external tool settings ‘Launch container’ > ‘New window’

8. Save

Why isn’t my video working?

Sometimes waiting helps - than the external tool has the time to connect the information you have updated between Moodle and Unitube-lataamo. If the Unitube video is still not showing, check the following:

• The visibility settings at Lataamo:
  • Please note, that if you use videos on a new Moodle area and you have imported the videos from the old one, it is easy to forget to add the Moodle course ID numbers in Lataamo. In Lataamo, you must add the numbers of all the course areas you want to display the videos on. If the visibility is restricted to specific Moodle areas, check that:
    • Lataamo has the course id of the correct course and
  • If the video is public for all, please make sure that
    • the visibility is set to “Public”. Remember to save!
    • you have copied the video link of the correct video in the Lataamo and pasted it to Moodle. The link must be exactly the same as the one in Lataamo.
• The Custom parameters must be defined correctly in the external tool in Moodle:
  • When you use external tool
    • Unitube activation > leave the field empty.
    • Unitube, single video from a series > insert: id= and paste the Video id you copied in Lataamo.
    • Unitube, all videos from a series > insert: series= and paste the Series id you copied in Lataamo.
• Also make sure that you have not added irrelevant settings in the External tool settings, e.g. “Shared secret” field must be left empty.

What is Unitube?

Further information about Unitube lecture rooms, studios, Uploader and Arena.