Audio Files and D2L

Like video, music and audio files are best made available via a streaming media server and not uploaded directly to a D2L course offering. They can then be embedded directly into a D2L web page (including quiz questions and answers, content files, news items, and grade feedback). A good option is 3C Media Solutions.

The first step is to create an account on the 3C Media Solutions website. This is free to California community college employees, Once you have logged in, the Media page is where to upload your files.

Note the following options on this page:

• Create Folder to organize the files you upload
• Add/Upload Media to upload a media file to the current folder

When you click the Add/Upload Media image, you can choose whether to select a video on YouTube or to upload a video. Don't worry about the word "video" - this same tool works for audio files. Click the Next button to enter some basic information about the file:

• Title - Give the title a cryptic name if you want to use this file as part of a quiz
• Licence - Leave as the default unless you have the rights and desire to give it a Creative Commons licence
• The Description is optional but good to leave blank if you want to use this file as part of a quiz

Click the Next button to select a file. On the Uploading page, click on the Select File button, select a file, and then click the Upload File button. Note that though the file name does not appear on the media page or in the embed code, it is possible to view it in the source code of the page (even within a quiz question on D2L). Once uploaded, the browser page refreshes and lets you know that the folder page in My Media will show when the file is ready for use. This can take a few hours for lengthy videos but is usually just a few minutes for audio files.

On the My Media page, the status for the file you just uploaded will be "Uploaded." When it is ready to be used, the status for the file will be "Available." Click on the Details & Options link to get the access information for your file.

There are two ways to use this file in D2L:

• Share Link - Add this as a URL quicklink (make sure to select the option to open in a new window)
• Embed Code - Click the Insert Stuff button and use the Enter Embed Code option (note the suggestions to change the player height to 50 pixels and to turn on the option to Use HTTPS).

Note that you can click a link to regenerate the secret key. This is very important to do at least once a semester when you are using copyrighted media files.