Tag: YouTube

Embedded Videos Break When Imported From Export/Archive File

Problem: When importing course content from an archive or export file, embedded videos (such as YouTube, UVM Streaming) and similar content is broken/removed. Specifically, the embedded code has had “<iframe” replaced with “<xxxx“, which causes the embedded video to not display correctly.

Solution: Copied course content is not affected by this bug – so where possible, use the Course Copy tool to bring content from one course into another. If you’ve imported content from an archive, you may need to edit the content items in that destination course and re-embed the videos if they are not showing.

Alternatively, you can edit the item and enter “Source” view as you would to embed an item, and replace the occurrances of “<xxxx” and “/xxxx>” with “<iframe” and “/iframe>“, as this will fix the embedded video without needing to re-copy the embed code from the source:

Click on the Source Code button ( < > ) to edit the embed.
Replace “xxxx” with “iframe”
Once you have the working “iframe” tag in place, save and submit.

Note that adding a direct link in the content item to the video/media will ensure students can access the video directly if the embedded content is not playing for them.

YouTube Mashups and Video Everywhere not embedding/displaying properly.

Problem:  Attempting to embed YouTube videos using the Mashups tool and/or the Video Everywhere tool does not work.

Solution:  This is an identified bug that Blackboard has identified as fixed in the next release, which is expected to be applied in December.  The current workarounds are to embed the video by clicking the html button in the text editor and pasting the embed code; post a link to the video along with the description; or to use UVM Streaming Media tool.

Youtube posts display “Device Support” error video

Problem: When posting a video to a Bb course using the Video Everywhere or YouTube mashup tools, an error video is presented after posting, indicating that YouTube is not supported on this “device.

Solution:  Bb has indicated that this is a known issue and has provided the following workaround:

  1. After recording the video, click continue, this will save it in youtube.com
  2. Log into youtube.com, click on the video you have just recorded.
  3. Copy the url
  4. Go back to the editor on Bb environment
  5. Click on Insert/Edit Embedded media
  6. Paste the url into the File/URL
  7. Change Type to Embedded Audio
  8. Insert
  9. Submit

Alternatively, anyone wishing to post media to their course should consider using UVM Streaming Media.

YouTube embedded videos (and other embedded content) not appearing

Problem: Embedded YouTube videos and similar content are not displaying in some browsers.  This is due to a change in how browsers display non-encrypted content (http) inside of an encrypted environment (https).

Solution: Here is a description for students (and instructors) for how to temporarily view embedded files that appear blank in Firefox:

  1. If upon entering a course or content area that appears to have a blank video, look in the browser’s address bar for a grey “shield” icon.
  2. Click that icon, bringing up a dialog box.
  3. Click on the down arrow next to the “Keep Blocking” button, and select “Disable Protection on This Page”.

This is a short term solution.  Here are some steps on how to make sure that students have access to the videos, both in the short term and the long term.

  1. Edit the embed code so that all links in the code start with “https://”, and not “http://”.
  2. Post the URL as a link to the video’s YouTube page in addition to the embedded video.  By always providing a link to the original video in addition to embedding it, there’s a better chance that any students having connection or browser issues (i.e. attempting to load the videos in various unsupported mobile browsers) will be able to access the video directly. This also provides some context, so instead of just seeing the blank area where the video will be, the students will see that a) it’s a video link, and b) where to go to try to launch it in a different environment.
  3. If the videos are owned by you (i.e. the instructor) or UVM, consider using the UVM supported Streaming Media tool. This will make things a bit easier to support, and will be more likely to retain some stability and support over time.
  4. Newer browsers may not support older embed code. Try re-embedding the video by going to the YouTube page for the video and copying the code under the embed option, then pasting it back into your course item.