Hi,
I'm trying to prepare a true/false "Quiz" activity in which Ss listen to a recording and answer aseries of "true/false" questions, but I don't know how to set it up so they can see the questions and hear the recording at the same time. I can't find a way of getting the audio file and the questions in the same window. If you know of a way then I'd be really grateful to hear from you.
Carl
Hello Carl,
If you intend to have one sound file and a long list of questions, there are two solutions that come to mind.
- Create a quiz with your true/false questions and add a label/description at the top in which you include a link to your soundfile.
- Create a quiz with one Embedded answers/Cloze question in which you list your questions followed by a multichoice gap with true/false as options. You link to the sound file from the same page.
(The attachment shows an example of a quiz page with a cloze text and a soundfile, to give you an impression. Just imagine replacing the text with your questions and behind each question a true/false gap.)
Rgrds,
Paul.
Hello Paul,
Thanks for your suggestions. I'll try them out and let you know how I get on!
Many thanks,
Carl
Thanks for your suggestions. I'll try them out and let you know how I get on!
Many thanks,
Carl
Hello Paul,
I thought I understood what you meant but having tried to follow your instructions it is clear I don't! Sorry. The window you show is exactly the kind of thing I would like to achieve.
If I add a link to the sound file in my quiz page no matter how I set up the link a new window opens and this of course obcsures the questions. Whereas you have managed to embed an icon of the sound file which the students can simply click on to play. Fantastic!
Now, when you say add a "label/description" and include the link in there, are you referring to the "Insert a label" from the "Add a resource" menu? If so, how do you get the label into the quiz page? If you have something else in mind, could you please explain what it is?
I hope the above makes sense.
With many thanks,
Carl
I thought I understood what you meant but having tried to follow your instructions it is clear I don't! Sorry. The window you show is exactly the kind of thing I would like to achieve.
If I add a link to the sound file in my quiz page no matter how I set up the link a new window opens and this of course obcsures the questions. Whereas you have managed to embed an icon of the sound file which the students can simply click on to play. Fantastic!
Now, when you say add a "label/description" and include the link in there, are you referring to the "Insert a label" from the "Add a resource" menu? If so, how do you get the label into the quiz page? If you have something else in mind, could you please explain what it is?
I hope the above makes sense.
With many thanks,
Carl
Hi Carl,
1. As admin, have you enabled the multimedia filters in Administration >> Configuration >> Filters? You need this enabled for the mp3 Flash player to appear automatically embedded in your quiz.
2. You do not say in your message which of Paul's suggestions you have tried to implement:
#1 Create a quiz with your true/false questions and add a label/description at the top in which you include a link to your soundfile.
#2 Create a quiz with one Embedded answers/Cloze question...
The label/description which Paul alludes to is not a "Moodle" resource label, but more probably a Description type question (if you opt for solution #1, and choose to have all your questions related to the sound file displayed on one page).
Do not hesitate to ask for help, but try to be very specific as to the steps you follow, if you want specific help.
Joseph
Hello Joseph,
Thanks for getting back to me. I tried both! I'll find out about enabling filters - my Moodle is being hosted by TCE until my own domain is set up and so I have no access to admin, only course settings. But'll ask if they can do that for me. Then I'll check out the Description type question as you suggest.
Many thanks, but be warned I may be back!
Carl
Thanks for getting back to me. I tried both! I'll find out about enabling filters - my Moodle is being hosted by TCE until my own domain is set up and so I have no access to admin, only course settings. But'll ask if they can do that for me. Then I'll check out the Description type question as you suggest.
Many thanks, but be warned I may be back!
Carl
Hello Joseph,
Just a quick note to say THANKS!! The filter was enabled and it works just fine in the description question.
Many thanks to you (and Paul, if you're out there).
Carl
Just a quick note to say THANKS!! The filter was enabled and it works just fine in the description question.
Many thanks to you (and Paul, if you're out there).
Carl
Hi Carl,
GLad it works now, I hadn't understood that your problem had to do with the player not being embedded. Note by the way that the embedded player only functions with MP3 sound files and that users need to have the free Flash player installed in their PCs in order to be able to play the sound (I always include that information in my courses with a link to Macromedia's download page for the Flash player).
Rgrds,
Paul.
And to complete Paul's recommendations: please make sure that your MP3 files are encoded at one of the following rates: 11, 22 or 44 kHz. Otherwise you'll get the infamous chipmunk effect.
See MP3 documentation.
Joseph
See MP3 documentation.
Joseph
Many thanks, I'll try and stir clear of the dreaded chipmunks!
Carl
Carl
Hello Paul,
Thanks for getting in touch again. I will follow your suggestion and include a note to the students about having the Flash player installed in their PCs.
All the best,
Carl
Thanks for getting in touch again. I will follow your suggestion and include a note to the students about having the Flash player installed in their PCs.
All the best,
Carl
Hi Carl,
As a rather tardy tip: We have noticed that (especially for students with slower connections) the sound files often do not download entirely and when they are played back the last bit is cut off. As a workaround we often record a few seconds of silence at the end of each sound file so that we have a safety margin at the end of the file in case it gets cut short.
Rgrds,
Paul.
Is there any way to fix that so that the end of the recording is not cutoff?
(besides adding a few seconds of silence?) I find the few seconds of silence to be a hit and miss thing... somethimes there is not enough silence and it still gets cut off (in one case I added a full 5 secs of silence and it still got cut off).
Any work around for this to get files playing fully?
Hi John,
I do not understand your problem. Are you saying that all of your MP3 files are cut off by a few seconds when displayed inside a Moodle activity? Have you tried inserting an MP3 file in an activity other than a quiz? Can you post one of your MP3 files here? I see no reason why this should happen.
Joseph
I do not understand your problem. Are you saying that all of your MP3 files are cut off by a few seconds when displayed inside a Moodle activity? Have you tried inserting an MP3 file in an activity other than a quiz? Can you post one of your MP3 files here? I see no reason why this should happen.
Joseph
Hi Joseph
I was talking about what Paul said:
>>Hi Carl,
As a rather tardy tip: We have noticed that (especially for students with slower connections) the sound files often do not download entirely and when they are played back the last bit is cut off. As a workaround we often record a few seconds of silence at the end of each sound file so that we have a safety margin at the end of the file in case it gets cut short.
>>Rgrds, Paul.
Basically the flash player that comes up when an mp3 is inserted, cuts off the end of the recordings (we are not on a slow connection here... using broadband). As Paul said, adding a few seconds silence at the end can be a workaround. However, the problem is that it is hit and miss - a longer audio file (say 10 mins) will need more silence on the end of it than a shorter (say 1 min) to avoid the end being cut off. It is annoying having to repeatedly edit and upload audio files in a hit and miss way.
What i would love to know, is if there is a way to make the flash player play the whole file instead of cutting the end off.
Have you tried inserting an MP3 file in an activity other than a quiz?
Do you get the "end cut-off" problem irrespective of the length of the audio files? is this linked to the encoding parameters?
Can you post one of your MP3 files here?
In short, I am not getting this problem at all so it is difficult to advise on a problem that I cannot reproduce...
Joseph
Do you get the "end cut-off" problem irrespective of the length of the audio files? is this linked to the encoding parameters?
Can you post one of your MP3 files here?
In short, I am not getting this problem at all so it is difficult to advise on a problem that I cannot reproduce...
Joseph
Hi Joseph-
It happens everywhere (webpages, quizes, wikis, blogs etc) that a flash mp3 player appears. Here is an example:
NOTE:
- If you listen using the flash player, the final word of the recording is 'sites'.
- If you click on the hyperlink, download the recording and listen to it on your computer, the final word is 'today' - a whole (short) sentence is cut off when played in thee flash player.
Hi John,
how you add that sound files into pages. does that have to be html format?
thanks
how you add that sound files into pages. does that have to be html format?
thanks
Hi Ahmet
No you don't need html...
1) Just turn your 'multimedia filter' on,
2) then type in the file name.mp3 (or any name really).
3) highlight the text 'name.mp3' and link it to an audio file
4) When you save it, the filter will then find 'name.mp3' and add a player next to it. This is how I did my player in this thread example.mp3
Note: It also works for video as well:
(note: all I did was type the name 'video.wmv' then link it to a wmv file and the player comes up thanks to the filter. BTW I did not link this to a real wmv file, so when you press 'play', nothing will happen!)
Hi John,
I have finally found the time to test your problem. The problem comes from the encoding of your audio file. I do not know which software was used to encode it, but it contains more than pure sound, it also contains some "text" parameters (e.g. it is categorized as "Blues" music type). This text is read e.g. in RealAudio (that's how I found it was categorized as Blues music) and it does not prevent the purely audio part from being fully read. However, this seems to be a limitation of the small Flash MP3 audio player included with Moodle that it cannot tell the difference between text and audio in a file, hence the missing few seconds at the end...
The same limitation exists in the small Flash MP3 player shipped with Hot Potatoes. We do not have this limitation with more elaborate Flash MP3 players such as the (excellent) Dewplayer.
Conclusion: you might re-encode your audio files, removing "non-audio" bits and pieces from them; or you might replace the Moodle Flash players with Dewplayer. Or you might convince someone to re-write the Moodle Flash player in order to fix the bug...
Note that your audio file is (almost) completely read if put as a "link to file or web" resource in Moodle, as it is then using the "big" Flash player (see attached screenshot).
Joseph
Joseph, thank you! That was most helpful and insightful
I am using audacity for the recordings, and yes the lame_emc.dll does want to add 'blues' type etc to the mp3.... the question is, how does one remove this?
The giant player you mentioned using 'link to file or website' is cool! thanks for that. I still need to get the other player working though, so audio can be added to activity pages etc.
The flash player you recommend looks great, but I am concerned that it would mean that teachers would then always rely on me to put their audio files up for them...
John
How complicated is it to replace the standard MP3 players with the DewPlayer? How much coding is involved? Is there a tutorial posted somewhere?
Sincerely,
Todd
Sincerely,
Todd
I think you would just need to change the multimedia filter, which is in filter/mediaplugin (http://cvs.moodle.org/moodle/filter/mediaplugin/filter.php?view=markup). Looking at the code, it seems quite easy to understand and change.
There may already be some advice on Moodle Docs. If there is not, you could, of course, add something yourself if and when you work out how to make the change.
There may already be some advice on Moodle Docs. If there is not, you could, of course, add something yourself if and when you work out how to make the change.
I had to make changes to the resource class php file in mod/resource/type/file (http://cvs.moodle.org/moodle/mod/resource/type/file/resource.class.php?view=markup) in order to get Dewplayer to resolve as the mp3 player.
In reply to John Fitchett
Re: Flash MP3 player cutting off end of a recording - problem fixed
by Helen Foster -
Update: The problem with the Flash MP3 player cutting off the end of a recording has now been fixed. Thanks to everyone who participated in the tracker issue MDL-7549. 
Hi Joseph,
Can you please explain me in step by step method of uploading an audio file as a part of the question in a quiz so that my trainees can listen to the audio while taking the test and then answer the question.
Rgds,
Tom
Hi Joseph,
Can you please explain me in step by step method of uploading an audio file as a part of the question in a quiz so that my trainees can listen to the audio while taking the test and then answer the question.
Rgds,
Tom