I've been trying to add sound files in Real format. Uploading is - of course - no problem. But I can't get them to play, keep getting error messages from RealPlayer. It plainly doesn't seem to find them using the integrated link to the uploaded file.
Am I doing it wrong? Or is there a better and easier way? Or is playing rm-files simply not on on Moodle.
Thanks for any help.
I'm afraid I have no idea of how to do this embedding, being a novice at this thrilling game. The possibilities of Moodle never cease to amaze me: I've been able to get a Moodle-site running and setting up a test course in a few hours. But in a language course listening texts are an important asset. that's why I'm looking at this Realplayer option.
I've tried using a source of type HTML with a link to the file in it etc. but that's clearly not what it takes. Help, please?
Hi
I do a lot of Real Media for our websites - you have to include some special HTML to "embed" the player in a page - I have players embedded in pages off:
http://radioworldwide.gospelcom.net/jiwan/aajkal/
You can get the idea from viewing the source.
What you will need is either real audio files on your webserver somewhere or a special media streaming account (which can cost)
To do it on your web page you make a tiny text file which simply contains the url of your audio file as text on one line. Save this as a file with extension .ram instead of .txt .
Then hyperlink to this .ram file rather than the actual audio ( an .rm file) from your page or in your player code.
This should work .... (where did I hear that before??)
Why not try starting simple first. I've attached a small WAV file. All you need to do is to upload this using the File Manager ("Files" in the course menu) and then create an activity of the type "resource"/"uploaded file". When you click on the item in the course menu, a new page will open and the file should play. (You might have to click a"start" icon...)
The attached 28kb file just says "The hotel is next to the bank."
The attached 28kb file just says "The hotel is next to the bank."
Thanks for your suggestion(s). I like the start of your message: "why not simple". But the second sentence points at the main problem: an attached WAV file has to be kept relatively small and this results in a very short sound fragment, too small actually to be of any practical use. Whereas RM and/or RM files are very compact.
The solution by Dick Davies on the other hand is unpractical because it is not simple at all. I can't expect any of my colleagues (who are computerliterates but have no experience whatsover with coding etc) to try their hand at what I see in your code ( object id="video1" classid="clsid:CFCDAA03-8BE4-11CF-B84B-0020AFBBCCFA" align="absmiddle" border="0" width="200" height="30" etc. )
They are regular teachers willing to use new technologies and methods of teaching and I want to offer them a simple way of achieving this. On the whole Moodle is just what they need and can master.
In short: still deperately looking for a simple way of including sound files...
The solution by Dick Davies on the other hand is unpractical because it is not simple at all. I can't expect any of my colleagues (who are computerliterates but have no experience whatsover with coding etc) to try their hand at what I see in your code ( object id="video1" classid="clsid:CFCDAA03-8BE4-11CF-B84B-0020AFBBCCFA" align="absmiddle" border="0" width="200" height="30" etc. )
They are regular teachers willing to use new technologies and methods of teaching and I want to offer them a simple way of achieving this. On the whole Moodle is just what they need and can master.
In short: still deperately looking for a simple way of including sound files...
In your position I would definitely look into using MP3. The quality is very good even at low bitrates. Most music MP3s are 128 kb/s, but 24kb/s can be fine for voice.
Cruise this, for example: http://www.shoutcast.com/directory/?maxbitrate=56
or if you have more bandwidth:
http://www.shoutcast.com/directory/?maxbitrate=999
Also see this for an example of Moodle language site:
http://kypros.org/LearnGreek/
Cruise this, for example: http://www.shoutcast.com/directory/?maxbitrate=56
or if you have more bandwidth:
http://www.shoutcast.com/directory/?maxbitrate=999
Also see this for an example of Moodle language site:
http://kypros.org/LearnGreek/
For the time being I'm going for the MP3 option: it works well and is easy to master for the less experienced colleagues.
The resulting file is about 2 x that of a good old RM file, which remains acceptable.
But testing the Greek site (which uses ample RM files) the problem of not being able to open any of them popped up again. So I'm making the best of it: MP3's it is.
Thanks for the splendid (and rapid) help
I found that when I added a 40kb per second file while the download works okay, the flash player makes me sound like piglet
Quiet appropriate really. It works fine when I re export at 128 but, as you say, that is rather large for voice.
I can't upload what this should sound like (at 128) because it is larger than 500K, but you can here if if you click the link at the top right of this post.
Do I need to change the sample rater or something to get lower bit rate files to play with the neat flash player?
Tim
I'm not sure what you're using to create the files but many programs will automatically reduce the sample rate (Hz) as the bitrate (bps) gets lower.
Originally it was stated that 44.1kHz sample rate was needed for the flash player to work, but I think Martin later mentioned that 22 or 11 would work too.
Originally it was stated that 44.1kHz sample rate was needed for the flash player to work, but I think Martin later mentioned that 22 or 11 would work too.
Dear David and Michael,
Thanks for your advice. I am using Audacity, as recommended by Sephen Henneberry over at the language teaching forums. There seems to be a setting in the export preferences box where I can change the bitrate of the exported mp3. But there does not seem to be a way of changing the sample rater at export. Perhaps there is.
But there is a way of changing the sampling rate of the original audacity files at the time of recording. I will reduce the sampling rate to 22050 Hz.
I guess that the following do not have a solution...
1) There does not seem to be a way of interpolating and changing the effective sampling rate of the recordings that I have made. There is a way of changing the speed so I could experiment with that.
2) There is talk of making the recordings available in other media, such as a CD, so I guess it would be a good idea to keep the sample rate up in the original recording.
3) Windows media player deals with the 44bps files with a higher (41000?) sampling rate, so I guess that this is just a setting somewhere in the flash player.
4) There seems to be a hell of a lot of files in the lame.dll download, of which perhaps audacity seems to be using only one. Perhaps if I changed some settings in the dll package?
Tim
1) I believe you can set the sample rate for the 'project' and it will automatically convert any audio files in the project to that sample rate
2) The audio can be 'up-sampled' as well as 'down-sampled' which means any source can be put on CD but bear in mind that any quality lost by down-sampling (primarily in the higher frequencies) will not be regained.
3) 44.1Khz is the standard for CDs and many other applications. It's a bit of an odd number (based on the range of human hearing and the width of video tape I believe) so many people round it off for ease.
4) Don't know
2) The audio can be 'up-sampled' as well as 'down-sampled' which means any source can be put on CD but bear in mind that any quality lost by down-sampling (primarily in the higher frequencies) will not be regained.
3) 44.1Khz is the standard for CDs and many other applications. It's a bit of an odd number (based on the range of human hearing and the width of video tape I believe) so many people round it off for ease.
4) Don't know
I've been playing the Real Audio files and have been able to have them play from my own course. The main restriction is that these are files that are already on someone else's server, not ones that I have created myself.
Also, the machines that the students are using, of course, need to have RealPlayer installed.
Assuming the above, you can then play a segment by selecting Resources/HTML text and typing in a link to the material. If you have RealPlayer on your machine, this link should work:
http://www.esl-lab.com/ramfiles/fun.ram
The above is a link to Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab at http://www.esl-lab.com/
If this works for you, then if you want to set up your own sound segments, *all* you need to do is to establish your own RealPlayer server onto which you and your colleagues can upload their sound files. There need not be any fancy code in the Moodle pages themselves.
Now, if you want to control the flow of the sound from within your Moodle page, or, for example, make it so that clicking on a button would play a specific segment of a sound file, you would be getting into heavier programming which you would not want to foist upon your less technically aware colleagues, but that is a different story.
I hope this helps.
Also, the machines that the students are using, of course, need to have RealPlayer installed.
Assuming the above, you can then play a segment by selecting Resources/HTML text and typing in a link to the material. If you have RealPlayer on your machine, this link should work:
http://www.esl-lab.com/ramfiles/fun.ram
The above is a link to Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab at http://www.esl-lab.com/
If this works for you, then if you want to set up your own sound segments, *all* you need to do is to establish your own RealPlayer server onto which you and your colleagues can upload their sound files. There need not be any fancy code in the Moodle pages themselves.
Now, if you want to control the flow of the sound from within your Moodle page, or, for example, make it so that clicking on a button would play a specific segment of a sound file, you would be getting into heavier programming which you would not want to foist upon your less technically aware colleagues, but that is a different story.
I hope this helps.
I see that in the original message that the desired files end in the ".rm" extension not ".ram". The difference is that the ".rm" file is the actual sound file, while the ".ram" file is a file list of URLs to be accessed, and this is what needs to be provided (I can't test this myself right now, since I don't possess any native .rm files.)
If you take the full URL to your .rm file, however, and place it in a simple text file, giving it the .ram extension, I bet you can make it playable.
If you take the full URL to your .rm file, however, and place it in a simple text file, giving it the .ram extension, I bet you can make it playable.
I'm afraid you've lost your bet...
The choice between between RM and RAM (which indeed will cause the sound file to be played ASAP whereas the RM will first download the whole file) won't make a difference in my particular situation: Realplayer just doesn't communicate with them.
The suggestion in your previous message only works if the sound files already exist on a remote server, which they don't because we make them ourselves. I could of course upload them to our regular website and have teachers make a link to their URL, but that's a firm step away from the main objective, i.e. that every teacher himself can design, combine and upload all the material in his course independently. The easy interface of Moodle makes this possible. And all actions should therefore be done within the Moodle environment itself.
So, I have decided that we'll start with MP3's. A further argument being that every pupil is bound to have some software on his computer to play MP3's (after all, they know Kazaa before they are house trained...), sooner than RealPlayer. I've also found out that by decreasing the quality of the sound to the maximum level that still allows quite acceptable voice quality the file size is about the same as that of an RM file. In a word: by and by these "darn" MP3's have become a teacher's dream.
Just some test MP3s with me talking (I was going to say "Hello this is Martin Dougiamas, and I pronounce Moodle as Moodle" in a bad Finnish accent but I didn't think many people would get the joke).
I've uploaded two versions of the same sound:
This is a resource with uploaded file at 40k: http://moodle.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=504
Here is the full-quality file as a link:
And finally, I've attached the 40k file to this message as an attachment.
Whether they load inline via a plugin (eg Qucktime) or with an external player (eg Winamp or Media Player or Realplayer) depends on how your browser is set up.
(If you are reading this in the distant future then these links may no longer work - please don't email me about it!
)
I've uploaded two versions of the same sound:
This is a resource with uploaded file at 40k: http://moodle.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=504
Here is the full-quality file as a link:
And finally, I've attached the 40k file to this message as an attachment.
Whether they load inline via a plugin (eg Qucktime) or with an external player (eg Winamp or Media Player or Realplayer) depends on how your browser is set up.
(If you are reading this in the distant future then these links may no longer work - please don't email me about it!
Well, both sound great. I think the 40k will be a half smaller if you recorded in mono, just one channel, that's right for voice.
I try first with WMedia 9 over W98-SE and can't open it, no plugin asked or anything else, just can't open it. So I downloaded WinAmp and open it without problems.
I think this is important, because Moodle doesn't need any plugin to work.
Someone using Window Media Player can tell us exactly how to?
I agree with Sean about your surname, could you repeat it slowly please?
By the way, I'm Linus Torvalds and I pronounce Moodle as Moodle
I try first with WMedia 9 over W98-SE and can't open it, no plugin asked or anything else, just can't open it. So I downloaded WinAmp and open it without problems.
I think this is important, because Moodle doesn't need any plugin to work.
Someone using Window Media Player can tell us exactly how to?
I agree with Sean about your surname, could you repeat it slowly please?
By the way, I'm Linus Torvalds and I pronounce Moodle as Moodle
I did try all three under Windows and they worked ok.
I have the freeware product Irfanview installed with the additional plugins, it started as default player.
Then with the second and the attached third file Windows mediaplayer took over (typical Bill)
Goinig back to the first file that was now also played by Bill...
The players only become pop-up-screens, how to get an inline player?
Tank's for your answer.
I'll check what's wrong with my computer.
I'm not a Bill's fan, but most of our users don't know anything else
About your question:
I don't know if it works the same way, but for video we create a html page that contains the code like this one
http://enlaceacademico.com.mx/aula/mod/resource/view.php?id=109
You can see de code clicking left and selecting view source code.
I hope this help you.
Claudio
I'll check what's wrong with my computer.
I'm not a Bill's fan, but most of our users don't know anything else
About your question:
I don't know if it works the same way, but for video we create a html page that contains the code like this one
http://enlaceacademico.com.mx/aula/mod/resource/view.php?id=109
You can see de code clicking left and selecting view source code.
I hope this help you.
Claudio
I'd sure like to have a look at it, but - as so often happens in these forums - people tend to forget that access is usually denied to guests. So a course is only open if one gets permission from the administrator and/or one makes a new account and then succeeds in getting the enrolment key.
Maybe it's an idea to simply attach the file referred to, in this case of an HTML-page this should work.
That way the nice gesture of helping others by showing one's own solution is more efficient.
Have you checked in options, filetypes the mp3-files (I hope thats the translation, i'm using a Dutch version) to be played with mediaplayer ? On my win2k I had no problems: it opened immediately.
@ Martin: I guess you made a great contribution to vocal communication worldwide by revealing the secret of your surname 
It was my first tought too !
Hee hee. 
Getting a bit silly now but here's the (slightly awkward) name slowed down a bit.
Maybe Moodle should have a field on the user profile for a short sound-bite (or video) as well as the picture?
Getting a bit silly now but here's the (slightly awkward) name slowed down a bit.
Maybe Moodle should have a field on the user profile for a short sound-bite (or video) as well as the picture?
I'm a bit mystified as to why the first two links in Martin's earlier message called up an open/save dialog and then played with WinAmp, which I have installed, whereas the attached file "martin-dougiamas.mp3" opened a frame on the left of the moodle browser window and automatically played with MediaPlayer. (MSIE 6.x/ Win2000)
All three files have the same ".mp3" extension.
All three files have the same ".mp3" extension.
Same happens for me in IE 6 ...The link below and this attachment have the same URL, but different behaviours. It must be the new window "target" that automatically gets added to the following link.
[OT] Of Topic a little: If you try to change the look and feel of this kind of embeded resources, you open and close the edit window a lot. Everytime the Richtext editor reloads. (And I don't want to give up the advantages of the Richtexteditor.)
Is there not a way to cache this at the user side? (... initiated by a server-setting?)
I realise that this response is about 8 years too late for Martin, but it may be of some help to others who have similar problems.
Rather than trying to embed audio clips in Real Player, why not just embed it as a Grooveshark widget. It's dead simple.
Just create an account on Grooveshark, upload the media you want to use in your Moodle course, then right-click on it and select Share -> Widget. Grooveshark then gives you the HTML code and you can paste it right into a your course.