Who can do this?
Blackboard users who are enrolled in and working with Ultra-enabled courses. Students may be able to embed media via the tool if Student access was for the tool by the Blackboard Administrator.

This article provides instructions on embedding media from your Echo360 library into a Blackboard Ultra-enabled course. If your course is a Learn or Original View course, see the instructions located in Embedding Echo360 Media into Blackboard Content Windows.

If a Blackboard Admin has installed it for your institution and enabled it for courses, Echo360 provides an Echo360 Embed tool option in the Content Market tool list.

This Echo360 embed tool provides the ability to:

• Embed audio, video, or interactive media from your Echo360 library directly into the Blackboard content window.
• Enter a URL link for a piece of Library media into the Blackboard content window.
• Upload media then embed it (or provide a URL link) as a single process.
• Create media by launching Universal Capture, create a capture, then embed it as a single process.

The Content Market in Blackboard Ultra can be accessed for a content window when adding an item to the course, OR you can add a Content Market item directly TO the Course list. Both methods embed the media into Blackboard for viewing, but they look a little different, both in how you access the market, and in the resulting embed.

All LMS-Embedded media provide view data such as view counts, view duration, and heatmap data, as shown in the Analytics tab of the media details page of the media. Furthermore, the views can be attributed to unique viewers and as such are counted as Unique Views in the analytics data provided.

PLEASE NOTE that the instructions provided here specific to the Blackboard interface are provided as a guide. Your interface may differ. Refer to the Blackboard documentation if necessary for further information.

Embedding in a Content Window

Echo360 allows you to embed media into a content window. If, for example, you add a page or want to embed media in a discussion thread for an ultra course, you are given a content window to work with. Embed Echo360 media via the Insert/Edit LTI Item option for adding content as shown in the below figure, which uses a Discussion content window as an example.

The resulting Embed appears when a user selects to view the page or the discussion thread, and the media is embedded in that page as shown below.

Embedding as Course Content

Echo360 allows you to embed media directly as course content in Ultra enabled courses. This is done by Content Market when adding content to a course as shown below.

The Content Market lists all the available LTI tools configured. The one for embedding Echo360 media should be clearly labeled for selection.

The resulting Embed appears as its own page when a user selects it from the list of Course content, as shown in the below figure. 

Embedding Existing Echo360 Media

The steps below are for embedding media already resident in your Library into the content window. You must OWN the media you want to embed or you must be an Echo360 administrator with access to some set of media in the system. If you need to upload the media to Echo360 first, or create new media using Universal Capture, see the instructions later on this page.

To embed existing Echo360 media into a content window

1. Log in to Blackboard and enter your Ultra-enabled course.
2. Determine where you want to add your Echo360 media (directly to the Course page, or into a discussion or other location).
3. Access the Content Market by selecting Content Market or Insert/Edit LTI Item as is appropriate and identified in the figures above.
4. From the Content Market, find and select the Echo360 Embed media tool created by your administrator, as shown in the figure above.
   

   A dialog box appears with the Choose From My Home tab active, listing the media you own, or for admins, the media you have access to.
   If you need to upload media to embed, click the Upload Existing Media tab, and refer to the instructions later on this page.
   If you want to create new media to embed, click the Create New Media tab to launch Universal Capture, and refer to the instructions later on this page.

   
5. If necessary, use the Search Content text box and/or Filters options to find the media you want.
6. Click Reset to clear any search/filters as needed.
7. Select the media you want to embed. The row expands to show additional embedding options.
   

   If you plan to post a URL link to the media instead of embedding the media directly into the page, see the instructions later on this page.

   
8. From the Player Style drop-down list, select the style you want to be applied to the player.
   

   The Player Style drop-down only appears if your institution has created custom player styles to choose from. If you have selection options, pick the one for your department or organization (or the default) that you want applied to the playback of this media.
   Selecting a style may automatically select Size, Autoplay, and Automute options for you; these can still be changed.

9. From the Select size drop-down list, select the size you want for the frame for the embedded media.
   
10. If appropriate, enable the option to Autoplay the media (it will play as soon as a user opens the page you are embedding it into).
11. If you enable Autoplay, Automute is automatically enabled, to accommodate browsers that no longer allow autoplay with sound. You CAN enable Automute separately without Autoplay.
12. If appropriate, set a Start At time. If set, the media will begin playing at that timestamp, although viewers will be able to rewind/fast-forward the player to view any segment of the embedded media. This option is not available when embedding interactive media.
13. When finished, click INSERT. A preview of the inserted media appears.
14. Complete whatever remaining fields may be on the page, then click Submit.

Once the item is added, students can open the page and view the embedded media. If you selected Autoplay or Start At configurations for the media, those are enacted for the user upon viewing.

Uploading Media to Embed

The steps below are for uploading a video or audio file to Echo360 then embedding the new upload into the course. Most of the procedural steps are identical to embedding existing Echo360 media, with the exception of uploading the media first, before selecting it from your existing content list.

To upload and then embed Echo360 media

1. Log in to Blackboard and enter your Ultra-enabled course.
2. Determine where you want to add your media (directly to the Course page, or into a discussion or other location).
3. Access the Content Market by selecting Content Market or Insert/Edit LTI Item as is appropriate and identified in the figures at the top of this page.
4. From the Content Market, find and select the Echo360 Embed media tool created by your administrator, as shown in the figure earlier on this page.
   

   A dialog box appears with the Choose From My Home tab active.

5. Select the Upload Existing Media tab, as shown in the below figure.
   
6. Click Select Media.
   

   The dialog box changes to allow you to upload from your local machine (this is the default).

   
7. To select to upload from a shared drive location (such as Dropbox or Google Drive), click the appropriate icon from the list on the left side of the dialog box. Note that the FileStack uploader has a file size limit of 220MB. If your file is larger than that, download it to your computer first, then upload from there. Echo360's file size limit for uploads is 20GB.
8. Follow the options to find and select the media file to upload for embedding.
   
9. Click Upload.
   

   Once the file is uploaded, you are returned to the media list in the Choose from My Home tab.
   NOTICE that the media may not have a preview thumbnail, because it is still being processed by Echo360. How long this takes is partially dependent on the size of the file.

   
   If you plan to post a URL link to the media instead of embedding it directly, see Posting a Link to Media later on this page.
10. From the Player Style drop-down list, select the style you want to be applied to the player.
    

    The Player Style drop-down only appears if your institution has created custom player styles to choose from. If you have selection options, pick the one for your department or organization (or the default) that you want applied to the playback of this media.
    Selecting a style may automatically select Size, Autoplay, and Automute options for you; these can still be changed.

11. From the Select size drop-down list, select the size you want for the frame to hold the embedded item.
12. After selecting a size, you have the option to Autoplay the media (it will play as soon as a user opens the page you are embedding it into).
13. If you enable Autoplay, Automute is automatically enabled, to accommodate browsers that no longer allow autoplay with sound. You CAN enable Automute separately without Autoplay.
14. If appropriate, set a Start At time. If set, the media will begin playing at that timestamp, although viewers will be able to rewind/fast-forward the player to view any segment of the embedded video.
15. When finished, click INSERT.
16. Complete whatever remaining fields may be on the page, then click Submit.

The published version of the newly uploaded media may show that the media is currently processing, as shown in the below figure. Once processing completes, the embedded media will appear. If you selected Autoplay or Start At configurations for the media, those will be enacted for the user on playback.

Launching Universal Capture to Create Media

The Create Media option in the Echo360 embed window allows you to launch Universal Capture and create a new capture, then select to embed the new capture directly into Blackboard. If you have Universal Capture installed, it will automatically open to the Preview screen. If you do not have Universal Capture installed on the computer, you are given the option to install it (for students, UC downloads must be enabled), then return to the Embed Media window to launch the application.

To create media to embed

1. Log in to Blackboard and enter your Ultra-enabled course.
2. Determine where you want to add your new media (directly to the Course page, or into a discussion or other location).
3. Access the Content Market by selecting Content Market or Insert/Edit LTI Item as is appropriate and identified in the figures at the top of this page.
4. From the Content Market, find and select the Echo360 Embed media tool created by your administrator, as shown in the figure near the top of this page.
   

   A dialog box appears with the Choose From My Home tab active, listing the media you own, or for admins, the media you have access to.

5. Select the Create New Media tab, as shown in the below figure.
   
6. Click Launch Universal Capture.
   

   If Universal Capture is installed on the computer, a window opens, allowing you to select your inputs and start recording whenever you are ready.
   If Universal Capture is not installed or detected on the computer, you are given the option to install it, then returned to the Embed Media window to launch the application.

7. When you are finished recording, click Finish.
   

   Once the file is uploaded, you are returned to the media list in the Choose from My Home tab, as shown in the below figure.
   NOTICE that the capture may not have a preview thumbnail; this is because the media is still being processed by Echo360. How long this takes is partially dependent on the size of the capture.

   
   If you plan to post a URL link to the media instead of embedding it directly, see Posting a Link for Media below.
8. From the Player Style drop-down list, select the style you want to be applied to the player.
   

   The Player Style drop-down only appears if your institution has created custom player styles to choose from. If you have selection options, pick the one for your department or organization (or the default) that you want applied to the playback of this media.
   Selecting a style may automatically select Size, Autoplay, and Automute options for you; these can still be changed.

9. From the Select size drop-down list, select the size you want for the frame to hold the embedded media.
10. After selecting a size, you have the option to Autoplay the media (it will play as soon as a user opens the page you are embedding it into).
11. If you enable Autoplay, Automute is automatically enabled, to accommodate browsers that no longer allow autoplay with sound. You CAN enable Automute separately without Autoplay.
12. If appropriate, set a Start At time. If set, the media will begin playing at that timestamp, although viewers will be able to rewind/fast-forward the player to view any segment of the item.
13. When finished, click INSERT.
14. Complete whatever remaining fields there may be on the page, then click Submit.

The published version of the newly created capture may show that the media is currently processing. Once processing completes, the media will appear. If you selected Autoplay or Start At configurations for the media, those will be enacted for the user on playback.

Posting a Link for Media

The below procedure inserts a URL link for the media instead of embedding the media into a frame directly on the page. A URL Link (also referred to as a Public Link or a Video Link) opens the media in a new browser tab or window.

Most of the procedural steps are identical to embedding existing Echo360 media, with the exception of selecting the Link option instead of the available embedding options (Size, Autoplay, Start At).

LMS-posted links, like LMS-embedded media provide view data such as view counts, unique views, and heatmap data, as shown in the Analytics tab of the media details page.

To insert a URL link to Echo360 media

1. Log in to Blackboard and enter your Ultra-enabled course.
2. Determine where you want to add your Echo360 media (directly to the Course page, or into a discussion or other location).
3. Access the Content Market by selecting Content Market or Insert/Edit LTI Item as is appropriate and identified in the figures at the top of this page.
4. From the Content Market, find and select the Echo360 Embed media tool created by your administrator, as shown in the figure near the top of this page.
   

   A dialog box appears with the Choose From My Home tab active, listing the media you own, or for admins, the media you have access to.
   If you need to upload the media to link to, click the Upload Existing Media tab, and refer to the instructions earlier on this page.

5. If necessary, use the Search Content text box and/or Filter by drop-down lists to find the media you want to link to.
6. Click Reset to clear any search/filters as needed.
7. Select the media you want to link. The row expands to show additional options.
8. From the Player Style drop-down list, select the style you want to be applied to the player.
   

   The Player Style drop-down only appears if your institution has created custom player styles to choose from. If you have selection options, pick the one for your department or organization (or the default) that you want applied to the playback of this media.

9. Enable the Link toggle, located below the Size drop-down list, as shown in the below figure.
   Notice that the embed options are grayed out once the Link toggle is enabled.
   
10. Click INSERT.
11. Complete whatever remaining fields may be on the page, then click Submit.

The URL link is entered into the course window or page. The link posted uses the media title as the text for the link; it does not post the full URL. When users click the link, playback will open in a new browser tab or window.