Last week several of CLIPP attended the marketing demo of Echo360 version 2.5. It was a fairly quick over view really that didn’t go into any sort of huge depth but did give you the main new features and progressions in the software. There is now a recording of the session that is available to watch on the WebX site.
Since we updated our Mediasite recorder to version 5 we have had some confusion over its output and what format of presentation is served to our users. We noticed that users on Internet Explorer would be served a Windows Media Player version while those using Fire Fox would be served a Silver Light version. In essence this really shouldn’t have made any difference and if anything you would have thought this would be a good thing as Windows Media Player under Fire Fox tended to be a bit clunky and lack functionality as the Active X controls are not there.
However the reason it was flagged is that the Silver Light version of the player does not have any speed controls for playing back the presentation. This is a lack of functionality with Silver Light as opposed to the Mediasite product. The Windows Media version has a fast/slow option which students seem to really like. Those with English as a first language can “scan” the presentation and so get through more material where as those who may not speak such fluent English can watch the presentation slower and get more from it.
The confusion arose because while trying to test out what version was served to what browser we were not getting consistent results on different computers using the same browser. I was still being served the Windows Media version using Fire Fox although Adam was being served the Silver Light version. This confused us for a good while as from the machines we tested it was only mine that was ever served the Silver Light version.
After recently getting a new computer we noticed again that mine seemed to be the only computer in existence that still continued to receive the Windows Media version. At this stage we decided to try to work this out again and this time I can confidently report that we have an answer!
When your browser loads a presentation, it does a check. On IE it uses your standard install of Windows Media but on Fire Fox the presentation first looks for the Fire Fox Windows Media plug-in, which is a different plug-in that needs to be installed separately. If this plug-in does not exists on the system then it rolls over to using Silver Light. If Silver Light is not installed then it prompts you to install install it. While I think its great that there is a roll over, I find it strange that it would roll over to a plug-in that is just as unlikely to be on the system. If you need to make your user install something why not just prompt them for the Windows Media plug-in for Fire Fox and allow users the full functionality?
In short to experience the full functionality of a Mediasite Presentation download and install the Fire Fox Windows Media plug-in.
Best Universities recently published an article 100 Free Online Lectures that Will Make You a Better Teacher. There are links and reviews of a massive spectrum of lectures, broken down into 9 different sections called Creative Learning Environments, Technology, Information for New Teachers, Information for all Teachers, Teaching Specific Subjects , Special Needs, Arts, Physical Education and Health Education and Lectures from Influential Professors.
I can’t pretend to have looked at them all but I can certainly recommend Ken Robinson, (TEDTalks) – Do schools today kill creativity?. In fact check out TED as well, some of the worlds most inspirational talkers and thinkers.
Thanks goes to Kelly at Best Universities for pointing this out.
Until a permanant fix is implemented in Equella, you can continue to use the file uploader if you disable Java’s next-gen plug-in support in the Java control panel. There’s an article on the Java website on how to achieve this. This is only necessary on Windows.
If you are unsure you can contact your school support.
This is the second call for proposals issued by the Centre for Learning Innovation and Professional Practice (CLIPP). The scheme is designed to be flexible and to encourage staff from the Schools and Student Support Services to bid for project funding with the aim of building capacity in learning and teaching research, innovation and practice. This call for applications for project funding has been issued on 8th May 2009 and all bids must be received in CLIPP (clipp@aston.ac.uk) by 5pm on 3rd July 2009. It is anticipated that all projects funded from this call will run to April 2010.
There’s more details on the CLIPP website.
Update (8th May): A workaround is available
It has been discovered that users are unable to successfully upload files to Equella if they have the latest version of the Java runtime environment installed as their web browser will crash after uploading. You can check if you have the latest version of the Java runtime environment, the only version known to cause problems (at the time of writing) being ‘Java 6 update 13′ on Windows XP and Vista.
As an interim measure, until a fix is deployed, we have made changes to the upload form in Equella so you can still upload content.
Attach files in a similar way to attaching them to an e-mail. Click the ‘Browse’ button to locate your file, and click attach to upload it to the server.
You can also attach multiple files using this form. If you have several files or need to upload directories of content you can upload them as a ZIP and the server will extract it for you.
If your computer doesn’t have the latest Java Runtime Environment, you can ignore the above method and upload as normal, using the ‘Launch File Manager’ button at the bottom of the form. We recommend that if you are prompted to update Java you postpone it until a fix for this issue is found. If you are unsure or are experiencing problems you can contact your school support.
CLIPP is the Centre for Learning, Innovation and Professional Practice. We are a department of Aston University.
If you would like to know more about us please visit the CLIPP web site.
© 2009 Aston University All Rights Reserved.
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