Adding audio and video clips

The audio and video features allow authors to include multiple music, sound and video clips in any question type in Inspera Assessment. These media elements present information or scenarios to candidates.

This article explains how to insert these clips and configure their behavior and appearance.

How to insert audio or video

To add audio or video:

Place the cursor where you want the audio/video to be added
Click on the audio or video icon in the menu.
A placeholder appears. Click on this to activate the options at the right hand side of the question.
Upload your audio or video file.

Managing audio and video clips

The Audio Clip feature allows authors to include multiple music and sound clips in any question type. Once an audio clip is added to your question, click its placeholder to access specific options on the right-hand side panel:
- Prompt text: You can edit the text that prompts the candidate to play the audio/video.
- Audio technical specifications:
  - Supported file types: MP3
  - Maximum file size: 50 MB
- Number of allowed playbacks: Configure how many times the audio/video clip can be played. You can set a limit from 1 to 6 playbacks, or allow unlimited playbacks (which is the default).
- Allow pausing during playback: Toggle this option to enable or disable the pause button. If disabled, candidates must listen to the full audio/video clip without interruption once they start it.
- Appearance: Choose between a Standard or Basic visual style for the audio player panel within the question.
  - The Standard appearance allows candidates to click on the playback progress bar to change their position in the audio clip.
  - The Basic appearance removes this possibility, limiting candidates to only playing and pausing (if allowed).
Test the audio/video in question preview mode to make sure that it works as intended.
It is possible to add videos in the question text, which are added in the same way as audio clips. Videos are supported in all item types, excluding documents and section stimulus. You can add multiple clips to the same question. Once a video clip is added, click its placeholder to access specific options on the right-hand side panel:
- Prompt text: You can edit the text that prompts the candidate to play the video.
- Video technical specifications:
  - Supported file types: MP4
  - Default maximum file size: 30 MB (Note: This limit is configurable per account up to 100MB. To change the file size limit, please contact the Service Desk.)
- Number of allowed playbacks: Configure how many times the video clip can be played (1 - 6, or unlimited, which is the default).
- Allow pausing during playback: Toggle this option to enable or disable the pause button. If disabled, candidates must watch the full video clip without interruption once they start it.
- Appearance: Choose between a Standard or Basic visual style for the video player panel within the question.
  - The Standard appearance allows candidates to click on the playback progress bar to change their position in the video clip.
  - The Basic appearance removes this possibility, limiting candidates to only playing and pausing (if allowed).
Tip: Test the audio/video in question preview mode to make sure that it works as intended.

Additional interaction visibility feature

The Interaction Visibility feature requires activation and is available in some question types. This feature controls when an interaction element (like an essay editor) becomes available in relation to media playback.

Always visible (default): The interaction element will be available for candidates before, during, and after playback of the media.
Show when completed: The interaction element will become available only after the media clip has finished playing.
Show when completed, autoplay alternatives: Specifically for Multiple Choice and Multiple Response question types with audio alternatives, the alternatives appear and auto-play from the top as soon as audio playback is completed.

Controlling interaction visibility is not supported for inline question types, such as Text Entry, Numeric Entry, Math Entry, and Composite.

Ensuring optimal media performance

Network speed: It is strongly recommended that your IT department conducts a speed test on access points to determine the capacity in the local network. This will enable you to calculate the maximum file size the network is capable of delivering simultaneously to a defined number of students.

More information about network speed: https://www.lifewire.com/how-fast-is-a-wifi-network-816543
Bit rate: The bit rate of a video impacts perceived load times. For instance, a video that is 30 MB and 10 seconds long may be perceived as slower to load/start than a video that is 30 MB and 5 minutes long. Higher bit rates generally result in larger file sizes but can also indicate higher quality.

Youtube has help articles that explains more about bit rates: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/1722171?hl=en

Theoretical example: A 480p video requires 2,5 Mbps to download/stream. If the router has a max capacity of 100 Mbps, this can support 40 simultaneous streams of the video (100 Mbps / 2,5 Mbps).

Candidate experience

Standard and Basic skin

The playback of audio and video is not automatic; candidates start the media by clicking on the Play button. The appearance and interaction capabilities vary based on the chosen visual style and playback options.

Visual style differences:

The standard skin (for both audio and video clips) with pausing allowed and unlimited playback enables the candidate to click on the playback progress bar to change their position in the video or audio clip. Changing position is disabled if the number of allowed playbacks is restricted.
The basic skin will remove the possibility to change position, and the candidate is only allowed to pause and unpause (if this is allowed in the playback options).