In this video I will be showing you how to add files from outside of D2L to your EPortfolio.
The system allows you to connect links to outside websites, embed video files, and add documents from your OneNote and Google Drive account.
We will be covering each of these in depth later, but for the moment I want to remind you of a couple of things.
First, make sure you have permissions to post anything you are linking to.
Just like with academic writing, it is important to cite sources, or summarize/paraphrase work so that it becomes your own.
If you are linking to something outside of your EPortfolio, then consider why you feel the need to do this: is it your own content that you can’t add to the EPortfolio any other way?
Is it important that viewers see where the content is coming from?
Does it add to representing your learning and skills?
If the answer to any of these questions is yes, continue watching for more information.
In this video we will cover how to insert a link to an outside website and embed a video file.
The link discussion will begin at around the 1:30 mark.
The video discussion will begin around the 5:05 mark.
I will be covering importing artifacts from Google Drive and OneNote in a separate video.
We will start with linking to an outside website, like a personal Wordpress account, or the homepage for an organization.
For this example, I will be using the url for the MT Engage homepage.
Please have the url copied before you start.
The first thing you need to do is decide where this link will show up in your work.
If you have a template from an instructor, please watch the “Using a Template from an Instructor” video on how to navigate the template.
If you do not have a template, you can watch the “Creating a New Presentation” video, or the “Uploading and Using the MT Engage Scholarship template” video.
I am going to create a new text area to add my link in, on the template I am currently on.
First, I will select the add component button at the bottom right side of the page.
Then I will select the text area button from the newly created drop down menu.
First I will name the content area link, then I will click on the text area.
You will notice there are three buttons in the upper left-hand corner of the dialogue box: a black box with a white right-facing triangle, a chain of three links, and a circular symbol.
The chain is the insert link button, which I’m going to select.
The new dialogue box that appears will give you several options, like adding from google, your one drive, and a url.
I am going to select the url.
On the next screen I will paste the url I am planning on inserting into the upper box, and then type the text I want the url to appear as underneath.
When creating the url text, consider this: labeling links with clear and concise titles makes them easier to find and use when others are viewing your presentation.
Simply calling a link “click here” doesn’t give your reader a good understanding of what the link does.
Consider something clearer, like “link to MTSU’s homepage.”
Once you have the link text, you can insert it into your presentation.
Once inserted, you can make adjustments to the link, like changing font, size, and indenting.
If you type around the link, all the text will be linked as well, so I would also recommend typing your desired information before adding the link to the text.
You can also add a link to existing text.
Once you finish typing, highlight the text you want to be a link, and again click the link in the upper left corner.
Select url, and paste the link into the next screen.
Since you have highlighted text, which should be in your link text box, you can insert immediately.
Please make sure you check all links before submitting your work, by selecting the “View Presentation” button directly under the title of the presentation, in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.
Next we are going to embed a YouTube video file.
These same directions apply for any video streaming platform, but I am going to use YouTube and a video from MTSU’s Walker Library for this example.
The video is called, “Walker Library JEWL Search: an Introduction” if you want to follow along.
The first thing we will need to do is visit the video’s website.
Somewhere on the screen, for YouTube it is the row of tabs directly under the video, there should be a share button.
When you select the share button you will be given several options, most of which are social media platforms: you cannot use these.
You want the embed code, on YouTube it is the first option.
Once you select the embed code, a new screen will appear with the video to the left and a long string of code to the right.
We are going to select all of the code and copy it.
There are some options available under the code for how the video will play, what will play after, and if you want to start from a specific part of the video.
You can make those selections based off what you want to happen.
Now that I have the link, I will return to D2L.
In my presentation, I am going to select the add component button on the bottom right corner of the screen, find the text area button, and select that.
First I will name the content area YouTube Video, then I will click on the text area.
You will notice there are three buttons in the upper left-hand corner of the dialogue box: a black box with a white right-facing triangle, a chain of three links, and a circular symbol.
The box with the triangle in it is the insert stuff button, which I’m going to select.
The new dialogue box that appears will give you several options, like adding from google, your one drive, and an embed code.
I am going to select the embed code.
A new dialogue box will appear with a space to add the code.
Once you have pasted the code in the dialogue box you will select next.
In this new screen there should be nothing you need to do but select the insert button at the bottom left corner.
Now your video should be in your presentation.
From here you can move or center the video using the return/enter key to move down, the backspace key to move up, or the indent and outdent buttons at the top of the page to move left or right.
I suggest not typing in this box, because the video takes up a lot of the space you have in your textbox, but if you like you can type above or below the video.
Please make sure you check all links before submitting your work, by selecting the “View Presentation” button directly under the title of the presentation, in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.
