Embedding Files

Owned by Stuart McCulley
Last updated: Mar 04, 2024
9 min read

There are various types of files that can be embedded directly into the Brightspace Content area. Each have their own way of being embedded into Brightspace, either through Add Existing or Create New → HTML Document.

Some files can be embedded directly into the Content Area with full or limited functionality, or they can be embedded as a link.

PDFs

PDFs can be embedded directly into Content or they can be added as a link in an HTML document. The two options depend on how an instructor wishes to display their content.

Embedding a PDF directly into Content

There are two ways to embed a PDF into the Content area.

Option 1:

  1. Drag and drop the PDF file from wherever it is stored on the computer directly into the Table of Contents on the left of the Content area.

    PDF file hovering over Lesson 1 folder in Table of Contents
    PDF dragged from documents onto folder

     

  2. The PDF will automatically upload into the Content area into the folder you dragged it to.

    PDF inserted into Content under Lessons folder
    PDF now within the folder

 

Option 2:

  1. Select the content item you would like to embed the PDF under, and click the Add Existing button.

     

  2. Either drag and drop the PDF file from your C: Drive or My Documents, or click browse to browse files on your computer.

 

The PDF will become embedded in the Content area. You can organize it as you’d like. See Designing and Organizing Materials in Content for some tips on organizing content.

Embedding a PDF from an online source as a link

  1. Create an HTML Document or edit an existing HTML Document content item. Learn more about how to create HTML documents and their versatility here: HTML Documents

  2. In the HTML Document editor, paste the link to the PDF in the Page Content. It will automatically become a link.

  3. If you wish to change what the link says (as opposed to the URL address), click the link and then click the Edit Link icon. You will be given the option to change the title. Click Update to secure the change.

Word Documents

It’s entirely possible that an instructor has a syllabus or lecture material in the form of a Word Document as opposed to a PDF. The steps to embedding a Word Document are essentially the same as a PDF.

Upon being embedded, Word Documents are displayed as PDFs in the Content area. Students are not able to edit it, they can only view.

There are two ways to embed a Word Document into the Content area.

Option 1:

  1. Drag and drop the Word Document file from wherever it is stored on the computer directly into the Table of Contents on the left of the Content area.

     

  2. The Word Document will automatically upload into the Content area as a PDF into the folder you dragged it to.

 

Option 2:

  1. Select the content item you would like to embed the Word Document under, and click the Add Existing button.

     

  2. Either drag and drop the Word Document file from your C: Drive or My Documents, or click browse to browse files on your computer.

     

The Word Document will become embedded in the Content area as a PDF. You can organize it as you’d like. See Designing and Organizing Materials in Content for some tips on organizing content.

YuJa Videos

YuJa is the main platform for Brock’s instructors to create, edit, and store lecture recordings and other video content. Instructions for embedding YuJa videos can be found in our CPI documentation on embedding YuJa videos.

YouTube Videos

Many instructors find it useful to include YouTube videos in their lecture content. While it is possible to simply cut and paste a YouTube URL into the Page Content area of an HTML Document, there is also a simple way of embedding the video directly into the content.

  1. Create an HTML Document or edit an existing HTML Document content item. Learn more about how to create HTML documents and their versatility here: HTML Documents

  2. In the Page Content text-editor, select Insert Stuff and scroll to the bottom of the list. YouTube is near the bottom, click it.

     

     

  3. You will be prompted to search for the video. You can either paste in the URL if you have it or search by title. Once the appropriate video is selected, click Next in the bottom left-hand corner of the window.

     

  4. You are brought to a Preview page detailing the YouTube video URL, as well as the dimension sizes for the window being embedded. Click Insert in the bottom left-hand corner of the window.

     

  5. Once inserted, the embedded YouTube video will appear in the HTML Document Page Content. It can be played directly from the Content section.

PowerPoints

Brightspace’s first instinct when embedding a Powerpoint is to convert the slideshow into a PDF. While this may be suitable under certain circumstances, it is understandably frustrating that PowerPoints lose all interactivity by default. Below are steps outlining two ways to insert PowerPoint files, one that converts to a PDF and one that sustains the PPT file format.

Embedding as a PDF

There are two ways to embed a PowerPoint as a PDF into the Content area.

Option 1:

  1. Drag and drop the PowerPoint file from wherever it is stored on the computer directly into the Table of Contents on the left of the Content area.

     

  2. The PowerPoint will automatically upload into the Content area as a PDF into the folder you dragged it to.

 

Option 2:

  1. Select the content item you would like to embed the PowerPoint under, and click the Add Existing button.

     

  2. Either drag and drop the PowerPoint file from your C: Drive or My Documents, or click browse to browse files on your computer.

     

The PowerPoint will become embedded in the Content area as a scroll-able PDF. You can organize it as you’d like. See Designing and Organizing Materials in Content for some tips on organizing content.

Embedding as a Video

You can use this to record a lecture with audio, slide timing, graphics, etc. Microsoft provides a detailed step-by-step article explaining how to save a PowerPoint presentation as a video.

Embedding as a Downloadable Link

If a PowerPoint is uploaded to Content, it is embedded as a pdf, but the original .pptx file is saved in Course Files. This file can be linked to from content for students to download.

Embedding via Sharepoint

If Powerpoint files are stored online in a Brock Sharepoint site, or in another file sharing system that has the ability to share access publicly (which is not the case with Brock OneDrive), they can be made “shareable”, and then embedded into the Content area.

Keeping the Original File-type Intact

Some instructors may find it inconvenient that Brightspace converts most file types to PDFs upon being embedded. Fortunately, instructors can create downloadable links in the content area which can grant students the ability to download the original file-type.

 

Please contact CPI at edtech@brocku.ca with any questions or comments about the contents of this site.