I need information on how to bookmark a video file so the learner can get back to the place where they left off instead of restarting and locating where they last left off.
When a learner exits a slide that has a video on it, the default resume behavior is that the slide will reset to the beginning of the video. The only way to save the progress is by going to the next slide.
However, there is a workaround that should work for what you need. It's explained in more detail here, but the basic idea is this:
Change the player's behavior, so it returns the learner to where they left off.
Create a "Save" button on the same slide as the video. That button should take them to another slide, which will save their progress if they close the course.
Let me know if you have any questions about those steps!
It appears that this won't work if the Storyline Slides are published to Review 360 and uploaded as a Storyline Block in Rise. Would you please you confirm that it won't work in this example.
Are there any updates to the status of bookmarking of videos (mp4s) within one Storyline 360 slide? I have a course that is just a straight video for learners. Is there any way at all to have the exported zip file/packaged content bookmark the learners exact location within the video (assuming I do not include a SAVE button)?
The resume behavior for videos still hasn't changed. You'll still need to navigate away from the slide with the video on top of selecting the proper slide revisit behavior to properly bookmark the learner's progress for watching videos.
I'll let other members of the community chime in so they can share their solutions for a similar design requirement.
Like Dante, I too have a need to be able to bookmark a video in Storyline. And, the 'course' is basically a video. I'll actually end up with a lot of this type of activity. What I've done as a workaround is to publish the video as SCORM output itself using Camtasia, zip that output and import to the LMS. Then I take the URL for that content directly within the LMS and link it to a button in SL. Now I just assign the SL course, the learners launches it and then chooses to view the video or the resource materials that go along with it. Since the video itself is SCORM it bookmarks with my LMS just fine, even when launched with the single slide SL course that doesn't actually contain the video.
Another option I've done in the past is to 'chop up' the video into 5 minute segments and embed those onto successive slides in SL with auto advance. At least it'll bookmark to the 5 minute increments. But that is a lot of work and still not precise on bookmarking.
BUT, it would be great if the Articulate team could figure out an option to natively bookmark a video within SL, on a single slide.
As a side note, if I publish the video as SCORM output in Camtasia I could just assign that directly to the learner and job done, no need for SL. BUT, as you can see in the image, I also want to have some other supporting materials available but don't want to clutter learner screens in the LMS by assigning so many different things. Creating this process using SL at least helps to keep the learner experience simple. But, as developers and LMS admins we'd also like to have a simple life. :-)
I frequently have single videos (mp4) that I create in Camtasia and import into Storyline and export as SCORM. But, as mentioned, I have to break up the video into smaller, shorter chunks as a solution and use a trigger to save Advance to Next Slide when Media Completes and them put in a seamless transition. It's a decent workaround.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us and the steps you're taking when working with video courses! All great suggestions!
I just want to pop in here to let you know that we have an active feature request to allow learners to resume a Storyline video after closing it; I added your voice, and we'll let you know if there are any updates to it.
In the meantime, I'd like to share another way to resume a video in a Storyline slide, which proved helpful for other authors. This is similar to what Sarah suggested above. You can create a Save button that jumps to another slide and returns to the video. Jumping to another slide within the same project allows Storyline to save the last location of a video and resume later.
Let me know if you need help executing this in your project; I'm happy to assist further as needed!
I appreciate you sharing what works for you, Sarah! Just a quick note that replying via email includes your signature with the phone numbers here, so you are welcome to edit the post and remove that information if you wish.
After putzing around a bit more with this, I've settled on something much more simplistic for my situation when I have a video + a slide deck (or just a video for that matter). Rather than creating a single slide SL project that links to the video, I am now only using Camtasia to publish the video as SCORM and importing that directly to the LMS. In the 'course' description in the LMS I am including a hyperlink to the deck if folks want to open that up while reviewing the training session recording. It ends up cleaner for learners and zero extra overhead for me.
So what this amounts to is not using SL at all for this particular content. This works great for those times when you just want a video, and to be able to have it bookmark. No need to create a SL project with buttons and multiple slides when all you want to do is make a video available.
Later on when Articulate figures this out, I'll be happy to utilize my favorite tool (SL) for all my projects.
Excellent point! I've used this approach as well. When learners close out or leave the course by closing the window without clicking the Save button first, I run into problems.
Thank you for all the suggestions and guidance as they are much appreciated!
12 Replies
Hi, Dante, and welcome to E-Learning Heroes! ✨
I'm happy to help!
When a learner exits a slide that has a video on it, the default resume behavior is that the slide will reset to the beginning of the video. The only way to save the progress is by going to the next slide.
However, there is a workaround that should work for what you need. It's explained in more detail here, but the basic idea is this:
Let me know if you have any questions about those steps!
Thanks, Maria. The video is the sole content for this course. So, I'm not sure if this workaround will work.
It appears that this won't work if the Storyline Slides are published to Review 360 and uploaded as a Storyline Block in Rise. Would you please you confirm that it won't work in this example.
Hi, Mary.
You are correct: Storyline courses in Rise 360 always start over from the beginning when learners revisit them.
You can take a look at this FAQ for additional information:
I hope this helps!
Are there any updates to the status of bookmarking of videos (mp4s) within one Storyline 360 slide? I have a course that is just a straight video for learners. Is there any way at all to have the exported zip file/packaged content bookmark the learners exact location within the video (assuming I do not include a SAVE button)?
Hi Sarah,
The resume behavior for videos still hasn't changed. You'll still need to navigate away from the slide with the video on top of selecting the proper slide revisit behavior to properly bookmark the learner's progress for watching videos.
I'll let other members of the community chime in so they can share their solutions for a similar design requirement.
Like Dante, I too have a need to be able to bookmark a video in Storyline. And, the 'course' is basically a video. I'll actually end up with a lot of this type of activity. What I've done as a workaround is to publish the video as SCORM output itself using Camtasia, zip that output and import to the LMS. Then I take the URL for that content directly within the LMS and link it to a button in SL. Now I just assign the SL course, the learners launches it and then chooses to view the video or the resource materials that go along with it. Since the video itself is SCORM it bookmarks with my LMS just fine, even when launched with the single slide SL course that doesn't actually contain the video.
Another option I've done in the past is to 'chop up' the video into 5 minute segments and embed those onto successive slides in SL with auto advance. At least it'll bookmark to the 5 minute increments. But that is a lot of work and still not precise on bookmarking.
BUT, it would be great if the Articulate team could figure out an option to natively bookmark a video within SL, on a single slide.
As a side note, if I publish the video as SCORM output in Camtasia I could just assign that directly to the learner and job done, no need for SL. BUT, as you can see in the image, I also want to have some other supporting materials available but don't want to clutter learner screens in the LMS by assigning so many different things. Creating this process using SL at least helps to keep the learner experience simple. But, as developers and LMS admins we'd also like to have a simple life. :-)
I frequently have single videos (mp4) that I create in Camtasia and import into Storyline and export as SCORM. But, as mentioned, I have to break up the video into smaller, shorter chunks as a solution and use a trigger to save Advance to Next Slide when Media Completes and them put in a seamless transition. It's a decent workaround.
Sarah Heberle
Hello Duane!
Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us and the steps you're taking when working with video courses! All great suggestions!
I just want to pop in here to let you know that we have an active feature request to allow learners to resume a Storyline video after closing it; I added your voice, and we'll let you know if there are any updates to it.
In the meantime, I'd like to share another way to resume a video in a Storyline slide, which proved helpful for other authors. This is similar to what Sarah suggested above. You can create a Save button that jumps to another slide and returns to the video. Jumping to another slide within the same project allows Storyline to save the last location of a video and resume later.
Let me know if you need help executing this in your project; I'm happy to assist further as needed!
I appreciate you sharing what works for you, Sarah! Just a quick note that replying via email includes your signature with the phone numbers here, so you are welcome to edit the post and remove that information if you wish.
After putzing around a bit more with this, I've settled on something much more simplistic for my situation when I have a video + a slide deck (or just a video for that matter). Rather than creating a single slide SL project that links to the video, I am now only using Camtasia to publish the video as SCORM and importing that directly to the LMS. In the 'course' description in the LMS I am including a hyperlink to the deck if folks want to open that up while reviewing the training session recording. It ends up cleaner for learners and zero extra overhead for me.
So what this amounts to is not using SL at all for this particular content. This works great for those times when you just want a video, and to be able to have it bookmark. No need to create a SL project with buttons and multiple slides when all you want to do is make a video available.
Later on when Articulate figures this out, I'll be happy to utilize my favorite tool (SL) for all my projects.
Excellent point! I've used this approach as well. When learners close out or leave the course by closing the window without clicking the Save button first, I run into problems.
Thank you for all the suggestions and guidance as they are much appreciated!
Sarah Heberle