Posting Video From Home

As the use of video discussions in Schoology and elsewhere increases, there have been a lot of questions about the most effective way to do this when home Internet connections are weak.

TRUE: Not all of the file transfer procedures we use regularly are "bandwidth efficient!"

Step 1: Know your bandwidth. Try this test and this test to see what your download and upload speeds are. It is normal for upload speeds to be much lower, because we typically get more information from the Internet that we post.

Step 2: When it comes to Schoology, the phone app is the most efficient option for posting video. Make sure the app is up-to-date! In Schoology you can attach a video file from your Photos directly to a Submission or Discussion post, but you cannot record video directly.

TIP: To make your file transfers as quick as possible, turn your camera settings down so that video is being recorded at 720p/30fps or lower. The lower the settings the smaller the file!

Here's the Math: (derived using this site)

• At 720p, 1min of video = 60MB file size
• A 1MB upload speed will take 8min to upload a 60MB file

Here are additional tips for maximizing your home bandwidth.

Using the Bookmark Bar

Using bookmarks is the most efficient way to get to your go-to websites without having to use your keyboard. Save yourself time by setting up "point and click" access! Having bookmarks showing also helps you recycle your tabs so you are not overloading your computer.

1) To add bookmarks, click the star on the right end of the address bar or drag the lock/"i" icon to the left of the URL down into the Bookmark Bar. Using the star method, make sure you are putting the bookmark in the Bookmarks Bar folder.

2) Shorten the bookmark "Name" so that it is clearer and/or takes up less space. Cool Trick: If you remove the name completely, you will have a small icon only, with no text! To edit a bookmark, right-click on the button and choose "Edit."

3) Show your Bookmark Bar on all pages so you can "get to anywhere from anywhere" in one click. Click on the Chrome menu (three dots in the upper right), then point to "Bookmarks" and click "Show Bookmarks Bar." The keyboard shortcut ctrl+shift+B will also toggle this on/off.

4) To create your own drop-down lists of bookmarks, right-click an empty spot in the Bookmarks Bar and choose "Add Folder." Give the folder a name and then add bookmarks to that folder to create a list.

For complete control of your Bookmarks (Delete, sort & organize, move bookmarks from Other Bookmarks to Bookmarks Bar, etc.) open the Bookmark Manager from the Chrome menu.

Using Tabs to Speed Up Web Browsing

Using multiple tabs in your browser can help you browse multiple Internet pages simultaneously, and when used efficiently tabs can save you a LOT of time. Here are some tips:

1) Set Chrome to open your "most visited" places (gMail, Drive, Edu, etc.) all at once when you start up. To do this use Chrome's menu (three horizontal bars in the upper left,) choose Settings and then "Set Pages" in the On Startup section of settings.

2) When you are browsing, use new tabs when you need to open a new page instead of browsing "away from" something you need to keep open. You can also open links in a new tab (like a link from Edu to a Google Doc) by holding down CTRL when you click the link.

3) You may have noticed that Google Apps always opens documents in a new browser tab. While this can be convenient (your Drive is always open in a tab) it can also result in a large number of tabs open, especially if you use the "hidden arrow" to close a document and go back to your Drive. A large number of tabs can begin to slow down your browser, so here are two ways to avoid this 1) When you are done with a Google Doc, close that tab instead of going back to Drive 2) Turn off Google's tab behavior by going to your Docs settings (the gear icon) and choosing "In the current window" in the Where Items Open section.

Offline Docs are not working

One advantage of using Google Docs on your laptop is that you can work on writing (word processing) even without an Internet connection. Click Here for information about setting up your computer to use Offline Docs.

A few tips on working offline:

1) If you have had your Drive open in Chrome previously and are now offline, you will need to "refresh" to see the offline Drive page. It looks different than your online Drive.

2) You can also access your Docs offline by navigating to through the Google Drive application on your computer. Double-clicking an item in your Drive should open it in Chrome, but if it tries to open in Explorer or Firefox you will need to set Chrome as your Default Browser (open Chrome, click on the wrench int he upper right and scroll down to find the button for "Make Chrome my Default Browser")

Where can I find video online?

Here is a brief summary of options for finding and viewing video from the web:

1) Both schools subscribe to Discovery Streaming service, which has thousands of titles that can be viewed by chapter. Signing up for an account is quick and easy - please contact myself, Jen or Nancy for information and assistance.

2) YouTube is a good source for some content, but the page includes other distracting (and occasionally inappropriate) content. For a cleaner page and teacher-selected resources (many of which are on YouTube as well) visit teachertube.com. Another way to avoid extraneous content in YouTube is to use safeshare.tv, which puts a "mask" around the YouTube video as well as allowing you to crop it. Copy the URL of a youtube video and paste it in at http://www.safeshare.tv

3) Other content-specific media sites can be found at http://www.wdsdvt.net/medialinks

Regardless of the source, it is possible to download video in advance from most of these sites. This will always be a "sure thing" vs. relying on an Internet stream. All of our teacher computers have the Download Helper plugin loaded into Firefox - click on the spinning, colorful icon to the left of the address bar to see your download options. Most online video is in Flash format (.flv files) and will play on any of our computers in VLC player. PLEASE do not save video into your network folder: keep them on your computer or use the Media Storage folders on our networks.

As always, please contact Eric with questions or for assistance with any of these sites or applications.

"Page Cannot Be Displayed"

Q: Why do I see "Page Cannot be Displayed" when I go the the web? Is the server down?

A: The browser message "Page Cannot Be Displayed" or "Server Not Found" indicates that your browser could not connect to the site you were trying to go to. If this message comes up when you first open the browser (Firefox, Internet Explorer or Safari) it could indicate a connection issue, and mis-typed address, an outdated address or a web server that is temporarily offline or having traffic issues.

T: If you are using an eMac (white Apple computer) there is a "known issue" involving the network cards not waking up quickly. It is best to wait 30+ seconds after waking up your eMac before trying to go to a web site. If your browser opens up to your home page but then you get the "Server Not Found" message when trying to go somewhere else, try going to a known site (Google) to make sure you have a good connection to the Internet.