Update: Work Around for YouTube Videos & Emedded Video Issues

Bb 9.1 Information for Faculty

As indicated in a previous blog post, if you attempt to edit an existing embedded video in Bb, the video will no longer display correctly on your page, and all content below the video will disappear when viewed by a student. While researching this issue, Blackboard found another problem with other embedded videos in Blackboard.

The following are workarounds and updates issued by Blackboard regarding both of these issues:

If you use YouTube videos in your Bb course sites, part 1 applies to you. If you use ANY other videos in your Bb course site, part 2 applies to you.

Part 1 - YouTube videos
There are 3 methods to display video in Bb. BEFORE YOU TRY ANY OF THE STEPS BELOW, PLEASE CONFIRM WHETHER YOUR VIDEOS ARE WORKING.

The Solutions for the 3 methods of posting YouTube videos in Bb:

Method 1: Copy and paste the URL directly from YouTube and create within a content area.

Edit the content item that contains the YouTube video.

• Click the radio button for "open in a new window" = YES.
• By opening a new window, YouTube will now display. This is true for ALL links in ALL content types.
• Submit.

Method 2: Copy and Paste the embed code from YouTube.

• Find the video that you want on YouTube.
• Click the Embed button.
• Click the "use old embed code" check box that appears below the video
• Re-embed the code in your Bb course content area.
  

Part 2: Any video embedded in Blackboard

You may embed video code from almost any site, or video streaming server in your Bb content areas. While researching the YouTube problem described above, we found the following.

The Problem: if you attempt to edit an existing embedded video in Bb, the video will no longer display correctly on your page, and all content below the video will disappear when viewed by a student.

The Solution: place any text or other information that goes along with an embedded video in the content item the first time. Do not return to edit the content item that contains the video.
If you must return to edit and existing embedded video... delete the item and create it new.

Resolution:this issue is targeted to be fixed in Release 9.1 Service Pack 5 as bug number AS-155459. This maintenance release is scheduled for around April 2011. Given the breadth of clients impacted by this issue, we are investigation the option of a patch or an updated building block. If one is feasible we will publish it as a Support Bulletin on Behind the Blackboard and update this article accordingly.