How to Embed a Video and Start It at a Specific Time in Moodle
Hello, I’m Chris Richter, and welcome back! Today, we’re going to look at how you can easily embed a video in Moodle and set it to start at a specific time. This feature is particularly useful if you’re working with long videos, like a one-hour lecture, and want to ensure your students start watching at the most relevant part of the video without having to scroll or watch unnecessary introductory material.
Let’s say you’ve found a great video that you want your students to watch, but the important content doesn’t begin until 15 minutes and 34 seconds into the video. You don’t want your students to sit through the whole introduction before getting to the core information. Instead, you want to provide them with a direct link that will open the video and begin playing right at that specific point.
This tutorial will show you exactly how to do that with ease.
Why Start a Video at a Specific Time?
Embedding a video to start at a specific time is incredibly helpful in educational settings. By doing this, you eliminate the possibility of students watching irrelevant material or getting confused about where they should start. It saves time, reduces the risk of errors, and makes the learning process more efficient.
Before we dive into the steps, I encourage you to check out some of my other resources on Moodle and online education. I have courses that cover a wide range of topics, from embedding videos to understanding the full potential of Moodle for your online learning environment.
Steps to Embed a Video with a Custom Start Time
Let’s get started by embedding a video in Moodle and ensuring it starts at the right time.
- Select Your Video: Start by finding the video you want to embed. For this demonstration, I’ll use one of my existing YouTube videos titled Uploading vs Embedding Videos in Moodle. The part I want to highlight starts at 3 minutes and 25 seconds.
- Choose the Embed Code:
- Click on the “Share” button under the YouTube video.
- Select “Embed”.
- Look for the option that says “Start at” and enter the time you want the video to begin (in this case, 3:25).
- When you tick the “Start at” checkbox, it will automatically append some additional information to the video’s URL. This added information specifies the exact start time in seconds (for 3:25, the time is 205 seconds).
- Copy the Embed Code: After setting the start time, copy the embed code provided by YouTube. You’ll see a URL that contains a “start” parameter with the time in seconds (e.g.,
start=205). - Embed the Code in Moodle:
- Go to the Moodle course where you want to embed the video.
- Open the page or activity where you want to place the video.
- Paste the embed code into the content area.
- Save and display the page.
Now, when your students view the video, it will automatically start at 3:25, skipping the introduction and jumping straight to the key content. It’s that simple!
Quick Recap
- Go to the video you want to embed.
- Select the time you want the video to start from.
- Click “Share” and then “Embed”.
- Tick the “Start at” box and copy the embed code.
- Paste the embed code into your Moodle course and save.
And that’s it! Now you have a video embedded that starts at the exact point you want. It’s a quick and easy process that can save your students time and enhance their learning experience.
I hope you found this tutorial helpful. If you’re interested in learning more about online education and Moodle, check out my courses. I’ll talk to you again soon!
