Share audio and video using Google Drive
Did you know?
When you upload certain media files to Google Drive, it processes them in such a way that they can be played back right in the browser – sort of like YouTube. This is why we recommend uploading larger media files to Google Drive instead of D2L Brightspace.
Limit how your files are shared
It is possible to limit how students share, print, download, and copy within Google Drive, (external link) but you can't stop how students share the file content in other ways (e.g. screenshots, recording the screen). You can only limit individual files, not entire folders.
If you are sharing an audio-embedded PowerPoint presentation, you will need to allow students to download the file to view the slideshow properly.
Support
Digital Media Projects does not provide technical support for Google Workspace. For technical support, please contact:
- Email: help@torontomu.ca
- Faculty & Staff Support:
(416) 979 - 5000 ext. 556806
- Student Support:
(416) 979 - 5000 ext. 556840
Google Drive can be found in my.torontomu.ca, under "Apps".
If you've decided to use Google Drive to share resources with your students, we recommend you start by creating a shared class folder on Google Drive. If you already have one, you can proceed to the next step.
This folder can be shared with your class Google Group - this is a group whose members are the students in your class. The students will automatically be added/dropped from the group as they add/drop your section. A Google Group is automatically created when you request your Course Shell.
Next, create a folder (or a series of folders) in Google Drive and set the sharing permissions so that your Google Group has either Viewer or Editor access.
- Go to your class shared folder in Google Drive.
- Click the "New" button in the top-left corner.
- Click "File upload".
- Locate the file you want to upload from the folders on your computer.
- Click "Open" to begin the upload process.
After the upload has completed, Google will process the audio/video file so that it can be played directly in Google Drive. This may take some time to complete.
If you have a caption file (.srt or .sub) or a transcript file (.vtt) for your video, you can apply it to the video after it has been uploaded to Google Drive (external link) .
Once the file has been uploaded, you will need to get the link so that you can easily direct your students to play it (via D2L Brightspace, email, etc.).
- In Google Drive, double-click the audio/video file so that it opens in the preview window.
- Find and click click the icon with three vertical dots, in the upper-right corner.
- From the menu, select “Open in new window”. This will open a similar looking window in a new tab.
- Copy the contents of the address bar, at the top of the browser. This is the address that should be shared with your students.
- Login to D2L Brightspace, enter your course shell, and go to the Contents tool.
- If you already have a module in which you would like to share the audio/video link, go into that module. If not, create a new module.
- Click the "Upload / Create" button, then "Create a link".
- Give the new link a title, then paste the address of your Google Drive file into the "URL" field.
- You may need to check the box "Open as External Resource" if your files are located in a Google Shared Drive or if you are linking to a folder. Otherwise, you may choose to leave this unchecked.
- Click the "Create" button.
As long as the Google Drive folder has been properly shared and the students are only logged in with their TMU Google account, the audio/video should play directly in D2L Brightspace.
Instructors often ask why we recommend uploading video content to Google Drive, then linking it to D2L Brightspace instead of simply uploading it directly to D2L Brightspace.
Please visit our Video streaming hosting comparison guide, which outlines a number of criteria that guide our recommendations. Hopefully, they can help you to decide which solution is best for you!
We've heard from many instructors who would like to share content, but prevent it from being downloaded by the students.
This isn't something that can be set on an entire folder - you need to enable it on each item.
This will not prevent students from recording their screens, taking photos/screenshots or copying and pasting sections of text.
This setting does not disable downloading for those with edit access to the item.
Create or upload an item into your shared Google drive folder.
Select the item you would like to share. A toolbar will appear below the folder name. Select the Share button.
Within the sharing pop-up, look to the top-right and select the Settings button.
Some new options will appear. Uncheck the option Viewers and commenters can see the option to download, print and copy.
Select the back button (left arrow) to go back to the sharing settings and select Done.
Once you have created content and folders in Google Drive and set the sharing settings so that your students can access them, how do you provide them with the links?
We recommend posting the links to your class Google resources and activities to the Content tool in D2L Brightspace. This is an ideal place to collect all class resources so students can easily find them.
You may also choose to provide links via email or other tools in Brightspace, like Announcements... but we recommend also having the links available in the Content.
Copy the link from Google
You can select folders and items, and then select the Copy Link from the toolbar that appears. This toolbar appears below the folder name, and sometimes to the right of the item you are selecting. Alternatively, right click on the folder or item, and then select Share, and then Copy Link.
There is a slightly different process required for embedding multimedia files from Google, which we have outlined in our document on sharing audio and video from Google.
Once you have the link copied, you can proceed to the sharing steps!
"Create a Link" in the Brightspace Content tool
- Login to D2L Brightspace, enter your course shell, and go to the Contents tool.
- If you already have a module in which you would like to share the audio/video link, go into that module. If not, create a new module.
- Click the "Upload / Create" button, then "Create a link".
- Give the new link a title, then paste the address of your Google Drive file into the "URL" field.
- You may need to check the box "Open as External Resource" if your files are located in a Google Shared Drive or if you are linking to a folder. Otherwise, you may choose to leave this unchecked.
- Click the "Create" button.
As long as the Google Drive folder has been properly shared and the students are only logged in with their TMU Google account, the audio/video should play directly in D2L Brightspace.
Are your students emailing you to request access to a Google document that you know you have already shared with the class?
It may be that the student has another Google account that is conflicting with their Toronto Metropolitan University account, and is preventing them from accessing your shared resources.
Here is a workflow that should prevent this problem.
These instructions can also be found on the student guide to accessing content in D2L Brightspace - please feel free to share it with them.
Recommendation: Use a separate browser for your TMU account and personal accounts. We recommend using Google Chrome for all TMU related applications. Consider using Mozilla Firefox or Safari for personal accounts.
Otherwise, these steps will help to ensure you can access content that is shared with you from Google Drive.
- Go to google.com (external link) and select the user icon in the top-right corner. This pop-up will tell you which account you are currently logged into, and give you the option to logout or add your TMU account to this list.
- You can either select:
- Sign out of all accounts. This quick method is useful for a one-time access of materials, but adding your TMU account will ensure your access isn't impeded long-term. If your course relies heavily on materials shared from Google Drive, adding your TMU account may be the better option.
- Or you can Add another account, and then proceed to login using your TMU email address and password.
In this example, you can see the person is both logged into their personal and TMU account.
- Go to my.torontomu.ca and log out completely. You must restart the login process from the beginning.
- After logging out, log back in at my.torontomu.ca. Complete the remaining steps within 30 minutes.
- Select the Apps drawer and open Google Drive, just to ensure you have a new session in your TMU Google account.
- Proceed to the page or application from which you are trying to access shared Google content (D2L Brightspace, email, or another application used in your course).
Google Workspace general information
Google Workspace is the university's official email, calendar & file storage platform, which includes Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Meet, and more.