Video Step
Benny Jekel avatar
Written by Benny Jekel
Updated over a week ago

A video step simply displays a video to the learner.

Video steps are fundamental for most Sims within SimTutor. Their most common uses are...

  • An efficient way of presenting information to a learner

  • Video inserted between learner-prompted tasks in a scenario

  • Showing the learner the result of their decision

  • Transitions

We recommend using programs such as Adobe Premiere Pro/Final Cut Pro, or one of the many free alternatives, to edit your videos externally.

How to create a Video Step (Basic Details)

  1. Click the "+ Add Step" Button.

  2. Click on "Video."

  3. Give your Video Step a name so that you can can distinguish the step in editor mode. This step name is not displayed to the learner - only for your reference. You must have a step name before you can add the step.

  4. Upload a video by dragging and dropping one from your computer, dragging and dropping from the library, or clicking "Browse for files" and selecting the desired file. This accepts .MOV and .MP4 Video Formats. (Max size of 500mb)
    We also recommend uploading your video into the library tab, as this will upload in the background.

  5. Click Add.

Information around uploading videos.

Uploading into the Library

SimTutor automatically compresses any video uploaded, up to a maximum of 500mb. Much like a video site such as YouTube, SimTutor displays the most appropriate video quality based on the end user's type of connection.

Around 10mbps is roughly the highest quality video we will present to the end user. Any quality higher than that will be compressed.

We suggest uploading video to the Library rather than directly into the step, as this allows you to continue working in SimTutor while the video uploads in the background. Once complete, you can instantly drag and drop it into the video step. This also allows you to upload many videos at once. Check out the Library support page for more detail on this.

Closed Captioning

After uploading a video, it will appear in the Library. Hover over the video you wish to add the caption file to, then click edit properties button (shown below).

mceclip0.png

This will open an area that you can upload your .vtt file.

mceclip1.png

A .vtt file is a subtitle format we use, and it can be created using online apps, or even with a simple text editor.

Below is an example .vtt compatible file. You can copy and edit the below text into a 'Notepad' application on your computer, and save it as filename.vtt.

WEBVTT100:00:00.500 --> 00:00:03.500SimTutor Author can now be used within Microsoft Teams200:00:03.500 --> 00:00:8.000This new integration allows for the entire SimTutor author platform to be accessed300:00:08.000 --> 00:00:11.000Allowing for powerful collaboration for creating sims400:00:11.000 --> 00:00:15.000Or an even easier way for distributing finished training to your learners.

The timestamp in the upper line of the subtitle defines the start and end point of that subtitle, and the lower text is the text that displays. e.g. from 0.5 sec to 3.5 sec, the text "SimTutor Author can now be used within Microsoft Teams" will display.

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