3 Ways to Link to Audio in the Classroom

Did you know there are three ways to link to an audio file in your Moodle classroom? Each of the ways provides a filter that will automatically display controls to play your audio file in the classroom. It's very handy if you're creating podcasts, playing subject-related music or news broadcasts and want your students to have access to them online/outside of school.

Here's a quick run down. Hit the link below to see them in action on GlobalClassroom.us (or if you just want to listen to Vanilla Ice...):

1. upload it to your course files and then copy the link (the destination URL, which will end with .mp3). Create a hyperlink anywhere within your Moodle course and paste that URL. Moodle will automatically create a filter with audio controls for a file that ends in .mp3.

2. edit a web page or the description of an activity, click text you'd like to turn into a hyperlink, click browse, upload the file to the course files, once uploaded click the file. This will produce the same result as 1. (Below is what the audio player looks like.)
3. "add a resource", and choose "link to a file or website". Give the resource a title, and below the "Location" text box click "choose or upload a file..." Navigate again to site files by clicking browse and choose/upload the mp3 (this will show a mp3 icon on the main course page but will open the player as a new window). Instead of browsing you also can paste any mp3 URL copied from another website or from your course files to create a playable audio file (paste the URL into the "Location" text field).

Above is an image of editing a "link to a file or website" resource.

Check out this basic Moodle example which showcases each way.

You might also be interested in how this works for video, or the difference between linking to a file in your Moodle course by hyperlink vs. using the "link to a file or website" resource.