Working with ACCLAiM

ACCLAiM is a collaborative venture between medical schools in Australia and New Zealand that focuses on benchmarking graduate outcomes in the clinical domain. The ACCLAiM portal provides several key aspects of functionality, which are detailed below.

Getting started

Make sure you have perused the documentation on Logging in and have authenticated to ACCLAiM. The following documentation covers topics related to ACCLAiM-specific functionality. For all other information about content management and other general functionality, see Adding and editing content and subsequent pages.

Creating and managing forms

For full details about how to manage online forms, see Creating online forms. This documentation includes how to create forms, add and modify form fields, and work with captured data.

Working with videos

Videos can be uploaded to the site following the same methodology as creating any other content. It will be helpful for you to review the documentation on Adding and editing content first before proceeding, as this will help you understand the basics of content management.

Adding a new video

Important

Because the ACCLAiM site is designed for examiner training, you should take care when adding information to the uploaded video. Aspects like the title and summary are displayed to users and thus you should take care not to give away the expected results. For example, use more generic names about training stations and video numbers rather than explaining what grade the video pertains to.

  1. Browse to the location in the site you wish to add the video.

  2. Click Add new ‣ Video.

  3. Add suitable metadata to the video, including a title and a summary of the content of the video. Pay attention to the important note above.

  4. Choose the Video File to upload from your computer. See Technical suggestions for details on formats and settings.

  5. Configure the width and height for the video display in pixels. This is the size at which the video will be shown on the page initially, and users have the ability to make the video full-screen on their device. Smaller settings (or using the defaults) is suggested for mobile users.

  6. Ignore the YouTube URL and Subtitle file fields.

  7. Add any rich text you would like to be displayed underneath the video into the Transcript area. This could include images, links, or to other sites that might relate to the video.

    In particular, adding a link to a given form the user needs to fill out is especially useful, and you may wish to configure the link to open in a new window, for ease of use by a visitor.

  8. Configure any other metadata required. See Setting advanced metadata properties for more information.

  9. Click the Save button to create your video content item. This content item can now be linked to, shared, and otherwise used as any other piece of content on the site.

Technical suggestions

  • Videos must be uploaded in .mp4 format for maximum compatibility with a viewer’s browser (standard H264 video codec and AAC audio codec). Without this configuration, videos are likely to fail to play or may exhibit unusual behaviour.
  • Viewers may be looking at your video on many different devices, so a high level of video compression (or a lower video bitrate) is recommended. Contact your video production or technical staff for more information.
  • Maximum resolution of around 720p should be sufficient for both a detailed experience on desktop browsers, but small enough for viewing on mobile devices as well.
  • ACCLAiM uses MediaElement.js to integrate the playback of videos in the site. This open-source project aims to enable HTML5 video support in a common fashion across all browsers and devices. For browsers and platforms that lack H264 capabilities, either a Flash-based or Silverlight-based player will be used as a fallback.
  • Blank video playback or videos failing to play at all are likely an indicator of incorrect video or audio codecs present within your uploaded video. Check the codec information using a program like VLC Media Player or the command-line avprobe on Mac or Linux and confirm as per the Technical suggestions above.

Editing a video

  1. Browse to the location in the site you wish to modify.
  2. Click the Edit link on the page.
  3. Modify the relevant settings on the page. For example, you could upload a new version of a video or change the video’s title or description.
  4. Click Save to make your changes.

Viewing a video

Note

If you experience issues with displaying a video, check to make sure you’re using the latest version of your browser. For platforms that do not support MP4 natively (earlier versions of Internet Explorer and some Linux browsers), ensure your Adobe Flash Player and Microsoft Silverlight (if on a Windows platform) plugins are installed and up-to-date.

  1. Browse to the location in the site where the video is located, or use the direct web address provided to you.
  2. Click or tap the large play icon in the middle of the video.
  3. The video will begin playing.
  4. Use the controls provided to play, pause and skip to another part of the video. Videos can be made full-screen using the button at the right.
  5. For mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, the video will likely display full-screen whilst playing. Click the relevant button to minimise and close the video once done.

Troubleshooting

If a video fails to playback in your browser, contact the site administrator to have them ensure the video is in the correct format. If a file is of the MP4 format, the video must be produced accordingly to the Technical suggestions above.