New Release: Speak the Words, Audio Recorder and Agamotto
Table of Contents
I'm excited to announce the release of three brand new content types: Speak the Words, Audio Recorder and Agamotto. This is the first newsletter after the Content Type Hub has gone live and thanks to the new release procedure, these new content types were released to the community immediately and have been available for a few weeks now. You can keep up to date with the continuous releases here.
Speak the Words
Speak the Words is an incredibly futuristic content type created by thomasmars. It listens to voice input via a microphone and uses Chrome's Web Speech API to check the correctness of the statement. Here's a simple example:
Chrome's Web Speech API supports over 33 different languages making Speak the Words a perfect match for language learning exercises:
Note that Speak the Words only works in Chrome.
Audio Recorder
Audio Recorder is a general purpose recorder that allows learners to download their recordings as .wav files.
Audio Recorder does not check the words in the recording and is, therefore, more suited to free-form questions:
Agamotto
Another great new content type by otacke, Agamotto (also known as Image Blender) allows users to compare and explore a sequence of images interactively. Authors can decide to add a short explanatory text for each image:
Improvements and Bug Fixes
Improvements for Drag and Drop:
- Added missing translation (HFP-957)
- Pull request from rezeau: Configurable fullscreen
- Authoring tool: Improved design for top menu steps (HFP-237)
Improvements for Interactive Video:
- Subtitles (vtt) for uploaded videos (HFP-964)
- YouTube Captions (HFP-966)
- Quality names for video streams (HFP-965)
- Bugfix: Crashes when just adding video and saving (HFP-786)
- Authoring tool: Improved design for top menu steps (HFP-237)
Improvements for Image Juxtaposition by otacke:
- You can now click anywhere on the images, and the slider will move there gently. Of course, you can still use the handle if you prefer.
- You can now use the keyboard to control the handle if it is in focus. Handy for handicapped people.
- Fixed a bug that would set the initial aria-value for the handle position wrong for a very brief amount of time.
- Fixed (hopefully) a bug that might have prevented the images to pop up in correct height as reported by gtielemans.
General Improvements and Bug Fixes:
- Questionnaire doesn't work in IE11 at all (HFP-929)
- IE 11: crashing when checking answer (HFP-1070)
- Audio Recorder: Not possible to play recording on Firefox 53 (HFP-1051)
- Questionnaire sends xAPI interacted on each keystroke (HFP-759)
- Added color picker for tables in CKEditor (HFP-842)
- Pull request by sr258: Added transparent mode to H5P.Audio (HFP-697)
- Made the no-video-src message more prominent in the Interactive Video authoring tool (HFP-380)
New and updated translations:
- Timeline: Dutch (ReneBreedveld)
- Interactive Video: Danish (uffepost), German (danieltebs)
- Single Choice Set: German (danieltebs)
- Drag Question: German (danieltebs)
- Audio Recorder: Dutch (René Breedveld), French (Maeva-B), German (Daniel Tebs), Italian (Gerardo Fallani), Japanese (Hiroshi Mochizuki), Swedish (Maria Sommarström)
Beta Testers
A big thanks to our beta testers for testing Audio Recorder and providing valuable feedback:
- Hartmut Karrasch
- Jesus Garate
- Ragnhild Daae Bekkevoll
- Ian Briggs
Sponsors
Read more about our sponsors by clicking their names:
What to do next?
- See the latest update for the H5P Conference
- Read Falcon's latest status update
- Find out why H5P is a superior format for interactive content
- Join the H5P Beta Testers team
- Contribute to the H5P Community
- Spread the word
Comments
stopbit
Wed, 05/31/2017 - 15:49
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Update the content types download
Hi,
This page: https://h5p.org/update-all-content-types doesn't yet have the latest download for H5P new releases mentioned in the May 2017 release; no updates since March 13th. Any chance you can provide a download please?
Thanks
spennel
Wed, 05/31/2017 - 17:32
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Update the content types download
Hi,
I agree as well, the current update on https://h5p.org/update-all-content-types is for 3/13. When can we expect to have the new file with these exciting changes? Thanks!
spennel
Wed, 05/31/2017 - 18:48
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Update the content types download
I would also like to know when we may have the download for this newest release at https://h5p.org/update-all-content-types. Thanks!
falcon
Thu, 06/01/2017 - 11:07
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We've kept that page up for
We've kept that page up for some time now, but will soon update it and remove the .h5p file, with the H5P Hub the manual installation and updating is not relevant anymore. Aren't you able to get the updates installed through the H5P Hub features for installing new content types and updating existing ones?
Those who for some reason can't use the H5P Hub may download content types from the examples and downloads page one by one and upload them to your own site as H5P content. I recommend Course Presentation in this case since it includes quite new versions of many of the other content types. Right now it does not have the latest version of Interactive Video though.
stopbit
Thu, 06/01/2017 - 12:48
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Sure that's not a bad idea?
Hi Falcon,
Not having a manual download of the entire set of libraries is a mistake imo; and having to manually update each one by one is a bit of a pain and obviously slow to perform. If you rely solely on H5P hub to distribute the updates you will cause issues for a number of users and likely the uptake of H5P will slow due to this. Plus users will not realise when an update is available.
Having checked multiple instances of moodle and wordpress (multile dev and live sites), new content types are not being automatically updated.
The only way to acheive this is to manually update as the libraries are not doing this automatically, at least since March I have not seen any updates through moodle or wordpress.
Does any one else have issues where recent updates to libraries are simple not showing as available? For example I don'ty see the recently released agamotto and speak the words available.
Removing a popular and easy download link from your page will cause problems and would be a mistake and alienate users and increase support issues. Users will obviously then approach you for support and take more of the H5P teams time. It's already causing problems for me and I'm familiar with H5P and have been developing new features also.
I would think twice about this choice.
Thanks
stopbit
Thu, 06/01/2017 - 13:14
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Ok, how to update a bit silly
Ok, I've played around with H5P in both moodle and Wordpress and the way to update libraries is now a bit silly.
You have to create a new (or edit exiting) H5P activity. Then in the H5P hub dropdown, select 'My content types' - next to each which has an update available the text will show next to the activity name 'update available'. Click on get update.
It's the same if you want to install new activities, but select 'All' instead of 'My content types' then click 'Install' next ot each you want.
May I say this is far from intuitive and in no way notifies the site admin of any updates available, unless you manually do the above.
What was wrong with the previous method to update all content types at once? It also notified you that updates are available. I think you need to sort this out in the next plugin releases as lots of users will be left with out of date (old) libraries using this model of updating.
Please, please change this to accommodate for a site wide update process rather than this flawed method you've switched to.
That said, I do like the hub drop down for simplicity and easy of use. Unfortunately you have removed the most useful feature and the ability to update all libraries simultaneously.
Also I don't see the documentation reflecting this update method, current documentation still gives the previous update instructions. Well done, for making it easier and harder at the same time :-)
I don't mean to criticise, I really like what the H5P team are doing, but you must take on constructive criticism when you're making users suffer.
Thanks
falcon
Fri, 06/02/2017 - 10:40
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Hi stopbit,Thank you for the
Hi stopbit,
Thank you for the candid feedback. I absolutely agree with you. The big package was a temporary solution. We're now on a different temporary solution with new advantages and drawbacks. The drawbacks are mainly those you describe, and additionally, there are no built in changelogs yet so when you update you can't see directly what will change.
In upcoming versions, there will be:
It is a lot of work to keep the big package up to date, even more so now when we allow some content types to use older versions of other content types. It would have to include multiple versions of some content types.
It would have been better for the community if we kept the big package up to date, but I think it is even better for the community if we can finish up the H5P hub as quickly as possible and move to a much better system for updating, installing and managing H5P content types.
stopbit
Fri, 06/02/2017 - 11:20
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A transitional phase...
Hi Falcon,
After your explanation I can see you are undergoing a transitional phase in the development of H5P and I know these can be very tricky to manage, especially without causing distuption to users.
I think the primary issue is that these changes are not being put to your users as effectively as they could be, therefore it may be a good idea to update some of your primary pages (where most users will find themselves landing on your site) to inform them. A simple step by step bullet list would likely suffice; and perhaps an email to users reminding them to stay up to date linking back to the steps.
I guess documentation updates are a bit annoying when you know changes are coming, but your users don't know this - a simple and obvious note stating in the documentation pages something along the lines of 'Major changes are coming to the way H5P is updated in the near future - please visit http: / / xxxxx#comment-00000 forum post in the meanwhile for details'. That may give you the opportunity to deal with the transition without having to update all your docs.
Again I appreciate all the hard work you and the H5P team are putting in, I'm trying to find solutions myself as a user, so the issues I'm experiencing others will likely experience too.
I still feel a whole package download link will be useful, especially for new users of H5P. Perhaps a script to build the package together from your dev repo would save time and errors.
Thank you and all the best
falcon
Fri, 06/02/2017 - 12:50
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Yes, this transition phase
Yes, this transition phase should have been managed in a much better way. I'm glad you're speaking out. 96 % of users probably doesn't speak out, and we did think that the update through hub feature that is in place today would work ok without much explanation for a few months.(We do have scripts for building the package. We're not dragging in the 100 libraries and
(We do have scripts for building the package. We're not dragging in the 100+ libraries and zip'ing them manually, but the list of libraries the script uses is maintained semi-manually since it doesn't include all libraries, and sometimes multiple versions of the same libraries are needed as well. Additionally, it is a lot of work testing the package.)
leturf123
Mon, 06/12/2017 - 16:46
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I manually add a couple of
I manually add a couple of content types to columns semantics.json
If I update column through the hub and then rebuild cache or whatever for the existing nodes (Drupal), am I at risk of killing all that content because the updated json won't have those content types?
I don't mind the hub so much. Just annoying that the file gets applied to such an extent without getting to change it first.
Thanks.
tomaj
Wed, 06/14/2017 - 07:46
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Create a PHP "Hook"
Hi Leturf123,
It's not recommended to manually alter semantics.json, but instead write a little bit of PHP code, that can add modifications to semantics. This will work accross updates, and is concidered a safer approach.
You can read more about it in the documentation.
Which system are you on (Drupal/Moodle/Wordpress)?
- Tom
falcon
Fri, 06/02/2017 - 10:41
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And by the way, the
And by the way, the documentation pages were updated yesterday, or are still being updated. We should have done it much sooner though.
spennel
Thu, 06/01/2017 - 16:47
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H5P Hub
Hi Falcon - What is (and where can I find) the H5P Hub? Thanks!
tomaj
Fri, 06/02/2017 - 07:32
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H5P Hub
Hi Spennel,
The H5P Hub is the tool you use to select which content type to use. It's found in the latest versions of the Moodle/Drupal/WordPress-plugins, as well as here on h5p.org.
- Tom
jimmyjames
Thu, 06/01/2017 - 05:42
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Google.com blocked in China
I absolutely adore H5p and so glad I found this community. Does the web speech connect to google apis or do they have the machines running elsewhere?
falcon
Thu, 06/01/2017 - 11:07
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I believe it is built into
I believe it is built into Chrome, but I'm not sure.
thdb
Sun, 06/04/2017 - 22:43
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Unable to update
Hi,
I'd love to update my H5P library to test these new features. However, when I try and click on any "update" or "get" button in the Hub, I get an error saying "unable to validate H5P package". What should I do?
Best,
Thomas.
thomasmars
Tue, 06/06/2017 - 11:35
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Can you check your PHP error
Can you check your PHP error log for any additional info ?
thdb
Sun, 06/11/2017 - 22:39
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I don't get any PHP error. In
I don't get any PHP error. In the console however I see
h5p-hub-client.js?ver=2017052400:8
icc
Tue, 06/13/2017 - 10:22
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I'm guessing something must
I'm guessing something must have gone wrong when downloading the package to the server.
thdb
Tue, 06/13/2017 - 15:27
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Probably ; however I don't
Probably ; however I don't understand why it works on a clone of the same moodle, on a local server. Do you have any idea how I can identify the problem? I looked at the network request ; everything looks normal to me... http://imgur.com/2JXaOw7
thdb
Tue, 06/13/2017 - 15:43
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I found the issue! php
I found the issue! php-mbstring wasn't installed on my server. After installing it I can download and update libraries through the Hub. Thank you to everybody for your help.
BV52
Wed, 06/14/2017 - 07:18
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That's good to hear!
That's good to hear!
shija
Thu, 06/29/2017 - 13:20
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how to get php-mbstring installed?
Looks like I'm having exactly the same issue..
How can I enable php-mbstring?
thdb
Thu, 06/29/2017 - 18:22
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If you have a dedicated
If you have a dedicated server you want to install the corresponding php package (on debian-based systems you can do apt search php mbstring to find the right one for your distro)
If you have a shared hosting there should be an option somewhere to enable this specific PHP extension. You should contact your host provider to know the procedure.
shija
Fri, 06/30/2017 - 06:52
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Got it done!! Thank you!
Had requested the server support to enable php-mbstring. They did it and the issue is resolved.. Now am able to add the activities from Hub.
thank you guys!!
BV52
Fri, 06/30/2017 - 07:08
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That's great! Thanks thdb.
That's great! Thanks thdb.
thdb
Mon, 06/12/2017 - 15:27
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Is there a way to update
Is there a way to update manually all the libraries at once ? I have an ssh access to my server
icc
Tue, 06/13/2017 - 10:22
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No, but downloading a content
No, but downloading a content type with lots of dependencies, like Course Presentation, should give you most of the updates.
Download the example content and upload it to your H5P Libraries page to update most of your content types.
thdb
Tue, 06/13/2017 - 15:28
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Thank you for this idea, it
Thank you for this idea, it worked indeed and will allow me to test most of the new features until I can update them all ;)
iercan
Fri, 06/09/2017 - 06:14
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Audio Recorder Error
Hi! Falcon,
I installed audio recorder to H5P content types and created a speaking activity. I'm using Google Chrome and it showed this error below: Is there another way to activate the microphone? It requires me to buy SSL certificate.
Access to microphone is not allowed in your browser since this page is not served using HTTPS. Please contact the author, and ask him to make this available using HTTPStomaj
Fri, 06/09/2017 - 08:33
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Required by Chrome
Hi iercan,
No, it's a buildt in feature in Chrome, for the users security.
For my personal projects I get free Certificates from Letsencrypt, and I would strongly advise you to do the same, to protect your users privacy.
Good luck! :)
- Tom