Item Authoring > Using media

Using media

TIP: To learn about assistive media, read Adding assistive media to an item.

You can add media to an item during the authoring process. This allows you to create more rich, dynamic, and engaging content. Media is not just for decorative purposes. You can use media to provide candidates with essential contextual information and create unique assessment scenarios, like video case studies and language comprehension tests.

This article explains the types of media supported in Surpass.

The media library

All media in your subject’s media (images, videos, audio files, source material, and custom question types) are stored in a subject-specific repository called the media library. To learn about the media library and how to manage media within it, read About the Surpass media library.

The media library is where you can import media files into Surpass. Read Importing files to the media library to learn how to upload media files to Surpass.

The media library is also where you can combine images and PDFs into media groups, which allows them to be used in the high-fidelity image viewer or PDF viewer. For more information, read Grouping media in the media library.

Source material

Source material are files that candidates need to refer to when answering a question. Source material is added to the question stem and is not visible until candidates select a button. You can use the following media as source material:

A PDF file
A custom HTML file (HTML source material)
An approved webpage (URL source material)
Images
Audio
Video

You can create richly formatting source media using HTML markup directly in the Surpass media library. Using HTML source material removes the need for third-party apps (like PDF authoring tools) when creating source material for items. For more information, read Creating HTML source material.

You can create source material that lets candidates access specific web pages during a test. This allows you to provide controlled access to the internet when candidates sit tests in locked-down SecureClient. For more information, read Creating URL source material.

To learn about how to add source material to an item, read Adding source material to an item. For information on how to use the PDF viewer in a test, read About the Surpass PDF viewer.

Images

NOTE: The accepted image file types are BMP, GIF, JPEG, and PNG.

Images are static graphics that appear on the item or open in a popup. Images can be used to support question content or as decoration.

To learn how to add images to an item, read Adding images to an item. For information on the award-winning Surpass high-fidelity image viewer, read About the Surpass high-fidelity image viewer.

Audio

NOTE: The accepted audio file types are MP3, MP4, and WAV.

Audio files are sound files that appear on the item. Audio can be used to support question content.

To learn how to add audio to an item, read Adding audio to an item. For information on how audio files appear to candidates, read About the Surpass audio player.

Video

NOTE: The accepted video file types are AVI, MOV, MP4, MPEG, and WMV.

Video files are audiovisual files that appear on the item. Video can be used to support question content.

To learn how to add video to an item, read Adding video to an item. For information on how video files appear to candidates, read About the Surpass video player.

Custom Question Types

NOTE: Custom Question ZIP files required to use this item type are not included in Surpass as standard, speak to your Surpass Account Manager if you are interested in using this functionality.

Custom Question Type files are packaged files that contain configurable custom question content.

To learn how to add a custom question type to an item, read Importing file to the media library.