Blackboard Collaborate Introduction & Handbook

Transcription

1 CSU Stanislaus Office of Information Technology Blackboard Collaborate Introduction & Handbook What is Collaborate? Blackboard Collaborate is the university s online meeting and conferencing service. Users can create virtual rooms (setting a starting and ending date for the room s availability) and use them for any number of sessions. The owner of a room typically uploads a variety of multimedia content into the session in order to give a presentation. Participants access Collaborate sessions via a web URL, but the actual room runs as a small Java application on the participant s computer. This Java application is automatically downloaded and installed the first time a participant joins a Collaborate session. Participants can also install and use the Blackboard Collaborate app for iphone and ipad to connect to a session. Users can use headset mics and webcams, in addition to chat, to communicate during a session. Collaborate also features basic desktop sharing and web site tours. User Accounts No special user account is needed unless access to your Collaborate rooms will be open to the whole world. For those situations, user account management is handled by Glenn Pillsbury (gpillsbury@csustan.edu). Support Docs The OIT Help Desk is your first stop for technical problems getting Collaborate to work on your computer. Test your system for compatibility: How- To s on using Collaborate (scroll to the bottom of the page): Questions? For all questions related to Collaborate s features and how to use them, contact: Glenn Pillsbury, Instructional Designer gpillsbury@csustan.edu/ /l- 151F

2 2 Some Basics: Creating A Room Notes The same room can be reused for multiple sessions; there is no need to create a new room each time you want to use Collaborate. Create a Collaborate room inside Blackboard or Moodle when you want to give only your registered students a very easy way to participate in a Collaborate session. In Moodle, a Guest link is always created that you can give to non- registered people so they can join the room from outside Moodle. In Blackboard, you control the creation of a Guest link on a case- by- case basis for each room. Blackboard Steps 1. Log in to Blackboard and choose the course that will have the Collaborate room 2. Click the link for Course Tools on the left- hand menu and choose Blackboard Collaborate. 3. In the main area of the page, click the Create Session button. 4. Fill out some basic information about your session. Do not click Submit yet. 5. Do not click Submit yet. 6. At the top of the main area, click the link for Participation. 7. If the session will have moderators other than you, or if you want non- registered people to be able to join the room, change that information here. Do not click Submit yet. 8. At the top of the main area, click the link for Content Area to specify where the link to your session will appear in your course. (Note: it is unlikely that you will need to click the Sharing link at the top of the main area.) a. In the Content Area specifications, type a name for the link (it can be the same as the name of your session) b. Check the box next to the Content Area in your course that you would like to display the session link. c. Add any additional descriptive text to the display of the link. d. FYI: the Required check box just places a visual reminder to your students that the Collaborate activity is required. Left unchecked, the visual reminder will say Suggested. However, the reminder doesn t actually *do* anything or block access or enforce anything. Unfortunately, there is not a way to disable the visual reminder completely. Le sigh. 9. Now click Submit. The link to your room has been placed on the Content Area specified. Moodle Steps 1. Log in to the Moodle course that will have the Collaborate room. 2. Click the Turn editing on button 3. In the week or topic that will house the Collaborate room, click the Add an activity drop- down menu and select Blackboard Collaborate Session. 4. Fill out the name and description of the session. 5. Choose the kind of room you want: a. Course Open to the whole course without any restrictions

3 3 b. Private Open only to the people you specify (do this after you create the room) c. Group Everyone will see the main link to the room but each person will only see the members of their group while inside the session. 6. Set the beginning and ending times for the room to exist. It can exist for the entire semester if necessary, and it will just be reused for multiple sessions. 7. Set any other characteristics of the room. 8. Click Save and display to specify moderators or participants (depending on the room type you chose in step 5). 9. If desired, the displayed Guest link can be copied and sent to anyone who requires it. How to join a room inside a Blackboard or Moodle course: 1. Go to the link in the Blackboard or Moodle course and click on it. 2. In Moodle, click the large Join Session link. 3. The Collaborate Java environment will launch on the user s computer (it will first download automatically if it s not already installed) 4. The user will enter the room and Collaborate will use their name as it s listed in the course roster to identify them. How to schedule a meeting in a room you ve created (Blackboard or web): There s no need to schedule an individual session in the room through Collaborate as long as the room s ending date has not been reached. Rooms exist for the duration specified in the starting and ending date when the room was created. Just enter the room whenever you need to meet just like a physical space, the Collaborate room will be there! Some Basics: Using Your Room How to put content on the whiteboard: There are different ways to place content on the whiteboard depending on the kind of content it is and how your presentation is organized. The whiteboard is a multi- page tool, similar to an old- style flip chart on an easel. Load a presentation of PowerPoint slides: 1. Click the Load Content button at the upper right of the window 2. Locate the PowerPoint file on your computer 3. Select Import Presentation with PowerPoint when prompted 4. PowerPoint opens automatically and the slides are converted to images and placed on the whiteboard. 5. Navigate from slide to slide using the Page Explorer window or close the Page Explorer window and use the control arrows and page dropdown. Load a single image file: o Method 1: 1. Click the Load Content button at the upper right of the window 2. Locate your image (or multiple images) on your computer and click Load 3. Choose whether to 1) add the images to the current slide as draggable objects, or 2) create new slides for each image

4 4 In option 2, the images are placed in the center of the window and are not draggable on the slide o Method 2: 1. Open the folder on your workstation that contains the image (find it in My Documents, the Desktop, or wherever it is). 2. Drag the image directly onto the whiteboard! Display an excerpt of text: o Click the A icon in the whiteboard tools and select the Enter text on a page icon. (the one with lines) o Click anywhere on the whiteboard to open a new text box o Type your text into the box or paste in some text from another application. o The text box can be resized by dragging the handles on the edge of the window. o To edit an existing text box, double- click on it Display a PDF or Word document: o Unfortunately, you can t display PDF or DOC files directly on the whiteboard without first converting them into an image file or pasting the text into a text box. o Instead, share these documents with the participants using Collaborate s file transfer feature. Once the participants receive the file they simply open it on their local workstation. Click Load Content to locate your file and Collaborate will distribute it. See next item. How to share documents with participants: Some document types are better served by being transferred directly to the participants, downloaded by them, and opened on their workstation using the relevant application. PDF and Word files are prime candidates for Collaborate s file transfer feature. 1. Click the Load Content button at the upper right of the window 2. Locate and select a PDF or Word document from your computer 3. When Collaborate offers to distribute the file using File Transfer, click Yes. 4. The file will immediately be sent to the participants. Collaborate will prompt them to save it to their local workstation where they will open it on their own. Note: Latecomers will not miss out on files that were transferred before their arrival. Upon arriving in the room, the system will prompt them to download any files that are in the transfer queue. How to talk to and be seen by participants: To use audio and/or video in your sessions you will need a USB mic and a web cam. Many newer computers have these built in. Audio communication 1. Click the Talk button in the upper- left to activate your mic. Adjust the sliders to set the mic volume 2. Click the Talk button again to turn off your mic. Video communication 1. Click the Video button in the upper- left to activate your camera and begin transmitting.

5 5 Click the Preview button on the right to compose yourself, if desired. 2. Click the Video button again to turn off your camera Important Information About Video and Audio in Collaborate: 1. Each Collaborate session can have up to 6 channels for audio and 6 for video that can be used simultaneously by 6 different participants. During the session, channels are assigned based on who clicks their mic or video button first. 2. The session moderator does not control whether a participant s mic or camera is active. However, the moderator can control permission for a user to broadcast their audio or video into the room. 3. A channel becomes available when a participant turns off their mic or camera or is blocked from broadcasting by the moderator. How to demonstrate software programs or content on secure web sites: Use the Application Sharing tool to demonstrate using Excel or Photoshop, or to show a Blackboard course site or a library database (such as to off- campus participants). 1. If necessary, first launch the application you want to share 2. Click the Application Sharing icon in the row of tools above the content area. 3. From the list of open applications, choose the one to share. 4. Use the application as you normally would; your mouse movements are being broadcast to the participants. 5. To stop sharing, click the stop square in the yellow controls. located at the edge of the shared window. How to show web sites to the session participants: Use Collaborate s Web tour feature to display simple web sites to all the users at once. 1. Click the Web tour icon in the row of tools above the content area. 2. Enter the URL to start from. The web content will display in each user s main content area. Participants can click links on their own, but they will always be redirected and shown any links you click. Warning! Do not try to show Blackboard sites or any other location that requires you to log in using the web tour feature. To demonstrate web content that is behind a login, using Application Sharing (see above). Some Basics: Recording Sessions and Playing Them Back How to start recording your session: Once inside a room, click the red recording button in the upper right of the Collaborate window to start recording. A female voice will announce recording started. Recording captures all activity in the session except for private Chat messages. Pause and resume the recording by clicking the same red button.

6 6 How to stop the recording and make it available for viewing: 1. Click the red record button to turn off the recorder. 2. Tell the participants to exit the room and then exit the room yourself. 3. Wait a few moments for the server to finish processing the file. How to access and watch session recordings: For sessions created in a Blackboard course site: 1. Return to the Blackboard Collaborate page in the Course Tools menu. 2. Click the link for Recordings at the top of the page 3. Find the desired recording and click the link to download and play it. (Note: by default recordings will play back in the Collaborate environment. See Glenn about making a web- friendly version of the recording that can be played outside of Collaborate or, for example, uploaded to YouTube.) For sessions created in the Collaborate web interface: All recording information will be contained in the confirmation that was sent by Collaborate when the room was first created. Some Basics: Collaborate Sessions on Mobile Devices Mobile Collaborate sessions are currently only available using an ipad, iphone, or ipod Touch. Wireless or cell connections both work. We have no information about future plans regarding other mobile devices. Download the app from the App Store. Overview of the Collaborate mobile app: Join a room by clicking a Collaborate URL in an or by navigating through a course web site to the Collaborate activity. Participants can talk into the session Participants can view whiteboard content (but not annotate it) Participants can view Application Sharing and Web Tours Participants can send chat messages to the room or to specific participants