Blackboard Collaborate Session

Transcription

1 Blackboard Collaborate Session What is Blackboard Collaborate? Wimba was purchased by Blackboard and has been merged with Elluminate Live! into a new platform called Blackboard Collaborate. Wimba is now being phased out and being replaced by Blackboard Collaborate. Blackboard Collaborate is an educational collaboration tool that will allow synchronous delivery or asynchronous archiving of online lectures. It provides a virtual classroom that instructors and students can learn and interact in real time with audio and video. Lectures can be recorded and archived for future access by students for an asynchronous environment. Downloads of the archived lectures in MP3 and MP4 formats are available for students to use on their portable devices for frequent listening if their instructors have chosen to allow this option. Do I Need Any Special Equipment? Instructors and students should use quality USB headsets with echo cancelling and background noise reduction with attached microphones. The built-in speakers and microphones on some of the newer laptops will work with Blackboard Collaborate eliminating the need for headsets. Which Browser Works best with Blackboard Collaborate? You can use either Mozilla Firefox or some versions of Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. Blackboard Collaborate s full guide on what browsers and OS s are supported can be found here. questionid=2890 How Do I Create a Blackboard Collaborate inside Moodle 2? Log into Moodle 2 by going to MyMtech on the Montana Tech website: > MyMtech > Sign in with CAS (Your Tech authentication credentials) > Moodle Course

2 Screen shots of Moodle 2 login Once inside your Moodle 2 course, turn editing on Navigate to the section you want to place your Blackboard Collaborate in. Click on the link with the green plus sign in front of the Add an activity or resource. Select Blackboard Collaborate Session and click on Add at the bottom of that page. A window will pop-up for you to create the classroom, A short descriptive name (50 characters or less) should be filled into the Title Box. Click on Save and Return to Course or Save and Display.

3 How Do I Access My Classroom Once Created Inside Moodle 2? Log into your Moodle 2 Course by going to MyMtech on the Montana Tech website: > MyMtech > Sign in with CAS > Moodle 2 Course Screen shots of Moodle 2 login There are three ways to access your classroom from your Moodle 2 course. 1. Scroll to the section where you built your classroom and click on the name of the session. This will open a page that will give you information about when the session is to be held and give you the option to join it over the phone or by clicking Join session. You will now have to let Java run. It will take a moment and then the classroom will open. How do I run Blackboard Collaborate? Step 1: When you first login to Moodle and click on Join session you will be prompted to either open or save the file. Open it with java.

4 Step 2: You may be prompted by java that the digital signature could not be verified, Hit run. Step 3: Step 3: If prompted by Windows firewall allow Java through.

5 Step 4: A window will come up asking you to accept the Participant Agreement. Click Accept. Step 5: A loading bar will pop up.

6 How Do I Talk in Blackboard Collaborate? To talk click the Talk button shown in the image below. This will stay active and other participants will be able to hear you until you click talk again. To prevent feedback loops it can be necessary to toggle talk on and off as others talk.

7 How Can I Add Content to My Classroom? To add content to your classroom you must first enter the classroom. Once in click the load content button on the top right of the window.

8 When you click the button it will open a Open File prompt. Find the slideshow or other content you would like to add and click open. Once you click open it will start uploading. If you selected a powerpoint, Powerpoint will open temporarily as it converts it for upload. This will add your slides and content to the whiteboard. How Do I Use the Application Sharing Feature? Application sharing allows you to share your screen, a specific section of it, or a specific application s window. There are two methods to activate screen sharing. First: You can hit Tools -> Application Sharing -> and then select Start Sharing.

9 Once you hit start sharing you will be able to select which section or screen to share.

10 Second Method: Click the Application Sharing button right above the whiteboard window.

11 Once you are sharing you will see a yellow border around the window or screen being shared.

12 To stop sharing the screen or window find the controls in the top right of the shared area and click the stop button (square). How Do I Make Archives of My Lectures or Sessions Using Blackboard Collaborate? Before recording you should make sure that you have your microphone properly plugged in and tested. You should also have any slides or other external content you are going to use ready.

13 To make an archive of your lecture click the record button in the Blackboard Collaborate window. Once you click record the system will announce to you and anyone else in the room that recording has begun. You can then start talking and working through content. When you are done you can click record again and it will announce that the recording has stopped. You can now leave the classroom whenever you would like. It will take some time, but the archive will show up on the main page as discussed in the next session. How Do I Access the Blackboard Collaborate Archives for My Course? Archives can be accessed from the classroom page on Moodle. To find them click the classroom name on Moodle. The screen may give you different options but if there is an archive

14 There will be a box that says recordings. Click the purple Blackboard logo to start viewing the archive. If the recording has been encoded by the instructor it could also show up with two other logos that would be available for download. (Video mp4 and Audio mp3) How Do I Rename My Archive To rename an archive find the pencil icon on the recordings bar for the recording you would like and type the name you would like to give it in the description box on the page that comes up. Once the name is set hit save changes.

15 Who Can You Contact for Help with Blackboard Collaborate? Kathy Stevens, Montana Tech Distance Learning Coordinator Office: Cell: CTS Help Desk Office: