Using WebEx WebEx provides a real-time, video-conferencing classroom environment. It has one application window with voice chat, text chat, an interactive whiteboard for displaying files or webpages, video, and presenter tools. Oakland University has a site-wide license and meetings can be scheduled anytime during the day or night right from your Moodle course. Support There are two different support options for WebEx: 1. WebEx offers 24x7 phone support by calling (866) 229-3239 and selecting option 1. Be sure to tell the agent that our WebEx URL is oakland.webex.com. The company will only help with WebEx problems. 2. e-lis offers phone support by calling (248) 805-1625 weekdays 8 am to 8 pm and 8 am to 1 pm on Saturdays. e-lis can help with any online learning questions, such as Moodle and Panopto questions. You can also join a test session to ensure that you can access the program and that your software and hardware are working correctly. This is a good thing for faculty and students to do before their initial course meeting to be sure they will be able to connect without a problem. This test meeting can be accessed any time at the following link: http://www.webex.com/test-meeting.html Accessing WebEx There are two ways to access a live WebEx session: 1. Join through Moodle. 2. Join by clicking a link sent to your email address. Sessions may also be recorded. If the session was created in Moodle, the recording link will be in Moodle. Recording links can also be sent out to outside participants to view. NOTE: WebEx sessions can be joined by those outside of the OU network, so you can send a link to someone who does not have an OU email address and they will be able to join your session. Up to 1,000 participants can join a session. WebEx Main Screen Users do not need an account to access WebEx. When they click on the join meeting link, they ll be brought to the WebEx main screen. Faculty launching it from Moodle will be made the session host automatically. Students will have their names brought in. Outside users will simply need to enter their name and email address to join. Updated April 3, 2014 10:55 AM e-learning & Instructional Support Oakland University Creative Commons License
The nice thing about WebEx is that everything takes place on this one screen. Quick Start tab As a host, you ll see the above screen. The Quick Start tab is the first tab that will let you quickly and easily do things like start the voice conference, invite users, share your screen, start recording your session, or end the session. Start Recording Voice Conference Invite users Share your screen End Session Page 2
WebEx has three main windows: Participants, Chat, and Quick Start/Session Info/Whiteboard. Participants The Participants window at the top right of the screen is where everyone in the meeting will appear. Each user will see the host s name(s) at the top under Panelists, then all Attendees below. Host Attendee The images above show two example Participants windows. The one on the left is the window a host/ presenter will see. The one on the right is the window that an attendee will see. Page 3
Roles There are four roles users can have in WebEx: Host Identified by the (Host) beside their name. Can create, schedule and chair the session. Has the highest level of control in the session and can grant or revoke Presenter, Panelist, or Attendee permissions. Can share documents but will not be able to control the presentation slides (control slides is presenter s role). Presenter Identified by the green/blue WebEx presenter ball icon. Any role can be made into a presenter. Has the ability to share documents and control the presentation materials. Panelist(s) Host and presenter are panelists. Any panelist has the ability to answer Q&A. Additional panelist can be added. Attendee(s) Can view data shared by presenter. Are encouraged to interact with the presenter using the feedback tools and icons. Host Buttons The host is the only one with the Silhouetted Person button, which brings up the Invite and Remind window allowing the host to add in email addresses of people to be invited to the session. The email will be immediately sent from messenger@webex.com to the invitees, with a link to join the session. Hosts can also kick any participant out of a session by selecting the person s name then going to the top menu and selecting Participant > Expel. Hosts can also prevent additional attendees from joining the session by going to the top menu and selecting Session > Restrict Access. This will prevent anyone else from joining that session. They can turn access back on by going to the top menu and selecting Session > Restore Access. Presenter & Host Buttons The host/presenter has the ability to make any participant into a presenter by clicking on an attendee s name and then clicking the Make Presenter button. This will allow that participant to use the Share Application button on the Quick Start tab to share their screen. They can always take back presentation rights by clicking on their own name and clicking the Make Presenter button. Alternatively, they can click on the Green/Blue WebEx Presenter Ball icon to the left of the names and drag that to any other user to make them a presenter. Page 4
The Exclamation Mark (check attendees attention) button will bring up an Attentiveness window. This shows the people who don t have WebEx as the main window on their computer, marking them as Inattentive as they may not be paying attention. The host/presenter can see this without clicking on the button though, as an exclamation mark will appear to the right of an attendee s name if they do not have WebEx as the main window on their computer. Presenter Buttons The Clear Feedback button will remove any yes or not votes the attendees have made so that a new question can be asked. Non-Presenter Buttons The Go Slower/Faster (<< and >>) buttons allow attendees to comment on the presenter s pace, letting them know if they want the presenter to go faster or slower. It will place the icon they click to the right of their name. Clicking the button again will turn it off. All Participants Buttons The Raise Hand button will place a raised hand icon to the right of their name, indicating to the host/ presenter that they have a question. The button is a toggle switch, changing to Lower Hand once clicked. Clicking it again will allowing the person to lower their hand once their question is answered. Host Attendee The Green Check (vote yes) and Red X (vote no) buttons allow the participants to answer a yes or no question posed by the presenter. The check votes yes and the x votes no. Clicking a choice will place that choice to the right of your name. Clicking the button again will turn it off. The Emoticon button allows attendees to show appreciation, confusion, etc. It will place the icon they select to the right of their name. Clicking the button again will turn it off. Page 5
The Feedback Results button shows how many people voted yes and how many voted no. The Lists button switches from the default list view to a thumbnail view, which displays a small camera for each participant. The camera will show a black silhouette if the participant do not have a camera on. Breakout Sessions (Groups) A host/presenter can create groups, or what WebEx calls Breakout Sessions, which creates a private content sharing session that includes two or more participants. Breakout sessions allow participants to brainstorm and collaborate in small, private groups that can include presenters or other students, away from the main training session. In a breakout session, small groups interact within a Breakout Session window using many of the same features, such as sharing whiteboards and applications, found in the main training session window. Each Breakout session will support a maximum of 100 attendees. To create a breakout session, go to the top menu and select Breakout > Open Breakout Session Panel. This will open a new window on the bottom right, below the Participants and Chat window, called Breakout Session. To assign participants to sessions, click the Breakout Assignment button. You can manually create groups by clicking the Add Session button for each group you want. Once you have groups created, click on the Attendee names on the left and click the >> button to move them into the selected group. If you switch it over to Automatically at the top, WebEx can create random groups for you based on either how many people you want per group, or how many groups you want. Clicking the OK button will bring you back to WebEx showing the groups you ve created. The attendees will not be moved into their breakout sessions until you click the Start button in the Breakout Session window. Someone will be designated as the presenter of the group, and will have to click the Yes button to start their session. This will switch the voice conference for them from the main session to the breakout session. Page 6
The host/presenter can broadcast messages to all breakout sessions by going to the top menu and selecting Breakout > Broadcast Message. By default it will send to the presenters of the breakout sessions only, but you can change that to all attendees in the drop down menu. Type your message and click the Send button. Your message will appear on the selected participants desktops during their breakout sessions. The host/presenter can click the End All button in the Breakout Session window to end all group sessions and bring everyone back to the main room. They have the ability to click the Start button again later to throw them back into groups if they chose. Attendees can get the instructor s attention by clicking the Ask for help button in the Breakout Session window. The host/presenter will see a raised hand icon for that group. They can click on a breakout session and click the Join button to join that session. This allows instructors to see what students are doing and answer any questions. Attendees also have the abillity to leave the breakout session by clicking the End Breakout Session button in the Breakout Session window. As the presenter, you can ask panelists and participants to return from their breakout sessions by going to the top menu and selecting Breakout > Ask All to Return. They ll receive a message asking them to return to the main training session. They can choose to leave the session or continue. Video The Webcam icon to the right of your name will toggle your camera on and off. The gray icon means you re not broadcasting video, and clicking the button will make it turn green, which means you are broadcasting your video. You ll also see your video appear in the Participants window. There can be up to 16 participants broadcasting their video simultaneously. Participants have the option to view just the video window in a session. They can do this by double clicking the video of any participant. This is useful for discussions that do not necessarily need a whiteboard or chat window, and want more of a video conference session. Page 7
Once in the full screen video mode, participants can access the WebEx tools by placing their mouse at the top middle of their screen. They can do things like bring up the Participants or Chat window, mute/unmute their microphone, or click the RETURN button to return their view to the default WebEx view. Hitting the Esc key on your keyboard will also break you out of full screen video mode. NOTE: Hosts cannot turn participant web cameras off. Their only options are to ask the participant to turn their camera off to kick them out of the session if they do not want the participant to broadcast their video. Audio When the host joins the conference, the voice conference will start automatically. When an attendee joins, they ll get a box asking them if they want to participate in the integrated audio conference, with a Yes or No button. Clicking Yes will turn their microphone on and speakers on. There can be up to 500 participants broadcasting their voice simultaneously. Once a participant joins the voice conference, a Volume window will pop up, showing volume levels of the speakers at the top and the microphone at the bottom. They ll automatically be adjusted, but they can be further adjusted here, and the window can be closed once the user is satisfied. A participant can also get to their audio options by going to the top menu and selecting Audio > Speaker/ Microphone Audio Test. A Microphone icon will appear to the right of the name of anyone that is broadcasting their audio. A participant can click on it to toggle the state of their microphone between mute (red icon) and unmute (gray icon). Participants will be unmuted by default, which means they will be broadcasting. Unless a microphone is muted, all participants broadcasting their audio will be able to speak at the same time. A host/presenter has the ability to set it to mute on entry by going to the top menu and selecting Participant > Mute on Entry. Alternatively, at any time a host/presenter can mute or unmute all participants by going to the top menu and selecting Participant > Mute All/Unmute All. They can mute or unmute a particular participant by clicking on the microphone icon by that participant s name. Page 8
Chat WebEx has two different real time chat options. By default, the Chat windows is used, which is an open chat that all participants see. The participants can also bring up a Question and Answer (Q&A) window which allows them to type questions directly to the host/presenter/panelist that the other attendees do not see. Chat The Chat window appears directly below the Participants window. Participants can chat by clicking their mouse in the box to the left of the Send button and typing their message in the box. Clicking the Send button or the Enter key on their keyboard will send the message. By default, participants can only send messages that the host/presenter/panelist sees. If you want participants to be able to send messages to all attendees, you must go to the top menu and select Participants > Assign Privileges. In the box that pops up, under the Communications section, check the box for All attendees and then click the OK button. The attendees will then will have the ability to select All Participants to send a message out to the entire group. They can also choose to send a private message to an individual attendee by selecting their name from the list. NOTE: Professors will not see private messages sent between attendees. Host Attendee Page 9
Q&A The Q&A window allows participants to ask questions that are not automatically broadcast to the other attendees. The host/presenter/panelist can respond to the questions. A Q&A session not only provides instant messaging similar to that in Chat, but also provides a more formal procedure for asking and answering questions and automatically groups questions to help you manage the queue, such as quickly identifying questions that you have or have not answered. An attendee can bring up the Q&A window at any time by clicking on the Q&A tab above the Participants window. When a participant asks a question, a question mark icon will appear next to their name in the Participant window. The question mark tab will glow as well. Clicking that will bring up the Q&A window, showing you the questions that were asked, who asked them, and at what time. Host Attendee Clicking on a question will allow you to answer that question. When you send out a message, all participants will see the question asked and then the answer you gave. The Q&A feature is on by default. If you want to turn it off you can go to the top menu and select Session > Session Options. This will let you choose which windows are available. Unchecking the box for any of them will remove them from the session. You can go there at any time and add or remove items. Page 10
Quick Start/Session Info/Whiteboard The left hand side of the screen is where any shared applications or whiteboards appear. Quick Start The Quick Start tab allows for quick access to features such as sharing applications, starting the recording, or ending the training session. Clicking the Record button will start the recording, and it will open up the Recorder window on the right. This will allow you to pause the recording or stop it. If you stop it, it will ask you if you are sure you want to stop, as if you start it again it will create a separate recording. Clicking the Stop Recording button will stop your recording. Application Sharing To share an application, click the down arrow to the right of the Share Application button. This will bring up a menu that will allow you to choose what to share. Sharing an application will let participants view your screen. They will not be able to control it unless you choose to give them access. You can share your entire desktop, a file, or any currently running application. You can open a program to share it while WebEx is going, and it will add it to the list the next time you click on the arrow. Sharing your desktop or an application will change the way WebEx looks for you and the participants. Page 11
Everyone will see the application being shared as the main screen, with everything else hidden in a menu at the top of the page. A participant can move their mouse up to the top of the screen to get a menu that will allow them to do many things such as show the Participants or Chat window, pause the sharing, or stop sharing. An arrow to the right brings up additional options. Host Whoever is currently set to the presenter role can share their screen. The person sharing their screen can also pass keyboard and mouse control over to anyone else in the session by going to the top drop down menu at the top and clicking Assign > Pass Keyboard and Mouse Control, then selecting the name of the person they want to pass control to. A participant who has remote control of shared software can interact with it fully. While a participant is controlling shared software, the presenter s mouse pointer is inactive. Alternatively, those watching the presenter can request control by going to the top drop down menu at the top and clicking the down arrow on the right and Ask to Control, then clicking the Request button. The person presenting will get a box saying who has asked for control, and they will be able to click either Approve or Deny buttons. If it is approved, the person requesting control will click the Take Control button. Clicking the mouse at any time will bring the control back to the person s computer who gave up control. The person who was remotely controlling can click the mouse to regain control. This will allow the two people to collaboratively work on the open program. If the person sharing wants to end remote control, they can by go to the top drop down menu at the top and click Assign > Pass Keyboard and Mouse Control. There will be a check next to the person who has control. Clicking their name will remove that control. Sharing Files Sharing files such as a documents, presentations, or videos that reside on your computer is made simple with WebEx. You can share a file by selecting Share File (Including Video) from the Quick Start tab or going to the top menu and selecting Share > File (Including Video). The shared document or presentation appears in the content viewer. If it is an audio or video file, the presenter can pause it and it will pause for everyone. Audio will play for all participants as well. You can share a PowerPoint file and it will place the file in the whiteboard, allowing you to use the whiteboard tools over the slides. You can navigate back and forth between the slides using the arrows above Page 12
the slides or the drop down menu to jump to a particular slide. NOTE: Sharing a PowerPoint file in this way will remove any slide transitions, animations, and sounds. If you want those preserved, you should share the PowerPoint application instead. When sharing a file such as a document or presentation, you can automatically advance pages or slides at a specified interval. Once you start automatic page or slide advancement, you can stop it at any time. To start it, go to the top menu and select View > Automatically Advance Pages. Choose the interval and click the Start button. The pages or slides will automatically begin advancing. Click the Stop button to turn off automatic advancing. Whiteboard Sharing a whiteboard allows you to draw objects and type text that all participants can see in their content viewers. You can also use a pointer to emphasize text or graphics on a whiteboard. To share a whiteboard, go to the top menu and select Share > Whiteboard. This will give you one whiteboard page to work on. You can add additional pages by going to the top menu and selecting Edit > Add Page. This will add pages to that whiteboard, much like slides on a PowerPoint. You can also start up another whiteboard, which will add another tab to the top. The whiteboard tools at the top of the page can be used on a whiteboard you create, or on a file you are sharing, such as a PowerPoint file. Any annotations you make stay with that page of the whiteboard, so clicking to a different page will not have the same marks you made, and returning to the previous page will show your marks there again. NOTE: When you share a file, WebEx will not modify your original file. So if you share a PowerPoint and annotate and draw all over it, this will not affect the saved PowerPoint file on your computer. Page 13