User Guide AcuConference AcuConference allows you to hold a live, interactive conference with participants that are remote one from another. Though participants are not present at a single conference venue, AcuConference makes sure that the real essence of a conference is retained through the following means: Host can conduct audio/video-only conference without any slides, or one that is accompanied with slides; Host can appoint one or more participants as co-hosts or transfer Host control to anyone; Host can play the conference Host/facilitator role by controlling the speaking rights among the participants. 1
1. Definition of Terms and Controls 1.1 Role of Host The highest authority in the conference session. Host has the ability to: Set the maximum number of speakers Speaker refer to A/V channel Set the maximum number of participants Set the maximum video resolution Set the type of mode Interactive (Free to speak), Host Controlled (Invite to speak), Large conference (Boss/secretary) and Video Conference (Shows all video/invite to speak) Set the role of the participants in the session including transferring his Host-ship to another participant Determine how many audio video channels to be opened Record the conference session Invite participant to speak Invite participant to present Revoke speaking rights Change conference session password Disable all video transmissions for everybody Shut down all active participants audio except the Host himself Attention Function Setting and changing security access code of the session Kick a participant out of the meeting If the Host is disconnected from the session due to network outages, when he can re-enter the session and the Host control will automatically re-assigned to him. If the Host intentionally passed the control to other participants, he still can take back the control of the conference session. To do that, the Host will need to right click on his name on the participant list and select Set Host. Upon entering the correct password, the Host control will be returned to him. 1.2 Role of Co-Host A participant with the following rights: Authority to raise hand to speak at any point in time The first in line to take over the Host if the Host is accidentally disconnected 1.3 Role of Participant Ordinary user with the lowest access rights to the room. He will need to: 2
Raise hand to request to speak (if he has finished speaking and wants to speak again, he will need to raise his hand once again) 1.4 Role of Presenter Can be the Host, Co-Host or Participant. When you take control of the presenter rights, everybody in the conference will follow your slide and layout view. 1.5 Speaker Participant who has his audio/video channel opened so that he can speak and the rest of the participants in the session can see him. Speakers can click on anytime. to take Presenter rights at 1.6 Participant User who participate in the conference. He can watch the conference session. He can also request to speak (become a speaker). 1.7 Type of Security Access code or domain authentication. 1.8 Allow All To Record Allow all the participating users to record the conference session. 1.9 Auto Accept Invite When the presenter invites the participants to Share Screen, Speak, Present and Collaboration Control, the participant will automatically accepts the invitation. 3
1.10 Conference Quality There are 4 types of video qualities: (1) 1280 x720 requires 1mbps (2) 960x720: requires 768 kbps (3) 800x600: requires 512 kbps (4) 640x480: requires 384 kbps 1.11 Conference modes There are 4 types of mode Host Controlled: In this mode, when the participants join the conference session, he is not a speaker and his video is not displayed. He can only watch and listen to other speakers. He will wait upon the Host to assign his role. The participant will not be able to speak in the conference unless the Host invites him or grant his permission to speak. Interactive: In this mode, when the participants join the conference, he will immediately be given speaker s right. He need not wait for the Host to give permission for him to speak. Video Conference: All participants video are show. However he will not be able to speak until the Host gives him the right. Large Conference: This mode is selected to emulate a typical large conference setting where there is a boss, secretary and large audience. Unlike Host Controlled and Interactive mode, large conference layout display differs for different roles in the conference. The 3 primary layouts for large conference are: Boss: The layout for the boss is multiple video views. Basically, the boss is viewing everybody in the conference. Video of the participants are rotated so that the boss see everybody. Secretary: This role controls the conference. The secretary assigns who to speak, who to present and control the presentation slides of the boss as well. Presenter: When assigned with this role, the presenter can upload and present with slides. During his presentation, everybody in the conference will be watching his video. Speaker: When a person is invited to speak, his video will appear next to the boss. All the participants will be able to watch the video of the boss and the speaker. 1.12 Video Rotation When there are more speakers than available video windows, the hidden speakers will be rotated so that everybody will get a chance to be seen. The talking speaker will NEVER be hidden from view. If the talking speaker is not in window view, he will be brought to view 3 seconds upon detecting his 4
audio. If the user does not want a video channel to be rotated out of view, he can click on Lock Video 1.13 Auto Bit Rate The host can set the maximum video bit rate for the conference session. However, not all the participants in the conference have good broadband connections. In the event where the broadband connection is insufficient, the system will automatically (1) Drop the frame rate of the video (2) Adjust the transmission bit rate for the video (3) Drop the frame rate of Screen Share 5
2. Install and Login to AcuConsole or AcuConference 2.1 Installing AcuConsole or AcuConference Application NTU users can download and install the appropriate AcuConsole and AcuConference installer from http://presentur.ntu.edu.sg/login > First time user page. ios and Android version of AcuConference are also available in the respective AppStore and Play Store. 2.2 Login to AcuConsole or AcuConference (for Host only ) NTU users (Host and Co-Host who needs to create or start a conference session) can login to AcuConsole or AcuConference using thier NTU network account ID and Password as shown in the screenshot below. This will allow the user to create a conference session and post the link of the session directly to the Blackboard Learn course site. 6
3. Creating a Conference Session 3.1 Using AcuConsole or AcuConference Application Here s how you can create a conference session from AcuConference software. 1. Click Windows Start button. 2. Select All Programs->AcuConference 7->AcuConference 7 or AcuConsole7 -> AcuConsole7. 3. From the task bar, right click, click Create Conference Room or AcuConference Create Conference Room 4. At Logon to AcuManager dialog box, enter your User name (Userid) and Password. Then, click OK. (If you re using your personal computer, you may want to check on Auto Login so that you can avoid this step in the future Right click ->Settings-> Server. Fill in the AcuManager address, User name (Userid) and Password and check on Auto Login 5. Fill the necessary information of the room and select the type of security for this room (Domain Groups or Access Code) to which permission will be granted to participate in conference and enter your Email address to which access hyperlink of this session will be sent. You can set the limit of this session as well as the type of conference you re creating. Please see the Definition of Terms and Controls to get a better understanding. 6. Next, click Create. 7
7. Once conference session is successfully created, an email with hyperlink to your conference will be sent to your specified Email address. The URL is also automatically copied to your clipboard for ease of sending the hyperlink via Online Chat software like MSN or Yahoo by pasting (Cntrl-V) the hyperlink to your invitees. You can forward the email to the participants whom you are inviting to join the conference. 8. If you ve checked on the Auto Start After Creation, the system will bring you to Audio/Video Settings. Configure your video and audio resources at Audio/Video Settings dialog box below. Click on to select and adjust video devices Click on to select your microphone and click on and talk normally so that your microphone will be set to the correct level before you enter the conference. Click on to adjust your speaker volume. 9. Click Start to start your conference. 8
4. Starting Conference 4.1 Using AcuConsole or AcuConference Application Many a times, you do not start a conference session immediately after creating the conference room. It is likely that you ve created a conference room, send the invitation to your participants with the access hyperlink. On the date and time of the conference, you can start a conference room by: 1. Select All Programs->AcuConference 7->AcuConference 7 or AcuConsole7 -> AcuConsole7. 2. From the task bar, right click, click Start Conference or AcuConference Start Conference. 3. Login to the AcuManager 4. From the schedule room list, select the room that you want to start and click on Start or that you want to start. Alternatively, you can also double-click on the room 9
After selecting the conference room, you can click on to send the email invitations (MS Outlook required) to the participants. You can click link to the conference session and paste it in any messaging system. to copy the 5. The system will bring you to Audio/Video Settings. Configure your video and audio resources at Audio/Video Settings dialog box. 6. Click Start to start your conference 10
5. Participate in AcuConference session 5.1 Using the AcuConsole or AcuConference Application 1. Click Windows Start button. 2. Select All Programs->AcuConference 7->AcuConference 7 or AcuConsole7 -> AcuConsole7. 3. From the task bar, right click, click Join Conference or AcuConference Join Conference. 4. Enter the Host information and your display name as shown below, click Search. 10. The conference session that is in progress is shown. Select it and click to join the conference session 11
12 11. Configure your video/audio devices:
5.2 Via the Conference Link in Blackboard Learn Course Site or Conference hyperlink provided If you are participating in the conference as Co-Host or Participants from the conference link posted in the Blackboard Learn course site. 1. Login to Blackboard Learn System and navigate to the course site and the content area where the link of the conference session is posted. 2. Click the conference link to enter the conference session. If you are participating in the conference as Co-Host or Participant, here s what you do. 1. At the scheduled conference date and time, click the conference hyperlink which has been sent to you. Note: If this is the first time you are using AcuConference, the program will be automatically downloaded now. 2. Depending on the security settings of the conference session that you are joining, you may be required to enter user details or access code to participate in conference. 13
6. In the Conference Session Figure 1: Default view Figure 2 : Participant List To access participant list, chat area and more controls, move the mouse to the extreme left of the screen 14
Figure 3: Slide View Options Move the mouse to the extreme right to bring out Full Screen and Window and other options. 6.1 Hosting a conference When you start the conference session, you are the Host: 1. You can do the following: Right-click the participant s name to bring up selections: Set any participants as co-host. Co-host has speaking rights without permission from host Transfer host control Appoint any participant to speak (can also double click on his name) Appoint any participant to present Revoke the speaker status of any participant Kick out participants Click on Conference Control 15
Change conference mode and quality Transfer Host Record the conference session Copy access hyperlink and send invitation email via Outlook Change conference room password. Call Attention: mutes everyone s audio except the host and the presenter to bring order back to the conference session. 2. To end conference, click at top right corner of window. You can choose to pass the host control in order for the conference session to continue or otherwise. 6.2 Presenting in Conference You can be set/invited to be a Presenter by the host/current Presenter. You can also take Presenter control if you are a speaker by: Clicking on the Present button Right click on the Participant list and select Take Presenter Control Share any documents, you will be asked if you want to take over the Presentation As a Presenter, you can do the following and all participants will follow your layout: Click on the Start tab or Share on the menu bar, share your PPT/other documents, secondary video devices/files, your screen, create polls or transfer files.(figure 1) See item 9: Slide Viewer tools To close document share, click 16
Change layout views. Click (at bottom left corner) Lock the video of a participant Disable the video/audio of any participant. (Right click on the participant s video) 6.3 Participating in a conference To request to speak, click To present, click To stop speaking, click again. You can view full screen video display of the participant by double clicking on his video. Press ESC key to return to console view. 17
7. Deleting conference room 7.1 Using the AcuConsole or AcuConference Application You may want to remove the conference room. Here s how you do it. 1. Select All Programs->AcuConference 7->AcuConference 7 or AcuConsole7 -> AcuConsole7. 2. From the task bar, right click, click Start Conference or AcuConference Start Conference. 3. At Logon to AcuManager dialog box, enter your User Id and Password. Then, click OK. (If you re using your personal computer, you may want to check on Auto Login so that you can avoid this step in the future) 4. Highlight the conference session that you want to delete, and click Delete. 5. Click OK to confirm deletion. 18
8. Recording a Conference Session AcuConference session can be recorded, saved and uploaded to the network. The session saved during AcuConference session is fully compatible with AcuStudio. You can use all the editing functions in AcuStudio and upload the session to AcuManager. The session is recorded in Full Screen the entire screen is recorded You must be the Host of the AcuConference session, appointed by the Host to record or if the session is set up to allow everybody to record. To set recording parameters: 1. Select All Programs - AcuConference 7- AcuConference 7 or AcuConsole7 - AcuConsole7. 2. From the task bar, right click, click Settings Or in the Conference session Click on Options - Settings to configure the recording parameters: Video Bit rate, Video size, Frame rate and Key Frame Interval. To start recording, Click Conference Control Start Recording. To pause/resume/stop recording, Click Conference Control Pause/Resume/Stop Recording respectively After you stop recording, you can view it immediately by clicking Open File or Open directory to open the acmx file location where it is stored. By default it is in My Documents\AcuStudio\conf_record folder. 19
9. Slide Viewer Tools AcuConference provides you with handy tools to enhance and control your presentation. These tools are available to the Presenter. 9.1 Document Share - Share PPT Click on Share PPT and browse to the PowerPoint presentation that you want to share. Once you ve selected the file, the following message appears: 20
This is to to warn you that if you bring out any applications into this area, it will be seen by all the participants. After you click on Accept and Continue, the PowerPoint will open in the slide show mode in the slide viewer area. You can then continue with your presentation using the available functions in PowerPoint slide show. To close PowerPoint sharing, click on on the App Bar on the left: 9.2 Document Share Share Others If you want to share other types of documents, click on Share Others and browse to the required documents. As above a warning on any windows/application that appears on the work area will be seen by others. The application used to open that file will launched to display the selected file 9.3 Screen Share You can share his desktop screen with all the participants. Click Start You will be brought to your desktop and see a menu at the top of the screen: Move your mouse to the top edge to see more options. 21
To grant control of the screen to other participants, click the down arrow participant to grant the control to. and select the Participants can also request to control the by moving the mouse to the far right to bring out the menu to request for control. Click CTRL The Presenter will be able to see that a participant has requested for control. He can decide to pass the control to him as above. Hitting the CTRL button again will release your control of the screen. 9.4 Secondary Video If you have video/audio files or 2 nd video device, you can display the audio/video to the participants slide viewer For video/audio files, click Open File and browse to the required file For additional video devices, click on Open Device. Select the device that you want to use and the video quality (available selection is dependent on the preset quality of the conference room as well as the layout view chosen. 22
Move your mouse to the far right of the screen to bring out the menu of options. 9.5 File Transfer You can select this function to transfer document to all or selected participants 1. Click on the Send File. In the dialogue box, select add file button. 2. The Send file dialogue oopens. Click on Add File and browse for the files that you want to transfer 3. Select Participants that you want to transfer file to and click OK 4. The participant will see a pop up at the bottom left of the screen. He can choose to accept, (save in My Documents\AcuStudio\publish) save as (choose own location) or decline the file. 23
5. You can view the status of file transfer 6. You can also forward the file that has been sent to other participants. Select the file and click Forward In the pop up dialogue, select the participant that you want to forward the file to. 9.6 Poll Manager During the conference session, the presenter may like to post some questions to the participants. He can do so using the Poll function. 1. Click on New Poll. Enter the question and the answers. Select if this is a single or multiple answer question and whether to identify respondent. If you need more answer choices, click Add item. When you are done, click Submit 24
2. The question appears on the top, you can amend it by clicking Edit or Delete to delete the question. Click on Poll to send the questions out to the participants. 3. 3. You can stop the Poll by clicking on Stop. 4. If you like to publish the result of the Poll, click Publish for the partipant to view the results of the poll. Click Export to export the results to a htm file. 5. Poll questions for AcuConference session can also be created offline and import to a conference session. To create the questions, select All Programs->AcuConference 7- >Polling Editor or AcuConsole7 -> Polling Editor. 25