Elluminate Enabling the Tool and Creating a Session

Transcription

1 Elluminate Enabling the Tool and Creating a Session Elluminate provides the opportunity for synchronous distance learning and collaboration. This tool goes beyond the Blackboard Virtual Classroom by incorporating voice (up to 6 simultaneous talkers) and video (up to 6 simultaneous video transmissions). Features include: Shared, interactive whiteboard Indexed recording and playback Instant messaging Graphing Calculator Application sharing Math Symbol Library Breakout rooms Rich Media Content Support Synchronized notes Multimedia playback Interactive quiz and survey manager Web tour PowerPoint import Emotion and activity indicators File transfer, even during recordings Closed captioning, screen-reader support Ways to incorporate Elluminate into your teaching: Virtual office hours Live demos/labs via webcam Tutoring and Mentoring Remote guest lecturers Student projects, collaboration Multiple/multimedia learning activities Recorded sessions Combined online and onsite students Pre-recorded content Starting in Summer 2011, the Elluminate tool is enabled by default in all Blackboard courses s but a session needs to be created by the faculty member. Elluminate has been made available through the Division of Continuing Studies. This tool can be used independently of Blackboard as well. Elluminate's support services can be reached online at as well as by phone at (toll free in North America, option #2). There are toll free numbers for the UK ( ) and Australia ( ) and a toll number for international users ( ). Creating an Elluminate Session and Posting the Link From a Content Area, go to the Add Interactive Tool menu and select Elluminate Live! Change the Session Name (e.g. remove the date and time after the course title). Bb 9.1 Elluminate Enable Session Page 1 January 2011

2 Change the End Date which defaults to a one hour session. We recommend that you use one single session for the entire semester. Expand the Advanced Session Settings option to select shared, public and password options. Expand the Select Moderators and Participants option if you need to assign roles. By default, the instructor who is creating the session will be a Moderator, but you can assign any user as a moderator. There are checkboxes to restrict Participants access or allow all participants to be Moderators. Bb 9.1 Elluminate Enable Session Page 2 January 2011

3 The Recording Mode option allows you to select Manual, Automatic and Disabled. By default, a session is set to Manual and therefore not automatically recorded. A pop-up message is displayed reminding the moderator to turn on recording if needed. This is usually sufficient but you may want to select Automatic to always record a session. The Simultaneous Talkers option is set to 1 by default, but you may want to increase it to 3 which would allow two people to be talking and a third person would be able to interject. This setting can be changed during a session at any time by a moderator. The maximum number of simultaneous talkers is 6. There is no way to override the default of 1 simultaneous video transmission within Blackboard but this number can be increased to 6 at any time during a session by a moderator. The Supervised option is enabled by default and allows a Moderator to view Private messages between Participants. The Raise Hand on Entry option initiates an audible alert and flashing box for the Moderator when a Participant enters the session. Click Submit. A confirmation screen will be displayed with a link to Send if necessary. Click OK. The Schedule page will be displayed. Click the Add link at the right. The Add Link page controls the Description, Comment, Requirement and Date Restrictions for the link to the session. These settings refer to the link itself, not the actual session. You may want to add directions such as Please click on the link above and then the JOIN link at the top right. Bb 9.1 Elluminate Enable Session Page 3 January 2011

4 Click Submit. A confirmation screen will be displayed. Click OK to return to the content area. Bb 9.1 Elluminate Enable Session Page 4 January 2011

5 Information about Elluminate for Your Students Below is some sample text that you can post for your students: You will be using a tool called Elluminate for online synchronous communication. If you have never used this tool before, don't worry - it's not hard to figure out. Elluminate provides decent training and support through pdf documents and recorded training: Elluminate Live! V10 Recorded Training & Documentation Elluminate uses Java so be sure to check that you have a current version and feel free to check out the Configuration Room to make sure your audio and video are configured. Using Elluminate for the First Time The first time you use Elluminate, it may take a few minutes to load. It will open into a new window so you may need to allow pop-ups if you have a pop-up blocker installed on your computer. You may be prompted to run a file, please do so. You may also get a security warning, please click OK. A note about Internet Explorer: Because of security settings, you may find that Elluminate does not launch the first time and will actually bring you back to the Announcement page of the course. Don't worry, just go back in again to Elluminate and it will load the second time. If you're having any trouble with your audio or video connection, make sure that you have your camera and headset plugged in before you enter the room. If you forgot, just exit the room and then come back in. There's also an audio and a video wizard available from the Tools menu in Elluminate to test your configuration. If you're still having trouble, check out Elluminate's Support Portal or give them a call at (toll free in North America, option #2). There are toll free numbers for the UK ( ) and Australia ( ) as well as a toll number for international users ( ). Bb 9.1 Elluminate Enable Session Page 5 January 2011