Connect for iphone. Aug, 2012 Ver 5.3b AWest. 1 P a g e

Transcription

1 Connect for iphone Aug, 2012 Ver 5.3b AWest 1 P a g e

2 About the Connect for iphone App... 3 iphone app system requirements... 3 Required Software... 3 Blackboard Requirements... 3 iphone App Installation, Setup, and Removal... 4 Downloading the App... 4 Installing the App... 4 Logging into the Connect for iphone App... 5 Logging Out... 5 Auto Logout... 6 Sending Messages... 7 Adding a Phone Message... 8 Using Text-to-Speech... 9 Using Record My Voice... 9 Adding an Message Adding an SMS Message Sending your Message Sending a Saved Message (Connect 5 Templates) Modifying a Saved Message Removing (uninstalling) the iphone App Contacting Client Care P a g e

3 About the Connect for iphone App The Connect for iphone app is designed to quickly and easily send messages to your community right from your ios device. In addition, you can also access your saved messages, templates, and view Recipient Groups The Connect for iphone app is a free download from itunes and requires activation by a Client Care Representative before you can use the app to send messages. Once you ve installed the app and activated your account, you will use your Connect 5 log in credentials to access your Connect 5 messaging tools, right from your ios device. iphone app system requirements The following devices are currently supported with Connect iphone apps iphone ipod Touch ipad Required Software The following software is required to use the Connect for iphone app: ios or later. (NOTE: This does not include public beta versions of the ios software.) Blackboard Requirements Contact Client Care to activate your account to use the iphone for Connect 5 before you use the app. 3 P a g e

4 iphone App Installation, Setup, and Removal Blackboard Connect now offers two easy to use iphone Apps for AlertNow and Connect. Both of these Apps are available as a free download from the itunes store. NOTE: Your district may restrict the usage of this app. For more information, contact Client Care to see if your user account is eligible. Downloading the App To download these Apps, you must have itunes installed or have access to the itunes App Store that is pre-installed on all current Apple ios devices. NOTE: This is a FREE download. itunes may ask you for your itunes password and/or ask you to confirm the purchase. This is normal. Your account will not be charged. You can download the Connect and AlertNow App from itunes on your computer. To do this: 1. Use the links below to download the correct app for your account 2. Click the button located on the left side of the screen. 3. Click OK to allow your computer to open itunes (if your computer asks you to confirm opening itunes) 4. Click Download. Installing the App If you are downloading the Connect for iphone app from your phone, the ios will automatically install your app once it s been downloaded to your device. If you ve downloaded the app on your Mac or Windows system via itunes, you will need to connect you ios device to your computer and sync your device with itunes. 4 P a g e

5 Logging into the Connect for iphone App Once your Institution has been activated to use the Connect for iphone app, you can log into the app using the same user name and password that you use to log into your Institution s Connect 5 account. When logging in, please take care when typing in your credentials as the log in process is case sensitive. To increase accessibility to your Connect 5 account, you can use the Remember Me switch to save your user name and password to the system. For security reasons, we recommend not using this feature if your iphone or other ios device is not locked with a passcode. For more information regarding passcodes for the ios device, please refer to this Apple Knowledge Base article. Logging Out Once you have logged into your account, you can log out of your account at any time by tapping the Logout button located in the upper left corner of the Home screen. 5 P a g e

6 Auto Logout To ensure the security and privacy of your Institution, the Blackboard Connect for iphone app is set to auto log out when your phone screen locks. Pressing the top Power button or causing your phone to time out by not touching the screen for a period of time will log you out of your account and any unsaved changes will be lost. If you are having difficulty creating your message due to the iphone automatically locking you out (as you might be juggling different tasks while your sending your message), we recommend adjusting your log out time in the iphone System Settings. To adjust your log out settings: 1. Tap the Settings icon in your iphone. 2. Choose GENERAL. 3. Scroll the menu down and tap Auto-Lock. 4. Select your auto lock time. Your options are 1 to 5 minutes. For general security purposes, we DO NOT recommend ever setting your phone to Never as a log out time. Most ios devices are set to a 1-minute auto lock time. This means that if your iphone doesn t receive an input command (i.e. you don t touch the screen), the phone will lock and you will see the Slide to Unlock strip the next time you use your phone. 6 P a g e

7 Sending Messages The Home Screen on the Connect for iphone app is a simple UI that contains a Send a Message button and field to list the current activities for that account. This tutorial will walk you through the initial steps to create a new Connect Mass notification message using the Connect for iphone App. 1. Tap the Send a Message button located on the app's Home Screen. 2. Select New Message from the pop-up menu. 3. Tap the white bar under Type to select your message type. 4. Select the message type you want to send -- Outreach or Emergency. 7 P a g e

8 NOTE: Surveys and attendance messages are not supported on the Connect for iphone app. 5. Click the New Message button (top left corner) to return to the New Message Screen. 6. Tap the Title bar under the Messages section on the New Message Screen. 7. Type in your message title using the onscreen keyboard. 8. Click the NEW MESSAGE button to return to the New Message Screen. To add a phone message to send to your Recipients: Adding a Phone Message 1. Tap the Phone bar on the New Message screen. 8 P a g e

9 2. Select the type of phone message you would like to send -- Text-to-Speech or Record my Voice. Using Text-to-Speech Text-to-Speech (or TTS) is a Connect 5 feature that allows you to provide your message as a text and Connect 5 will turn your text into a computerized voice that will be sent to your Recipients. If you want to send a Text-to-Speech message instead of recording your own voice, simply tap the Text-to-Speech switch to turn on the TTS mode. Once the Text-to-Speech mode is turned on, you can type your message using the on-screen keyboard. You can use the Copy SMS script or the Copy Script buttons to copy your SMS or messages into the Text-to-Speech field. If you have not created these messages, these buttons will be grayed out. Using Record My Voice Recording your voice message has never been easier. The Connect for iphone app features a recording tool that gives you the ability to record your message right from the app without having to call a toll-free number. To record a voice message: 9 P a g e

10 1. From the Phone screen, tap the Record My Voice switch to turn on voice recording feature. 2. Tap the Record button and use the iphone's built in microphone to record your message. 3. Use the blue scrub bar located above the record and stop buttons to see the length of the message while you are recording. You will also see the color volume indicator to show you the volume of your voice as you speak. 4. Tap Stop to stop recording. 5. Tap Record again to re-record your message. 6. Click Play to listen to your message. 7. When you are done, click the New Message button to return to the New 8. Message Screen. The Phone field will now be populated with your phone message. To cancel your voice message, tap the Record my voice switch located above the message to turn voice off and return to the previous screen. 10 P a g e

11 Adding an Message You can also create an message in your Connect iphone App for mass notification. To compose an message: 1. Tap the option on the New Message screen. 2. Touch the switch to ON and type your into the text field. If you have completed a TTS phone message you can use the Copy Phone Script to copy the phone script into your . You can also copy the text from your SMS script, if completed. When you are done, click New Message button (in the top left corner) to return to the New Message Screen. To cancel your , simply tap the switch (located above the message field) to OFF to cancel your and return to the previous screen. 11 P a g e

12 Adding an SMS Message Writing an SMS script for mass delivery is similar to creating an with the exception of the 130-character count. To compose an SMS message: 1. Tap the SMS option on the New Message screen. 2. Touch the SMS switch to turn on SMS and type your message into the text field. The App will keep track of your character count in the SMS field. You have 130 characters. When you are done, click the New Message button to return to the New Message Screen. To cancel your message and return to the previous screen, tap the SMS switch (located in the message field) to OFF. 12 P a g e

13 Sending your Message Once you have created your message(s), scheduled a date and time, and chose your recipients and groups, you will need to return to the New Message screen to send your message. To send your messages using the Connect for iphone App: 1. Click the Send button located in the top right corner of the New Message screen. The App will send the message and provide you with a Message Confirmation message once the message has been sent. 2. Click Dismiss on the message confirmation pop-up box. 13 P a g e

14 Sending a Saved Message (Connect 5 Templates) The saved messages that appear in your Connect for iphone app are Connect 5 Templates that are shared or were created by you. However, not all Templates will be available in the app. Only Templates that have either a phone, , or SMS message provided and Recipients have been added will be available. Follow the instructions below to send a saved, ready-to-send Template in your Connect 5 account. 1. Tap the Send a Message button located on the app's Home Screen and select Saved Message from the pop-up menu. 2. Choose the ready-to-send Template from the list of saved messages. 3. Tap the white box under Date and Time to open the date and time window. 4. Scroll through the date and times to choose when you would like to send the message. When you re done, tap the New Message button (in the upper left corner of screen) to return to the previous page. 14 P a g e

15 5. Now you ll add your Recipients. Tap the white box under Contacts to open the recipient window. 6. Use the + button in the lower left corner to select from a list of Groups in your Connect 5 account to add to your message. To send the message to everyone, tap the Send to All Contacts button at the top of the screen. 7. Tap the back button(s) in the upper left corner to return to the previous screen. At this point, your message is ready to send. To send your message, tap the Send button to send your message. If you need to modify the text of your messages, you will need to use the white buttons located under Messages to modify your saved message. 15 P a g e

16 Modifying a Saved Message Though only Ready-to-Send messages are available to the Connect for iphone app, you still have the ability to modify the saved message template to add or remove Contact Groups and modify your messages. To modify the message that will go out to your Recipients, use the white buttons under Message to edit the title of your message as well as the phone, , or SMS text message. Additionally, you can use the Select Recipients button under Contacts to add or remove Contact Group that is listed in your Connect 5 account. If you are okay with sending the message written in your template as-is, you can skip this step and schedule your delivery time. NOTE: If you need to send a Template to all your Recipients, use the Select Recipients button and tap on the Send to All Contacts button. 16 P a g e

17 Removing (uninstalling) the iphone App If you want to remove the Connect or AlertNow iphone App: 1. Locate the AlertNow or Connect App on your iphone home screen. 2. Tap and HOLD the icon for 3 to 5 seconds. 3. Tap the X that will appear in the top left corner of the icon. 4. Your iphone will prompt you if you are sure you want to remove the app. Tap YES. 5. Press the HOME button to exit the edit mode. 17 P a g e

18 Contacting Client Care If you have any questions regarding the information in this manual, you can contact us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Also check out our new support website Behind the Blackboard, where you can find more information about Connect s special features as well as share ideas with other schools and institutions. Phone Support: Support: connectsupport@blackboard.com 18 P a g e