This basic manual was made as part of the Lapin etäopetuksen tukipalvelut (LATU) -project 1.8.2008 31.12.2010. ilinc 10 Student s Manual Student manual LearnLinc 10 http://ilinc.tokem.fi Virtuaaliopintojen tukipalvelu (RAMK & Lay) Tanja Rautiainen tel. 020 798 5412 tanja.rautiainen@ramk.fi Matti Kenttä tel. 020 798 5411 matti.kentta@ramk.fi Kristiina Anttila tel. 020 798 5391 kristiina.anttila@ramk.fi
CONTENT 1 INTRODUCTION... 3 2 SIGN IN... 3 3 EDITING YOUR PROFILE... 4 4 JOINING A SESSION... 6 5 MANAGING THE BASIC FEATURES... 11 6 SHARING APPLICATIONS... 16 APPENDICES... 21 APPENDIX 1... 21 2 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS... 21 APPENDIX 2... 22 CONNECTOR TYPES... 22 APPENDIX 3... 23 SOUND AND MICROPHONE SETTINGS IN WINDOWS XP... 23 APPENDIX 4... 24 AUDIO WIZARD... 24
1 INTRODUCTION The LearnLinc-virtual classroom is a learning environment that enables real-time learning, interaction and collaboration via the Internet. LearnLinc is your online class room. LearnLinc sessions can be recorded, if necessary, so that you can follow them afterwards at your convenience. You need a computer with: - A headset with a microphone - Internet Access Remember that you are responsible for others hearing your voice. If you are unsure of the suitability of your computer or Internet connection for LearnLinc-based learning, please contact your organization s support person(s). 2 SIGN IN 3 1. Connect your headset to your computer 2. Start your computer 3. Open your web browser (such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari) 4. Go to the address http://ilinc.tokem.fi (the Campus screen) 5. Enter User Name and Password in the appropriate fields and click Submit.
3 EDITING YOUR PROFILE You can edit your personal information and change your password with the buttons in the upper right corner of the Campus-screen. EDITING YOUR PROFILE Press the -button in the upper right corner of the page. Check on the opening page, that your name and email address are correct. You can edit them by typing new information into the appropriate fields and then pressing the Submit-button. To cancel the editing of the data, press the Cancel-button. 4 You can add or change your photo in the "Edit Profile" menu. Press the Selaa (Browse) -button to locate the picture in your PC and upload it. You are strongly advised to use a recognisable picture of yourself. Find the picture file using the pop-up window and select it, then click the Open button.
Then click the Upload-link. This loads the image from your computer. Approve the changes by pressing the Submit-button CHANGING YOUR PASSWORD Press the Campus-area. -button in the upper right corner of the 5 Enter and confirm the new password into the fields on the page. Approve with the Submit-button. To cancel the password change, press the Cancel-button.
4 JOINING A SESSION After login, you enter the LearnLinc campus-area. Select the correct classroom (e.g. look for the subject or the teacher's name) by navigating the folder structure (see the picture below). You can also search the class directly by using the "Search" function (= search), in "List" or "Folders" view. In the campus-area you can search a class by selecting: region school area class name. (For example, Rovaniemi Rovaniemi University of Applied Sciences Hyvinvointiala Matematiikka (Kaisa Aatsinki).) Teachers' names are listed alphabetically by first name. Select the desired class and click JOIN. 6 When you are opening the LearnLinc class room for the first time with your computer, you have to install the ilinc client program. Installation of the program varies depending on your browser and operating system. The main principle is that during the installation you are asked to save or open the offered files and to adopt the service. Answer Yes to the protection warning notices. ILINC INSTALLATION FOR THE MOZILLA FIREFOX -BROWSER: Choose Join Session
Choose Tallenna tiedosto (Save) Double click the Session.exe file. You can find the file in the "Downloads" window. The file can be saved to your desktop, My Documents or the task bar. 7 Choose Ok Choose Suorita (Run)
At this point, you will be asked to run the Audio Wizard, to adjust your audio settings. Run the Audio Wizard completely, after which you will enter the classroom. See a more detailed Audio Wizard guide in appendix 4! 8 ILINC INSTALLATION FOR THE INTERNET EXPLORER -BROWSER: After clicking the "Join" button, the next view will open for you: Choose Manual Join
Choose Run 9 Choose Run once again
10 At this point, you will be asked to run the Audio Wizard, to adjust your audio settings. Run the Audio Wizard completely, after which you will enter the classroom. See a more detailed Audio Wizard guide in appendix 4!
5 MANAGING THE BASIC FEATURES TOOL PANEL Through the windows and buttons of the Tool Panel, you can control the activities in a LearnLinc class. All the windows can be minimized and expanded from the top left corner of each window Each window contains buttons. Their functions are explained in the instructions below. From the top right corner of each window you find a menu where you get more window-related functions. Tool Panel consist of: Top menu bar of the classroom Attendees and floor holder 11 Feedback Chat
FUNCTIONS OF THE TOP MENU BAR Own image Preview (live image, if the webcam is turned on). If you have uploaded a photo of yourself to ilinc, it shows in this thumbnail icon. Instructions for adding / editing a photo can be found under Editing Profile." Open/Close your webcam. You can show or hide your webcam video image with this icon.. Video transmission can slow down your connection, so keep it hidden if it is not necessary. The red diagonal line on the icon means that this feature is not turned on. Microphone on / off. You can mute / open your microphone by pressing this icon. The red diagonal line on the icon means that this feature is not turned on. Headphones or speakers on / off. With this button you may turn off the sound in your headphones or speakers. You will not need to do this often. Red diagonal line on the icon means that this feature is not turned on. 12 Handraising. A student can raise the hand by clicking (once) on this button. A second click will take the hand down again, so do not double-click the icon! The additional functions under the button allow students to Step away or to Applaud. Lower hand Step away Applause Take the floor. You can take the floor back from another speaker by clicking this button. Students only have this right in breakout-group sessions. Switch to full-screen. If another application is open and shared, you can see it in full-screen view by clicking this button. The sidebar becomes transparent and moves to the lower right-hand corner of the screen. You can also use this button to return to normal view.
ATTENDEES In the Attendees list in the sidebar you can see all the participants in the session. The floor holder is visible in the window with user picture (if available) and name. The other participants are listed below with the teachers at the top. You may enlarge the name list by dragging the lower end of the box and by collapsing the Feedback block. 13 TAKING/GIVING THE FLOOR You can request the floor by clicking the hand-icon at the top of the Attendees box. When you have the floor, your microphone opens and your name and picture (if you have uploaded it) will appear in the top left corner. The teacher s microphone may be open while a student has the floor. You can give the floor back to the teacher by double-clicking his/her name. The teacher can also take the floor from you. The teacher may give you the floor or open your microphone. When you have the floor, you can use the LearnLinc-specific functions such as sharing applications. If the teacher has only opened your microphone without giving the floor, others can hear you, but you cannot perform those operations.
GROUP WORK The teacher can divide the students into groups for the duration of a group work task. In the Breakout groups every group member has the same access rights, i.e. there is no fixed floor holder. Everyone has an equal right to speak, but in a Breakout group only one at a time is in control. The teacher can point out one in the group as initial floor holder. A student can take the floor by double-clicking his/her own name. To avoid overlapping, wait first, that the previous speaker has finished. Commit yourself by handraising and take the floor only after the previous floor holder has finished. If open microphones cause disturbance, everyone should mute their own microphone, while he/she is not speaking. The teacher can add content for groups, which may be needed in the group work. The content opens in a separate tab, which you can open and close by yourself. 14 If you wish to return to the main session before the actual time limit runs out, click on "Breakout Group" button in top right corner of the window, where you can select "Exit Group". FEEDBACK The teacher can make queries for the students with the feedback feature. The question types are the following: Pace Agreement Assignment Status True/False Yes/No A/B/C/D: four unspecified options
Once the teacher has made the query, students can respond to it immediately. The teacher can share the results of the query for everyone. CHAT In the Chat-window all participants can send messages. You write text in the text box at the bottom of the window, after which the text is sent to the shared window above by pressing the arrow button or by clicking the enter key on your keyboard. Conversations under the Public-tab are visible to everyone. 15 ( If the cursor in the text box is not flashing on the screen, press the arrow button.) Participants may discuss privately with each other under the Private-tab, if the teacher has allowed it in her/his class. A private discussion opens by double-clicking on the desired person's name in the list. The private discussion will appear in a separate tab on the window that displays the other member's name of the discussion. A private conversation can be stopped by pressing the cross on the right side of the tab.
SAVING CHAT-DISCUSSIONS You can save the chat during a session by going to File Save Chat. Chats can also be saved with the View Log -feature. The View Log -feature opens a chat discussion in Notepad, with which it can be saved. This feature also displays the times. Define in the pop-up window, where you want to save the file and enter a name for it. Accept with the "Tallenna" (Save) -button. 16 6 SHARING APPLICATIONS With Application sharing you can share application windows (eg, Word, Excel) for the participants to see and use. The teacher can share any participant s application. When the teacher gives the floor to a participant, he/she is able to use the shared application. The teacher also has automatically control of a student s shared application. When the teacher wants to share your application, do the following: Open first an application, for example, a Word document, in your own computer. When the teacher turns on Application sharing, a dialog box will open for you. To accept sharing, select Application.
Select the shared application from the "Application Sharing" -tab, by checking it in the list. Then click the green - icon at the bottom of the page to start sharing. See further the "Application sharing, closure and management" section of this manual. Your ilinc-side bar is reduced and it is floating transparent in the bottom right of the display. APPLICATION SHARING CLOSURE AND MANAGEMENT In the course of sharing, a transparent "Sharing" box will appear in the upper right corner of the screen, with which you can manage the sharing. 17 = temporarily interrupt sharing. The icon turns into the green - icon, with which you can continue the application sharing. Red = stop application sharing = highlight pen. Clicking the little arrow brings up a menu from which you can choose different highlighting tools. With these highlighting tools you can increase the visibility of something on the screen. Your notes are visible for the students, but are not saved when you exit the application. Pointer = with the pointer you can draw students' attention to a specific area. The arrow always moves to the desired area by clicking. Highlighter = the arrow brings up a menu in which you can change the colour of the pen Line = with the line tool you can draw straight lines. Via the arrow menu you can get the Freeform tool, which allows you to draw free-form lines Rectangle = the arrow brings up a menu from which you can change the colour and opacity (Solid Fill, Transparent, No Fill) of the rectangle Oval = the arrow brings up a menu in which you can change the colour and opacity (Solid Fill, Transparent, No Fill) of the oval
Stamp = with the stamp tool you can draw different textures on the board. The arrow brings up a menu that allows you to change the pattern. Select = A selection tool, which allows you to select objects on the screen and then edit them You can stop using highlighting tools by pressing the - icon. POWERBOARD SHARED WHITEBOARD PowerBoard can be used as a shared whiteboard on which each participant make notes when they have the floor. Power Point files that are preloaded as classroom content open in Power Board. When you click the -icon, PowerBoard opens automatically for all participants. At the top of the tab you find the PowerBoard menu bar with the following functions: = show previous page/slide = the present page; the drop down menu allows you to display another page. 18 = show next page/slide = add a page (the arrow brings up a menu that allows you to delete the current page with "Delete Page") = a selection tool, which allows you to select objects on the board. The arrow brings up a menu that allows you to select all the objects on the board with "Select All". With this selection tool you can also move drawings and objects over the board. Removing is done with the Delete button on your keyboard. = pointer. With the pointer you can draw students' attention to a specific area. The arrow always moves to the desired area by clicking.. = laser pointer. On the board the cursor is displayed as a red dot. The pointer is shown to students when you hold down the left mouse button. = highlighter. The arrow brings up a menu in which you can change the colour of the pen. = line tool. With the line tool you can draw straight lines. Via the arrow menu you can get the Freeform tool, which allows you to draw free-form lines. = Rectangle. The arrow brings up a menu from which you can change the colour and opacity (Solid Fill, Transparent, No Fill) of the rectangle.
= Oval. The arrow brings up a menu in which you can change the colour and opacity (Solid Fill, Transparent, No Fill) of the oval. = Stamp. With the stamp tool you can draw different textures on the board. The arrow brings up a menu that allows you to change the pattern. = insert image. Click the icon and then click on the board, find via the pop up window the desired image in your computer, and press "Open". The image appears on screen, after which you can still move it and modify its size. = text tool. Click the icon and then click on the board, after which you can write in a text field. = format text. Click in an open text box and then on this icon to change the formatting of the text. = cut. First select an object on the board and then click this icon. The object is removed from the board and placed on the clipboard from where you can paste it to another location. = copy. Work in the same way as the Cut function except that the object is not removed. 19 = paste. You can import text and images in a normal Windows manner. The objects will appear in the upper left corner of the board. You can close PowerBoard by clicking the cross -icon on the tab. You can choose if the program closes only for you, or for all users from the pop up window. (Close All, Close Mine, Cancel) WEBSYNC SHARED WEB BROWSER With this tool the floor holder can easily direct the attendees to a desired web page. Click the -icon to open the shared browser tab for everyone. The floor holder controls the browser and the other browsers will follow suit. For security reasons WebSync does not work on pages for which a login is required. Write the web address (URL) of a page in the address bar and click Enter or the green -icon.
= previous page = next page = stop = refresh/reload You can close WebSync by clicking the cross -icon on the tab. Note that participants can independently browse any site, to which they have been directed, but when the floor holder updates the browser (e.g. by changing to another page) all the participants browser will follow. MEDIA LINK (present a sound-/video link) With the WebSync browser you may not be able to play all sound or video files that are available on the Internet. Copy then the location address of the file and open Media Link with the address bar at the top of the tab and click Enter or the green -icon. -icon. Paste the address in the 20 You can close the Media Link by clicking the cross -icon on the tab. In case of audio problems, check: 1. Did you connect your headset to your computer before starting the machine? 2. Is the headset connected properly, i.e. are the plugs in the right sockets of your computer? 3. If your headset has a volume control, make sure the sound in your headset is not muted. 4. Make sure the sound in your computer is not muted. 5. Did you check the audio settings in your computer and did you run the Audio Wizard? If the problem persists, log out of LearnLinc, close your browser and log out of your computer. Log in again and check whether the audio works. If the problem still remains, contact the support staff.
APPENDICES APPENDIX 1 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS You need a computer that has: - A sound card - A screen resolution of 1024 x 768 - A headset (with microphone) - A broadband Internet connection (1 MB or faster is recommended) Windows: Operating System: - Microsoft Windows 2000 (SP4) - XP (SP2) 21-2003 (R2) - Vista Browser: - Internet Explorer 6.0 or newer - Mozilla Firefox 1.5 Memory: - 128 MB 256 MB recommended - Vista: 1 GB Apple Macintosh: Operating System: - OS X Leopard: Intel, PPC G5 tai G4 - OS X 10.4 Tiger: Intel, PPC G5, G4 tai G3 - OS X 10.3.9 Panther: PPC G5, G4, tai G3 Browser: - Firefox 1.5 or newer - Safari 2.0 or newer
- Java Runtime Environment 5.0 or newer Memory: - 256 MB 512 recommended Linux: There is no official support for Linux, but you can try and use LearnLinc via the Wine emulator. If you are unsure about the suitability of your computer or your Internet connection for LearnLinc use, you can check with the support staff or with your Internet Service Provider. APPENDIX 2 CONNECTOR TYPES 22 Picture 1. A headset with a USB connector. Picture 2. A headset with separate plugs. Picture 3. Usb-connector. Picture 4. 3,5 mm plugs.
Picture 5. Connectors on a laptop: To the left is a USB port and to the right are the sockets for the 3,5 mm headset plugs. Picture 6. Connectors on the rear of a desktop: The USB ports are below the sockets for the 3,5 mm headset plugs. APPENDIX 3 SOUND AND MICROPHONE SETTINGS IN WINDOWS XP 23 It is a good idea to check your computer's audio and microphone settings when you want to use LearnLinc. If you use multiple machines, you should check the audio and microphone settings in all of them. 1. Open the Windows "Start" menu from the bottom left corner of the desktop. Choose "Control Panel" Sounds and Audio Devices.
2. You are on the "Sounds and Audio Devices" page (under Sound and Audio Devices Properties). Choose the Audio tab. Check that in the drop down menu the correct audio device is selected. Open the "Volume" buttons. Here you can check that the sound levels are appropriate and no section has the "mute" box ticked. If the mute box is ticked anywhere, take the tick away. Choose the Voice tab and do the same. 3. Your computer's audio settings are now done. Remember, the audio and microphone settings vary depending on the computer's operating system and sound card. If you encounter problems with the sound in spite of this, please contact the support staff. 24 APPENDIX 4 AUDIO WIZARD The Audio Wizard always runs automatically when the ilinc client program is installed. You can also run the Audio Wizard during a session when the ilinc client is already installed. You can access it via the top menu bar. Choose Controls Audio Wizard. If you are unsure about your audio, it is advisable to run the Audio Wizard from your computer before opening LearnLinc. In Windows you would do this by going to Start All Programs ilinc 10 Audio Wizard.
With the help of he Speakers -window you can adjust the speaker settings (i.e. the sound that you hear). Item 1. You hear music and speech. Item 2. You can adjust the volume level slider to the desired level. If you do not hear any audio, click on "Select a different speaker", and select a different audio source from the list. 25 Click Next. With the aid of the Microphone window you can adjust the microphone settings. Item 1. Click Record and speak in the microphone. This function records your voice for 10 seconds. You can cut off the recording sooner by clicking the "Stop"-button. After recording your speech is repeated automatically. Item 2. You can adjust the output volume level of you microphone with the microphone level slider.
Item 3. The sound level changes after you play back a recording, so you can determine a suitable sound level. Leave the tick box unmarked. If you still can not hear anything, click on "Select a different microphone," and choose a different microphone from the list. Click Finish. The Audio Wizard is closed and you return to the LearnLinc classroom. 26