Setting up and configuring a phone conference for your Elluminate or Collaborate session consists of 3 steps, followed by Managing the conference: A. Schedule the phone conference and get the conference number (www.freeconference.com). This will need to be done, in advance, for every session. B. Configure the phone conference (Elluminate or Collaborate). This and the following steps are all done after logging into your Collaborate room as MODERATOR. C. Confirm the conference number connection (Elluminate or Collaborate) D. Manage the conference (Elluminate or Collaborate) A. Scheduling the phone conference and get the conference number 1. Go to www.freeconference.com. The first time you go to the site, you will be asked to create a free account. Enter your name, email address and create a password. You will be assigned: a. an initial Dial-in Number for your participants to dial into the system b. a Participant Access Code for them to access the conference c. an Organizer Access Code for you, as the moderator, to configure the conference. These could change in the future, so be sure to read the confirmation emails when you schedule a conference. Once you are logged in, you will see this screen:
2. Click Schedule and the following screen appears: 3. Select Web-Scheduled Standard from the middle of the page. Then click Next. 4. Select number of participants, date, start time and the amount of time you need. Start time should be 15 or 30 minutes before your class starts. You might want to give yourself an extra half hour (or more) at the end, if you think the session might run long.
5. Click Next. 6. The next page asks, Would you like us to send invitations to the Participants via e- mail? Select No and click Next. 7. This page allows you to verify the information you have entered. If everything is accurate, click Confirm. You will receive an email with the pertinent information for your conference. Use the information in that email to relay the Dial-in Number and the Participant Access Code to anyone dialing into the session. The Organizer Access Code will only be used by you, in the next section, when you configure the conference. These could change in the future, so be sure to read the confirmation emails when you schedule a conference. B. Configure the phone conference 1) Log in using the MODERATOR link (the one that ends with -m ) 2) To open the Telephone Conference window:
IN ELLUMINATE Click Tools- Telephony- Configure Telephone Conference. IN COLLABORATE Look for the words Audio & Video in the upper left-hand corner of the window. Just to the right is a small microphone and just to the right of the mic is a small box. Click the box to get a drop-down menu. Find and click Configure Telephone Conference. 3) Just below the middle of the Teleconference Connection box that opens, under Session Information, enter the Dial-in number you received from FreeConference.com in the Telephone box, and the Organizer Access Code in the PIN box. YOU MUST INCLUDE THE * AS THE FIRST DIGIT.
4) Click Save & Connect. You will see these windows: C. Confirm the conference number connection 1) The confirmation window will then appear. Wait (usually 15-20 seconds) for the system announcement before selecting one of the following options: a) Reannounce: Select Reannounce if you are unable to hear the complete first announcement. b) Confirm: If the connection is successful, you will hear the following message: Welcome. You will now enter the conference. Click Confirm from the confirmation window. c) Disconnect: If the connection is unsuccessful, you will receive the following message: Your access code is not correct. We received [1601997]. Listen carefully to the number that was received. The system was unable to verify the full pin number. Click Disconnect to return to the Teleconference Connection window (step 3 above) and modify the PIN.
In most cases, you can easily correct the failure. Depending on what access code the system called out, you can alter the PIN number accordingly: System excluded only the asterisk: Add an additional asterisk. For example, the system read back "1601997," so change [*1601997] to [**1601997]. System excluded both the asterisk and first digit: Retype the entire pin using one asterisk. For example, the system read back "601997," so clear the field and retype [*1601997] 2) Again, click Save & Connect to check the connection and once more listen to the announcement. 3) Once successful, select Confirm in the confirmation window. D. Manage the conference 1) Once connected, Teleconference will appear in the Participants window. Music will automatically play until participants call in.
2) To mute/unmute the Teleconference: Go the Teleconference item in the Participants list and hover your mouse just to the left of the telephone receiver icon. When the menu box appears, click it to see the full menu and select Audio. Repeat to reverse the command. When muted, there will be a small x over the receiver icon. X indicates that the Teleconference is muted. The phone bridge is now set up for your Collaborate session. Please contact SHRPHelp@umdnj.edu with any additional concerns regarding a phone bridge or Blackboard Collaborate support.