Blackboard Collaborate Ultra For Moderators
Blackboard Collaborate Ultrafor ModeratorsBlackboard Collaborate is a real-time video conferencing tool that lets you addfiles, share applications, and use a virtual whiteboard to interact. CollaborateUltra opens right in your browser, so you don’t have to install any software tojoin a session.Get StartedHere are some basics to get you started. These will help you learn how to getset up, where to find things, and what you can do.To access Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, go to the course’s Control Panel, thenin the Course Tools, click on Blackboard Collaborate (757) 683-3192itshelp@odu.edu1504 Webb Centeroduitsodu its
Tool InterfaceWhen you first access Blackboard Collaborate Ultra from your course, you willencounter an intuitive design for scheduling sessions and viewing recordings.The tool menu has two areas: sessions and recordings.SessionsIn the Sessions area, you have both a dedicated course room and the ability toschedule as many new sessions as you want:By default, you will have a Course Room, which is an open Collaborate sessiondedicated to your course. This makes it easier for you to use Collaborate Ultra inyour courses. It also provides you and your students a convenient launch pointfor classes or impromptu meetings.BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 2If you don’t want students to view or join the open course room session, youcan turn it off. In the Blackboard Collaborate Ultra tool, open the More menu for theCourse Room. Select Disable course room.
In the Blackboard Collaborate tool, select Edit Room to restrict access tothe room.Create and edit sessionsYou can create sessions from the Blackboard Collaborate Ultra tool by clickingon either the Create Session button or on the plus sign on the top right:BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 3
A panel will open on the right where you can configure session settings.1. Type a meaningful name for the session. This helps students find the rightsession.2. Set the date and time the session starts and ends. You can choose to keep asession open or repeat. You can also select if students can enter the sessionbefore the start time.3. Type a detailed description of the meeting. This helps students prepare forthe session.4. Set guest access for the meeting. Select On to allow participants to inviteadditional guests.BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 4
You can send the copy of the guest link to your students, or other guests.You can also decide if your guests join as participants, presenters, or moderators by default. Permissions can also be set during your meeting.BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 5
5. Optionally, open Session Settings and decide if users can:- Download recordings. Allow recording downloads from the Recordingspage as well as on the recording play back page- Share profile pictures. Or show the profile pictures of moderators only.- Use audio, video, chat, and the whiteboard editing tools- Use their phone for session audio6. Select Save.The following features are also available in the Sessions area:Search Sessions: SelectSearch to filter the meetinglist. Type a specific sessionname or date.BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 6Sessions Help: Find moreinformation about Blackboard Collaborate.
Show Sessions: Select to view upcoming, previous, or in range sessions.Session Options: Edit session settings, view attendance reports, disable/deletesessions.RecordingsIn the Recordings area, you can find all previously recorded sessions in thecourse.Recorded sessions are savedas MP4s. Recordings includeaudio, any content sharedor active speaker video, andthe captions entered duringthe live session. Other userscan stream shared recordings from any device. Userscan view the recordings asoften as they want. There are no view limits.BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 7Recordings need to be converted into a playable format before viewing. Thefirst time a recording is accessed, the conversion begins. It may take a few minutes, but once it has been done, the recording can be viewed by everybody.
You can download and delete recordings on this page. You must allow sessionrecording downloads for each session. Open a session’s Session Settings, andcheck Allow download recording. Any recordings made in this session can bedownloaded while downloads are allowed.Other features that are available in this area are:Search Recordings, Recordings Help and Show Recordings.BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 8
Meeting interfaceThe Collaborate meeting interface is organized into three convenient areas: amedia space, the Session menu, and a Collaborate panel.Media SpaceThe media space in Collaborate is where the content of the session is displayed.Content you share is automatically the main focus of your screen. The picture-in-picture shows you who is speaking.Tools that appear in the media space relate directly to what is happening in thesession at that moment. You know immediately what you can do.If you’re not sharing content, the focus is on participant profiles and video. Youcan switch between a grid view and a view that follows the speaker. With thefollow-the-speaker view, the focus moves to the current speaker as the discussion unfolds.Note: The Ultra experience switches to follow-the-speaker view automaticallywhen there are more than five participants.BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 9
Grid viewFollow-the-Speaker viewBlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 10
The following tools are available in the Media space:BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 11
Session MenuThe Session menu opens a collection of high level session actions and information. Open it using the Session menu button at the top left of the screen.Tools and features you use only once or twice a session are grouped here: Find details about the session. Moderators and presenters can record sessions. Connect your phone for audio. Get help or report an issue.The following tools are available in the Session menu:BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 12
Collaborate PanelThe Collaborate panel takes your session experience to the next level. You nowhave a single space to go to engage other participants with all the great collaborate tools.BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 13 Chat with everyone in the session or privately with other moderators. View participants and their roles. Moderators and presenters can share content or start polling. Set your personal settings.
The following tools are available in the Collaborate panel:BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 14
Audio and Video Set UpYou must give the browser permission to use audio and video to participate ina session. This is necessary so that you are seen and heard.You’ll be asked to do this when you first join a session or when you first go toshare your audio or video.You can set up audio and video at any time in My Settings.1. Open the Collaborate panel and select My Settings.2. Select Set Up Your Camera and Microphone. (Note: You can also useyour phone for audio.)3. Choose the microphone you want to use. Collaborate tells you that yousound great when it is receiving your audio. Select Yes, it’s working toproceed.4. Choose the camera you want to use. Collaborate tells you that you lookgreat when it is receiving your video. Select Yes, it’s working to proceed.By default, you are hidden and muted after you complete the setup. Select themicrophone and camera icons to begin full meeting participation. You can adjust your speaker and microphone volume any time in My Settings.BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 15Let others hear and see youYou can select the microphone and video cameraicons any time during a meeting to turn them on oroff. You can also use your keyboard: Press Alt M toturn your microphone on and off. Press Alt C to turn your camera on and off.The microphone automatically turns on after you enable it, but you will get topreview how you’ll look on screen before sharing your video.
Follow the speakerAs the discussion unfolds, the person speaking appears in the center of thescreen. Select Grid View to see more than one participant. (Note: You can onlyswitch views when using Chrome.)Microphones appear next to any participants who have their microphone orphone audio turned on. A dark microphone is used to represent the currentspeaker. It moves to the current speaker as the discussion unfolds.Know when you are “on air”Collaborate tells you when others in the session can see yourvideo. If you see your video withan eye, others see your videoin the center of their screen. Ifyou see an eye while content isshared, others see your video astheir picture-in-picture.Add a Profile Picture1. Open the Collaborate panel and select My Settings.2. Point to the avatar and select it.3. Upload any image or useyour device camera to takea photo. You can choose touse this profile picture forevery session.4. Adjust the image area.5. Select I Like It!BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 16
Call into a SessionYou can use the telephony feature to communicate with otherusers. As a telephony user, youcan use all Blackboard Collaborate features and communicatewith all users in the session.The Teleconference ServiceTeleconference phone numbersand PINs are automatically generated during session creation.Anyone can dial into the sessionand initiate the connectionbetween the session and theteleconference bridge. (Note:Long distance and international calling charges may apply.)Allow users to join using a phoneYou can allow participants to call in with their phone from the Session Settingswhen you create or edit a session.How to Call Into a SessionOpen the Session menu and select Use your phone for audio. Call the numberlisted and enter the personal identification number (PIN).You are given a unique PIN to help the session identify you. When you enter thePIN, the audio from your phone is paired with your avatar. This helps everyonekeep track of who is speaking.Each PIN is unique to an individual session and a user in that session. Thismeans that the PIN you see only works for you in that session. You are not ableto use the PIN in another session or share your PIN with another user. PINs stopworking when the session ends.You must be joined to a session on a browser to use your phone.You have access to all the same tools in your session. Your microphone changesto a phone. Others see a phone icon by your name in the Participants panel.BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 17
You are muted when you first call in. Turn your audio on and off in your browser by clicking the phone icon. Or use your keyboard and press Alt M to turnyour phone audio on and off.You can still use the mute on your phone. Just make sure the audio is turned onin your browser if you want others to hear you.Record SessionsRecord your sessions so that your students can access presentations wheneverthey need them. Stop and restart whenever you need to, and when finished,post the session to your course page.Recordings capture the audio, video, and any content that is shared during asession. Recordings also capture any real time captions or subtitles availableduring the session.You can have multiple recordings during one session. If you decide to continuerecording a session after you have stopped, a new recording is saved and added to the list of recordings for that session.Open the Session menu andselect Start Recording. Therecording camera appears onwith a red dot while recording isin progress.To finish recording, open theSession menu and select StopRecording.Note: Recorded sessions are notposted immediately in Blackboard. It could take up to 30minutes for them to appear in thetool.Breakout GroupsTo facilitate small group collaboration, you can create breakout groups that areseparate from the main room and assign participants to them.BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 18Start Breakout GroupsYou can choose to have Collaborate create and randomly assign breakoutgroups for you. Or you can create the groups yourself.
1. Open the Share Content panel.2. Select Breakout Groups.3. Assign groups. Select Randomly assign or Custom assignment. Randomly assign: Collaborate creates groups and randomly assigns participants for you.- If you want to be in a group, select Include moderators in group assignment.- You can change how many participants are in each group. Select thenumber of groups from the Number of Groups menu.- If you don’t like how the participants are grouped, select Reassign participants.Custom assignment: Create your own groups.- Assign participants to a group. You can select the participant’s optionsmenu and select the group. Or you can select Add under the groupname and select participants to add them. You can also select the participant and drag them to the right group.- Select Create a new group to add more groups.4. Optionally, select Allow participants to switch groups, if you want participants to be able to move to another group on their own.5. Select Start.End Breakout GroupsWhen you want to stop breakoutgroups and bring everybody back tothe main room, select End breakoutgroups. You can find this at the top ofthe Participants panel or beside Breakout groups in the Share Content panel.BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 19
You can find more information about breakout groups here: a/Moderator/070 Collaboration/Breakoutgroups.Sessions also offer the following features:- Polling a/Moderator/070 Collaboration/Polling- Share Content a/Moderator/060 Conduct a Meeting/Share ContentShare ContentBlackboard Collaborate Ultra makes it easy to share your knowledge. You canupload content, including PowerPoint presentations, or share your desktopscreen to show more details.BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 20
Session Best PracticesAllow early arrivers. Let your participants join the session early. This gives newparticipants a chance to get familiar with the room and what they can and can’tdo. Join the session early yourself and practice using the tools.Introduce yourself. Don’t assume that your participants recognize your voice.State your name the first few times you speak. Let them get to know you.Introduce guest speakers. You can invite a guest speaker or encourage groupcollaboration in your course by promoting any participant to be a presenter ora moderator. Presenters are allowed to share their screens and upload images or PowerPoint files, but cannot modify other users’ permissions the way amoderator can.Highlight key points in your presentation. Move through PowerPoint presentations using the arrows available. Use the annotation tools on the whiteboard or in presentations to add text, pointers, or different shapes.Include Q&A. Encourage participants to ask questions. As more participantsspeak, the Ultra experience of Blackboard Collaborate automatically follows-the-leader, displaying the name of the current speaker on the screen.Mute yourself when not speaking. Nothing is more distracting than hearingoutside sounds like typing or a side conversation.Make eye contact. If you are sharing your video, look at the camera and not thesession. It may feel weird but it helps participants feel more like they are a part ofthe session and less isolated.Other Helpful TipsPlease use the tips below to troubleshoot any issues that you may encounter.1. Use a headset/microphone, not the internal PC microphone or microphonebuilt into a web camera.2. Use a wired internet connection. A wireless connection is not recommended for Blackboard Collaborate Ultra.BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 213. Do not run other applications in the background during meetings, particularly web applications (email, chat, etc.). These compete for CPU and clientbandwidth to the internet which can cause problems.4. Mute your microphone after connecting your audio or you will transmitaudio whether you’re talking or not.
5. For the best experience, use the latest versions of Google Chrome or Firefox.6. Monitor your network connection by moving the mouse pointer over yourname on the participants list. A WIFI icon will appear that shows your connection status. The number of bars in the symbol will tell you if the connection is great, okay, or poor.More troubleshooting topics can be found at ator/070 Support.Browser SupportBlackboard Collaborate Ultra is based on modern web technologies includingHTML 5 and WebRTC. You don’t need to install Java or a launcher. For the bestexperience, use Google Chrome.To see if your browser is up to date, try ODU’s Browser Check.BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 22
WebEx vs Adobe Connect vs Blackboard ce Management:Polls / SurveysyesyesyesBreakout roomsyesavailableyesCustom URLyesyesnoDesktop & App SharingyesyesyesFeatureDocument LibraryFile Transferyes (persistent) yes (persistent) yes (persistent)yesyesnoMaximum Number of Participants100 100 up to 100Participant Downloads rPoint IntegrationyesyesyesScreen Share ot offered atODUyesyesWebcamsyesyesyesWhiteboard, Annotation &Drawing Toolsyesyesyes(up to 6 can be seen (up to 6 can be seenat the same time)at the same time)Find more information about Blackboard Collaborate Ultra for moderators /Ultra/Moderator.Adapted from Blackboard Collaborate: Ultra Experience Help.BlackboardCollaborateUltra forModeratorspage 23
Blackboard Collaborate is a real-time video conferencing tool that lets you add files, share applications, and use a virtual whiteboard to interact. Collaborate Ultra opens right in your browser, so you don’t have to install any software to join a session. Get Started
Blackboard Collaborate Ultra Blackboard Collaborate Ultra is a web conferencing tool that allows you to conduct online meetings and class sessions directly from your Blackboard course or organization. Collaborate is easy to use and can be customized for your instructional needs. Getting to Collaborate 1.
Blackboard Collaborate Ultra . Blackboard Collaborate with the Ultra experience provides a virtual online room for your courses that stays open for the life of your course. By default, the room is given your course name. Collaborate Ultra REQUIRES Faculty use the latest versions of Chrome Browser to access the available features.
To log into Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, go the CUNY Portal and log into Blackboard. 2. Click on your course. 3. Click on Tools- Blackboard Collaborate Ultra. 2 Entering the session: 1. Click on the session title to enter. 2. If you are a guest, you can join the room by using the
Blackboard Collaborate Ultra para Facultad Salas Virtuales para reuniones u horas de oficina 1 Blackboard Collaborate Ultra es una herramienta vía Web que le permite a la facultad ofrecer reuniones virtuales sincrónicas dentro de un curso en Blackboard. Recomendamos utilizar Google Chrome o Firefox para utilizar esta herramienta eficazmente.
Add Tool Link Pop-up Window To create the Collaborate Ultra Took Link: 1. Type in a name for the Link, for example "Collaborate Ultra." 2. Click on the drop-down menu and select Blackboard Collaborate Ultra from the list of options. 3.
Blackboard Collaborate Ultra Help Guide for Students Every course on Blackboard has a virtual meeting space, or Course Room, through Blackboard Collaborate Ultra. Similar to Zoom, Skype, or GoToMeeting, this space can be used for synchronous communication and content sharing.
The Blackboard Collaborate Launcher is a utility for Windows and Mac. It provides a convenient and reliable way for you to launch your Blackboard Collaborate web conferencing sessions and recordings. When you clickJoin Room on theRoom Details page or a recording link in theRecordings table, Blackboard Collaborate checks to
What is Blackboard Collaborate? Blackboard Collaborate is an online tutoring program offered through High Point University's Academic Services. The program serves as an alternative to a face-to-face tutoring session. Blackboard Collaborate allows you to engage in tutoring sessions through audio and video on a computer or mobile device.
