Blackboard Collaborate Ultra: Joining a Session and Interacting

Download PDF version - Audio and Video set up guide for moderator

Jump to : 

Audio Setup
Video Setup
Setting up Audio and Video Later
Sharing Audio and Video during Session
Dial into a session with your phone

Providing Permissions

The first time you join a Collaborate session, you are asked to provide permission to access your microphone and camera. You need to allow both Blackboard Collaborate Ultra and if prompted, your browser, to access your microphone and/or camera in order to use the voice chat and video sharing features.

1. Join a session for the first time

2. Select Allow when Chrome/Firefox prompts you to give permission for access to use your microphone and camera

If you have denied Blackboard Collaborate Ultra access to your microphone or camera, you can enable it by exiting, re-entering the session and selecting allow for the permission prompts.

In case you have permanently blocked Blackboard Collaborate Ultra from accessing your camera/microphone, you can update the permissions in the permissions page of your browser's settings/preferences menu.

Setting up Audio

The first time you enter a Collaborate session, you will be prompted to test your audio and video sources. If you do not wish to use a microphone or camera, you can skip this step by clicking on the “X” towards the top right of the audio overlay.

1.  Click on the drop-down box and select your preferred microphone
   
   
2. You can test whether the selected microphone is working by speaking into it. If the purple audio bar does not move when you speak, no audio is being picked up by the microphone.
   
   
3. Click “Yes - its working”
   

Setting up Video
 

1. After you confirm your audio source, you will be prompted to set up your video source. If you do not wish to use your camera, you can skip this step by clicking on the “X” icon towards the top right of the video overlay.
   
   Click on the drop-down box and select your preferred camera
   
   

Note: if you blocked permission for the browser to gain access to your camera, no cameras can be used, and no video playback will be shown.

2. Test whether the camera is working by checking if the camera recording is visible on the screen.
   
   
3. Click “Yes - its working”
   

Setting up audio and video later

You can choose to skip your audio and video setup by clicking the “X” icon on the top right of the Microphone or Video Test pop up.

You can setup your microphone and camera later by clicking on the Collaborate Panel in the bottom right corner of the session screen. 

1. In a session, click on the bottom right “Open Collaborate panel” button
   
2. Click on the Gear Icon to open the “My Settings” tab
   
3. Click the "Set up your camera and microphone" option
   

This will allow you to change your audio and video source devices. For more information, visit the set-up audio and video options described above.

How to start sharing Audio/video during session?

During a session to start sharing audio/video on the bottom of the screen there is 4 icons.

Note: For better Audio input when using a Smartphone or Tablet please connect a headphone with in-built microphone

Sharing Audio

1. Select the microphone icon/share audio.
   
2. The microphone icon is highlighted green to show that you are sharing audio to others

3. When speaking the icon will have a white bar that increases to show if audio is being shared. If this bar is not moving, no audio is currently being shared.
   
   
4. Click the microphone icon again to stop sharing audio
    

Sharing Video

1. Click the camera icon to share video
   
2. A video preview pop-up will appear; you can test if your camera is working as intended.
   
3. Click share video if the camera is working. The camera is highlighted blue when video sharing is on.

4. You can see your shared video on the bottom left of the screen.
   
5. Click the camera icon again to stop sharing video

Dial into a session with your phone

In situations where the instructor or students are experiencing microphone or network connectivity issues, the 'Use your phone for audio' feature may be used to dial into a session with a custom phone number and pin. Participants can remain connected on their computer browser whilst also communicating and listening into a session on their phone. Take note that only a maximum of 25 participants can be dialled into a session at a time.

Dial into a session

1. In Collaborate Ultra, select a session and click 'Join session'
   
2. Once inside the session, click the top left 'Open Session menu' button
   
3. In the menu, select 'Use your phone for audio'
   
4. Call the dial-in number on a phone and input the personal PIN when prompted
   
5. Once you are dialed in, the participant's microphone will be replaced with a phone icon in the session. When active the participant must use their phone to speak and listen into the session. They can end the call to revert to using a microphone or close their browser window to only use their phone. Take note that shared content on the screen cannot be viewed if only using the phone without a computer browser.
   

Collaborate Ultra allows you to record session for participants to view at a later date. This section consists of guide to assist with activating session recordings.

Download PDF version - Setting up Collaborate session recording

Follow below steps to start setting up Collaborate session recording or Jump to:

How to stop recording
Access recording/Download
How to enable download for past recording

1. Create a new or edit existing session
   
2. Select the required session.
    
3. Expand the drop-down list for session settings
   
4. Look for and select “Allow recording downloads”. You will not be able to download the session if this option is not ticked.
   
5. Click on save
   
6. Join the session
    
7. Click on start recording on the in-session menu on the top left corner
   
8. A pop should appear stating session is being recorded
   
9. Additionally, the in-session menu icon should have a camera icon appear when you start recording the session
   
   

To stop recording

1. Click on Stop recording on the in-session menu on the top left corner
   
2. A pop-up will notify you when you stop recording to show that you have stopped recording
   
   

To access recordings

1. Expand the menu on the Blackboard collaborate ultra-activity.
   
2. Click on Recordings
   
3. Select the recording that you want to access. You can access the recordings by clicking the recording or by expanding the more options icon and pressing watch now or download.
   

You can also download and upload the recording to your Moodle course or Echo360\LR+ Library where you can link it to your Moodle course. Recording can only be downloaded as one single file. Shared files cannot be downloaded separately. 

How to enable recording download for an elapsed session

In Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, you can only enable downloads for a session while the session is active. This means that after a session has finished, you are unable to allow participants to download the session recording if you have not enabled them to beforehand.

There is a simple workaround for this which allows you to enable downloading of recordings for a session that has ended.

Note: If you have not started a recording of the session beforehand, there will be nothing available for download. Ensure that when you are in the session you click “Start recording” in the top left dropdown menu to record a session.

1. In the Sessions list, next to the session that has ended, click the three dots and then click “Edit settings”.

2. Under Event Details, set the End time from a time in the past to a time in the future.

3. Under Session Settings, check the box marked “Allow recording downloads”.

4. Click Save.

Instructors are moderators of Blackboard Collaborate Ultra Sessions and can interact with participants by sharing their audio, video and creating shared content such as polls and files.
Depending on how you set up the session, participants can also interact by sharing their microphone, camera, writing in the chat room and setting their feedback.

This section contains guides on how to use these settings. 

Download PDF version - Interacting with the Session

Media Space Tools

The media space is where session content such as video or shared screens are displayed. There are several tools at the bottom of the screen that you can use:

Note: You can disable some of these when creating a session

My Status

The Profile menu allows you to:

• View your connection speed with the session
  
• Set your status to 'Away' to let others know
  
• Select a feedback to provide
  Selected feedback will display for a short period beside the participants profile in the participants list and chat room.
  

Share audio

Toggle your microphone on/off.

Share video

Toggle your video on/off.

Raise hand

Raise your hand. This displays a hand raised icon beside the participants profile icon in the participants list and lets others know that they have a question.

Collaboration Panel Tools

Advanced tools are found in the Collaboration Panel, by opening the menu from the bottom-right corner of the screen.

Chat

You can use the chat menu to select chat groups and communicate with all participants or other moderators via text.

Participants

You can use the participants screen to view all participants in the session and their current 'raise hands' or 'feedback' status.

You can leave the participants open as an overlay in 2 ways:

• Open the Collaborate panel and drag-and-drop the Participants icon to the main stage
  
• Open the Collaborate panel and select Participants. Select More options at the top of the panel and select Detach Panel
  

You can close the panel by selecting Merge panel from the More Options link, or by simply dragging and dropping the Participants panel back to the Collaborate panel.

Share content

You can share content such as files and polls on the Share content screen. Currently active shared content will also be listed here.

• Whiteboard: You can draw on a whiteboard that is shared to participants to illustrate discussed ideas.
• Shared Application: You can share screens and programs running on your computer for participants to see.
• File Sharing: You can share files with participants.
• Polling: You can ask participants to provide input through a poll during the session. Available poll types are Yes/no and Multiple choice.

My settings

Change audio/video settings, or notification options. You can adjust your volume and microphone/camera device.

All attendees in a session appear on the left-hand side gallery. Attendees cameras will be displayed in the gallery when active or their profile image will appear if their camera is not active.

There are 3 layouts available which change how many and the size that attendees appear in the gallery. The default layout is the speaker view.

Gallery

Display up to 25 attendees on-screen at a time. Attendees will be ordered alphabetically with Moderators appearing first.

Users can use the + and - magnifying glass icons on the top right to control how many attendees to display on screen at a time. If there are more attendees than is displayed on screen, a 'Next attendees' button can be used on the left of the screen to navigate to additional pages.

Speaker

Display up to 4 videos with one video larger than the others. Smaller videos display below the larger.

Attendees who are speaking are prioritised to be displayed on screen. The larger video will actively change to match the current active speaker.

Tiled

Display up to 4 videos with one video larger than the others, Smaller videos display to the right of the larger.

Attendees who are speaking are prioritised to be displayed on screen. The larger video will actively change to match the current active speaker.

Changing the layout

When there are other attendees on screen, users can change the layout they see the other attendees by selecting the layout button on the top right.

Quick access to attendee controls

Users can click on the menu icon located on the bottom right of an attendees portrait/video to access their attendee controls to quickly manage users. This is useful for features such as muting, promoting to presenter and sending direct messages.

As a presenter/moderator, you can freely share material during an active session. This includes sharing a virtual whiteboard, screen/application sharing and file sharing.

Using the Whiteboard

Moderators can use the whiteboard to draw concepts, explain visually, and jot notes and other handwritten information.

Setup

1. From a Blackboard Collaborate Ultra session, open the Collaborate panel by clicking the icon in the bottom right hand corner of the screen.
   
2. In the sidebar menu, click on the “Share Content” tab.
   
3. In the “Share Content” tab, click on “Share Blank Whiteboard”.
   

Usage

There are many different ways to interact with the Whiteboard through the menu in the top left.

• The “Select” tool allows you to select and move elements around the Whiteboard.
  • To move an element with the “Select” tool:
    1.  Toggle the “Select” tool by clicking on it in the menu
       
    2.  Move your cursor over an existing element, and click and drag it to the desired position
       
• The “Pointer” tool allows for you to point at elements for those watching your presentation. Others in your session can see the pointer as it moves around the screen.
  • To enable the “Pointer” tool:
    1. Toggle the “Pointer” tool by clicking on it in the menu
       
    2. Move your cursor around the screen to point at elements on the whiteboard
       
• The “Pencil” tool allows you to draw freehand onto the Whiteboard.
  • To enable the “Pencil” tool:
    1.  Toggle the “Pencil” tool by clicking on it in the menu
       
    2.  Draw elements freehand as desired
       
  • To change the colour of the “Pencil” tool:
    1.  Enable the “Pencil” tool. A new menu option called “Colors” should appear. Click on it.
       
    2.   You can then choose from 9 color options. To select one, simply click on it.
       

• The “Shapes” tool allows you to add shapes to your Whiteboard.
  • To enable the “Shapes” tool:
    1. Click on the “Shapes” tool to view the different shapes you can select
       
    2. Click on either Rectangle, Ellipse or Line
       
    3. Click and drag on the Whiteboard to create your shape as desired
       
• The “Text” tool allows you to add text to your Whiteboard.
  • To enable the “Text” tool:
    1.  Click on the “Text” tool and click where you would like your text to appear on the Whiteboard
       
    2.  Type your text on your keyboard and press Enter
       

• • To move or resize text:
    1. Enable the “Select” tool and single click on the text you want to change
       
    2. To move, click and drag the text to another location
    3. To resize, click and drag on any of the four corners of the box surrounding the text
• To clear the whiteboard, click the “Clear” tool:

You can also use the View Controls to change the size and fit of the Whiteboard on the screen.

Closing the Whiteboard

To close the whiteboard there are two options:

1. Click on the “Stop Sharing” icon in the top right of the session window.
   
2. Click on the “Stop sharing Whiteboard” in the “Share Content” tab of the Collaborate Menu.
   
   

Sharing an Application or Screen

Blackboard Collaborate has built in screen-sharing functionality. When screen-sharing, you can choose to share your entire screen, an open application, such as PowerPoint, or just an individual tab from your browser.

1. Open the Collaborate Panel on the bottom left hand corner.

2. Click on the Share option in the toolbar.

3. Select Share Application/Screen

4. Select the appropriate option.
   Note: Make sure to press the “Share Audio” option whenever you want to share the audio from a screen.

5. To end the screensharing, press the square on the top right-hand corner.

Sharing files

Presenters can choose to share files any time during a session. The files can only be seen by students when it is being shared.

Note: Only image, PowerPoint and PDF files can be shared.

1. Open the Collaborate Panel on the bottom left hand corner.

2. Click on the Share option in the toolbar.

3. Select “Share Files”.

4. Click on “Add Files” and select the appropriate file to upload.

5. Once it is uploaded, select the file from the list of files and click “Share Now”

6. When the file is shared, all participants will be able to see it on their screen. You can select which page to display by select it on the right. You can also annotate the page using the tools on the top right.

You can stop sharing by pressing the square on the top right-hand corner.

• The “Select” tool allows you to select and move elements around the file screen.
  • To move an element with the “Select” tool:
    1.  Toggle the “Select” tool by clicking on it in the menu
       
    2.  Move your cursor over an existing element, and click and drag it to the desired position
       
• The “Pointer” tool allows for you to point at elements for those watching your presentation. Others in your session can see the pointer as it moves around the screen.
  • To enable the “Pointer” tool:
    1. Toggle the “Pointer” tool by clicking on it in the menu
       
    2. Move your cursor around the screen to point at elements on the file screen
       
• The “Pencil” tool allows you to draw freehand onto the file screen.
  • To enable the “Pencil” tool:
    1.  Toggle the “Pencil” tool by clicking on it in the menu
       
    2.  Draw elements freehand as desired
       
  • To change the colour of the “Pencil” tool:
    1.  Enable the “Pencil” tool. A new menu option called “Colours” should appear. Click on it.
       
    2.   You can then choose from 9 colour options. To select one, simply click on it.
       

• The “Shapes” tool allows you to add shapes to your file screen.
  • To enable the “Shapes” tool:
    1. Click on the “Shapes” tool to view the different shapes you can select
       
    2. Click on either Rectangle, Ellipse or Line
       
    3. Click and drag on the file to create your shape as desired
       
• The “Text” tool allows you to add text-box to your file.
  • To enable the “Text” tool:
    1.  Click on the “Text” tool and click where you would like your text to appear on the screen.
       
    2.  Type your text on your keyboard and press Enter
       

• • To move or resize text:
    1. Enable the “Select” tool and single click on the text you want to change
       
    2. To move, click and drag the text to another location
    3. To resize, click and drag on any of the four corners of the box surrounding the text
• To clear click the “Clear” tool:

Note: The mark ups will not be preserved when you change slides.

To facilitate small group collaboration, you can create breakout groups that are separate from the main room and assign participants to them.

Breakout groups have their own private audio, video, whiteboard, application sharing, and chat. Any collaboration that takes place in a group is independent of the Main room (and other groups). What is said or viewed in a breakout room isn't captured in recordings.

Download PDF version - Create or End Breakout Groups

Create Breakout Groups

1. Open the "Share Content" Tab from the Collaborate panel.

2. Select "Breakout Groups".

3. Assign groups. Either select Randomly assign or Custom assignment.
   • Randomly assign: Collaborate creates groups and randomly assigns participants for you. note: Randomly assign is only available when there are four or more people are in the room.

• If you want to be in a group, select Include moderators in group assignment.You will also be randomly assigned to a group. 

• You can change how many participants are in each group. Select the number of groups from the Number of Groups menu.

• If you don't like how the participants are grouped, select Shuffle participants.

• Custom assignment: Create your own groups.

• Assign participants to a group. You can select the participants options menu and select the group. Also, you can also select the participant and drag them to the right group.

• Select  to add more groups and  to delete groups.

3. Optionally, select "Allow participants to switch groups", if you want participants to be able to move to another group on their own.

4. Select Start.

Switch participants between groups

1. From the Participants panel, find a participant and select Moderator controls.
2. Select "Move to another group". This opens the Breakout groups panel.
3. Move the participant to another group. There are two ways you can do this.

• Select the participant's options menu and select the group.
• Select the participant and drag them to the new group.

       4. Select "Update"

Note: For more information on roles, please see the "roles" section of this resource page.

 

End Breakout Groups

When you want to stop breakout groups and bring everybody back to the main room, select "End breakout groups". You can find this at the top of the Participants panel or beside Breakout groups in the Share Content panel.

More information on Breakout Groups can be found on Blackboard's website here.

Polling

Blackboard Ultra now has a polling feature. You can use a poll that gives participants "yes" or "no" as their response choices.
You can also select to give participants 2-5 responses to choose from. Polling is not currenlty stored as part of the recording process (if used).

How to use (Moderators) :

1. Open the "Share Content" Tab from the Collaborate panel.

2. Select "Polling"

3. Select the type of poll you want to use and click Start.

Hide Responses from participants

You can hide participant responses to ensure that users provide their own answer without following a trend by clicking "Hide Responses" Click again to show responses.

Stop a poll

To stop a poll select "Polling" to open the poll overview. Select the square "Stop icon"

Additional information from Blackboard can be found here

This section will outline what roles are and what permissions each role has and how you can change this for individuals. 

As a Moderator, you can change the role of users inside the Collaborate Ultra session.

1. Open Collaborate Panel and Click the Participants icon.
2. Locate the user you wish to change the role for and click on Moderator controls beside their name.
3. A menu appears that allows you to assign an appropriate role. Click the appropriate button to change the role of the user.