Blackboard Collaborate (Elluminate) at MBC

At MBC we have two 50-seat virtual “Classrooms” where students can meet and learn.

Within a Blackboard Collaborate / Elluminate session you can share your slides, share your desktop to show students applications, talk conversationally with up to 6 participants, poll larger classes to assess progress, etc.

To book a Blackboard Collaborate / Elluminate classroom email Dreama Hernandez (dhernand@mbc.edu) and ask for a time and date.

Dreama will send you an email with the Moderator Link (yours) and the Participant Link (the one you copy to email your students or paste into Blackboard)

Note!  Please test the link after you have copied it to make sure it works.

When you click on this link, you will see a screen that looks like this.  Type in your name and click Log In.  Do not X out of this page in your Browser.

You may get a message that looks like this:

If you do, click on Keep.  In Chrome, you may see this in the lower left of your screen.  If you do, click on it.

Java will start and you’ll see a message that looks like this:

When it has finished loading, you may get another message, asking you about your network connection.  Whatever your network connection, LAN or WIRELESS or DSL, click on that speed.

Now you are in Blackboard Collaborate!

In order to make sure you can be heard, run the Audio Setup Wizard.  See here for directions:  http://www.mbc.edu/oit/files/2012/08/AudioSetupWizard.pdf

When you are sure you can hear and be heard, click on the Talk button at the left to make your microphone LIVE.  Click on the Video button at the left to make your camera live.

To run Blackboard Collaborate / Elluminate you will need to have the latest Java:

A good tutorial on how to run a Blackboard Collaborate Session is available here:

https://sas.elluminate.com/site/external/jwsdetect/playback.jnlp?psid=2012-06-27.0714.M.875546EA538BCBDAD44EA8D3874623.vcr&sid=7

Frequently Asked Questions:

My audio doesn’t seem to be working

If your recording doesn’t seem to be picking up audio, or your students can’t hear you , test your audio with the AudioSetupWizard

I can’t access my Blackboard Collaborate classroom

If you are getting a Failure to Launch error or for some other reason your Blackboard Collaborate session is not working, check your Java software to see if that is the problem:

Go to Control Panel, Java and Open.

Under General, About, if you are NOT running Java 7, click on Close and follow the instructions below to de-install the previous version of Java before installing Java 7.

1. Click the Start button. The Start menu opens.
2. Click Control Panel. The Control Panel window opens.
3. If you are using icon or classic view, skip to Step 4.
4. If you are using category view, click Programs. The Programs category opens.
5. If you are using icon or classic view click Programs and Features.
6. If you are using category view, click Uninstall a program.
7. Locate the Java version you wish to remove and click Uninstall.
8. Click Yes.

After you have de-installed the previous version of Java, install the latest version as follows:

1.  Go to Control Panel, Java and Open.
2. Click on the Update tab, then click on Update Now. This will install the latest version of Java.

 How many people can simultaneously use Blackboard Collaborate?

50 people can see and hear what is happening in the virtual “classroom”.

Up to 6 people can talk and be seen via webcam at the same time.  The webcam will focus on the person who is talking.  A Moderator can “pass the mic” to a person to include their voice in the conversation, but only 6 can be talking at the same time.  One way to regulate this is for people to “raise their hand” if they want to speak.

The Moderator can assign moderator privileges to someone who is signed in as a Participant.  A Moderator can share their desktop, initiate a web tour or load a Powerpoint presentation into the white board space.