Collaborate Web Conferencing



[https://youtu.be/98mgLa1QNAM What Can Blackboard Collaborate Do For You? (video)]

Introducing Blackboard Collaborate
Blackboard Collaborate is a web-based video and audio conferencing system which allows real-time communication between instructors and students. Instructors can create an online meeting room from within their Desire2Learn course site and schedule meetings between the whole class or individual groups. Within the online meeting space instructors can deliver lectures, engage in class discussions, share resources and multimedia or share their desktop.

You can access help resources for participants and moderator below. Please also check out the Blackboard Collaborate On Demand Learning Centre

System check for required components
Click this link to run a system check to ensure your computer is capable of running Collaborate

Supported operating systems
We recommend that moderators always use a laptop or personal computer when moderating a session.

Microsoft Windows
There are currently no reported issues with running Blackboard Collaborate on Windows XP, 7 or 8

Apple Macintosh
Some users are reporting issues with Mac OS X, specifically version 10.6 and up. This issue was caused by a recent Apple update (see article 2791 for understanding of why Apple blocked Java). This issue will prevent users from opening any Java based application including Blackboard Collaborate Web Conferencing. Oracle Java has since released an update to resolve this issue.

To resolve - Users should update their Java version to the latest version; Java 7, please use http://java.com.

iOS
There is an app available from the Apple App store which allows you to access collaborate on iOS but it currently does not allow a moderator to work with the whiteboard, application sharing or webtour features. The app essentially allows one to voice and text chat only.

Android
There is an app available from the Google Play App store which allows you to access collaborate on Android but it currently does not allow a moderator to work with the whiteboard, application sharing or webtour features. The app essentially allows one to voice and text chat only.

Creating a Collaborate Online Room in Desire2Learn
The Online Rooms tool is available under the Communications menu item. Online rooms can be created by instructors from any of the courses they are affiliated with.

Creating a Collaborate room from your D2L course site (PDF)

Help for Participants
Getting Started for Participants: Launching Online Meeting Room (Collaborate) and Testing Audio

Getting Started for Participants: Quick Orientation Guide (PDF) Getting Started for Participants: In Depth Orientation Video(recording)

More Info for Participants: Essentials for Participants (HTML) More Info for Participants: Participant's Guide (HTML) More Info for Participants: Accessibility Guide (HTML | PDF)

General
Getting Started for Moderators Quick Reference Guide (PDF) Essentials for Moderators (HMTL) Moderator's Guide (HTML) Accessibility Guide (HTML | PDF) Overview for Moderators (Recording) Plan Installation and Registration Guide Plan User's Guide Publish Installation and User's Guide (PDF) Top Ten Habits of Highly Effective Blackboard Collaborate Moderators (PDF)

Moderator Tools
Introduction to the Participants Panel (PDF) Using the Audio & Video Panel (PDF) Using Chat (PDF) Audio Setup Wizard (PDF) Loading a PowerPoint File (PDF) Using the Whiteboard (PDF |recording) Using the Polling Feature Wizard (PDF) Using Application Sharing (PDF | recording) Using Web Tour (PDF | recording) Using Telephony (PDF) Getting Started with Recordings (PDF)

Known Issues with the Online Rooms Tool in Desire2Learn
Accounts Tab: Users see an "Accounts" button that takes them to a screen that allows them to select "New Personal Account," and allows them to attempt to create such an account. A personal account cannot be created, but the presence of these options is confusing. We are investigating with D2L how to remove this button.