ClassLive Movie Tutorial – LearningStudio ClassLive Pro v12.Five
ClassLive, powered by Blackboard Collaborate, is a virtual classroom. The software has movie, audio, talk and screen-sharing features permitting students and instructors to interact virtually. Students and instructors can attend this web conferencing session at the same time or reviewed later through an archive option.
Click here to see what you may need to use Collaborate/Class Live
- Headset or Speakers (to listen to the presentation)
- Microphone (to participate with voice, if required by moderator/instructor)
- Web Camera (to showcase movie of yourself to the class, if required by moderator/instructor)
Click here to see what may give you the best practice with Collaborate/Class Live
- Connect your computer to the Internet with a wired (hardline) connection. Do not attempt to run the session on wireless.
- Close all other applications.
- Run the audio wizard by going to Instruments > Audio > Audio Setup Wizard.
- If the connection seems choppy, close down your movie.
- Turn off your talk button when you are not speaking.
If you have questions or you want to attempt out a session to test your equipment, ask for an appointment to speak with a member of the Collaborate support group at the Rutgers Online Helpdesk, [email protected]. Please see below for additonal frequently asked questions.
If this is your very first time using ClassLive or if you have not participated in a session in the past six months it is recommended that you begin by performing a system test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can’t I hear anything?
Have you attempted running the Audio Setup Wizard?
Voice talk is one of the most useful features of Collaborate. It can also be the most frustrating if your microphone and speakers are not set up decently. Fortunately, getting your audio set up is lightly done. But before we look at audio setup wizard, let’s look at the AUDIO & Movie module. This module shows up in the upper left corner of the Collaborate window. At the bottom of this module you’ll see a Talk button and a Movie button. If you’d like to talk, click the Talk button. When you’ve finished, click the Talk button again to mute your microphone.
NOTE: By default only one user can use the Talk or Movie options at a time. The moderator can increase this to a maximum of six simultaneous users.
Above the Talk and Movie buttons, you’ll notice there’s a pair of slider bars. The leftmost slider (with a microphone) is for microphone volume, the other (with sound swings) is for speakers.
When you see a dark line packing the background of either slider, that indicates sound is going through that feed. So in the picture above, the microphone is picking up sound and sending it to the Collaborate room (but audio is not coming from the Collaborate room through the headset or speakers). You can adjust microphone and speaker volume by moving the bar crossing the adequate slider left or right.
If you are supposed to be hearing audio, or if you have Talk selected but the microphone bar isn’t picking up anything, you should run the Audio Setup Wizard. You can launch this wizard by clicking the microphone with a crimson gear icon over it that shows up in the upper right corner of the AUDIO & Movie module.
Alternatively you can also access this through the Contraptions menu.
In the very first window, you will be selecting an output device (speakers or a headphones). If you are using a headset, select the headset from list. Note that if you are using headphones that use a mini-plug (like you’d find on an MP3 player or phone), they will likely show up as Speakers (High Definition Audio Device), not as “headphones”. In the example below, there is a set of earbuds in plugged, as well as, a USB headset, so Speakers (High Definition Audio Device) listed twice — once for the earbuds and once for the computer’s built-in speakers. Unluckily, the only way to distinguish inbetween the two is experimentation. USB headsets tend to work best with Collaborate, but Trio.5mm audio cork headsets may also work if your system has the decent input jacks.
If you don’t see the adequate output on the list, make sure it is decently plugged in then click REFRESH. Once you have the adequate output selected, click OK.
The next window will let you adjust the volume of your speakers. Click the PLAY button, then adjust the slider to adjust the volume. Once you have the volume set to a convenient level (or if you find you selected the wrong set of speakers), press the STOP button. You will be asked if you were able to set the volume to a comfy level. If you would like to begin the speaker selection process over, click NO. Otherwise, click YES to set up your microphone.
The process for selecting the microphone is the same as the process for selecting speakers. Again, you will be asked to select the adequate device (and again, if you have a microphone that is plugged in using a mini-plug and your computer has a built in microphone you will likely see both listed as Microphone (High Definition Audio Device). Click RECORD, speak as you would if you were on the phone, and adjust the slider so you see mostly green with may be a little bit of yellow, then click STOP. Next you will be prompted to play back the audio you just recorded. Click PLAY and listen. If your recording is noisy enough, then click YES on the confirmation page (which will open automatically when your recording finishes). To re-do the microphone setup, click NO.
If the Audio Setup Wizard didn’t successfuly solve your problems, please make sure your headset mic is on and not muted.
NOTE: Windows users: Check Windows volume control. Mac users: Use volume control keys or Mac OSX volume control. All users: Be sure speakers are turned up, and/or headset volume is turned up if it has a separate volume control. If there is no audio before class, it is likely that no one is speaking yet.
Depending on your computer, you may need to re-run this wizard before every Collaborate session. You should always make sure you log into your Collaborate session to give yourself enough time to run the wizard before your session is scheduled to begin.
Do I have permission to talk?
When you log into the session you should automatically be given audio privledges, albeit no icon will show up next to your name. However, your audio privledge may be taken away by the moderators. If your audio has been taken away, an icon containing a microphone and a crimson ‘x’ will show up next to your name.
When your microphone is live a blue microphone icon will emerge next to your name, and anything you say will be heard by everyone in the online room, so make sure you have your talk button turned off when you are not addressing the online course. Most instructors will encourage you to raise your forearm in the session to let them know that you are ready to ask a question or contribute something by voice. To raise your had in the online classroom, click on the had icon that shows up below your name name in Participants panel.
Where are the extra permissions located? (Moderator Only)
If your students cannot provide audio comments or they cannot type in the talk window, these functions may be turned off in your session. The moderator will need to enable these functions by very first locating the Participants module which emerges on the left side of your Collaborate window (below the Audio & Movie module and above Talk module). If the arrow to the left of Participants label is pointing to the right, click the label to expand the Participants module. You should now see your name, some buttons: emoticons, away, hand-raise, yes/no), then the heading "Main Room," followed by the class roster.
Across from the Main Room heading, you’ll notice a number of icons (highlighted by the crimson box above). Each of these icons relates to a functionality that may be available to participants (students). In order as they show up above, they are: Talk, Movie, Talk, Whiteboard, Application Sharing, and Web Tour. To enable one of these, click on it. For example, to let the students in the class talk using voice, just click the very first icon (a microphone).
NOTE: You can also enable (or disable) these functions on a student-by-student basis. If you point to a name in the room roster, you’ll see a list button shows up to the right of their name:
Click the list button and you’ll see a utter list of properties you can switch for an individual user. To enable (or disable) any of the listed functions, just click the suitable function.
Why does my voice sound distant?
When using the Audio Setup Wizard, it is significant to be careful about the settings you choose. Often, the software will have the wrong speaker or microphone chosen by default. If your voice sounds distant, it could be because you are using an incorrect audio input device (i.e. your laptop microphone) instead of your headset microphone.
In the picture above, the ‘Realtek High Definition Audio’ microphone was selected for the software by default. The user will need to select ‘USB Audio Device’ microphone for the decent audio source.
Why do other participants say my voice is quiet?
You might need to turn up the microphone volume on the Audio box. Or you might need to select another audio device. As a general rule of thumb is it good to commence with the Microphone and Speaker sliders at the 50% point.
NOTE: There is blue microphone icon on the Talk button that shows that the Talk feature is enabled. Now audio levels (in dark gray) shown on the top bar are available to adjust. If your voice is hardly registering in the Microphone slider when you speak, you might need to position the microphone closer to your mouth or speak louder.
Why can’t anyone hear me when I speak into my microphone?
Did you press the talk button on the Audio Window? The icon looks like this:
If the blue microphone icon does not emerge, you either don’t have Talk privileges, you have not set up your microphone in the Audio Setup Wizard, or your session has reached the maximum number of simultaneous speakers. If you think you should be able to talk but cannot, send a message to the moderator using the talk feature.
Why do I hear an echo when people are speaking?
This usually means someone who is talking does not have a headset mic and is creating an audio feedback loop. They could also be wearing a headset but have their settings wrong in the Audio Setup Wizard. This can also occur if a session is viewed by more than one participant/device in a single room, and one users microphone picks up the audio of the other users device. In extreme cases this can cause noisy feedback similar to what you might hear from a PA system.
If your classmates report that they hear an echo when you are speaking, be sure that your headset is working decently and that the Audio Setup Wizard has the decent settings. Sometimes adusting your volume input and output to a lower level will resolve this issue.
Why do participants sound ‘choppy’ when they are speaking?
This often happens when too many people have microphones on at the same time. When the software senses you are not talking, it mutes your microphone to eliminate background noise. When numerous people have their microphones turned on, this process can overcompensate and attempt to mute your microphone when you pause or take a breath. Then it may not catch up quickly enough to unmute when you commence speaking again.
You can help avoid this problem by thinking of the Audio box on Collaborate as a walkie-talkie. Press the "Talk" button on when you are ready to speak and disable Talk when you are finished with your statement.
I have the session open, but no one is here!
It may take several minutes for other students and the instructor to arrive. However, if the class session is schedule to begin in fifteen minutes or less, it is possible that you have been logged into a "ghost room". Close the Collaborate session, delete all of your downloaded course.jnlp or course.ed files, clear your Java cache, and join the session again. You should now be entered into the correct virtual room.
Support documentation for clearing Java cache and associating the downloaded file to open with Java Web Commence can be found here: http://247pearsoned.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8656
I was disconnected and now I get a failed authentication message!
This typically occurs with wireless connections, which have varying signal strengths, and can drop you out of your session. When this occurs it is necessary to close out the session totally. To relaunch you will need to download and run a fresh .jnlp or .ed file or by using the Launch/Join Session link in the course shell (or the link in your email). You may also need to clear your Java cache.
Support documentation for clearing Java cache and associating the downloaded file to open with Java Web Embark can be found here: http://247pearsoned.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8656
My whiteboard is blank but everyone else can see the glides!
This may be due to your layout. In the Collaborate menu, choose View > Restore Default Layout to set the window to default. If this does not work, exit the live session, clear your Java cache, and join the session again.
Support documentation for clearing Java cache and associating the downloaded file to open with Java Web Begin can be found here: http://247pearsoned.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8656
My talk won’t auto scroll!
In the Talk textbox, scroll to the last line of text. Double-click on the last line of text. This should resume the scroll feature in your talk.
I can’t copy and paste my talk text using the mouse!
Users who do not have access to a microphone can communicate with the rest of the class through the text talk. The talk module emerges in the bottom left of the Collaborate window. Just type in the space and click Inject on your keyboard and your text message will go out to the entire class. Depending on your version of Java, you may not be able to right-click copy and paste into Collaborate. Use computer shortcut keys to copy and paste text from the Talk panel:
On Windows: CTRL+C = Copy, CTRL+V = Paste
On Mac: Directive+C = Copy, Guideline+V = Paste
I click join but nothing happens.
Sometimes Collaborate will take a few minutes to launch. If you are sure nothing is happening, a good very first thing to attempt is to clear your Java cache. Another possibility is that an antivirus product is blocking Java Webstart from opening Collaborate. It is possible that the file type has been disassociated from Java Web Begin. If you are unassured of how to address the issue of Collaborate not launching, do not hesistate to contact [email protected] for assistance.
Support documentation for clearing Java cache and associating the downloaded file to open with Java Web Embark can be found here: http://247pearsoned.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8656
Can I log into Collaborate using a tablet or smartphone?
The use of any software on a mobile device is both convenient and neat. The Learning Studio (eCollege) does not support the use of tablets and smartphones to access live sessions. The Collaborate stand alone version will permit access via an App, but key elements for participating in class may be missing (like Web Tour, Audio and Application Sharing) and your wireless connection speed will most likely not be rapid enough. You are advised to use a desktop or laptop via ethernet connection for utter functionality to get the best practice possible.
Participant/Student profiles and pictures aren’t showcasing.
Moderators can determine which user profiles will be displayed to attendees of the session. To switch this setting, from the Implements menu, select Profile and then Display Profiles of. Then select the desired option:
- No One hides all profiles.
- Moderators (the default) enables only the profiles of Moderators.
- Everyone enables the profiles of Moderators and all other Participants.
How do you view a user profile?
A user’s profile emerges in a floating display beside the Participants list.
To view a user’s profile, hover your mouse over their name in the Participants list. The content displayed in the user’s profile varies depending on how fully the user has packed in his or her profile.
If a user does not have a profile, the display will simply contain the same name that is already listed in the Participants list.
To dismiss the profile, click on it or stir your cursor off of the Participants list.