Documentation:Blackboard Collaborate/Setup a Web Conferencing Session Outside Connect

Before entering your web conferencing session you will have to create, customize, schedule, and make it available to your participants.

This document will show you how to:

• Set up a Blackboard Collaborate web conferencing session outside Connect
• Make the session available to your participants
• Identify teaching and learning best practices facilitated by this function

Video

Watch the video below to go through the steps in video format:

Set Up a Web Conferencing Session Outside Connect

1. In order to setup your own session outside of Connect you must first get an external account for Blackboard Collaborate. UBC instructors and students can do this by briefly stating their intended use and faculty in an email to: collaborate.support[at]ubc.ca
2. Once your account has been established and you have been emailed your log in information, log on.

   

   The external Blackboard Collaborate user homepage is shown above. The Schedule a Meeting link is highlighted in yellow on the left.

3. From your homepage click on Schedule a Meeting on the left hand side of the page.
4. On this page you will create your web conferencing session. Title and schedule your session.

   

   On the Create Meeting page (shown above) the links on the left drop down additional setting configurations into the form.

5. Using the four links on the left hand side of this page you can explore and change additional setting options. However, changing the options is not recommended without full knowledge of their effect.
6. After you have titled and scheduled your session click the Create the Session button in the top right corner of the page to create the session and examine your session overview on the following page.
7. In order to make sure your participants can also join the session they need the Guest Link URL found towards the bottom of this page. There are many ways to get this link to your participants but the most efficient way is perhaps email. You will also be emailed this link for your records.

   

   The Guest link URL is highlighted in the session overview page shown above.

8. Once your participants have this URL they need to plug it into their internet browser's address bar, enter their user name for the session when prompted, and join the session. If your participants are running Mac OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.4 or above), they will be prompted to download a .collab file. The launcher is linked here as well for your convenience. Otherwise your participants will be prompted to download a .JNLP file necessary to join the session. This should be automatically opened upon completion of the download but if it is not, do so from your browser downloads (Control/Command + J).

Effective Practices

Blackboard Collaborate web conferencing is a unique communication platform that creates the potential for students and instructors to create flexible extended learning environments. The functions focused on in this document directly:

• Enable session creators to easily build sessions
• Empower session creators to tailor the learning environment to the needs of participants

The function focused on in this document can support a number of Chickering and Gamson's Seven Principles, including:

• Good practice encourages interaction and collaboration between students
• Good practice uses active learning techniques
• Good practice gives prompt feedback
• Good practice emphasizes time on task
• Good practice respects diversity --- talents, experience, and ways of learning

We encourage both students and instructors to read more about the Seven Principles to see how they can inform their teaching and learning.