Blackboard Collaborate Ultra
Click the Blackboard Collaborate Ultra link in the Course Tools area.
After clicking the Join Room link of the Collaborate window, you can access room sections by clicking the purple tab at the bottom right of the screen.
Clicking on the human shape in the circle or the gear icon on the side panel will bring the My Settings option which allows you to set your A/V Settings, Notification Settings, Session settings, and to report any issues with Collaborate.
Looking at the bottom of the screen, the second and third options are used to activate your microphone and your web cam/video camera.
The Raise Hand option will allow you to provide your input during a session.
Other options are in the right-side panel:
The "voice bubble" option will activate the Chat feature, which you can use to interact with students/session participants.
The next option is the Participants List, which shows you who is actively participating in the session as well as who has session privileges (moderator, etc.)
The icon with a box and an arrow pointing up and right is the Share Content option which allows you to Share Blank Whiteboard, Share Application, or Share Files (i.e. ppt slides).
Since many instructors utilize the Share Files option I'll explain a bit more. You have the option to add images, PowerPoints, or PDF files to your Collaborate presentation. Save your Word files as a .pdf so they can be integrated into your presentation! Click on the Add Files button to browse for the files you want or drag them to the indicated area to include in your presentation.
After adding your file simply click the file you want to share and then the Share Now option to load your file into the Collaborate presentation.
The slides will load into the presentation and at this point you can click on which
slide you'd like to begin narrating with...
Once the slide appears in the content frame and you have checked your audio/video settings (make sure you are able to see your audio meter ‘bounce') click on your More Tools option and select Start Recording.
Another option you have is Session Settings which provides participant options for the presentation.
Click through the presentation (or backwards) using the arrows above the slide. When finished, simply click the More Tools option again and select Stop Recording. Close the session by ‘x-ing' out of the window. Once your presentation finishes encoding it will appear in your Recordings area as such! It may take as long as 24 hours to appear in the listing.
