Getting started with Online Rooms for Interactive Presentations

Online Rooms can be used to facilitate interactive presentations in which students are not simple listening to information, but actively engaged in the material. This strategy should not be used to replace a face-to-face lecture, rather it can be used to conduct online exam reviews, library database tours, or guest speakers. Below is a list of steps and strategies for implementing interactive presentations using Online Rooms. Please review the information below and contact Amy Mangrich (amangric@uwm.edu) with questions or additional needs.

Navigation bar:

In order for students to use Online Rooms, you will only need to add [Online Rooms] to your course navigation bar. Here are a set of instructions that will walk you through the process: http://d2ltipsandtricks.blogspot.com/2011/08/adding-online-rooms-to-your-navigation.html

Room Setup:

You will create a separate Online Room for each of your review sessions. Here are a set of instruction that will walk through these steps: http://d2ltipsandtricks.blogspot.com/2011/05/creating-online-room-in-your-d2l-course.html

In Step 7, under [Advanced Properties], select:

- [Attendees raise their hand on entry]

- [Moderators can view all private chats]

- [Moderators can edit & delete this room]

- [Archive Mode:] to [Automatic]

If you want students to be able to use audio and whiteboard, select [Participants have unrestricted access to resources].

Online Room Tools:

In most interactive presentations, instructors will use two tools primarily, the Audio feature and the Application Share feature. Below are links to online versions of these tutorials:

- Online Rooms/Elluminate Audio Setup Wizard: http://d2ltipsandtricks.blogspot.com/2011/09/online-rooms-audio-setup-wizard-quick.html

- Online Rooms/Elluminate Application Sharing: http://d2ltipsandtricks.blogspot.com/2011/09/online-rooms-using-application-sharing.html

In addition, if you wish to use the polling feature and the whiteboard, links to online versions of these tutorials:

- Online Rooms/Elluminate Polling: http://d2ltipsandtricks.blogspot.com/2011/09/online-rooms-using-polling-feature.html

- Online Rooms/Elluminate Whiteboard: http://d2ltipsandtricks.blogspot.com/2011/09/online-rooms-introduction-to-whiteboard.html

Participant Tools:

For interactive presentations, it is very likely that your students will use chat, the polling feature, and the whiteboard. You may wish to distribute the following resources to the students in advance of the session:

Sending Chat Messages as a Participant in Online Rooms: http://d2ltipsandtricks.blogspot.com/2011/05/sending-chat-messages-as-participant-in.html

Using the Polling Feature as a Participant in Online Rooms: http://d2ltipsandtricks.blogspot.com/2012/04/using-polling-feature-as-participant-in.html

Using the Whiteboard as a Participant in Online Rooms: http://d2ltipsandtricks.blogspot.com/2012/04/using-whiteboard-as-participant-in.html

Preparing to access Online Rooms:

Please inform your students that they will need high-speed internet connection and may need to be connected to the internet using an Ethernet cable, especially if you are using Application Sharing.

It is recommended that users access Online Rooms using the Mozilla Firefox browser. This can be downloaded, free of charge, at: http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/

Also, inform your students that many companies do not allow employees to download software, so if they plan to access Online Rooms while at work, please have students visit the following website to ensure that they have the necessary permission to download and install Online Rooms/Elluminate software plug-ins and updates: http://support.blackboardcollaborate.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=8336&task=knowledge&questionID=1473

Students can make sure their computer is setup correctly by accessing the following site: http://support.blackboardcollaborate.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=8336&task=knowledge&questionID=1473 Students should check System Requirements in Step 1. Then test their connection, settings, and configure audio (if using) in the Configuration Room in Step 2.

Tips for preventing technical issues during meetings:

Additional tips for accessing Online Rooms can be found here: http://d2ltipsandtricks.blogspot.com/2011/05/tips-for-accessing-online-rooms.html

The most common issues associated with Elluminate relate to Audio Communication. Tips for using Audio Communication in Online Rooms can be found here: http://d2ltipsandtricks.blogspot.com/2011/05/using-audio-communication-in-online.html

If you (or your students) use the audio feature, you MUST use a microphone headset -or- if using the microphone in a laptop, you MUST use a pair of headphone to listen to the session. Noise-cancelling USB connected microphone headset can be purchase from Logitech.com, here: http://bit.ly/p670G3

Practice facilitating Online Room meetings:

If you would like to practice using Online Rooms before you begin using them in your own course, you can add a fake user to your D2L course site using these instructions: http://d2ltipsandtricks.blogspot.com/2009/08/adding-someone-to-your-d2l-course-site.html

In Step #4 of the helpsheet, type the work “fake” the search box. There will be fake students with username AND password (numbered sequentially) "fake100" through fake129.” Choose one of these users and select [Student] as the [Role] when prompted.

Once the fake student is enrolled in your course, setup a sample Online Room in your D2L course site. You may want to refer back to these instructions: http://d2ltipsandtricks.blogspot.com/2011/05/creating-online-room-in-your-d2l-course.html

In Step #10, under [Attendees], add the fake student to the sample room. Using a different computer, you can log in to D2L as of the fake students and enter the Online Room. The username AND password are the *same* for fake student accounts.

Accessing Online Room Recordings:

Access to recorded sessions can be found in the [OnlineRooms] tab of your D2L course site. On the left, under [Online Rooms Area], select [Archives]. Identify the [Name] of the session room and the date of the session. Please note, if more than one session is conducted in an Online Room, the recording [Name] will not change, but the recording [Start Date] can be used to identify the correct session.