Online Rooms - Understanding Permissions

Understanding Permissions

Your access to Blackboard Collaborate Web Conferencing features is managed by permissions. Moderators can change your permissions, either by changing the global permissions (those that apply to all Participants) or by changing your permissions only.

Permission Indicators in the Participants List

Only those individual permissions (granted or revoked) that represent exceptions to the global permissions are displayed in the Participants list. When a Moderator removes your permission to use a globally permitted feature, the icon representing that feature is stamped with a red X and appears next to your name in the Participants list.

In the example below, the global permissions are set to the default (permission to use Audio, Video, Chat and Whiteboard but not Application Sharing, Web Tour and Closed-Captioning) and the exceptions to these are indicated by the icons in the Participants list.

The Moderator has granted Charlie the Closed-Captioning permission and revoked his permission to transmit video . Lucy has been granted the Application Sharing permission. Ricky has been granted the Web Tour permission and his Audio permission has been revoked: .

The table below shows the icons associated with each permission and describes what the permissions entail.

Icon		Permissions
		The Audio permission allows Participants to talk in the session. If the permission is not granted, they can still listen to others.
		The Video permission allows Participants to transmit video in the session. If the permission is not granted, they can still preview their own video and view the video transmissions of others.
		The Chat permission allows Participants to enter chat messages in the session. If the permission is not granted, they can still send private chat messages to Moderators and read the Chat messages of others.
		The Whiteboard permission allows Participants to use the drawing tools in the Whiteboard. It doesn't allow them to load content (e.g., presentations) into the Whiteboard nor navigate between pages, both of which require Moderator privileges. If the permission is not granted, Participants can still view the Whiteboard content entered by Moderators.
		The Application Sharing permission allows Participants to host an Application Sharing session. It also enables them to request remote control of anyone's Application Sharing session or the desktop of Moderators or other Participants who also have the Application Sharing permission; in both cases, the request can be denied by the host. It does not allow Participants to switch to Application Sharing mode, which is necessary before application sharing can take place – only Moderators can switch modes. If the Application Sharing permission is not granted, Participants can still view others' shared applications or desktops.
		The Web Tour permission allows Participants to host Web Tours and Web Pushes. It does not allow Participants to switch to Web Tour Mode, which is necessary before a Web Tour can take place – only Moderators can switch modes. If the Web Tour permission is not granted, Participants can still view others' Web Tours.
		The Closed-Captioning permission allows Participants to enter text into the Closed-Captioning window. If this permission is not granted, Participants can still read the Closed-Captioning text of others. (Note: this permission can be set only from the Participant option menu – i.e, it cannot be set globally for all Participants.)

Online Rooms - Introduction to the Participants Panel

Introduction to the Participants Panel Quick Reference Guide

You can think of the Participants panel as your "control center" for conducting a session. It is from here that you manage Participants by granting and revoking their permissions, inviting or removing Participants to or from the session, sending them to breakout rooms, and getting their input through polling. The Participants panel is also the place where you and other Participants can access user profiles and activity indicators.

Your name appears at the top of the Participants panel in the Status area as well as in the Participants list below it. In the Participants list, all the Moderators in the session are displayed in alphabetical order at the top of the list (above the horizontal rule), followed by all the Participants, who are also listed in alphabetical order.

The Participants panel has the following components:

The difference in the Moderator and Participant view is the Moderator has the ability to clear the Polling results. Additionally the Moderator has control over global and individual permissions and the ability to lower all raised hands.

Functions Performed by a Moderator versus a Participant

As a Moderator, you can use all the available Participant panel features. Participants can use only a subset of the features. In the table below, checkmarks indicate which functions can be used by Moderators and which can be used by Participants.

Feature	Moderators	Participants
Remove a Participant from the session	X
Give or take away Moderator privileges	X
Grant or take away a Participant’s permission to use a feature	X
Create Breakout Rooms	X
Distribute Participants into Breakout Rooms	X

Feature	Moderators	Participants
Invite someone to be a Participant in the session	X
Use Emoticons	X	X
Step Away	X	X
Raise Hand	X	X
Participate in a Poll	X	X
Clear Poll results	X
View Profiles	X	X
Send a private Chat	X	X
See who is currently using a feature (activity lights)	X	X

Managing Permissions

As a Moderator, you are automatically given all permissions. The default global permissions given to Participants are established when the session is initially created and configured. Typically, sessions are configured so Participants can use all the Blackboard Collaborate Web Conferencing features except Application Sharing, Web Tour and Closed Captioning. If permissions are turned off during session configuration, Participants will only be able to use the buttons in the toolbar (emoticons, raise hand, etc.), view profiles and send Moderators private Chat messages.

You can grant additional permissions to all Participants at once using the Global options menu or to individual Participants using their Participant Options menus. There also may be times you want to revoke the permissions of Participants, such as when you want to focus everyone's full attention on what you are presenting (eliminate distractions) or when Participants are abusing their privileges

Permission Indicators in the Participants List

Only those individual permissions (granted or revoked) that represent exceptions to the global permissions are displayed in the Participants list. When you revoke a Participant or Moderator's permission to use a globally permitted feature, the icon representing that feature appears stamped with a red X next to their name in the Participants list.

For example in the image below:

• Sophia’s video permission has been revoked


• Emma’s whiteboard permission has been revoked


• Dominic’s chat permission has been revoked


• Jacob’s audio permission has been revoked

To grant or revoke permissions to or from all Participants, select or deselect the desired permission in the Global Options menu. These changes will not affect Moderators.

To grant or revoke permissions to or from individual Participants or Moderators, select or deselect the desired permissions in the individual's Participant Options menu. A selected permission has a faint box around its icon.

Understanding Status Indicators

Status indicators appear in the Participants list when data is being sent and received. For Audio, Video and Application Sharing, the indicators signify a delay in the sending and/or receipt of data. An amber status indicator denotes a moderate delay whereas a red status indicator denotes a significant delay. For the Whiteboard, the indicators tell Moderators who is receiving content (amber status indicator) and who hasn't received all the content on the current page (red status indicator).

The status indicators are dynamic and are updated and visible throughout the session. By keeping an eye on these indicators, you can see when it might be appropriate to adjust your pace (e.g., temporarily stop talking, turn off your Video camera or pause your Application Sharing session) so others can catch up.

For example in the image below:

• Amanda, Dominic, Emma and Sophia have not received all of the Whiteboard content.


• Emma is having a significant delay in receiving audio.


• Sophia is having a moderate delay in receiving audio.


• Sophia is having a moderate delay in receiving the Application Sharing content.

Sending Chat Messages as a Participant in Online Rooms

With Chat, you can send the following types of messages:

• public messages to everyone in your current room (main room or breakout room). For details, see Sending Messages to Everyone in a Room or Existing Group Conversation
• private messages to one or more selected individuals. This will initiate a new conversation in its own tab. For details, see Sending Messages to Selected Individuals

For more information see: http://library.blackboard.com/ref/8fb6da4a-0569-4d9e-89f3-c32ec8370cd9/content/source_files_-_moderators_and_participants_guides/chat/chat_panel.htm

Chat Activity and Permission Indicators

You can monitor the state of Chat activity and permissions through indicators displayed in the Participants list of the Participants panel.

For more information, click here.

Viewing Chat Messages

New Chat messages appear at the bottom of the conversation pane of the Chat panel. You can scroll back and forth to read messages in the conversation pane.

For more information, click here.

Conversation Tabs

When chatting in Blackboard Collaborate Web Conferencing, you can participate in more than one conversation at a time. These conversations take place under conversation tabs. When a session begins, there are no conversation tabs.

For more information, click here.

Adding Emoticons to your Chat Message

You can add emoticons to your Chat messages by selecting them from the Chat Emoticon menu or by entering text strings in the Chat message text field. The text string equivalent of the emoticon selected in the Emoticon menu is displayed in the bottom left corner of the menu.

For more information, click here.

Adding External Links to your Chat Message

You can include HTTP links in your Chat messages either by typing them in directly, copying and pasting them or dragging and dropping them from a browser or email message. Recipients of your messages will be able to click on the links to open web sites in their default browsers.

For more information, click here.