- Use a hard-wired (Ethernet) connection, if available. If not available, use a Wifi connection. If using Wifi, try to be as close to the router as possible.
- Close other programs. Close all programs and streaming services on your computer except for the browser you are using for your Collaborate session.
- Keep your browser current. Only use up-to-date Internet browsers supported by Blackboard Collaborate, see below table of support browsers.
- Use supported mobile browsers. If on a mobile device, use a supported mobile browser. For the best experience, use Safari on iOS devices and Chrome on Android devices.
- Use headphones. Cut down on the background noise and use headphones.
- Disable ad blockers. Browser ad blockers can turn off your audio and video and can cause buttons to not show up
Collaborate requires certain permissions to function as desired. For example, Collaborate needs permission to access your camera and microphone so you can use audio and video. Give Collaborate permission when asked, and/or set up permissions in browser preferences.
Collaborate doesn't require or use plugins.
| Browser | Desktop | Mobile |
|---|---|---|
| Google Chrome | Windows, MacOS, Ubuntu | Android |
| Firefox | Windows. MacOS | Not Supported |
| Safari | MacOS 10.13+ | iOS 12+, iPadOS |
| Microsoft Edge (Chromium) | Windows, MacOS | Android, iOS |
We’ve broken Collaborate up in 3 areas:
- Collaborate Panel Tools: located to the top right, takes your session experience to a single space to engage other attendees with all the great collaborate tools
- Session Menu Tools: located to the top left of screen, opens the high-level session actions and information
- Content Presentation Tools: where the content of the session is displayed
1. Collaborate Panel Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Chat |
Chat with everyone in the session. Open the Collaborate panel and select Open Chat. The moderator can turn chat off. The emoji pack for Collaborate with the Ultra experience supports diversified emojis and Unicode 8 characters. Use one of five supported skin tones on any human emoji. Add underscore, tone, and the supported tone number (1 through 5) to your emoji when typing. Don't forget the colons on either end of your emoji text. |
| Attendees panel | View the list of attendees. Open the Collaborate panel and Select Open Attendees List. |
| My Settings | Add a profile image, set up your audio and video and your notifications. Open the Collaborate panel and select My Settings. You can't change your name or email address used. |
| Close | Close the Collaborate panel. |
| Options | Open the attendee options menu. |
2. Session Menu Tools
| Tool | Description |
|---|---|
| Use your phone | Get a dial-in number and unique PIN to use your phone for audio during a session. |
| Report an issue | Report an issue with the session. |
| Help | Go to Blackboard Collaborate help on help.blackboard.com. |
| Learn how to use Collaborate | Open tutorials on how to use Collaborate. |
| Leave session | Exit the session and complete a quick survey to tell us about your experience. |
3. Content Presentation Tools
Tools that appear in the content presentation area relate directly to what us happening in the session at the moment. Tools also depend on the permissions moderators set.
| Tools | Description |
|---|---|
| Audio |
Turn your audio on. Lines through the microphone icon means that it is turned off. Select Share Audio to turn it on. With your keyboard, press Alt + M to turn your microphone on and off. |
| Video |
Turn your video on. Lines through the camera icon means that it is turned off. Select Share Video to turn it on. With your keyboard, press Alt + C to turn your camera on and off. |
| Hand raise |
Raise your hand to answer a question or get another moderator's attention. Select Raise Hand. With your keyboard, press Alt + H. |
| Collaborate panel | Open the Collaborate panel. |
| Session panel | Open the Session menu. |
| Follow the speaker view | Switch to the follow-the-speaker view. |
| Grid view | Switch to the grid view. |
|
Picture-in-picture |
Change the focus of your screen. If shared content is on your main screen, switch to watching the speaker. Select the picture-in-picture to bring that content to your main screen. |
