Part 1: Adding a Collaborate link to your course
First, you will need to give students a simple way to access Blackboard Collaborate Ultra. One way to do this is by adding a Collaborate Ultra tool link to your course’s left-hand navigation bar.
- Click the + icon at the top of the left-hand navigation bar, and select Tool Link from the drop-down menu that appears:
- Give the link a name, then choose Blackboard Collaborate Ultra from the “Type” drop-down menu
- Click the check-box to make the link available to users
- Click Submit to finalize the link:
Part 2a: Opening your course’s Collaborate Room
By default, your course has a “Collaborate Room” where you can quickly and easily connect with your students remotely. The instructions below detail how to open your course’s Collaborate Room for on-the-fly meetings.
- From the left-hand navigation bar, click on your course’s Blackboard Collaborate Ultra link to arrive at the Collaborate home page
- A Course Room should appear at the top of the page; by default, this course room is unlocked to users
- Click on the […] icon to the right of the Course Room.
- Select Join Course Room from the options that appear
Part 2b: Creating a scheduled session
Creating a session will allow you to control when the Collaborate room can be accessed. Follow the steps below to set up a session within your course:
- From the left-hand navigation bar, click on your course’s Blackboard Collaborate Ultra link to arrive at the Collaborate home page
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Click Create Session either using the button on the top-left or by clicking the button on the center of the screen:
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In the window that appears, Name your session, then set your availability using the Start and End dates/times
- If you would like to grant students the option of entering the room early, choose a time frame from the drop-down menu
- If needed, provide a Description for the session
- To create additional limits around participant roles, click on Session Settings to expand the menu
- Click Save to finalize the session
- To enter the session once it becomes available, click on the session’s name, then click Join Session
Part 3: Navigating Collaborate
- After clicking Join Session button on the Collaborate Ultra home page, you will be added to the course room
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Inside the course room, you can access conferencing tools in two ways:
a. Expand the Session Menu in the top-left for technical assistance and recording settings
b. Expand the Collaborate Panel in the bottom-right to access tools like live chat, file sharing, or audio settings:
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To turn on video and audio, click on the camera and microphone icons at the bottom of the page:
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Once the session is complete, exit the course room by closing the browser tab or clicking Session Menu > Leave Session
For more information on using Blackboard Collaborate Ultra within your courses, please contact the LeBow Instructional Tech Services team.