Students’ guide to accessing and using Blackboard Collaborate

What is Blackboard Collaborate?

Collaborate is a real-time video conferencing facility which teachers / lecturers and students
can use a virtual classroom to:

 Add files
 Share applications
 Interact with fellow students and / or your tutor /lecturer using a virtual whiteboard

How does it work?

 Your tutor / lecturer will set up a collaborate room within your BREO course unit.
 They will set up timed sessions and your access levels
 You will then be able to access this through BREO by following the instructions below
 Alternatively, your tutor / lecturer may also send you a link to join the Collaborate room
– simply click the link to enter the room

What will I need to access Blackboard Collaborate?

You will need:

 a device with speakers / a headphone

 a device with audio
 a reliable Wi-Fi or mobile signal
 these browsers: Google Chrome (Android), Safari (iOS 11+) or Mozilla FireFox

How can I access Blackboard Collaborate?

 Blackboard Collaborate Ultra is browser-based – you do not need to download it

 The required browsers you need are above
 Log into BREO
 Go to your BREO unit shell
 Collaborate will be on the left hand navigation menu – click on it
How do I join a session?

 Once in your collaborate area, you should see a collaborate session to join:

 Click on the link and then join session

 BB Collaborate should open in a new tab within your browser

Where are the menus and settings and what do they do?

 Blackboard Collaborate has two menus

1) The session menu is in the top left hand corner. This allows you to:
‒ Use your phone for audio
‒ Navigate through collaborate using the ‘Tell me about collaborate’ link
‒ Leave your session
2) The Collaborate panel is in the bottom right hand corner. This allows you to:
‒ Control your settings
‒ Share content
‒ View the participant list
‒ View the chat

How do I adjust or check my audio and video setup?

 You can access your audio and video buttons at the bottom of the screen. Your
lecturer may have set the default to audio only.
  Or go to ‘My Settings’ in the Collaborate Panel by clicking on
 Follow the 2 steps to setting up your audio or video

 When you finish setting up your video / audio – you will receive the
above notification that your microphone or camera area ready but
are turned off
 Use the mini menu controls to turn them on when you are ready (by default they are
muted)
How do I chat?

 Click on the Collaborate Panel - in the bottom right hand corner

 Click on the speech bubble and type and press enter

 You can click on the hand raised icon to ask a question

(your tutor should specific rules for this)

For further information, go to

https://help.blackboard.com/Collaborate/Ultra/Participant