Virtual Classroom

The Virtual Classroom tool allows you to communicate in real-time with your class. It gives you more tools than are found in a Lightweight Chat session - you can draw on a whiteboard, create slides, browse the web with your class, and field questions and answers. The big difference between the Virtual Classroom and the Lightweight Chat Tool is that the Virtual Classroom gives you access to the Classroom Tools, while the Lightweight Chat contains only the chat tool.

The Virtual Classroom require s a java-enabled version of Internet Explorer. Netscape users can access the Accessible version of the Virtual Classroom; However, some features are not available.

This is a comprehensive document. If you are unfamiliar with the Virtual Classroom it may help to read the entire document. Or the following outline links will help you navigate to the topic of particular interest:

1. Joining a Collaboration Session
2. Changing Your Viewing Options
3. Configuring Access Rights for Active & Passive Users
4. Sending and Receiving Messages
1. Sending Longer Messages
2. Sending a Private Message
5. Clearing Your Display
6. Managing Users in the Virtual Classroom
1. Viewing Participants
2. Sorting the Participant List
3. Viewing User Information
4. Changing a User's Status
5. Calling on Passive Users
6. To Call on a Student with a Raised Hand
7. Expelling a User
7. Using the Classroom Tools
1. Using the Course Map
• Displaying Content from your Course to Users
• Previewing Content from Your Course in a New Window
• Refreshing the Tree in the Course Map area
2. Using the Whiteboard
• Drawing a Straight Line
• Freehand Drawing using the Marker tool
• Inserting an equation
• Drawing a Rectangle
• Drawing an Oval
• Inserting Text
• Setting a Custom Color
  • Setting a Custom Color using Swatches
  • Setting a Custom Color using the Pallette
  • Setting a Custom Color using Hue, Saturation, and Brightness
  • Setting a Custom Color using Red, Green, and Blue levels
• Using the Select Tool
• Selecting a Figure
• Selecting Multiple Figures
• Selecting All Figures
• Grouping Figures
• Ungrouping Figures
• Moving a Figure
• Resizing a Figure
• Deleting Figures
• Cutting Figures to the Clipboard
• Copying Figures to the Clipboard
• Pasting Figures from the Clipboard
• Moving Figures to the Background
• Moving Figures to the Foreground
3. Adding a Snapshot of the Whiteboard to an Archive
4. Clearing the Whiteboard
5. Whiteboard Pages
• Adding a Whiteboard Page
• Displaying a Whiteboard Page
• Deleting a Whiteboard Page
8. Using the Group Browser
1. Displaying a Web Page
2. Previewing a Web Page in a New Window
9. Using the Ask a Question Tool
1. Asking a Question
2. Asking a Long Question
10. Breakout Sessions
11. Active versus Passive Users
1. Raising Your Hand
12. Ending a Collaboration Session

Joining a Collaboration Session

From the Control Panel:

1. Click the Collaboration link in the Course Tools box on the left.
2. You will see a list of all collaboration sessions in alphabetical order by session nameóif you have not yet created a collaboration session, read the documents on Managing Collaboration Sessions for more details.
3. Find the collaboration session you wish to join.
4. Click the Join button to the right of the collaboration session name. You will see a page that says "Chat Loading." Depending on your connection speed, it may take a few minutes for everything to download.
5. A new window will appear.

• the Course Map
• the Whiteboard
• the Group Browser
• the Ask Question tool
• the Question Inbox

Changing Your Viewing Options for Private Messages

You can set your chat window to display private messages either inline (with the other messages you send and receive) or in a separate frame (which creates a new pane in the Virtual Classroom window which contains only private messages).

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the View button.
2. A new window labeled Session Options will appear.
3. Select the radio button next to Show in-line or Show in separate frame.
4. Click the OK button.

Configuring Access Rights for Active and Passive Users

You can determine what parts of the Virtual Classroom users have access to, and you can differentiate between Active and Passive users.

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Controls button.
2. The Session Controls window will appear.
3. Click the boxes next to each ability you want Active Users and Passive Users to have.
4. Click the OK button.

• Chat allows users to type messages that are sent to all users and stored in the archive.
• Private Messaging allows users to send private messages that are seen only by the recipient. Users can receive private messages even if they cannot send them, so as a moderator, you can send private messages even if your students can not.
• Course Map allows users to bring up parts of the classroom, e.g., bring up a document posted in the Course Documents area.
• Whiteboard allows users to draw, create equations, create slides, write on the board, and move objects on the board around.
• Group Browser lets users display web pages for all users.
• Ask Question lets users send questions to your Question Inbox (which only users with access to the Question Inbox can see).
• Question Inbox lets users see questions that have been submitted but not answered (and lets users answer them). By default, Active Users have access to everything except the Question Inbox. Passive Users have access only to the Ask Question area.

  Note: Users can always see the other areasóeven if a user does not have access to the Group Browser in the Session Controls, they can see the Group Browser. They just canít browse to a different page with it.

Sending and Receiving Messages

In the Virtual Classroom, the lower left pane of the window is dedicated to group information. The large pane toward the upper right is used to display whichever tool you are currently using (e.g., Whiteboard, Group Browser). The lower right pane is used to display messages and login information (and depending on how you have configured your options (see the “Setting the View” directions for more information) may include private messages as well.

Sending a Message

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click in the field just to the right of the Compose button.
2. Type your message and click the Send button (or press return).

More Information

Question: Where are the group messages?
Answer: The lower right pane of the Virtual Classroom window has all messages sent to the group. If you have just joined, you should see a message saying that you have joined the session (and a time stamp).

Question: How will I know when someone sends a message?
Answer: Messages that other users send will appear in the same pane yours did.

Sending Longer Messages

You may occasionally wish to send a longer message than will fit in the compose field. If you’d like to send a longer message, you can do it by using the Compose button.

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Compose button.
2. When your message is complete, click the Send button.

More Information

Question: How do I know where to type my message?
Answer: A window labeled Compose Message will appear. You can type your message here. While typing, pressing Enter or Return will insert line breaks; however, these line breaks will not appear when the final message is sent.

Question: How will I know the message was sent?
Answer: The smaller window will close and your message will be sent to the class.

Sending a Private Message

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click on the name (or User ID) of the participant you wish to sent a private message to in the lower left pane. The user’s name, role, and status should be highlighted in purple.
2. Click the Private Message button.
3. Click the Send button.

More Information

Question: How can I send a Private Message to more than one person?
Answer: If you’d like to send a private message to two or more users, you can shift-click or control-click on the names to select more than one user.

Question: How will I know where to type the Private Message?
Answer: After clicking on the Private Message Button, a new window labeled Compose Private Message will appear.

Question: Where will my message appear?
Answer: Your message will appear in your chat window (depending on how you’ve set the options, it may appear inline or in a frame on the right) and in the window of the user you’ve sent it to, but will not appear in any other user’s chat window.

Clearing Your Display

You can clear out your record of previous chat messages (as well as clear the screen for all your students).

From the Virtual Classroom, click on the Clear button.

Managing Users In the Virtual Classroom

The lower left pane of the window is dedicated to information about participants in the session. You can sort users, change their roles, call on them, view their personal information, and send them private messages using this pan. Users are assigned one of three roles: moderators, active users, and passive users, and you can control which tools active and passive users have access to.

Viewing Participants

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. The lower left pane will show you a list of all current participants in the chat.
2. The number of current participants appears at the top of the list (in parentheses, after the word “Participants”).
3. Users who have set their name to "publicly available" in their Privacy Settings will have their first and last names appear here. Users who have not set their name to "publicly available" will have their user ID displayed.
4. Next to each participant’s name, an icon displaying the user’s role will be displayed:
   a. The globe icon represents the Chat Moderator.
   b. A face in profile represents Active Users.
   c. A grayed out face represents Passive Users.
5. To the right of the user role, there is a column for the Raised Hand icon. If you have set users to Passive Users roles, they can raise their hands to ask questions—for more information on this, see the directions to Call on Users with Raised Hands.

Sorting the Participant List

You can sort participants by name, role, or order in which they raised their hands (if you are using active and passive users).

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. In the lower left pane, click on the criteria you wish to sort by:
   • If you click on the Participants tab, you will sort participants in alphabetical order by user name or last name, depending on each user’s privacy settings (you only see first and last names of users who have made that information available).
   • Clicking on Role will sort users by role (moderators, active users, and passive users).
   • Clicking on the Hand icon will sort users by whether they have their hand raised, and if they do, by the order in which they raised their hands.
2. Clicking on a Sort button again will reverse the order of the sort.

Viewing User Information

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click on the Name of the participant whose info you wish to view. The user’s name, role, and status should be highlighted in purple.
2. Click the User Info button.

A new window will appear with all information from the userís profile that is publicly available (at SDSU this feature has been disabled for security reasons).

Changing a User's Status

You can change any user (or a group of users) from Active to Passive users and back again. This will change their access rights, depending on how you have configured access rights.

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click on the Name of the participant whose status you wish to change.
2. The user's name, role, and status should be highlighted in purple.
   Note: If you need to select more than one user, you can shift click or control click on the additional users you need to select.
3. Immediately to the right of the Private Message button, you will see a button with the Active User icon (which looks like a profile of a person) and another button with the Passive User icon.
4. If you wish to change the user or users to Active Users click the Active User button. If you wish to change the user or users to Passive Users click the Passive User button.
   Note: You can also change the role of a single user by double-clicking on the Role icon next to their name in the participant list.

Calling on Passive Users

If you have passive users in your Virtual Classroom session, they have the option to raise their hand by pressing a button that appears (only for passive users) below the participant list. (For more details, see the student documentation on the virtual classroom tool). You will see a hand icon and a number appear next to their name, to indicate the order in which students raised their hands.

To Call on a Student with a Raised Hand

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Find the user you wish to call on in the list of participants.
2. Double click on the Hand icon next to the userís name.
3. To change the user back to Passive once they have finished talking or asking their question, follow the directions for Changing a User's Status above.

Expelling a User

If a user is being disruptive, as the moderator, you have the option to expel them from the collaboration session. You can't block them from re-entering, however, unless you remove them from your course completely.

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click on the name (or User ID) of the participant whose info you wish to view.
2. The userís name, role, and status should be highlighted in purple.
3. Press the User Info button.
4. In the User Information window that appears, press the Expel User button.
5. The Expel User window will appear.
6. Click the OK button. The user will be expelled from the chat.

Using the Classroom Tools

Course Map | Whiteboard | Group Browser | Ask Question

The big difference between the Virtual Classroom and the Lightweight Chat Tool is that the Virtual Classroom gives you access to the Classroom Tools, which you can use to display web pages, draw on the board, display pages from your course, etc. There are five Classroom Tools: Course Map, Whiteboard, Group Browser, Ask Question, and the Question Inbox. The current tool being used has an arrow diplayed to its right.

Using the Course Map

The Course Map tool lets you display pages from the content areas of your class to all users in the collaboration session.

Displaying Content from your Course to Users

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Course Map button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click on folders to open them.
3. Click on the content you wish to display. It should be highlighted in purple.
4. Select Display to Class in the drop-down menu.
5. Click the Go button.

More Information

Question: Can I display quizzes for class discussion?
Answer: The Course Map tool will not directly display files that have been added as attachments, tests, or assignments. You can use the tool to display the folder or area these things are in, but you must ask students to click on the link from that folder.

Question: I recently put content in the course and I’d like to display it to my students using the Course Map tool. However, the items I’ve added do not appear in the Course Map.
Answer: Recently added items don’t appear unless you Refresh the Tree on the Course Map.

Previewing Content from your Course in a New Window

If you’d like to see how different areas will look before displaying them to the class, you can preview content.

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Course Map button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click on folders to open them.
3. Click on content. It should be highlighted in purple.
4. In the Course Map area, select Preview in New Window in the drop-down menu.
5. Click the Go button.

Refreshing the Tree in the Course Map Area

Recently posted material may not show up in the Course Map area unless you refresh the tree - this checks the course map against the actual course content and updates it.

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Course Map button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. In the Course Map area, select Refresh Tree in the drop-down menu.
3. Click the Go button.

Using the Whiteboard

The Whiteboard lets you draw, write, and create slides for your class. It features a simple version of the same drawing tools you find in programs like Paint:

• a Line tool to draw straight lines
• a Marker tool to draw freehand
• an Equation tool to insert equations
• a Rectangle tool to draw rectangles
• an Oval tool to draw ovals
• a Text tool to insert text
• a Select tool to move objects around

Drawing a Straight Line

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane that appears.
3. Click the Line button (it looks like a diagonal line) in the Tools tab.

More Information

Question: How can I choose a color or line width?
Answer: Set the color and thickness of the line in the drop-down menus below the button. The Pen Color will determine the color of the line (if you need a color not available in the drop-down menu, see directions on Setting a Custom Color). The Line Width determines its thickness. The other options are not used by the Line Tool.

Question: When I try to draw a line I get this rubber band effect.
Answer: Move the mouse pointer to where (in the upper-right frame) you want the line to begin. Press and hold the mouse button. Move the mouse to the endpoint of the line. The line will appear. Release the mouse button.

Freehand Drawing using the Marker Tool

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane that appears.
3. Click the Marker button (it looks like a marker) in the Tools tab.

More Information

Question: How can I choose a color or pen width?
Answer: Set the color and thickness of the pen in the drop-down menus below the button. The Pen Color will determine the color (if you need a color not available in the drop-down menu, see directions on Setting a Custom Color). The Line Width determines its thickness. The other options are not used by the Marker Tool.

Question: How do I use this tool to draw?
Answer: Hold the mouse button down to draw in the whiteboard pane.

Inserting an Equation

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane that appears.
3. Click the Equation button (it is a Sigma) in the Tools tab.
4. Click the Insert Equation button.

More Information

Question: How do I change the color and size of my equation?
Answer: Set the color and size of the equation in the drop-down menus below the button. The Pen Color will determine the color of the equation (if you need a color not available in the drop-down menu, see directions on Setting a Custom Color). The Font Size will determine the size of the equation. The other options are not used by the Equation tool.

Question: How can I place the equation on the Whiteboard?
Answer: Click the mouse where you’d like the equation to begin. The Equation Editor window will appear.

Drawing a Rectangle

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane that appears.
3. Click the Rectangle button (a drawing of a square) in the Tools tab.

More Information

Question: How can I change the color of the rectangle?
Answer: Set the color of the rectangle in the drop-down menus below the button. The Fill Color will determine the color of the rectangle (if you need a color not available in the drop-down menu, see directions on Setting a Custom Color). The other options are not used by the Rectangle Tool.

Question: How can I draw the rectangle on the Whiteboard?
Answer: Click and hold the mouse button in the whiteboard area to draw a rectangle. Release the mouse button to draw the rectangle.

Drawing an Oval

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane that appears.
3. Click the Oval button (a drawing of a circle) in the Tools tab.

More Information

Question: How can I change the color of the oval?
Answer: Set the color of the oval in the drop-down menus below the button. The Fill Color will determine the color of the oval (if you need a color not available in the drop-down menu, see directions on Setting a Custom Color). The other options are not used by the Oval Tool.

Question: How do I draw the oval on the Whiteboard?
Answer: Click and hold the mouse button in the whiteboard area to draw an oval. Release the mouse button to draw the oval.

Inserting Text

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane that appears.
3. Click the Text button (an uppercase T) in the Tools tab.
4. Press the Insert button.

More Information

Question: How can I select the color, font and size of the text?
Answer: Select the pen color, font, and size for your text from the drop-down menus below the button. The Pen Color will determine the color of the text (if you need a color not available in the drop-down menu, see directions on Setting a Custom Color). The Font will determine the font used. The Font Size is the size of the letters in pixels. The other options are not used by the Text tool.

Question: How do I place the text onto the Whiteboard?
Answer: Click the mouse button where you want the text to begin. Type the text you wish to insert.

Setting a Custom Color

If you’d like to use a color that isn’t available on the dropdown menu, you can select a custom color for either the Fill Color or the Pen Color. You can do this by picking from a set of swatches, from a palette, setting the hue, saturation, and brightness, or setting the red, green, and blue levels.

Setting a Custom Color using Swatches

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane that appears.
3. Select the Custom Color option in either the Fill Color or Pen Color drop-down menu.
4. Click on the color you would like from the series of colored boxes that appear on the tab.
5. Click the OK button.

Setting a Custom Color using the Palette

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane that appears.
3. Select the Custom Color option in either the Fill Color or Pen Color drop-down menu.
4. Click on the HSB tab.
5. Click on the color you would like in the large box.
6. Click the OK button.

Setting a Custom Color using Hue, Saturation, and Brightness

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane that appears.
3. Click on the HSB tab.
4. Enter the Hue (from 0 to 255) in the H field (to the right).
5. Enter the Saturation (from 0 to 255) in the S field.
6. Enter the Brightness (from 0 to 255) in the B field.
7. Click the OK button.

Setting a Custom Color using Red, Green, and Blue Levels

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane that appears.
3. Click on the RGB tab.
   • Set the red level (from 0 to 255) using the Red slider (or enter it in the corresponding text field).
   • Set the green level (from 0 to 255) using the Green slider (or enter it in the corresponding text field).
   • Set the blue level (from 0 to 255) using the Blue slider (or enter it in the corresponding text field).
4. Click the OK button.

Using the Select Tool

The Select tool lets you move, rescale, delete, group, copy, cut, and paste figures (lines, freehand drawings, text, equations, rectangles, and ovals). Unlike the other Whiteboard tools, options for the Select tool are set using the buttons directly above the Whiteboard, not the drop down menus on the tools tab.

Selecting a Figure

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane that appears.
3. Click the Select button (a drawing of a mouse pointer) on the tools tab.
4. Click on the figure in the drawing area you’d like to select. Eight boxes should appear along the outline of the object.

Selecting Multiple Figures

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane that appears.
3. Click the Select button (a drawing of a mouse pointer) on the tools tab.
4. Click on the first object in the drawing area you’d like to select. Eight boxes should appear along the outline of the figure.
5. Hold down the Shift key and click on the second figure you’d like to select. Repeat until all figures are selected.

Selecting All Figures

You can quickly select all the figures on the whiteboard.

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane that appears.
3. Click the Select All Figures button (it looks like two cubes surrounded by a frame, and is directly above the Whiteboard area).

Grouping Figures

You can group objects so that the whiteboard will treat them as one object. In this way, you can easily copy and paste, move, and resize drawings made up of many different lines, text, shapes, and equations.

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Select all the figures you want to group together.
2. Click the Group Figures button. It looks like three large cubes, and is directly above the Whiteboard area.

More Information

Question: Why can't I resize my grouped figure?
Answer: A grouped figure that contains text, freehand drawings, or equations cannot be resized.

Ungrouping Figures

If you have grouped figures but need to make changes to them individually, you can ungroup them.

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Select the figures you want to ungroup (see the directions for Selecting Figures above).
2. Click the Ungroup Figures button. It looks like three small cubes, and is directly above the Whiteboard area (to the right of the Group Figures button).

Moving a Figure

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Select the figure you’d like to move (see the instructions for Selecting Figures)
2. Click and drag inside the figure to move it.

Resizing a Figure

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Select the figure you’d like to resize (see the instructions for Selecting Figures)
2. Click and drag on one of the eight boxes that surround the object.

More Information

Question: I can't resize my object?
Answer: You can not resize objects (or grouped objects) that contain text, freehand drawings, or equations. You must recreate these objects using a different font size or redraw them.

Deleting Figures

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Select the figure or figures you’d like to delete (see the instructions for Selecting Figures)
2. Click the Delete Figure button (it looks like an X and is directly above the Whiteboard area).

Cutting Figures to the Clipboard

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Select the figure or figures you’d like to cut and paste (see the instructions for Selecting Figures)
2. Click the Cut Figure button (it looks like a pair of scissors and is directly above the Whiteboard area).

More Information

Question: When I Cut the figure, is it lost forever?
Answer: The figures will disappear. They are now on the clipboard and may be pasted into another page of the Whiteboard. See the directions below on Pasting a Figure or Figures from the Clipboard.

Copying Figures to the Clipboard

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Select the figure or figures you’d like to copy (see the instructions for Selecting Figures)
2. Click the Copy Figure button (it looks like two sheets of paper and is directly above the Whiteboard area).

More Information

Question: Where is the copied figure?
Answer: The figures are now on the clipboard and may be duplicated on this page of the Whiteboard or pasted into another page of the Whiteboard. See the directions below on Pasting a Figure or Figures from the Clipboard.

Pasting Figures from the Clipboard

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Cut or copy the figure or figures you’d like to paste (see the directions above on Cutting Figures to the Clipboard or Copying Figures to the Clipboard).
2. Click the Paste button (it looks like a clipboard and is directly above the Whiteboard area).

More Information

Question: How do I past the figure in a different Whiteboard page?
Answer: Navigate to the Whiteboard page you’d like to paste the figures into (see the directions for Displaying a Whiteboard Page or Adding a New Whiteboard Page below).

Question: Were will the figure be placed and how can I move it?
Answer: The figures on the clipboard will be placed in the center of the Whiteboard. You can quickly move them by following the directions above for Grouping Figures and Moving a Figure.

Moving Figures to the Background

By default, the most recently created figures are in the foreground and overwrite any figures they overlap. You can regroup figures by moving them to the background.

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Select the figure or figures you’d like to move to the background. (see the instructions for Selecting A Figure)
2. Click the Send Figure to Background button (it looks like an arrow pointing down on top of a rectangle and is directly above the Whiteboard.

More Information

Question: Will the figure change its position when moving it to the background?
Answer: When moving multiple figures to the foreground or background, their relative position is unchanged.

Moving Figures to the Foreground

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Select the figure or figures you’d like to move to the foreground. (see the instructions for Selecting A Figure)
2. Click the Send Figure to Foreground button (it looks like an arrow pointing up on top of a rectangle and is directly above the Whiteboard.

More Information

Question: Will the figures change its position when moving it to the background?
Answer: When moving multiple figures to the foreground or background, their relative position is unchanged.

Adding a Snapshot of the Whiteboard to an Archive

If you’d like an image of the current contents of the whiteboard to be added to an archive, you can create a snapshot. You must be recording an archive for this feature to be available (see the directions on Recording an Archive below).

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane that appears.
3. Click the Snapshot button (it looks like a camera and is directly above the whiteboard).
4. Click the OK button.

Clearing the Whiteboard

You can quickly erase all figures on the Whiteboard.

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Clear Whiteboard button (it looks like an eraser and is directly above the Whiteboard).
3. Click the OK button.

More Information

Question: If I clear the Whiteboard will I delete all of them?
Answer: This only affects the currently displayed Whiteboard page. To remove a Whiteboard page entirely, see the directions for Deleting a Whiteboard Page below.

Whiteboard Pages

As you’ve probably noticed, creating a diagram with any detail on the Whiteboard is pretty labor-intensive. Fortunately, the Whiteboard allows the creation of multiple Whiteboard pages, which you can navigate through. These pages remain in the Virtual Classroom even if you leave it, so you can create a series of Whiteboard pages ahead of time (even when the collaboration session is not available to students) and navigate through them as your collaboration session progresses). Because you can create multiple collaboration sessions (see the directions on Managing Collaboration Sessions for details), you can create different sets of Whiteboard pages for different sessions, and these will be saved until you are ready to use them. Pages are controlled through the Controls tab of the Whiteboard tool.

Adding a Whiteboard Page

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Controls tab in the Whiteboard pane that appears.
3. Click the Add Whiteboard Page button (it looks like a plus sign and is in the upper right hand corner of the Controls tab).

More Information

Question: After I created a new Whiteboard page, it wasn't displayed.
Answer: When you create a new page, the Whiteboard does not automatically display it. Follow the directions for Displaying a Whiteboard Page below to move to the new page to edit it). A new page will appear on the Controls tab.

Displaying a Whiteboard Page

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Controls tab in the Whiteboard pane that appears.
3. Click the Display button in the controls tab.

Deleting a Whiteboard Page

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Controls tab in the Whiteboard pane that appears.
3. Click on the page you would like to delete in the Controls tab.
4. Click the Delete Whiteboard Page button in the Controls tab (it looks like an X and is in the upper right of the Controls tab).
5. Click the OK button.

Using the Group Browser

The Group Browser lets you display web pages for your class. Unlike previous versions of Blackboard, however, the Group Browser does not display a new page for everyone if you click on a link—you must enter each page separately.

Displaying a Web Page

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Group Browser button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Enter the URL you wish to display in the Address field.
3. Select Display to Class in the drop-down menu below the address field.
4. Click the Go! button.

Previewing a Web Page in a New Window

This feature lets you look at a website before displaying it to the class.

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Group Browser button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Enter the URL you wish to display in the Address field.
3. Select Preview in New Window in the drop-down menu below the address field.
4. Click the Go button.

More Information

Question: After typing the URL, the web site didn't display to my students.
Answer: A new window will appear with the URL you specified. If you’d like to display it to the class, simply close the window, select Display to Class in the drop-down menu, and click the Go button again.

Using the Ask Question Tool

The Ask Question tool is designed for students to ask questions of the instructor. These questions are stored in the Question Inbox tool and are not displayed to all users until they are answered by the instructor. Instructors will rarely use the Ask Question tool themselves.

Asking a Question

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Ask Question button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Send button.

Asking a Long Question

If a question is too long to fit in the Enter Question field, the Compose button can be used instead.

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Ask Question button in the Classroom Tool pane (upper left).
2. Click the Compose button in the Ask Question pane.
3. Click the Send button.

More Information

Question: Where should I type the questions?
Answer: Enter the question in the Compose Your Question

Breakout Sessions

You can create a Breakout Session during a Collaboration Session. This is a new Virtual Classroom window that can be used for a smaller group discussion.

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Click the Breakouts button.
2. Select the users you want in the breakout session from the list by checking their names.
3. Click the OK button.

Ending a Collaboration Session

When you have finished a collaboration session with the Virtual Classroom tool, you have the option of expelling all users as you close the session.

From the Virtual Classroom:

1. Press the End button.
2. The End Session window will appear.
3. Click the OK button.