Virtual Classroom
The Virtual Classroom tool allows you to communicate in real-time
with your instructor and class. It provides more tools than are
found in a Lightweight Chat session—you can draw on a whiteboard,
browse the web, and send questions to your instructor.
The Virtual Classroom requires a java-enabled version of Internet
Explorer. Netscape users can access the Accessible version of the
Virtual Classroom—however, some features are not available.
Note: You may not have access to all the tools
- it depends how your instructor has configured the Virtual Classroom.
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: 
- Joining a Collaboration Session
- Changing Your Viewing Options
- Sending and Receiving Messages
- Sending Longer Messages
- Sending a Private Message
- Clearing Your Display
- Viewing Participants
- Sorting the Participant List
- Viewing User Information
- Using the Classroom Tools
- Using the Course Map
- Using the Whiteboard
- Setting a Custom Color
- Adding a Snapshot of the Whiteboard to
an Archive
- Clearing the Whiteboard
- Whiteboard Pages
- Using the Group Browser
- Displaying a Web Page
- Previewing a Web Page in a New Window
- Using the Ask a Question Tool
- Asking a Question
- Asking a Long Question
- Breakout Sessions
- Active versus Passive Users
- Raising Your Hand
- Ending a Collaboration Session
Joining a Collaboration Session
From your course:
- Click the Collaboration link in the Course
Tools box on the left.
- Click the Join button to the right of the
collaboration session name.
Note: You will see a page that says “Chat
Loading.” Depending on your connection speed, it may take
a few minutes for everything necessary for the chat to download.
More Information
Question: How is the User Interface set up in
the Virtual Classroom?
Answer: The Virtual Classroom window
has four major panes. On the upper left, you see a list of all the
tools available in the Virtual Classroom (the Course Map, the Whiteboard,
the Group Browser, the Ask Question tool, and the Question Inbox).
On the upper right, you see the currently active tool. On the lower
right, you see all messages sent to the group. On the lower left,
you are shown a list of all users currently in the chat room.
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:
- Click the View button.
- Select the radio button next to Show in-line
or Show in separate frame.
- Click the OK button.
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. To send a message:
From the Virtual Classroom:
- To send a message, click in the field just to the right of
the Compose button.
- 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:
- Click the Compose button.
- 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:
- 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 highlight in purple.
- Click the Private Message button.
- Click the Send button.
More Information
Question: I want to send a message/send a private
message/use a course tool, but those tools are grayed out! What’s
up?
Answer: Your teacher may have turned
off access to these tools for all users, or set you as a Passive
User. Contact your instructor to see how they want you to use the
Virtual Classroom tool.
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.
Viewing Participants
From the Virtual Classroom:
- The lower left pane will show you a list of all current participants
in the chat.
- The number of current participants appears at the top of the
list (in parentheses, after the word “Participants”).
- 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.
- Next to each participant’s name, an icon displaying the
user’s role will be displayed:
- The globe icon represents the Chat Moderator.
- A face in profile represents Active Users.
- A grayed out face represents Passive Users.
- 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:
- 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.
- Clicking on a Sort button again will reverse
the order of the sort.
Viewing User Information
From the Virtual Classroom:
- Click on the name (or User ID) of the participant
whose info you wish to view. The user’s name, role, and
status should highlight in purple.
- Click the User Info button.
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. You can tell which tool is currently being displayed
to users by looking at the Classroom Tools pane—the tool with
an arrow to the right of it is currently being seen by all users.
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:
- Click the Course Map button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click on folders to open them.
- Click on the content you wish to display. It
should be highlighted in purple.
- Select Display to Class in the drop-down menu.
- Click the Go button.
More Information
Question: Why can't the instructor display the
test for our 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 would like to display it to my classmates using the Course
Map tool. However, the items I have added do not appear in the Course
Map.
Answer: Recently added items do not
appear unless you Refresh the Tree on the Course
Map.
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:
- Click the Course Map button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- In the Course Map area, select Refresh Tree
in the drop-down menu.
- 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:
Below each tool are a number of options— you can change
colors, size, and font.
Drawing a Straight Line
From the Virtual Classroom:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane
that appears.
- 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:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane
that appears.
- 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:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane
that appears.
- Click the Equation button (it is a Sigma)
in the Tools tab.
- 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:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane
that appears.
- 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:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane
that appears.
- 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:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane
that appears.
- Click the Text button (an uppercase T) in
the Tools tab.
- 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.
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:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane
that appears.
- Click the Select button (a drawing of a mouse
pointer) on the tools tab.
- Click on the figure in the drawing area you
would like to select. Eight boxes should appear along the outline
of the object.
Selecting Multiple Figures
From the Virtual Classroom:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane
that appears.
- Click the Select button (a drawing of a mouse
pointer) on the tools tab.
- Click on the first object in the drawing area
you would like to select. Eight boxes should appear along the
outline of the figure.
- Hold down the Shift key and click on the second
figure you would 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:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane
that appears.
- 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:
- Select all the figures you want to group together
(see the directions for Selecting Multiple
Figures or Selecting All Figures above).
- 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:
- Select the figures you want to ungroup (see
the directions for Selecting Figures above).
- 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:
- Select the figure you’d like to move
(see the instructions for Selecting Figures)
- Click and drag inside the figure to move it.
Resizing a Figure
From the Virtual Classroom:
- Select the figure you’d like to resize
(see the instructions for Selecting Figures)
- 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:
- Select the figure or figures
you’d like to delete (see the instructions for Selecting
Figures)
- 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:
- Select the figure or figures
you’d like to cut and paste (see the instructions for Selecting
Figures)
- 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:
- Select the figure or figures
you’d like to copy (see the instructions for Selecting
Figures)
- 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:
- Cut or copy the figure or figures
you’d like to paste (see the directions above on Cutting
a Figure or Figure to the Clipboard or Copying
a Figure or Figures to the Clipboard).
- 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:
- Select the figure or figures
you’d like to move to the background. (see the instructions
for Selecting Figures)
- 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:
- Select the figure or figures
you’d like to move to the foreground. (see the instructions
for Selecting Figures)
- 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.
Setting a Custom Color
If you would like to use a color that is not available on the dropdown
menu, you can select a custom color for either the Fill Color or
the Pen Color:
Setting a Custom Color using Swatches
From the Virtual Classroom:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane
that appears.
- Select the Custom Color option in either the
Fill Color or Pen Color drop-down menu.
- Click on the color you would like from the
series of colored boxes that appear on the tab.
- Click the OK button.
Setting a Custom Color using the Palette
From the Virtual Classroom:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane
that appears.
- Select the Custom Color option in either the
Fill Color or Pen Color drop-down menu.
- Click on the HSB tab.
- Click on the color you would like in the large
box.
- Click the OK button.
Setting a Custom Color using Hue, Saturation,
and Brightness
From the Virtual Classroom:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane
that appears.
- Click on the HSB tab.
- Enter the Hue (from 0 to 255) in the H field
(to the right).
- Enter the Saturation (from 0 to 255) in the
S field.
- Enter the Brightness (from 0 to 255) in the
B field.
- Click the OK button.
Setting a Custom Color using Red, Green, and
Blue Levels
From the Virtual Classroom:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane
that appears.
- Click on the RGB tab.
a. Set the red level (from 0
to 255) using the Red slider (or enter it in the corresponding
text field).
b. Set the green level (from
0 to 255) using the Green slider (or enter it in the corresponding
text field).
c. Set the blue level (from
0 to 255) using the Blue slider (or enter it in the corresponding
text field).
- Click the OK button.
Adding a Snapshot of the Whiteboard to
an Archive
If you would 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:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Tools tab in the Whiteboard pane
that appears.
- Click the Snapshot button (it looks like a
camera and is directly above the whiteboard).
- Click the OK button.
Clearing
the Whiteboard
You can quickly erase all figures on the Whiteboard.
From the Virtual Classroom:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Clear Whiteboard button (it looks
like an eraser and is directly above the Whiteboard).
- 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 have 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:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Controls tab in the Whiteboard pane
that appears.
- 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:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Controls tab in the Whiteboard pane
that appears.
- Click the Display button in the controls tab.
Deleting a Whiteboard Page
From the Virtual Classroom:
- Click the Whiteboard button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Controls tab in the Whiteboard pane
that appears.
- Click on the page you would like to delete
in the Controls tab.
- 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).
- 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:
- Click the Group Browser button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Enter the URL you wish to display in the Address field.
- Select Display to Class in the drop-down menu
below the address field.
- 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:
- Click the Group Browser button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Enter the URL you wish to display in the Address
field.
- Select Preview in New Window in the drop-down
menu below the address field.
- 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:
- Click the Ask Question button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- 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:
- Click the Ask Question button in the Classroom
Tool pane (upper left).
- Click the Compose button in the Ask Question
pane.
- Click the Send button.
More Information
Question: Where should I type the questions?
Answer: Enter the question in the
Compose Your Question field.
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:
- Click the Breakouts button.
- Select the users you want in the breakout
session from the list by checking their names.
- Click the OK button.
Active versus Passive Users
Depending on how your instructor has set up the Virtual Classroom,
you may not have access to all the features mentioned. Sometimes,
instructors will set users to Passive mode, which will not give
you access to all the tools. If you have been set as a Passive user,
and you would like access to more options, you can Raise your Hand
and wait to be called on by your instructor.
Raising Your Hand
If you have been set as a Passive User, you have the option to
raise your hand. The Virtual Classroom keeps track of the order
in which people raised their hands. To raise your hand
From the Virtual Classroom:
- Click the Hand icon. The hand icon is located
in the bottom right of the left pane—to the right of the
Private Message button.
More Information
Question: How will I know that the teacher can
see my request?
Answer: A hand with a number will
appear in the user information pane, to the right of your name.
This indicates to your teacher that you have requested Active User
status.
Question: How will I know when it is my turn (called
on)?
Answer: When your teacher calls on
you, the hand will disappear and you will have Active User status.
This will give you access to more of the Virtual Classroom tools
described above (exactly which ones depends on how your instructor
has set up the collaboration session).
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:
- Press the End button.
- The End Session window will appear.
- Click the OK button.
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