Technical Information for the Workshop

Conference Call-in Number

For the synchronous parts of the program, dial the conference call number 1.800.704.9804 and use the access code 152 41 474. This will allow you to hear the speaker during the presentations. After dialing in please use *6 to mute your phone unless you need to speak. Hitting *6 again will unmute your phone. For the visuals, see the section about screen sharing below.

Note that the 800 number may not work from some locations (e.g. if dialing in from Skype and if dialing from outside the U.S.). If you find the 800 number does not work for you then you may use this direct dial number: 1.404.920.6604. However, in that case you'll be charged for the phone call as per your standard long distance rates. Contact John McDaris if you are unsure how you should connect to the call.

Screen Sharing with Blackboard Collaborate 

We will be using a tool called Blackboard Collaborate (formerly Elluminate) to allow you to view presentations during synchronous sessions. This program uses Java which will need to be installed on your machine if it isn't already. (Click here to Download Java.) To connect to the Collaborate session just point your web browser to: https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?password=M.37043EC739E1FD0DA13C385A8D911C&sid=2011009 After visiting this url your computer should automatically connect to the session. It will ask you to provide your name and then you'll need click 'trust' or 'run' when prompted. Once connected it will ask you about your connection speed (choose Cable/DSL or LAN depending whether you are at home or work) It can take several minutes for the software to download and open so be patient. The program does not install anything locally on your machine so you should not need administrative access to run it. It is always a good idea to test out the connection prior to the webinar to see if there are any problems with local firewalls and such.. Contact John McDaris if you run into any issues.

Once connected to the Collaborate session you'll see a chat window on the left where you can send messages to the group (e.g. to ask questions of the presenter) and a main window where the presentation will appear. In some cases an additional window may appear allowing you to view items running on the presenter's computer. The platform has many other features which we will not be using for this workshop. In particular, note that Blackboard Collaborate has an audio option which we will not be using. Please use the conference call instructions above to connect with a normal phone to the audio portion of the synchronous sessions.