Accessing Content Sharing Tools
This guide will outline how to access content sharing tools in Blackboard Collaborate, such as how to share files and blank whiteboards.
Opening the Blackboard Collaborate Panel
To open the Collaborate Panel, click on the purple button in the bottom right corner of the screen.
Accessing Content Sharing Tools
To access the content sharing tools, click on the Share Content button in the Collaborate Panel (shown as a square with an arrow in it)
The Whiteboard
This guide will demonstrate how to share content using the Whiteboard tool in Blackv
Accessing the Collaborate Panel
To access the Whiteboard, you will need to open the Collaborate Panel. To open the Collaborate Panel, click on the purple button in the bottom right corner.
Sharing Content Using the Whiteboard
- In the Collaborate Panel, click on the Share Content tab.
- Select Share Blank Whiteboard.
Whiteboard Screen and Tools
This is the blank Whiteboard and the Whiteboard Tools are located in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. The Whiteboard Tools consist of:
- Selection Tool: Use the arrow to select an object on the Whiteboard. After you select it you can resize, move, and delete it.
- Pointer Tool: Use the hand to point to different areas of the visible Whiteboard. Participants see wherever you are pointing on the slide.
- Pencil Tool: Can be used to draw lines of any shape or length.
- Shapes Tool: Clicking on the Shapes Tool will reveal a drop-down menu allowing you to choose a Rectangle, Ellipse, or Line drawing tool.
- Text Tool: Allows you to type text anywhere on the Whiteboard.
- Clear Tool: Completely erases the contents of the Whiteboard.
- Color Picker: Displays a color palette allowing you to choose from 9 colors for Lines Shapes, and Text.
Tip: You can also decide if you want to give your participants the same tools in Session Settings.
Show View Controls
Here are the View Controls which allow you to zoom in and out of the drawing area:
- View Controls: Click to alternately show or hide the tools palette.
- Zoom in: Make the content bigger. Move the content around to see everything.
- Zoom out: Decrease the size of everything on the Whiteboard to increase the drawing area.
- Best Fit: Take advantage of your screen real estate. Content adjusts to be completely viewable in the available area. It displays as large as possible while keeping the aspect ratio intact.
- Actual size: Returns the Whiteboard to its original magnification or size.
- Stop Sharing: Click to exit the Whiteboard application and return to the Sharing Content window.
Sharing your Screen or Applications
This guide will demonstrate how to share your desktop or applications with other users during a Collaborate session.
If you are using MacOS 10.15 Catalina or higher, and you are having difficulty with accessing desktop sharing, you may need to allow permissions for this in System Preferences>Privacy and Security. Click on the Privacy Tab and locate Screen Sharing on the left. Check the checkbox to allow Google Chrome or Firefox to share your screen. More information about this issue can be found at this link. You may need to reload your Collaborate session for the change to take effect.
Accessing the Collaborate Panel
To share an application or desktop, you will need to open the Collaborate Panel. To open the Collaborate Panel, click on the purple button in the bottom right corner.
Starting Application Sharing
- In the Collaborate Panel, click on the Share Content tab.
- Select Share Application/Screen from the menu.
Selecting Content to Share
Blackboard will then ask you if you want to share your entire screen or a just an application. Click on the button that corresponds to your desired choice.
Installing the Desktop Sharing Extension
If you do not have the Desktop Sharing extension installed in your web browser, click the button to install it.
Confirm Installation of the Desktop Sharing Extension
Your web browser will then ask you to confirm the installation of the extension. Click the Add Extension button to install the extension. After installing the Extension, go back to the Collaborate Panel, click on the Share Content button and choose the Share Application button.
Sharing a Full Desktop
If you have more than one monitor, Blackboard will ask you which screen you wish to share, and then click the Share button to share your screen.
Sharing an Application or Window
A dialog box showing thumbnails of all open applications will appear on screen. Select the application you wish to share and then click the Share button.
Conducting and Concluding and Application Sharing Session
Your shared application will now appear in the Collaborate window. Any action you perform in the application will be shown to participants. To end application sharing, click on the Stop Sharing button in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
Sharing Files
This guide will demonstrate how to share files to other users to present information. Users can share .ppt, .pptx., .pdf., and .jpg files.
Accessing the Collaborate Panel
To share files, you will need to open the Collaborate Panel. To open the Collaborate Panel, click on the purple button in the bottom right corner.
Sharing Content Using the Whiteboard
- In the Collaborate Panel, click on the Share Content tab.
- Select Share Files.
Uploading Files for Sharing
To upload a file to share, click on the box that says Add Files Here and select the desired file, or drag and drop the desired file into the box.
File Processing
Once your selected file has been uploaded, it needs to be "processed." During the processing, the file or presentation is converted to a Whiteboard that can then be shared and marked up (annotated) if desired. Each image file, each slide in a PowerPoint file, or each page in a PDF is converted to a separate Whiteboard. This means that for PowerPoint files, all slides containing animations or slide builds are converted to static images when placed in a Whiteboard (see tip below).
Please note: Even after the file has uploaded, it may take a few seconds to several minutes or more for Collaborate Ultra to process your file--during this "processing" time, you will see a rotating ring next to the file name as shown below.
Tip: If your slide presentation has builds or animations, you might want to choose Share Application rather than Share Files. Choose Entire Screen or make sure your presentation is in Present mode before sharing it as an application.
Deleting a Shared File
Note: If you change your mind and need to delete one of the shared files, click on the "trash can" icon just to the left of the file name.
Share Now
Once files that you've added have been uploaded and processed, they will be listed in the area just below the Add Files Here box. You are now ready to start sharing the selected files with your participants. To make the files available during a session:
- First select the file you wish to share (the selected file will be highlighted).
- Then click the Share Now button at the bottom of the Share Files window.
Sharing a PowerPoint Presentation
After clicking the Share Now button, you are taken back to your Collaborate Ultra session and the file you have chosen to share (in this case a PowerPoint presentation) is displayed in a page/slide navigation pane on the left side. You can now select a particular slide that you want to share--if you wish to show the entire PowerPoint presentation from the beginning, you would simply select the first slide and it would be displayed in your session as shown below.
Presenting Your Slides
Your PowerPoint presentation now appears on a Whiteboard along with all the Whiteboard Tools so that you can mark up the slides as you are giving your presentation if you wish. To advance the slide presentation or to go back to a previous slide, just click the "<" or ">" slide controls. You can also re-open or close the slide navigator panel by clicking on the PowerPoint Presentation name. When you are finished sharing, click the Stop Sharing button in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
Note: For a full description of the Whiteboard Tools, see the Share Whiteboard guide.
Tip: With your keyboard, press Alt + Page Up/Down to move forward or backward through you slides. On a Mac, press Alt + Fn + Up/Down Arrow.
Tip: You can decide if you want to give your participants the ability to use these same Whiteboard Tools during the presentation in the Session Settings.
Polling
This guide will demonstrate how to conduct a poll with members of your virtual Collaborate session.
Accessing the Collaborate Panel
To distribute a poll, you will need to open the Collaborate Panel. To open the Collaborate Panel, click on the purple button in the bottom right corner.
Setting up a Poll
- In the Collaborate Panel, click on the Share Content tab.
- Select Polling from the menu.
Choosing a Poll Type
You will now see a screen listing the available poll types: Yes/No or Multiple Choice
Setting up a Poll Question
Below are instructions on how to set up multiple choice and Yes/No poll types.
Multiple Choice Polls
To create a Multiple Choice poll:
- Ask a question: Type the question you wish to ask to participants in this space.
- Answer choices: Type in your answer choices in the spaces provided
- Add choice: Click on Add Choice to add additional choices (up to a total of five choices) You can click the trash can icon next to an answer choice to delete it.
- Click the Start button to start the poll.
Yes/No Polls
To set up a Yes/No poll:
- Ask a Question: Enter the question you wish to ask in the space provided.
- Click the Start button to start your poll.
Distributing a Poll to Users
The poll will appear on screen similar to the poll shown in the image above.
- Response counts will appear here for each option.
- To prevent participants from changing their answers, click the Lock Poll button.
- To end the poll, click the End Polling button in the upper right hand corner.
An active poll can be edited if you need to correct a typo. You can edit a poll by opening the Polling option from the Share Content menu in the Collaborate side panel.
Setting a Timer
Blackboard Collaborate allows presenters to set a timer to give participants a specified time limit to respond to a question or work on a problem. This guide will show how to access the timer within the session.
Note: Due to increased demand combined with the necessity to maintain system performance, Blackboard has disabled the timer tool. These instructions are for reference only.
Opening the Blackboard Collaborate Panel
To open the Collaborate Panel, click on the purple button in the bottom right corner of the screen.
Setting up the Timer
To set up the timer:
- In the Collaborate Panel, click on the Share Content tab.
- Select Timer from the menu.
Setting up the Timer Options
- Timer duration: Enter how long you want the timer to run, in minutes and seconds.
- Timer description (Optional): Enter a description for the timer here.
- Timer counts: (Up/Down): Select whether you want the timer to count up or count down.
- Timer viewable by: Select whether you want the timer to be visible by all users or by moderators only.
- Press Start to start the timer.
Tip: Setting a timer to be visible by moderators only is a good way for an instructor to time their presentation and stay on task.
Viewing the Timer Details
The timer will now be visible above the session tools at the bottom of the screen:
- To view the timer details, click on the time remaining.
- To hide the timer, click on the eye icon.
- Pause/Resume: To pause the timer, click the pause button. Then click the play button to resume the timer.
- Restart: While the timer is paused, or if the timer has ended, you can click this button to restart the timer.
- Timer Settings: With the timer paused, click on this button to modify the timer settings.
- Dismiss Timer: With the timer paused, click this button to close the timer and delete it.
