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Using Elluminate
With its increasing use among representatives and other members of the Association, Elluminate, a web conferencing program, is proving a very useful tool within our online community. Elluminate can be used for formal online 'virtual' meetings, as well as informal sessions, and has a host of interactive features that can boost the 'virtual' experience. If you haven't become familiar with the program, OUSA now provide the following online tutorial as a way of introducing new users to the basics of the Elluminate tool. All those who are due to meet on Elluminate would have had prior access granted and you will be sent a link to your meeting session in advance of your meeting.
Accessing your Elluminate session
Having been sent the link to your session or meeting, simply click on the link and you will be taken to resource page linked to Student Home. From the list of resources (as seen in the image below) select 'Elluminate'.
You will then be taken to a new screen and invited to 'Join meeting', as seen in the image below.
Note:The program requires some software to be installed on your computer, but in most instances this will already be installed on your machines. If you need to verify that your computer has the appropriate software, you can click on 'Verify your system is setup properly here' on the current window before you 'Join meeting'. You will be taken to a page which will inform you that 'You appear to have the required software to use Elluminate Live!'. If it informs you otherwise, a link is provided to install the correct software.
To enter the meeting, click on 'Join Meeting' and Elluminate will open. The following window will appear:
Click OK to launch the program. This will take a few moments.
Elluminate will now launch, and you will see a 'Java starting' trademark as the program loads up, as seen in the image below.
A 'Downloading application' window will appear, as it launches the program, as seen in the image below. Just leave this to run.
If the box below appears, select your online connection type (cable/dsl is the most common).
As Elluminate successfully launches, you will see the following logo appear:
Your session will now open and you will see the chat room and interactive whiteboard, as seen in the image below. We've included text boxes to help you locate the key functions.
Audio setup wizard
Before you begin your first session, you will want to check that your headset is working properly and that you can both hear and be heard. To do this, go to the top menu and select 'Tools', then 'Audio', and then 'Audio setup Wizard'.
A number of windows will then appear, taking you through the various procedures. Bascially, you will be checking that you can hear through your headset, and that your voice can be heard through the microphne. The setup wizard will also show you how to adjust microphone and audio levels should you need to. When it comes to selecting your audio input deivice, be sure to select the actual device you wish to use. For more detail, you can play the video tutorial below.
Video tutorial:
Using the audio setup wizardBeing active and speaking within your Elluminate session
Now that you have set your audio levels and are confident that your headset is working, you are now ready to participate in the session. Formal meeting will normally have a moderator, who will Chair the group. Once the Chair is satisfied that all attendees can hear them, the debate will open. You will know that you are active in the session, as your name will appear in the list of participants and will be coloured blue.
If, for whatever reason, you need to leave the meeting temporarily, click on the Exit icon (as seen on the left of this paragraph), and you will see your name in the list of participants become italicised, which will indicate to others that you are temporarily unavailable. Upon your return, click on the Exit icon again to become active within the session.
To begin talking, you will first need to indicate to the Chair that you want to speak. To do this, you will need to 'raise your hand', by clicking on the hand icon (as seen on the left of this paragraph) By default Elluminate is set to allow just one speaker at a time, so you will not be interrupted. Obviously there will be others in the session who will want to speak, so once you have clicked on the hand icon, a number will appear to the right of you name, indicating where you are in the list of those who wish to speak. The Chair will subsequently go through the list and allow all those with their hands raised their turn to speak. When it comes to your turn to speak, click on the hand icon again to take you out of the list of those waiting to talk. You are now ready to speak.
To begin speaking you need to click the microphone icon near the bottom left of the screen (as seen one the left of this paragraph), or Ctrl F2, and you will then see a yellow microphone icon to the right of your name, indicating that you are now the active speaker. Once you have finished speaking you must remember to click the microphone icon, or do Ctrl F2 again, to release yourself as the active speaker and allow the Chair to invite the next speaker. You can play the video tutorial below to see these procedures so far.
Video tutorial:
Being active and speaking in your Elluminate sessionsUsing the text facility
As an alternative to verbal communication, Elluminate also allows for text messaging. When you type your text into the text box and click on 'Send', your message will appear in a list of messages from others in the group, as seen in the image below. Note: You can increase the size of the text by right clicking inside the text box area and selecting a larger font size.
Video tutorial:
Using the text facilityRegularly used features
During the course of your session, there are a number of useful icons that you will be regularly using to enhance the virtual experience. For example, in the top tool bar, are two icons - a green tick, and a red cross. These can be used to indicate your agreement with something, or your disagreement. They can also be used for voting, 'Yes', or 'No'. When you click on either of these icons, they will appear to the right of your name in the participants list.
There are also a number of 'emoticons' - icons that may express your mood - that when clicked on appear to the right of your name. For instance, if someone in the meeting makes a humourous remark, you can indicate your response by clicking on the smiley face icon. Likewise, when you are unsure of anything someone has said, you can click on the confused face icon. There is also an 'applause' icon and a thumbs down 'dissaproval' icon.
Video tutorial:
Regularly used features and emoticonsThese are the basic features of the software, that will enable to begin using Elluminate successfully. There are of course many other features and facilities available, but you will have opportunities to explore these further yourself as you become more familiar with Elluminate.
Using the interactive whiteboard
A brief introduction to the interactive whiteboard
Video tutorials:
Basic features of the interactive whiteboardCreating additional Whiteboard screens
Deleting objects and screens, and creating new Whiteboard groups
Application sharing - Sharing desktop
Elluminate allows you to 'share' your desktop with other members within the group session. So, for example, if you wanted to open a Word document and take the group through it, or if you wanted to demonstrate how to use a piece of software, you can do so via 'Application sharing'. Go to 'Tools', then 'Application sharing', then select 'Share entire desktop'. After a short moment, you will be presented with a split screen, with the Elluminate panel on the left, and your desktop showing on the right. You can open any document, image, software etc from your desktop for the whole group to see and interact with.
When a member of the group attempts to interact with your document, software etc, a message box will appear (see left), asking you if you want to grant permission for that user to do so. Simply click on 'Yes'. You can also save time by ticking the 'Allow all other requests' box. Other people within the group will now be able to interact with your desktop. You can do many things with this facility, including talking students through various processes and procedures relating to software etc.
To close the Application sharing facility, go to 'Tools', then 'Application sharing', and click on 'Host applications'. Your shared desktop with close and your Elluminate screen will return to normal.
Video tutorial:
Desktop sharingAccessibility
For all the functions described above, Elluminate provides keyboard shortcut equivalents. These are as follows:
Audio settings
Adjust microphone level: Up = Ctrl + Shift + Up | Down = Ctrl + Shift + Down
Adjust speaker level: Up = Ctrl + Up | Down = Ctrl + Down
The session
Raise Hand = Ctrl R
Step Away from Class = Ctrl + Shift + A
Speak = Ctrl + F2
Stop speaking = Ctrl + F2
Enter text message = Ctrl + M
Enter Yes = Ctrl + 1
Enter No = Ctrl + 2
Emoticons
Laughter = Ctrl + Alt + 1
Applause = Ctrl + Alt + 2
Confusion = Ctrl + Alt + 3
Disapproval = Ctrl + Alt + 4