Video Transcript

How to Login to a Wimba Classroom. Some of the courses that you are enrolled in may use Wimba Classrooms. The Wimba Classroom is a communication tool that allows students and instructors to participate in live discussions. Text chat, voice chat, sharing webcams, and sharing documents are all features built into Wimba Classrooms. Once you have logged in to Blackboard and accessed a course, you may notice a link to a Wimba Classroom for that course. This link may have a title such as Wimba Classroom, Meeting Room, or a similar name. Keep an eye out for the Wimba Classroom icon, which indicates a Wimba Classroom for the course you are taking. Once you have located the link to the Wimba Classroom in your course, use your mouse to select this link. You may now see a list of Rooms and Archives for your course’s Wimba Classroom. Once you have clicked on the link to a specific room, you will be taken to a page that displays information about the room and contains the button you will need to click to enter the room. But before we enter the Wimba Live Classroom. Let’s examine a few things on this page. The first thing you will notice is the name of the room. Depending on time constraints determined by your instructor, the room may be open or closed. You will not be able to enter a classroom that is closed. However, the instructor for the course may have chosen to archive prior sessions held in that Wimba Classroom. Archives are recordings of Wimba Classroom sessions, and depending on the course, your instructor may make it possible for you to view, or download the recorded audio and video for these sessions. You may do so by selecting these controls with your mouse. Each Wimba Classroom also has a phone number that you can use in situations where you would like to participate in the discussions but do not have access to a computer when the meeting  is taking place. Note that you will also need to know the PIN code for this room if you are calling it by phone. Finally, before we enter the room, it is a good idea to Run the Wizard, which is a step by step process to ensure that the computer you are using is properly set up to participate in the Wimba Classroom. Let’s take a quick look at these steps. Once the Setup Wizard for the Wimba Classroom opens, use your mouse to select the Start button to begin the process. The wizard will automatically detect your computer’s settings, and all you will need to do is follow the on screen directions. If you have a headset, computer speakers, or a microphone, this wizard will ensure that they are functioning properly, and assist you in troubleshooting any problems if they are not. Once the setup is complete, click the Finished button with your mouse to exit the wizard. Remember that is not necessary to run the wizard each time you login to a Wimba Classroom, but it is a good idea to do so if you are logging in from a computer that you have not used to access Wimba Classrooms before. Now that you have made sure your computer is properly set up, you can enter the Wimba Classroom by selecting the Enter Room button with your mouse. The Wimba Room will open in a new window, and may take a few moments to load completely. Let’s look at a few features of the Wimba Classroom interface. The Content Frame is the main focus of a presentation.  Almost all content, such as images, charts, and text will appear in the Content Frame. During the presentation, the displayed content will be controlled by the presenter. The Text Chat Area is where you can communicate via text chat with presenters and fellow participants. The Participant Area lists all the presenters and participants currently in a presentation. By default, presenters are listed in bold at the top of the list. Participants are listed under the presenter’s name, in alphabetical order.  Next to the list of presenters and participants are additional columns. This is the Yes/No Indicator. A green check mark for “Yes” or a red X for “No” appears next to your name when you click the Check Mark or X button below the participant list.  These buttons are used for instant polling questions asked by your instructor. This is the Hand Raising Indicator. A number appears next to your name when you click on the Hand Raise button below the participant list. This number indicates the order in which participants raised their hands to ask a question. Typically, your instructor will recognize that you have clicked the Hand Raise button and will give you permission to ask your question by typing or speaking it when he or she has finished talking. This is the Status Indicator. An emoticon appears next to your name when you select an item from the Set Status selection box below the participant list, if your instructor has enabled this feature. Status Indicators can be used to indicate your availability to other individuals in the room. The Speaking Privilege Indicator lets you know if you have the ability to speak during a presentation.  If enabled, a circle with a plus sign appears next to your name, beneath the audio column, which is depicted as a person speaking. The Video Privilege Indicator lets you know if you have the ability to broadcast video during a presentation.  If enabled, a circle with a plus sign appears next to your name, beneath the video column, which is depicted as a video camera. The Media Bar is home to the Wimba Media System, a multi-way audio and video means of communication during a live presentation. The Media Bar contains the Talk button. Clicking on this button with your mouse allows you to speak by initiating your microphone, and video broadcast, if you are using a webcam. You are only able to use this feature if it has been enabled by your instructor, and indicated with a plus sign next to your name in the Speaking and Video Privilege Indicator columns mentioned earlier. The Text Chat Area is where you can communicate via text chat with presenters and fellow participants by using your keyboard. To exit the Wimba Classroom at any time, select the Exit button with your mouse. If you need further assistance with using Wimba Classrooms, you can select the Help link with your mouse, which will direct you to an online help guide that explains all of the Wimba Classroom features. We hope that this video has been informative, and helpful to you as a student of Maysville Community and Technical College.