Creating, accessing and using a Voice Direct Conference

Creating, Accessing and using a voice direct conference

Voice Direct is Wimba's only live synchronous voice communication tool. It enables an instructor to create live voice chat sessions with the entire class, specific groups within the class, or to schedule one on one sessions with individual students. Some examples of how instructors have used Voice Direct are the following:

Spanish language instructors have used Voice Direct with small groups and individual students to evaluate language speaking, listening and comprehension skills
Speech instructors have used Voice Direct to schedule organized class discussions and to create interactive exercises
A philosophy instructor used Voice Direct to review important course concepts and to hold virtual office hours

There are two ways to create a Wimba Voice Direct Audio Chat Conference. One way is to create the Voice Direct conference within Blackboard and another is to log into Wimba.

The Voice Direct conference must first be created before any interactive chat sessions can be initiated. You will only need to create the Voice Direct conference once and then that Voice Direct conference interface will be available to access and use on an on-going basis. The Voice Direct chat interface you create acts like a storage structure or shell for future audio chat sessions.

There are some Voice Direct feature changes available in Wimba version 5.0. For a summary of the new features and functions of Voice Direct, Voice Board, Voice Authoring, and Voice Email visit the Wimba Web site at:
http://www.wimba.com/docs/Wimba_Voice_Tools_5.0.pdf.

In addition to the Wimba Web site, there is an animated Flash tutorial describing some of the new features of version 5.0. The Wimba on-line tutorials and quick start demonstrations are at: http://www.wimba.com/demos/ .

Creating a New Voice Direct Conference using Blackboard:

Instructors and students can now conduct live voice chat sessions within Blackboard. To create a new Voice Direct session within Blackboard, do the following:

1. Log into Blackboard and select the course you would like to add the Voice Direct chat session to.

2. Select Control Panel.

3. Select one of the three options from the Content Area Section. ( Syllabus, Course Documents or Assignments). Note: Voice Direct will be listed in whichever Course Content areas you select.

4. From the Learning Unit pull down menu located in the upper right hand portion of the Blackboard screen, select the Voice Direct option and click on GO.

5. An Add Voice Direct screen will appear.

6. Type in the Name and Description of the Voice Direct conference in Section 1.

7. It is recommended to keep the default Settings from Section 2 of the creation screen:

Audio Quality: Basic--Default
Link To: A New Conference--Default
Archive Automatically: No--Default (Selecting Yes will archive a Voice Direct chat session once it is launched)

8. It is recommended to keep the default Options from Section 3:

Make the Content Available: Yes--Default
Open in a New Window: Yes--Default
Track the Number of Views: No--Default
Choose Date and Time Restrictions: None--Default

9. Click Submit in the lower right corner.

10. Click OK on the Voice Direct Added screen.

Accessing & Using Voice Direct conference within Blackboard

1. The Voice Direct conference will appear in whichever Blackboard content area it was created in. Select the content area where the Voice Direct conference was created (Syllabus, Course Documents or Assignments).

Note: A student will access the Voice Direct conference from one of the three course content areas on the main Blackboard course page. It will be important to communicate with students which content area to use in order to access their Voice Direct conference.

2. Click on the Enter Voice Direct link listed just below the title of the Voice Direct conference you wish to access. The Voice Direct conference will be launched from within Blackboard.

View more more information on Voice Direct interface screen or to view an on-line Flash tutorial on using Voice Direct within Blackboard.

Creating a New Voice Direct Conference by Logging into Wimba.

1. Log into Wimba using the username and password that was provided to you. The username and password is case-sensitive.

2. Select the Communications tab at the top of the screen.

3. Select Voice Direct.

4. Select Administration of your Voice Direct Conferences link from the Voice Direct main page.

5. Select New located in the upper left corner of the screen.

6. The Voice Direct Creation screen will appear. Type in the name for the Voice Direct Conference name and a description. Click Create when done.

7. Next, configure the Voice Direct Conference settings. Select Settings from the Voice Direct Options screen. The Voice Direct Option pages will guide you sequentially through the set up screens. Enter your options and then selet Next Page located at the bottom right corner of the screen.

Voice Direct Option Screens

Conference Info - contains basic title and description information about the conference.

Settings - allow you to enable archiving for the conference and to set the audio quality level. If you check the Enable Archiving option, your Voice Direct Conference sessions will begin to archive once the Voice Direct Conference is launched. You can also control archiving within the Voice Direct Conference (pull down menu in the upper left of the conference's interface screen). It is recommended to use the default Basic Quality setting.

Basic Privileges - enable you to establish the basic access rights and privileges for your Voice Direct Conference. It is recommended to select the No Access Control option for your Voice Direct conferences for both Participate and Talk. The No Access Control option will enable students and guests to access the Voice Direct Conference without having to enter a user ID and password. A student or guest will only have to type a name in the Screen Name field of the Voice Direct Conference's security screen to access the conference.

Privileged Users - defines who has administrative control over the conference. You can define up to two people and whether or not the user will be able to Participate in the Conference, Talk, have Admin access and whether the user will be Subscribed to the group. The creator of the Voice Direct conference is already listed as a default privileged user.

Privileged Groups - enables the Voice Direct Conference creator to specify which groups will have access rights to the conference. Any student who is a member of a group and that group is given access to the conference, will automatically be able to access the conference. The Voice Direct conference creator sets the participation for everyone in the group at a macro level by selecting the Participate, and Talk boxes. DO NOT GIVE STUDENTS ADMINISTRATIVE RIGHTS TO THE CONFERENCE.

Archives - lists all previously archived Voice Direct conferences.

Publish - creates four different linking options to a Voice Direct conference. Choose an option that best meets your course needs. Select the option you want for your class, copy the option and paste it into Blackboard or into a course web page. See Publishing Options for Direct Access to the Voice Direct Conference.

Publishing Options for the Voice Direct Conference

URL pointing to the Voice Direct Conference - Use this option if you want students to link to the conference from within Bb, a course web page, or other course document. (i.e. syllabus, etc.)

Link to the Voice Direct Conference in a web page - Use this if you don't want to display the full web address but want an embedded URL link within Blackboard or from a course web page. (Note: If this option is chosen, be sure to select HTML mode within Blackboard.)

Link to the Voice Direct Conference in a popup window - Use this option if you want the Voice Direct Conference to open in a new Window within Blackboard or within a course web page. (Note: if your students have enabled popup blockers on their systems, this option may not work.)

Insert the Voice Direct Conference in a web page - Use this option to embed the Voice Direct Conference directly into Blackboard or a course web page.

8. Publish the Voice Direct conference from within Blackboard or a course web page using one of the four options listed above.

View more more information on the Voice Direct interface screen.

Accessing a Voice Direct Conference by Logging into Wimba

In addition to accessing the Voice Direct conference directly using one of the four publishing options above, you can also have students access a Voice Direct conference by logging into Wimba and doing the following:

Select the Communication tab at the top of the screen
Select Voice Direct
Select List of your Voice Direct Conferences
Select the name of the Voice Direct conference for your class

Note: if students access Voice Direct (or Voice Board) by logging into Wimba, they will need to be listed on the Wimba system and they will need to be assigned to a group.

View more more information on the Voice Direct interface screen.

Voice Direct Conference Interface Screen

Students can access a Voice Direct conference either by linking to it from within a Blackboard course content area or by logging into Wimba and selecting it from the Voice Communication Tools Options menu.

Note: you will need a microphone to participate in a live Voice Direct conference chat session.

Voice Direct Conference Interface Screen

The Voice Direct interface screen is divided into two windows.

Left Voice Direct Window

The left Voice Direct window contains all of the text messages which have been sent by the various Voice Direct participants. There is a text box area in the bottom left where participants can type messages to one another.

If you are the administrator of a Voice Direct conference, you will see an arrow pointing downward in the upper left corner of the Voice Direct conference interface screen. If single click on the arrow, the following options appear:

View Archives: Enables you to view previously recorded and archived Voice Direct sessions.

Start Archiving: Begins archiving a Voice Direct session. Note: when you set up the Voice Direct conference, you can specify whether or not you want to have your Voice Direct sessions automatically archived. If you choose to have the system automatically archive sessions, you do not need to start and stop archiving. The "Enable Archiving" option is available when you set up your Voice Direct conference.

Stop Archiving: Terminates the archiving of a Voice Direct session.

Right Voice Direct Window

The right Voice Direct window contains a list of all the people who are participating in the Voice Direct conference. At the bottom right are the microphone controls. A small black microphone icon will appear to the right of whoever has control of the microphone.

To gain control of the microphone, students click on the green "hand" icon. Only one person can have control of the microphone at a time. Microphone availability is allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Note: to release control of the microphone, students MUST PRESS THE red "X" icon. If a student does not give up control of the microphone, you can give the microphone to whoever you wish by right clicking on the student who has control of the microphone. Select the "Give Microphone" option and give the microphone to another student or regain control of the microphone yourself.

For more information on creating a Voice Direct conference, watch the on-line Flash tutorial.

If you are unable to view the tutorial, you will need to download a Free version of Macromedia's Flash player at www.macromedia.com.