It is evident that Blackboard Collaborate is being used creatively and effectively in many institutions where it is having a positive impact on the learning and teaching experience. This session provides an opportunity for Blackboard Collaborate users to showcase how they have used it to make a difference

1. Wow! That’s a Great Use
of Collaborate!

2. 2
Wow! Presenters
Renee Boucher & Hanan Abu-Saif
Lisa Ransom
Sheldon Chow
Steve Parker
Beata Webb

3. PASSONLINE
Hanan Abu-Saif
PASSOnline Project Officer
Renée Boucher
PASS Program Coordinator

4. PASSONLINE
• Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS). PASS is a peer led
collaborative program facilitated by senior students who
have successfully completed the unit before.
• PASSOnline sessions follow the same format as on-campus
sessions and utilise tools such as virtual polls, whiteboards
and quizzes to replicate the collaborative learning
environment of PASS
PASSONLINE at Western Sydney in
Autumn 2017:
• 31 x 1 hour sessions delivered per week
• 26 students employed to deliver sessions
• 643 unique students attended online sessions
• 2761 total contact hours

5. Why Bb Collaborate Ultra?
• PASS sessions are collaborative and interactive. We required a platform that
provided a range of tools for students to engage with content e.g.
whiteboard, polls, breakout rooms
• Facilitating student to student interaction is key so having multiple modes
of communication was a plus (video, microphone, chat, emoticons etc.)
• Sessions are delivered by students with minimal training time provided. We
needed a platform that was intuitive and easy for new moderators to
learn
• Ease of access – students connecting from range of locations, not always
with the best internet
• Integration with Blackboard Learn made the administration, access
and overview of high number of sessions and facilitators possible.
• Whilst other web conferencing platforms shared some of these tools,
Collaborate Ultra had the highest number with a number of key ones on the
road map in the near future.

6. Achievements
• Ease of access for participants has encouraged student engagement
• Ease of access to rooms has encouraged Academic staff to add room links to
their own LMS sites
• In built tutorials, welcome dialogue and a cleaner interface has encouraged
participation by attending students
• Ability to create and embed rooms within Blackboard Learn
• Easier to access recordings for review (though more difficult to make them)
• Blackboard Ultra accessibility for vision impaired e.g. zoom tool

7. Further features
The following are features from Bb Collaborate Classic that we miss and have
had to implement manual workarounds.
• Advanced whiteboard that allows for added content to stay on individual
slides (like in Bb Collaborate Classic) as the moderator navigates between
• Automatic recording (and recording not to stop when using breakout rooms)
• Advanced breakout functionality that allows whiteboard screens developed
in breakout rooms to be easily transferred back to the main room
• Ability to copy and paste on the white board
• Ability to preload content (and leave on the whiteboard) for early arrivals
• Timer

8. Lisa Ransom
Centre for Learning and Teaching
Auckland University of Technology
lisa.ransom@aut.ac.nz

9. STAFF SPREAD OVER 3 CAMPUSES

10. Why Bb Collaborate?

11. Who else uses Collaborate

12. The major thing!

13. User friendly mobile access

14. One stop shop

15. What would be nice

16. REFERENCES
• Large classroom http://www.uwec.edu/cetl/ActiveLearning/creating-a-well-managed-learning-environment.htm
• Languages http://4chanint.wikia.com/wiki/The_Official_/int How_to_Learn_A_Foreign_Language_Guide_Wiki
• Engineers make a difference: https://nz.pinterest.com/pin/187321665720853983/
• Sport and recreation conference https://qorf.org.au/whats-on/sport-recreation-conference/
• Working with families : http://hannahsunreid.com/

17. Blackboard Collaborate usage at UNSW Sydney
Sheldon Chow
Senior Manager, Educational Technology Services

18. What were the reasons for introducing Blackboard Collaborate?
Blackboard Collaborate was introduced as part of Blackboard Learn and remained after our
transition to Moodle LMS.
We naturally migrated from Classic to Ultra when the new version became available.
• Staff have commented that they are pleased that Collaborate no longer requires Java or
Launcher application

19. What have you been able to achieve that you couldn’t before?
Types of sessions:
Online lectures (for fully online programs)
• Lectures and guest speakers
• Use large touch screen monitor with stylus to draw on whiteboard rather than using mouse on a computer
Online revision sessions to discuss specific assessments (Q&A)
Online student presentations
Online office hours
• Used in educational setting but also for professional staff
Online group meeting rooms

20. Best practice 1: Use a dedicated video recording suite with
touchscreen monitor/stylus

21. Best practice 2: Provide consistent structure, information and
instructions
Link to
Collaborate
session
Support
materials
Schedule of
sessions in the
course

22. Best practice 3: Support instructors to become familiar with the tool
before the live session
Run group workshops to introduce instructors to the tool
• First time ran in a computer lab and have instructors log in as students
• Further workshops instructors can log in from their desks
Run one-on-one test sessions with each instructor before the first live session
• Import template into the course for the instructors for them to complete
Storyboard the session ahead of time
• Which determine the features you want to enable for the Participants

23. Best practice 4: Provide a welcome slide so students can setup
their audio/video

24. What have you been able to achieve that you couldn’t before?
Specific benefits:
Ability to conduct sessions outside normal business hours
Accommodate students who are not located in Sydney
Accommodate guest speakers who may not be located in Sydney
Ability to connect with students who are in fully online programs/courses
Challenges:
Getting instructors to conducts sessions after hours
• Who is there to support instructors after hours?
Some students behind corporate firewalls are unable to connect to session and use the dial-in #
but they can’t see the screen share/whiteboard/slide deck

25. What else could Blackboard Collaborate have that would have
helped you?
Auto-record sessions
Incorporate slide transitions/animations
Link to specific sessions rather than to a dashboard
• Some students/staff find the Course session confusing
• Problematic when you are creating sessions for group work and want ability to restrict access
Bring the Allow recording downloads option more up front

26. The Collaborate Ultra:
what do we do
at Bond University? Dr Beata Webb
TESOL Coordinator
Bond University,
Gold Coast, Australia

27. TESOL Programs at Bond
on-campus (1989) and online (2013)

28. 1. The Learning Environment
2. Student support centre
3. International Research and
Training Hub
3
The Collaborate Ultra
in TESOL@Bond
Programs

29. Learning
environment
4
Interactive
sessions

30. Learning environment: collaborative sessions
5

31. Supervising
students
6
Real-time
supervision and
feedback
(Adrian in Vietnam)

32. 7
International Research
and Training Hub

33. ‘Online Teaching using the Bb
Collaborate ULTRA’
• Lombok, Indonesia, University of Mataram,
August, 2016
• Beata in Lombok, Alicia (Bond), Christian (then
Bond, now SCU) at Bond
• Conference participants from 40 countries
8

34. What else could Blackboard Collaborate have that would have
helped you?
An iterative and collaborative process: need for ongoing training
Pedagogy
Content
Expertise
Instructional
Design
Design
Technology

35. What our students say…
Starting from the
end: need for
training the users
The Ultra as a
learning
environment
The Ultra is a
research hub