There's nothing new about the connection between student engagement and student learning. Educators have been making it for years. What's changed is the role that technology plays in the classroom. What's changed is the emergence of virtual learning, both real-time and self-paced. And what's changed is the students. They're digital natives - tech savvy, connected, always on - who'll turn learning off if it's not deeply engaging. With our new Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, we make it easier than ever to create a vibrant and engaging learning environment. That's why thousands of educators in higher education and in K-12 are using Blackboard Collaborate to get their students engaged in a lot of very cool ways. The result? Students who are more engaged. And as every educator knows, students who are more engaged are shown to perform better academically. How cool is that?

1. Tips and Tricks to
Engage with the
New Blackboard
Collaborate Ultra
Eng Tang Lau, SE, APAC
Nick Benwell, SE, APAC

2. 2
The Internet … wasn’t built by educators to
optimize learning. It presents information not in a
carefully balanced way but as a concentration-
fragmenting mishmash. The Net is, by design, an
interruption system, a machine geared for
dividing attention …
What we are experiencing is, in a metaphorical
sense, a reversal of the early trajectory of
civilization: we are evolving from being cultivators
of personal knowledge to being hunters and
gatherers in the electronic data forest.
Carr, N. (2010). The shallows – What the Internet is doing to our brains. New York, NY: W.
W. Norton & Company. P. 131

3. Virtual spaces are mirroring this change

4. Office Hours & Support
Teaching & Learning
Group collaboration &
meetings
Four Main Use Cases
Professional Development

5. 5
So, we know why and for what reasons.
Now let’s focus on how to be an effective
moderator in a Collaborate session.

6. 66
A clear focus on improving the education
experience for the learner
#1
Get
Prepared

7. 77
Understand the time limits
Best Practices for Webinars - Adobe

8. 88
A clear focus on improving the education
experience for the learner
#2
“Technical”
Support

9. 99
9
Can you hear me?
• Use the hand raise tool to let me know that you can
hear me speaking.
Want to send a message?
• Open the chat panel to type.
Need to troubleshoot audio?
• Hover over your profile image to display My Settings.
Click to select.
• Click Audio and Video Settings > Set Up your Camera
and Microphone. Select your preferred device and
watch for the moving meter bar.
Welcome to the Bb Collaborate Ultra Experience

10. 1010
Troubleshooting Tips for moderator
• Have you updated your browser?
• Enter the session early and get prepared
(upload slides you want to use)
• First time accessing requires more bandwidth
• Audio/video settings
• First slide to show new entrants where the
tools are
• Is video necessary or not?
• Check their bandwidth, anticipate problems

11. 1111
Troubleshooting Tips for participants
• Is the headset plugged in correctly?
• Is there a mute switch on the headset?
• Is the computer’s audio muted or turned way
down?
• Did the user select the correct audio input
device? You may have more than one
microphone or input device so double check.
• If you are hearing an echo, check to make sure
the participant is not sitting in the same physical
location with another participant.

12. 1212
Know the tools to help you manage the environment

13. 1313
A clear focus on improving the education
experience for the learner
#3
Engage
Participants

14. The Doctor’s Waiting Room
14

15. Challenge Participants to Engage
15
What is the next number in the sequence?
Write the answer in the chat window.
8 = 56
7 = 42
6 = 30
5 = 20
4 = ?

16. Challenge Participants to Engage

17. 1717
Troubleshooting Tips
•Ask questions
•Direct how and where students
should answer
•Enforce rules such as turn-taking
•What would you suggest?

18. 1818
A clear focus on improving the education
experience for the learner
#4
Always check for
understanding

19. Polling Within Collaborate
19

20. 2020
Troubleshooting Tips
•Ask for chat responses
•Use the ‘Hands-up’ function
•Use the polls
•Ask selected students
•Use slides adapted to elicit feedback