Blackboard Collaborate
My initial experience with Blackboard Collaborate was mixed. What attracted me to using the tool is the fact that the recording is done within the application and there is no need for me to have to save the video on my laptop and upload it.
The following is a description of the system:
Blackboard Collaborate is an older web conferencing tool, but is integrated with UNM Learn, and can be useful when you want a secure recording of a webinar for later review or need class members to share control of a software application
Good guidance on getting started found at:
http://online.unm.edu/help/learn/faculty/tools/web-conferencing/getting-started/index.html
Comments:
The tool has a blackboard function, but I have not been able to use it to write clearly. I have found that for hand written notes, it is better to share my screen and use Notability on the Mac or One Note on the PC.
My initial experience with Blackboard Collaborate performance was good in the testing phase last week, and in the first two days of classes this week. However, yesterday and today, I have received some student complaints about issues with video delay and occasional problems with the audio. Some students are not having any issues with the audio, so I suspect that the issue is related to local network congestion. Another concern I have is that this afternoon’s lecture recording is still not showing up on Learn. My fear is that as more classes are using the capability, the system is not capable of supporting the load.
"Ed" Nava writes us his thoughts:
Good afternoon all,
The blackboard collaborate application that is used for the Mac does not work very well on a new MacBook Pro with the Catalina operating system. On the other hand, it works quite well on a laptop running Windows 10 Education. In the Windows environment, the screen sharing can be configured to a subset of the entire screen and the recent operation has been reliable.
The good news is that the instructor does not have to upload any recordings, as that is done automatically. The students can access the session recording shortly after the scheduled session has ended.
Some students have complained of audio and video problems, but when they indicate that they are having problems, other student reply on the live chat that they are not having problems, which indicates that the problems are local to the student's locations.
Good luck everyone and stay safe.
Ed