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Elluminate recently released a new version of Elluminate (version 9.1). Currently we are using Elluminate 8.5. Elluminate 9.1 has several new features and we are now going to upgrade our servers to Elluminate 9.1 on May 18, 2009. This upgrade will not affect your existing sessions, session links, Elluminate moderators login url, Blackboard integration, user records, and past recordings. The user interface will also remain the same with a few additional buttons and menu items that refer to the new features.
The only change you will notice is that when you and your students log in to a session after we have completed the upgrade, you will experience an increase in the time taken to download the software for Elluminate. This should not take long. However, if your students will be connecting by dial-up (slower Internet connection), they should be advised to log in early for the first session after the upgrade. Also, after the Elluminate session window opens you will notice a few interface changes which are mostly aesthetic. Some major changes include:
Multipoint Video
In-Session Invitations
- Moderators can invite others into an in-progress session from within the Elluminate Live! interface.
- A new button is available on the toolbar allowing instant email composition or link copy to clipboard for use in IM or other applications.
Chat
- A new icon in the Chat window provides an indicator to all attendees that moderators can view private chat messages.
Synchronized Notes
- With the intention of increasing accessibility, the synchronized notes window allows users to configure the text font size.
To learn more about the features in Elluminate 9 and for great moderator training in Elluminate 9, consider attending our workshops on Elluminate in the Fall and Spring semesters.
Go to http://www.cte.usf.edu/workshops/#synchronouselluminate to register for the workshop when the new schedule is posted (usually at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters). More details on the workshop are listed on the site.
Also visit: http://www.elluminate.com/support/docs/9.0/moderator.jsp for online moderator tutorials on Elluminate 9 and http://www.elluminate.com/support/docs/9.0/participant.jsp for online participant tutorials on Elluminate 9.
There have been reports of Safari 4 Beta causing problems with Elluminate Live!. It has been determined that merely having it installed will cause Elluminate Live! to not operate as expected. Elluminate recommends using our software with supported applications that have passed our testing procedures. As Safari 4 was just released, we recommend the following steps:
- Uninstall Safari 4 Beta. Uninstalling the full release of Safari 4 is difficult and not recommended.
- Continue to use Safari 4, Beta or full release, but re-order your Java versions. By doing so you can place the most recent copy at the top and therefore make it default. Please Note – This option should only be used if you are using Elluminate Live! V9.1 or higher as older versions have demonstrated other problems as indicated here. Please click here to review our knowledge base article on this issue and additional information on re-ordering your Java versions.
We will be upgrading Elluminate to version 9.1 over this weekend (from version 8.5). This version has significant improvements and concrete solutions to the Safari 4 issue.
Recent testing has shown that the 1.6.0_12 version of Java shows a better user experience than the previous versions. Elluminate recommends that users on Windows update to this version of Java at the earliest opportunity – you can find the latest version at the Sun Java download page.
Elluminate recently released a new version of Elluminate (version 8.2). Currently we are using Elluminate 7. Elluminate 8 has several new features and we have now upgraded our servers to Elluminate 8 (May 28, 2008). This upgrade will not affect your existing sessions, session links, Elluminate moderators login url (http://elluminate.acomp.usf.edu), user records, and past recordings. The user interface will also remain the same with a few additional buttons and menu items that refer to the new features.
The only change you will notice is that when you and your students log in to a session after we have completed the upgrade, you will experience an increase in the time taken to download the software for Elluminate. This should not take long. However, if your students will be connecting by dial-up (slower Internet connection), they should be advised to log in early for the first session after the upgrade. Also, after the Elluminate session window opens you will notice a few interface changes which are mostly aesthetic. Some major changes include:
- Support for PowerPoint 2007, when uploading slides to Elluminate
- Ability to send text messages to all breakout rooms
- Ability to send an Announcement to all users in the session, which opens up as a dialog box (to attract attention)
- New tools for learning and teaching, including timers and automatic sorting of participants by raised hands
- Enhanced video quality and Interactive two-way video, which provides resolutions from 160 x 120 to 640 x 480 and allows users to take snapshots of video feeds and paste them onto the whiteboard area of the Live! interface
- The ability to publish clickable URLs from Web tours to chat and whiteboards, including the ability for moderators to switch sessions to full-screen Presentation Mode
- Synchronized notes, allows users to take notes during a live session and notes can be saved, edited, and shared with other users
- Indexed recordings, giving users the ability to move playback to any of the index marks
- Improved compatibity with Windows Vista and devices used with Windows Vista (headsets, cameras, etc.)
- Improved support for USB microphones
To learn more about the features in Elluminate 8 and for great moderator training in Elluminate 8, consider attending our workshops on Elluminate in the Fall and Spring semesters. Go to http://www.cte.usf.edu/workshops/#synchronouselluminate to register for the workshop when the new schedule is posted (usually at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters). More details on the workshop are listed on the site.
Also visit: http://elluminate.com/support/docs/8.0/moderator.jsp for online moderator tutorials on Elluminate 8.
While we do not normallly perform upgrades to the system during the semester, we were unable to perform the upgrade as planned during the intersession due to the unplanned unavailability of our system administrator.
Occasionally, users attempting join an Elluminate Live! session may receive the message, “Your session is running on a different session server – please retry or contact your administrator.”
It is important to launch your session from links provided by our administration system or via your moderator (for students) and not from .jnlp files previously saved on your computer, as they may be associated to an incorrect server.
If you receive the message shown above, try one of the following solutions.
- Clear your Java cache. See this Knowledge Base article for complete instructions.
- Search for and delete all .jnlp files from your computer. Then join your session again.
This is extremely important for Mac users using the Safari web browser since Elluminate Live! .jnlp launch files are saved automatically to the desktop. Elluminate Technical Support recommends that these files be deleted immediately after your session, thereby reducing the risk of reusing them again.
For more information, refer to this Knowledge Base article or contact Elluminate Technical Support at 866-388-8674 Option 2.
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