Elluminate Blog @ USF

For those of you interested in learning about the new features in Elluminate v8 or brushing up on your knowledge of Elluminate and the use of such software to conduct live online sessions, please do register to attend the following workshop on Friday, January 18 between 1PM and 4PM in SVC1072. Also, please send this workshop’s information to your colleagues who might be interested in using Elluminate.

Conducting Real-Time Online Classrooms Using Elluminate Live!
Facilitator(s): Neil Gomes (C21TE), Lindsey Mercer (MIT)
Friday, January 18, 2008 | 1:00 PM to 4:00PM | Location: SVC1072
Overview: Learn how to add the dynamic interaction of the traditional classroom to your online course or enhance a face-to-face course with synchronous tools such as Elluminate. Elluminate is a virtual classroom tool that allows you to conduct a live, real-time class (with audio, video, etc.) online. This workshop provides a hands-on introduction to the features and functionality of Elluminate and also shows you how to use the tools to increase interaction in your courses.
Contact: Please email christian@cte.usf.edu with any queries regarding the workshop.

Go to http://www.cte.usf.edu/workshops/#synchronouselluminate to register for the workshop or call Dawn Christian at 813-974-2576

We have noticed that some students are sending us issues that relate to session links not being properly accessed due to broken links being transferred to the browser after clicking on the link in an email or Blackboard announcement/item.

The session/meeting links are usually very long and so they can sometimes break up into two lines in an email when viewed on a smaller monitor or a smaller window. Sometimes, when the student/moderator clicks on the link, it only transfers the first line to the browser’s address bar and returns the error that the server could not be reached. In such cases, we recommend that users trying to access sessions via such links copy the entire link from the email and then paste it into their browser’s address bar and then press the enter button on their keyboard to access the session. Simply clicking the link may not work in such cases.

Copying and pasting the link into the browser’s address bar is usually the best option for additional reasons. Sometimes, when you email links to your students, your email editor could append your mailbox address to all links in your email. We have noticed this sometimes happens when sending emails via USF’s mail servers. This means that the link appears in the text of the emaail as it should, but the link’s real address when clicked includes the address of your email box appended to the beginning of the link. When this happens, the browser tries to access your mailbox and since it does not have the password it throws an error. The user thinks that this is an Elluminate session problem, but it is not. The solution is to simply copy the entire link from the email and then paste it into their browser’s address bar and then press the enter button on their keyboard to access the session.

Elluminate uses Java to operate on your computer and you might have noticed this when Java Web Start loads when accessing an Elluminate session. Sometimes the Java software can get upgraded on its own depending on the preferences set on your computer when you first installed Java. If you have recently upgraded to Java 1.6 and are now experiencing some issue within Elluminate Live! we recommend that you clear your Java cache.

Issues you may be experiencing are:

• Poor Audio (Audio may seem choppy or may echo)
• Modules may fail to load within your Elluminate Live! interface (You may not be able to see a section of the interface like “Whiteboard”

Your Java cache is a temporary storage area where frequently accessed data can be stored for rapid access. Once the data is stored in the cache, future use can be made by accessing the cached copy rather than having to download the Elluminate content every time you enter a session, therefore lowering your connection time. Sometimes after an upgrade we have to ask you to remove this content so that we can confirm that what you have in storage is complete and current.

By clearing your Java cache you will have a small download the next time you enter a session as we store the Java Resource (JAR) files for rapid access. This download only happens once after you have cleared your cache.

To find out if you have the Java Software and to know the version of the Java Software you have on your computer, visit: http://www.elluminate.com/support/ and read the text below step 1.

To clear your Java Cache, follow the instructions at: http://d2.parature.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=2653&task=knowledge&questionID=464

This is a common user and moderator error. Some users might get an error called the VelocityServlet error when they try to launch an Elluminate session using Internet Explorer.

If you receive an error starting with “VelocityServlet: Error processing the template java.lang.NullPointerException at …” (the full error text is below), the recommended solution from Elluminate Support is as follows:

In Internet Explorer

1. Open Tools, choose Internet Options
2. Choose the “Privacy” Tab
3. Select the “Advanced” button
4. Check “Override automatic cookie handling”
5. Make sure that First-party and Third-party Cookies are selected as “Accept”
6. Select “Ok” on all other screens
7. Attempt your session once again

This should prevent that specific Velocity error.

This is a moderator-only issue. We recently noticed that one of our moderators’ sessions disappeared from within the session schedule even after we created them and sent the links to the moderator. We were not able to duplicate the error and so would suggest that you periodically log in to our Ellluminate server and check to see if your sessions appear as requested. You can log in to our Elluminate Academic server at: http://elluminate.acomp.usf.edu and our Elluminate Lite server at: http://elluminate.acomp.usf.edu/elite (if you have Elluminate Lite sessions). You would use your moderator user id and password to log in (we supply this to you in every session information email we send you) on these pages. After you log in you should be able to see only the sessions you requested. You can use the calendar on the page to go to dates in the semester that you requested sessions and check to see if the sessions appear as expected. Do let us know if you find any errors so that we can immediately start investigating the problem and create alternate sessions for you.

You can also access live sessions after logging in by clicking on their links. This is another way to access your sessions.

After you log in, you can also view your recordings by clicking on the Recordings tab on the page.