It is possible that the network connectivity of yourself or your students may be lower at times than you would normally expect. In short, the Internet may be on a ‘go slow’ from time-to-time. To mitigate the worst effects of a possible Internet slowdown, please keep everything to a minimum – and shut off everything that might be using up some of your bandwidth.
If you’re running a Collaborate session, the only program that needs to be running is your browser, Chrome. Shut down all the other programs on your computer, including Jabber, Webex, etc., (but remember to turn them back on afterward).
If you’re used to having loads of tabs open in your browser, then now’s the time to change this habit. You only need two tabs open to run a Collaborate session – one is NILE, the other is the Collaborate session that opened in a new tab.
If you don’t need to share your webcam feed with students, then don’t. And you probably don’t need them to share their webcam feeds with you either. So, if everything seems to be slowing down, then lose the video.
Even if your Internet connection is okay, your students might be struggling, so make sure that you’re recording the Collaborate session just in case.
If the kids are gaming, or streaming Netflix, turn off their computers and give them a book to read. Turn off your phone, and everybody else’s. Turn off all other computers, other mobile devices and anything that you can think of that might be connecting to the Internet for the duration of your Collaborate session.
When you first join a virtual classroom session, the audio and video setup wizard will guide you through steps to select the microphone and webcam you wish to use. If you have problems with your audio and video not working, please use the links below to troubleshoot issues you may be experiencing with your device.
If you do find that there is a genuine issue with Collaborate which is not linked to a poor internet connection, microphone and webcam setup, or the known issues listed above, then please see the link below on the quickest way to report the issue and have it resolved by the supplier, Blackboard. Reporting this way will provide their engineers with all the details they need to help you.
If you require assistance with NILE, please contact LearnTech Support using the NILE Enquiry Form
If you require assistance with PebblePad, please contact PebblePad Support using the PebblePad Contact Form