All things connected

Screen sharing and audio

2008-09-01T18:21:00.000-07:00

A colleague from Western Institute asked me this today - it's something others have asked so I thought I'd post the answer here.

"I am wanting to demonstrate PhotoStory by sharing my screen on Connect, but it seems audio in PhotoStory movie does not come through to connect. Have you had any experience with that?
When I play the PhotoStory back, I can hear the narration, but nobody else can. I had a similar problem the other day when I had a video playing on my desktop, shared my screen, and nobody could hear the audio from the video."

Screen/application sharing only shares the screen, not the sound unfortunately.

I’ve used Connect to show websites with sound - you could do the same with PhotoStory. Here's how...

Share the screen, plug in some good speakers, and hold the mike to the speakers - clumsy solution but it seems to do the job, everyone said they could hear clearly. Remember, you will need to set your audio playback so it plays through the speakers, not your headset.

If you have a video file – and it’s in the .FLV format – you can upload it into a Share Pod and it will play with sound for everyone. If it’s not in that format you can convert it at Zamzar or Movavi.

Supported file types in Connect

2008-08-17T16:58:00.000-07:00

Content library and Meeting rooms:

PPT, PPTX – PowerPoint
JPG – images
SWF – Flash
FLV – Flash video
MP3 – sounds

Content library only - convert GIFs & PDFs to Flash Paper if you want to load into a meeting room (or you could use screen sharing):

GIF – images
PDF – Adobe Acrobat
ZIP – compressed ZIP files/folders

Neither – not compatible - convert to Flash Paper:

DOC, DOCX – Word
XLS – Excel

Connect how-to's for teachers

2008-08-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

Adobe Connect User Group AsiaPac has a great collection of "how-to" downloads aimed at the education and training sector, lots of material on planning and facilitating online lessons.

Adobe Connect forums

2008-08-14T16:58:00.000-07:00

Adobe have a user forums website where you can search for solutions to problems or post a question. There are forums for Connect and Presenter. If you go in through the main page and are looking for Connect stuff be sure to go to the Connect Professional forum, that's the version we have in TAFE. There's also an RSS feed.

Presenter 7 Audio sync issues

2008-08-14T00:13:00.000-07:00

Some people are having issues with Presenter 7.0 where the timing is off, and the start or end of a track gets cut off.
There is an update available for presenter that reportedly fixes this issue and several others, at http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=4005.

The WSI help desk shopuld be installing this update soon for all Presenter users at CLI.

Connect 7 new features

2008-08-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

Here's a page from Penn University with a good overview of Connect 7's new feautures.

How to embed Captivate files in Presenter

2008-05-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

Can you embed Captivate files in Adobe Presenter? Yes, but there are a few tricks to know.

Here's a detailed guide I found in a great blog on Adobe Connect, Adobe Presenter and Captivate. There's a part 1 and a part 2.

Audio troubleshooting in Adobe Connect

2008-02-19T17:02:00.000-08:00

You've run the Audio Setup Wizard in Adobe Connect and audio still isn't working properly! Rory O'Brien put together this short instructional movie on how to troubleshoot audio in Adobe Connect.

... and here's an even shorter version that Rory made a while later.

How do you track quizzes created in Adobe Presenter?

2008-02-05T16:30:00.000-08:00

Tony Lorriman of Hunter asked me this question so I thought I'd post an answer for all to see.

First you need to get your quiz onto the server.

Uploading option 1: Publish your Presentation to the Connect server. You do this via the PowerPoint menu: Adobe Presenter > Publish... > Adobe Connect. Note that you'll need author rights for the Connect server to do this.

Uploading option 2: If you don't have author rights you can simply publish to your hard drive and then upload it to the Content Library. After you've published and checked your quiz, check the "Zip files" box under "Output options" in the Publish window, then publish.
Then upload the zip file to the Content Library on the Connect server - if you've been designated a meeting host you'll have your own area called "My Content" that you can upload to.

Viewing reports: After students have done your quiz,
Go to the Content Library
Select your content item in the list
Select “Reports”
Select any of “Summary | By Slides | By Questions | By Answers” to browse quiz results.
This will show total answers only, not how individuals answer. (That feature is in the training module which TAFE hasn't bought … yet.)

Adobe Presenter and PowerPoint 2007

2007-12-04T00:02:00.000-08:00

Will Adobe Presenter work with PowerPoint 2007? I did some tests in Windows Vista ... result is that Adobe Presenter appears to work fine with PowerPoint 2007.

You just have to save your PowerPoint 2007 file (.PPTX) as a PowerPoint 97 or 2000 file (.PPT). Adobe Presenter will prompt you to do this when you use the Presenter menu in PowerPoint. Also check this other post about compatibility with Adobe Connect.

Really, what's more likely to cause you grief is trying to find where Microsoft have hidden all your frequently used menu items in PowerPoint's 'snazzy' new interface!

Audio and text tutorials on Adobe Connect

2007-11-27T13:58:00.000-08:00

I came across this site called Breeze Meeting Resources for the older version of Connect called 'Breeze'. It still has some good information there.

Theres an audio slideshow on Selecting the right audio hardware, an article on Best Practices for Screen Sharing which has tips on to how to manage meeting room bandwidth, and more.

Are you using PowerPoint 2007?

2007-11-22T14:45:00.000-08:00

PowerPoint 2007 uses a new file format with a .pptx extension, and you can't upload that into Adobe Connect!

You can get around this by saving your file in an earlier PowerPoint format. Use the Save As... command (the F12 key will get you there) and choose PowerPoint 97-2003 Presentation (.ppt).

Click the image above to see the larger version.

Where's the instruction manual?

2007-10-24T16:28:00.000-07:00

Connect comes with a comprehensive manual which you can view online or download as a PDF, print and keep beside you.

Personally I like to keep a printed manual on my desk for handy reference, but if you're concerned about paper usage (it's 257 pages) the online version is just as good.

The relevant sections are:
Chapter 2 Connect Enterprise Basics
Chapter 3 Adobe Acrobat Connect Professional Meetings
Chapter 7 Adobe Presenter.

Yeti game

2007-09-25T01:05:00.000-07:00

If you were in our Connect training session and you liked the Yeti game in our Foyer, you can download it from http://ntu.csie.org/~piaip/games/swf

Right-click the link "yeti.swf" and save to your computer, then upload into your Connect meeting room or to My Content. You can also do a Google search for "swf games download" and you'll find heaps more.

Adobe Captivate and Presenter compared

2007-09-05T17:59:00.000-07:00

Lousie Turnbull passed on this comparison of Captivate 3 and Presenter that came from our contact at Adobe Education. There's a sprinking of American sales hype in the document, but overall it's a good matrix of when to each what product, and what each one does.

Adobe Premiere Elements on A3

2007-09-03T18:05:00.000-07:00

We now have 2 copies of this great video editing software on A3. The hotdesk (OTP2193) and laptop 8 (OTP2115). You can use it to transfer files from the Sony handcam to a computer, and then edit your material and create your own vodcast.

It can also output to Flash video so you can insert your video in Adobe Captivate, Presenter or the LAW video editor. You can also play Flash video in an Adobe Connect meeting room.

If you need help using it give me a yell, I'd be happy to show you around. There's also a very good project-based tutorial built into the product.

Hey have your say....let Adobe know your experinces

2007-08-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

Not all software is perfect and when that software is not open source it can seem to take for ever for bugs to get fixed. Adobe provide a place to submit feature request or bug reporting in one place http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform. Take the opportunity to let them know what’s wrong with Captivate, Connect and Presenter or any other Adobe product.

The way new features are incorporated is based on the number of requests per day received at this site. One feature I have requested is Tweening Motion in Captivate ah if only they would hurry up and provide it, I think development times would be so much quicker. So please start sending in your requests in now.

Webcam driver on hotdesk PC

2007-08-29T16:55:00.000-07:00

The driver for Logitech Communicate STX Webcam is now on the hotdesk computer (OTP 2193).

Captivate with Hyperlinks

2007-08-23T19:17:00.000-07:00

Captivate does a few things differently, its a great program that makes it easy to create interactive content but it has its peculiar annoyances like how do I add a hyperlink that looks like a hyperlink?

watch this short movie (recorded connect session) to learn one way to skin a .........cap

http://webconf.det.nsw.edu.au/p30296249/

Adobe Connect how to's

2007-08-21T22:39:00.000-07:00

There are some excellent resources on using Adobe Connect at the TOL 2 ANT Wiki http://tol2antresources.nciwiki.com.au/Adobe+Connect. There is information and tutorials for beginners and advanced users. It contains many recorded training sessions and bite sized how-to’s.

Installing webcam driver

2007-07-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

If you want to use a webcam in your Adobe Connect session:

Log a help desk call requested to get the driver installed, CLI staff go to http://wsrictsweb.wsr.det.nsw.edu.au/helpdesk

Copy and paste this text into the helpdesk request form:
--------------------
Please install the driver for Logitech Communicate STX Webcam. Driver can be downloaded from http://www.logitech.com/index.cfm/435/352&cl=au,en?osid=1&file=1
--------------------
Plug in your webcam and go this Adobe Connect meeting room to test whether it works http://webconf.det.nsw.edu.au/webcamtest/

Evaluation time

2007-03-20T00:13:00.000-07:00

It's evaluation time. It was a real mix of experiences with some people taking to Breeze pretty well, others not - like any technology I suppose. Here's a summary of what we found out:

Breeze/Connect is a useful tool, but a fairly complex one which requires training, practice and support.

"High latency" (slow response times) during October – November 2006 (you know it becuase you get the dreaded "orange light" in Breeze) meant that Breeze/Connect ran slowly and the audio dropped out. This problem was largely fixed by David Mallyon of ITD by December 2006. However the problem led to trial participants favouring traditional teleconference for the audio component of the meeting over VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). Given the response times have improved, we can now be more open to using VOIP audio, but always with teleconference as a contingency.

Positive experiences among CLI staff were due to:
o keeping things simple, not attempting to use too many features in the first few meetings
o separating the role of meeting chair and technical operator, at least until the chair becomes more confident
o for ‘high stakes’ meetings like reference groups, doing a ‘technical rehearsal’ of the meeting beforehand
o a feeling that the tool enhanced communication and teamwork, eg being able to work on a document together, being able to look at a proof of concept together, being able to see a stranger from a remote location
o a feeling that the meeting organiser controlled the technology and the process – we didn’t have to fill out a form or request work from another section to get things done.

Negative experiences among CLI staff were due to:
o dissatisfaction with vendor-supplied training
o feeling of being daunted when faced with the large number of Breeze/Connect features
o problems with network response times / VOIP audio dropping out
o potential for audio feedback loop when a face-to-face group converses with a remote participant
o using a wireless connection to the network from a laptop
o difficulty finding a quiet place in CLI where from where you can chair an online meeting – open office is noisy, meeting rooms are often all booked, sometimes the only meeting rooms available don’t have a data port.

Feedback from a sample of reference group members who participated in Breeze/Connect meetings was positive. This sample came from meetings that ran smoothly with no technical problems, just lucky I guess.

Sample invitation to participants

2006-12-12T20:20:00.000-08:00

Breeze can generate an email invitation to your participants, but it's pretty basic. Here's an invite that I wrote ... you can copy/paste/customise for your project. Note that this meeting used a Telstra teleconference for the audio.
--------------------------------------------
Hi there

Thanks for your interest in this project, here are the details for our first meeting. We will hook up using a Telstra teleconference and the Breeze online meeting software.

Sometime today if you have time, go to this url and have a look around - it's our Breeze meeting room - http://webconf.det.nsw.edu.au/zzzz

Click the button under "Enter as a guest" (or use your Breeze login if you already have one.)

Once you're in, look for these things:

at the bottom of the big window titled "Share" press the play button to view the PowerPoint - it's the presentation we made yesterday at the Connecting Access Conference - it gives an overview of this project
our agenda is in the window titled “Agenda”

Please phone me asap if you have any trouble accessing our Breeze meeting room or seeing the PowerPoint. 9715 8652 / 0417 000 000.

On Friday:

Find a spot where you can be on the phone and at a computer with Internet access. (If it's one or the other go with the phone.)
Try to log into our Breeze meeting room by about 10.20am - http://webconf.det.nsw.edu.au/zzzz
To join the Telstra teleconference please phone 1800 063 705 no later than 10.30, and key in this PIN number: 123456.

Barry

How to share Word documents

2006-12-12T17:27:00.000-08:00

There are 2 ways:

1. Use Flash Paper. This converts a Word (or any document) into a Flash ".swf" file, ready to upload into your meeting room or content library.

To get Flash Paper, download from http://webconf.det.nsw.edu.au/admin/home/homepage/FlashPaper.exe and save to your desktop. You will be prompted for your Adobe Connect id (your full email address) and password.

If you're on a TAFE computer you will then need to log an IT help desk call ... ask them to install Flash Paper from the file you downloaded to your desktop. You may need to tell them that it is part of the TAFE NSW Adobe Connect licence, and that we have a site licence for FlashPaper. If you have any problems contact the Connect Coordinator in your Institute .

Pros:
Uses less bandwidth so it runs more smoothly during meeting.
You can turn "Sync" on or off just like you can a PowerPoint in Breeze.
You still have easy access to other pods in the meeting.
Participants can print the document from their end.
Cons:
You can't type into the document during the meeting.

2. Another way is to use "Share My Computer Screen..." then select your Word document under the Applications list.

Pros:
You can type into the document during the meeting.
You can hand control of the document over to other people who can then type into it too.
Cons:
Uses more bandwidth so may slow meeting down.
For the presenter, the Word document must stay on top of Breeze window, so you won't have easy access to the meeting pods.

Survey results

2006-12-11T20:19:00.000-08:00

After meetings on 12 Dec Barry and Pieter sent the online survey to their meeting participants and we got 10 responses. Note that we used teleconference for the audio part of the meeting.

What do you think of Breeze?
1. I was impressed by the clarity of picture and sound. The document processing appeared to be very flexible, the screen changes were very smooth.
2. Much better for a meeting than teleconference
3. Having only had a brief encounter with it the other day (1.5 hours) it appears to be a very good tool. My only problem is that I didn't know alot about the software prior to participating and no hands on.
4. Fantastic tool.
5. Great meeting place. Reasonably easy to use. Would be good to try with microphones and headset rather than teleconference. Also, easy way to share files.
6. I think it is very good. Very easy to navigate through as a participant. The visuals really made it a more interesting conference.
7. really good for reviewing and discussing documents
8. I was very happy to participate usinf Breeze. It was easy to use the screen in conjunction with the phone link. I liked the voting option and the ability to download survey results. I also liked the webcam component. Even though I didn't have webcam, I very quickly got a feel for the meeting environment.
9. Interesting I haven't taken part in one of these before It was good to be able to see the different components as you were discussing them. I need to get a camera
10. Wonderful opportunity here for more frequent reference group meetings and collaboration with teachers and industry in our projects. Remote participant was very excited about being able to see us as well as the computer screen, on which I could display assets from the LRR.

Did you receive enough instruction on what to do in order to participate in the meeting?
1. yes
2. yes
3. No - i was at the direction and mercy of the technician
4. Yes
5. I had been in Breeze meetings before so I was reasonably OK with how to use it.
6. I did. It was very well organised, in a very professional and pleasant manner.
7. yes but in addition had experts nearby
8. Yes. Well done!
9. Yes
10. Didn't need much instruction as Marc was there to do it for us, but seems very simple and I'm looking forward to doing some training and using it more often.

Are you happy to participate in more Breeze meetings for your project?
1. yes
2. yes
3. yes
4. Yes
5. Yes -easier than travelling long distances for a one - two hour meeting.
6. Definitely. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
7. yes
8. Absolutely.
9. Yes
10. Yes, very much so

Survey your participants (CLI project teams)

2006-12-08T03:49:00.000-08:00

CLI staff using Connect for project teams can using this survey to collect info on how your meeting participants found the "Connect experience". Send them this link to your participants http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=871413007109 or use our Survey Monkey account to copy and customise this survey for your own purposes.

List of people & projects

2006-12-06T20:12:00.000-08:00

Here's the current list of people and projects in our trial. Since starting, we added Communication, Aboriginal Cultural Awareness and Facilities Management.

IT Diploma (Systems Admin)
Barry, Marc, Darrah
IT Diploma (Networking)
Kim, Marc, Richard
Animal Studies
Annabel, Mark, Louise
Communication
Karen, Chris
Aboriginal Cultural Awareness
Susan
Facilities Management
Pieter
Access to Broadband (A2B) – Aust Flexible Learning Framework
Vijendra, Barry, Marc

Upload your website into Breeze for reviewers

2006-11-28T19:29:00.000-08:00

We found a great Breeze feature that gets around the problem of finding a site to host a preview of your product (or burning CDs). You simply zip the site and upload that into the Breeze Content Library. Then send the url to your reference group, writers, etc.

Two important things to note:

There must be an “index.htm” file
Your reviewers will need to login using their Breeze login - unless you change the permissions on that content item to "public"

Thanks to Chris McHarg for putting us onto this one!!

Update on Breeze response times

2006-11-27T19:23:00.000-08:00

As you know our IT friends behind the glass wall and at St Leonards are looking into the slow response time / audio drop out issue with Breeze… here’s where we’re up to …

Response times appear to have improved over the past 2-3 weeks (they did some switching of buttons and swinging of cables and other technical things), so we’re not getting that dreaded orange light as much….. but…
We’re still getting “intermittent high latency” (ie orange light comes on sometimes, audio drops out sometimes, everything seems to run slowly sometimes)
Vicki Marchant confirms this is also happening to teachers in the Institutes who are part of the TOL2 Breeze trial (it would of course, they’re using the same Breeze server)
Network people are still running tests and measuring what’s happening around the network to identify the cause of the problem, they’re liaising with the local breeze vendors as well. I’ll keep you posted on what comes up.

This needn’t stop you using Breeze in the meantime, there are a few tricks with meeting room settings Marc and I can show you to improve response times while the network issues are being worked out. I’ll add those to the blog later, and I'll check in with each project this week.