Advanced

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A D V A N C E D G U I D E

v e r s i o n 4 . 5

LearnLinc Corporation

385 Jordan Road, Troy, NY 12180-7601 USA phone: +1 (518) 286-7000

fax: +1 (518) 286-2439 email: [email protected] web address: www.learnlinc.com

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Disclaimer of Warranty

LearnLinc Corporation makes no representations or warranties, either express or implied, by or with respect to anything in this manual, and shall not be liable for any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose or for any indirect, special, or consequential damages.

Copyright Notice

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, LearnLinc Corporation assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. This publication and features described herein are subject to change without notice.

Copyright © 2000 LearnLinc Corporation. All rights reserved. The program and information contained herein are licensed only pursuant to a license agreement that contains use, reverse engineering, disclosure and other restrictions.

Permission to print

Customer is hereby authorized to print and copy the documentation contained on the enclosed media for use solely within its enterprise, provided it reproduces the preceding copyright notice on the front of each copy or partial copy. Customer is not authorized to print and copy and disseminate the documentation outside its enterprise.

Customer's failure to comply with these terms terminates this authorization and, in such case, customer shall promptly destroy the machine-readable documentation, any copies thereof, and any media containing such documentation.

Trademarks

LearnLinc and the LearnLinc logos are registered trademarks of LearnLinc Corporation. All other products are trademarks of their respective companies. LearnLinc Corporation 385 Jordan Road Troy, NY 12180 phone: +1 518.286.7000 fax: +1 518.286.2439 [email protected] http://www.learnlinc.com

LearnLinc has recently become part of a new total-solution e-learning company called Mentergy, Inc. LearnLinc joins Allen Communication and Gilat

Communications, Ltd. in this new organization, which remains committed to customer-focused, e-learning success. Mentergy will continue to offer LearnLinc virtual classroom software, in addition to a full range of e-learning products and services for courseware development, consulting, self-paced and live delivery systems, and hosted e-learning services.

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1. About this Guide

Who Should Read this Guide ... 1

How this Guide is Organized... 1

How the Chapters Are Organized ... 2

Additional Materials ... 3

Conventions in this Guide ... 3

How to Get Help and Submit Suggestions... 4

Registration and Update Information... 4

2. Getting Started

What is LearnLinc?... 7

About the Software ... 7

Client/Server Architecture ... 7 Server Components ... 8 Interface Components ... 9 System Requirements ... 16 LearnLinc Server ... 16 Bandwidth... 18

Client–LearnLinc Classroom Software ... 19

Third Party Software... 25

Overview: Creating a LearnLinc Environment... 26

Assemble your Team... 26

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Install the Server Software and your License Keys... 29

Install the Classroom Software ... 30

Test the Environment ... 30

Add Users... 30

Create Content ... 30

Schedule Courses and Classes ... 30

Add Content to your Courses and Classes... 30

Rehearse the Class... 31

Make the LearnLinc Virtual Campus Available to Students... 31

Overview: Using LearnLinc ... 32

Log-in to the Virtual Campus... 32

Access Online Help for the Virtual Campus ... 32

Register for a Course ... 32

Join a Class ... 32

Access Online Help for the Classroom ... 33

Communicate with others in the Classroom ... 33

Leave the Class ... 33

Log-out of the Virtual Campus ... 33

Administrative Tasks

3. Getting Ready for LearnLinc

What You Need to Know Before Reading This Chapter ... 38

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Client/Server Architecture ... 40

LearnLinc Bandwidth Use ... 40

Firewall Considerations ... 41

Ensure That all Necessary Hardware and Software Is in Place for LearnLinc ... 42

Next Steps... 42

4. Installing LearnLinc

Key Concepts ... 44

LearnLinc Installation Checklist ... 44

Other Software that Must Be Installed on the LearnLinc Server Computer ... 45

Components That Make Up the LearnLinc Server ... 45

Utilities for Administering the LearnLinc Server ... 45

Importing and Exporting Name Service Information ... 47

Server Activity Logs ... 47

Multiple Servers ... 49

Components Installed With the LearnLinc Classroom Software ... 49

Detailed Directions ... 50

Getting the Server Computer Ready for the LearnLinc Server Software ... 50

Installing the Server Software ... 51

Enabling Your Server Licenses ... 52

Password Protecting the Server Information Page ... 54

Logging Server Activity ... 56

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Updating the Domain Name of Your LearnLinc Server ... 60

Installing the Administration Tool ... 62

Exporting Information from the LearnLinc Name Service Database ... 63

Importing Information from a LearnLinc Name Service Capsule File ... 66

Installing the Classroom Software on a User’s Computer ... 68

Allowing Your Users Download and Install the Classroom Software ... 69

Configuring the Classroom Software to Work with Web Proxies and Firewalls ... 70

Next Steps... 71

5. Testing the LearnLinc Environment

Key Concepts ... 74

Required Elements for Testing... 74

Multiple Sites ... 74

Check Your Licences... 75

Log-in as an Administrator ... 76

Change the System Administrator Account Password... 78

Log-in Again as Sample Instructor... 83

Instructor: Join a Class in the Sample Course... 84

Student: Join the Same Class on Another LearnLinc Computer... 86

Instructor: Talk to the Class ... 88

Student: Raise Hand ... 89

Instructor: Pass the Floor ... 89

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Instructor: Use AppShare ... 93

Multiple Site Testing ... 95

Next Steps... 96

6. Customizing LearnLinc

Key Concepts ... 98

Why Customize? ... 98

Streaming Video ... 98

Areas of LearnLinc That Can Be Localized ... 99

Features That Can Be Customized in the Virtual Campus ... 99

A Suggested Process for Developing and Implementing Virtual Campus Customizations ... 100

Features That Can Be Customized in the Virtual Classroom ... 100

Distributing Customizations to the Virtual Classroom... 100

Adding Streaming Video to Your LearnLinc Server... 101

Removing Access to Virtual Campus Functions ... 102

Modifying the Virtual Campus Download Page ... 104

Localizing the Virtual Campus ... 109

Making Changes to the Text in the Virtual Campus ... 110

Changing Virtual Campus Graphics ... 112

Enabling Instructors and Students to Show their Pictures in the LearnLinc Palette ... 118

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Changing the Virtual Classroom Desktop Background Bitmap... 120

Changing the Default Page that Displays when the Synchronized Web Browser Launches... 120

Changing the Default Feedback Answers for all Your LearnLinc Users ... 121

Creating a Custom Installation for the LearnLinc Classroom Software... 123

To Learn More... 124

Next Steps... 124

7. Managing Users

What You Need to Know Before Reading this Chapter ... 125

Key Concepts ... 126

What Is a LearnLinc User? ... 126

What Is an Authority Level? ... 126

What Is a Log-in Group? ... 127

Administration Options ... 128

Creating a Log-in Group ... 129

Creating a User ... 133

Deleting a Log-in Group or User... 136

Adding, Editing, and Deleting Authority Levels ... 138

Adding a Large Number of Users ... 144

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8. Converting your Content for LearnLinc

How is LearnLinc Content Different from other Types of Instructional Content? ... 152

Your Content Conversion Options ... 152

Which Conversion Option is Right for You?... 154

Where to Store your Content?... 157

Making Content Available to Students ... 157

Uploading a PowerPoint File... 159

Deleting a PowerPoint Presentation That has Been Uploaded to the Server ... 165

Modifying the PowerPoint Upload Default Settings ... 169

Uploading Web Files to the LearnLinc Server ... 171

Converting a PowerPoint file to a ToolBook Book... 172

Adding a LearnLinc Navigator to your ToolBook Book ... 175

Distributing Toolbook/Authorware Books or Director Movies ... 177

Next Steps... 183

9. Creating Courses

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Where Is the Virtual Campus?... 189

What Is a Course? ... 189

What Happens When a Student Registers for a Course?... 190

Folders ... 191

Course Contents ... 191

The Student View ... 192

Creating a Folder in the Course Catalog ... 193

Adding a Course to the Course Catalog... 196

Registering Instructors for a Course ... 199

Registering Students for a Course... 204

Adding Resources to a Course... 209

Next Steps... 212

10. Scheduling Classes

What Is the Virtual Classroom? ... 214

Floor Control ... 215

Audio and Video Conferencing ... 215

Bandwidth... 217

Streaming Video ... 220

Assistant Instructors... 220

Classroom Security ... 220

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Next Steps... 231

11. Working with Resources

What Is a Resource? ... 234

Can I Hide Selected Resources from Students?... 236

Who Can Add a Resource to a Course or Class? ... 237

What if the Same Resource Is Used in Multiple Courses or Classes? ... 237

Adding a Resource to a Course Contents List... 238

Adding a Resource to a Class Agenda or Autostart List ... 243

Making a Resource Private... 254

Editing a Resource... 256

Sorting Items in a Course Contents or Class Agenda List ... 260

Removing a Resource from a Course Contents, Class Agenda, or Autostart List... 262

Adding an Application to the Application Selection List ... 264

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Teaching LearnLinc Classes

12. Visiting the Virtual Campus

Authority Levels and the Virtual Campus ... 272

The student view ... 273

Finding Your Virtual Campus ... 274

Logging-in to Your Virtual Campus... 275

Locating Information About Another User... 278

Editing Your User Profile and Password... 281

Registering for and Dropping Courses... 285

Next Steps... 287

13. Working With Courses

Who Can Manage Courses?... 290

Classes... 290

People ... 291

Threaded Discussion ... 292

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Finding Out Who Is Taking a Course ... 299

Communicating with the Class ... 301

Next Steps... 304

14. Preparing Your Computer for Your First Class

About the Classroom Software ... 306

Choosing Between the “Typical”, “Advanced”, and “Custom” Installations ... 306

The Downloading Process ... 307

Displaying your Information in the LearnLinc Palette... 307

Web Proxies... 308

Downloading and Installing the Classroom Software ... 309

Reconfiguring your Classroom Software after Installation ... 314

Making your Picture Display in the LearnLinc Palette ... 315

Next Steps... 315

15. Teaching a Class

LearnLinc Classes on your Intranet vs. Classes on the Internet... 318

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The Difference Between Full-Duplex and Half-Duplex Audio ... 324

Hand Raising... 325

Joining a Class ... 329

Making Sure the Class Can Hear You ... 333

Talking to the Class ... 334

Seeing Who Is in Your Class ... 335

Responding to Hand Raises ... 336

Passing the Floor to a Student ... 337

Working Privately While You Have the Floor ... 337

Dismissing a Student from Class... 338

Leaving a Class ... 338

Next Steps... 339

16. Recording Classes

How Do I Get the Classroom Recorder and Player? ... 342

What Is the Classroom Recorder? ... 342

What is a Dedicated Recording Computer? ... 343

Who Can Record Classes? ... 343

What Is the Difference Between Saving and Uploading a Recorded Class? ... 343

What Is the Classroom Player?... 344

How Big Are the Recorded Classroom Files?... 344

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Uploading a Recorded Class ... 348

Saving a Recorded Class to Upload Later ... 351

Uploading a Saved File ... 353

Playing a Recorded Class ... 354

Downloading a Recorded File ... 356

Playing a Downloaded File... 361

Setting the Recorder Options... 363

17. Using Text Chat to Communicate With Your Students

What Is Text Chat?... 366

Private Messages... 367

Restricted Text Chat ... 367

Network Status Monitor Messages... 367

Assistant Instructors and Text Chat ... 368

Sending a Message to the Class... 369

Changing the Font Size in the Text Chat Window ... 370

Undocking the Text Chat Window... 370

Sending Private Messages ... 371

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Next Steps... 372

18. Using Multimedia Content During Class

What Is Multimedia Content? ... 374

Types of Multimedia Content that Can Be Synchronized ... 374

Synchronization ... 374

ToolBook, Authorware, and Director... 375

Audio and Video Clips ... 375

What if My Multimedia Content Contains Audio or Video Clips and My Class Uses Conferencing? ... 376

Suspending Conferencing to Run an Audio or Video Clip ... 377

Launching a Synchronized Multimedia Book, Director Movie, Audio Clip, or Video Clip for the Class ... 378

Working With ToolBook Synchronized Multimedia Books ... 380

Closing Synchronized Multimedia Books for the Class... 381

Closing Audio and Video Clips ... 381

Next Steps... 382

19. Synchronizing Web Content

What Is the Synchronized Web Browser? ... 384

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The Difference Between the Internet and an Intranet ... 386

Differing Connection Speeds Among Students Affects Synchronization... 387

Supported Browsers ... 388

Synchronizing Navigation in Frames ... 388

Launching the Synchronized Web Browser... 389

Closing the Synchronized Web Browser for Yourself or the Class ... 390

Next Steps... 391

20. Collaborating With Your Students on the Whiteboard

What Is the Whiteboard? ... 394

Who Can Use the Whiteboard?... 395

Storing Files on your Computer for Use in a LearnLinc Class ... 395

Whiteboard Synchronization... 396

Using the Whiteboard on your Own... 398

Saving Whiteboard Files... 399

Printing Whiteboard Files ... 400

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Launching a Whiteboard File from the Agenda... 401

Launching a Whiteboard File from the Library... 402

Opening your Whiteboard Files for the Class ... 403

Updating the Whiteboard for Others ... 404

Using the Shared Pointer ... 404

Adding Text ... 404

Drawing Lines, Ellipses, Rectangles, and Freehand Shapes... 406

Changing the Line Weight, Line Color, and Fill Color ... 407

Importing a Picture... 407

Grabbing a Screen Shot and Placing it on the Whiteboard ... 409

Closing the Whiteboard for the Class... 409

Next Steps... 411

21. Sharing Applications With the Class

What Is Application Sharing? ... 414

What Applications Can I Share?... 415

AppShare... 415

AppView ... 415

Deciding Between AppShare and AppView ... 416

Detailed Directions for AppShare... 417

Sharing Your Applications With the Class ... 417

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Closing AppShare ... 425

Using AppShare in an Open Discussion Class ... 425

Taking Control of AppShare in an Open Discussion Class ... 428

Detailed Directions for AppView ... 430

Launching AppView ... 430

Showing a Different Application to the Class ... 432

Closing AppView... 433

Setting AppView to Split-Screen View ... 434

Next Steps... 438

22. Getting Instant Feedback from the Class

What Is Feedback?... 440

What Are My Answer Options?... 441

Asking Your Students to Use Feedback to Respond to a Question ... 442

Changing the Answer Set... 442

Sharing the Feedback Summary Results with the Class ... 443

Clearing Feedback Answers... 443

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23. Polling the Class With Q&A Multiple Choice Questions

What You Need to Know Before Reading This Chapter ... 446 Key Concepts ... 446 What Is Q&A? ... 446 When Should I Use Q&A?... 448 Who Can Ask Questions With Q&A? ... 448 Storing Files on your Local Computer to Use in a LearnLinc Class... 448 The Student View ... 449 Detailed Directions ... 450 Making a Question List Before Class... 450 Removing a Question from the List... 452 Saving Question Sets ... 452 Merging Question Sets ... 453 Launching Q&A for the Class ... 455 Adding Questions on-the-fly During Class ... 456 Asking a Question ... 457 Viewing the Answers ... 458 Viewing the Answer Statistics in Summary Form ... 458 Viewing the Answer Details... 458 Sharing the Answer Statistics with the Class ... 459 Closing Q&A for the Class ... 459 Next Steps... 460

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Key Concepts ... 462 What Is Glimpse? ... 462 The Student View ... 463 Detailed Directions ... 464 Launching Glimpse... 464 Viewing a Student’s Desktop ... 465 Refreshing the student list... 465 Closing Glimpse ... 465 Next Steps... 466

25. Creating Breakout Groups

What You Need to Know Before Reading This Chapter ... 467 Key Concepts ... 468 What Is a Breakout Group?... 468 How Does Open Discussion Work? ... 468 What Do Students See in a Breakout Group? ... 468 Detailed Directions ... 470 Creating Breakout Groups ... 470 Sending Latecomers to Groups... 474 Joining Breakout Groups ... 475 Helping your Students Work Effectively in Breakout Groups ... 476

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Assisting the Instructor During Class

26. Assisting the Instructor During Class

What You Need to Know Before Reading This Chapter ... 481 Key Concepts ... 482 The Role of Assistant Instructor... 482 The Student View ... 482 Detailed Directions ... 483 Responding to Private Text Chat Messages ... 483 Monitoring Hand Raises and Feedback Responses ... 484 Launching Applications and Resources for the Class ... 485 Next Steps... 485

Glossary, Appendices, and Index

Glossary ... 489 Appendix A: Troubleshooting ... 509 Appendix B: Name Service Capsule Definitions ... 551 Appendix C: Configuring LearnLinc to Work With SQL Server ... 571 Index... 575

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About this Guide

This guide provides advanced information about the LearnLinc environment and tools. Specifically, it addresses concepts and tasks associated with the setup, installation, use, and maintenance of the LearnLinc environment.

Who Should Read this Guide

The LearnLinc Advanced Guide is intended for LearnLinc administrators, authors, and instructors. The LearnLinc documentation set assumes you have a working knowledge of the Microsoft Windows operating system and it’s conventions, and basic web browsing skills. For administrators, the documentation assumes a basic understanding of networking and related issues. Wherever possible, the documentation refers you to additional resources on topics outside the scope of this guide.

Please refer students to the LearnLinc Student Guide, which contains student information about using the Virtual Campus and participating in LearnLinc classes.

How this Guide is Organized

The LearnLinc Advanced Guide is organized into several sections.

This chapter, and the following chapter, Getting Started, provide important information regarding this guide and the LearnLinc environment. Please review both chapters before reading the remaining sections and using LearnLinc.

Chapters 3-7, Administrative Tasks, provide information regarding LearnLinc setup and installation, testing, customization, and managing user accounts.

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Chapters 8-11, Creating LearnLinc Curses, Classes, and Content, provide information about creating and distributing synchronized multimedia content, creating courses and resources, making them available to users, and scheduling LearnLinc classes. For a complete guide to creating synchronized content, please see the LearnLinc Authoring Guide, which is included on the LearnLinc Authoring Kit CD.

Chapters 12-25, Teaching LearnLinc Classes, provide information about visiting the Virtual Campus, working with courses, preparing to join your first class, teaching a class, and using the LearnLinc classroom tools.

Chapter 26, Assisting the Instructor During Class, provides information about taking on the role of assistant instructor in a LearnLinc class.

The remainder of the guide provides a glossary, appendices covering troubleshooting information, name service capsule definitions, and a complete index.

How the Chapters Are Organized

The chapters in the main body of this guide are organized to provide information in a consistent and logical order.

• The chapter introduction includes a one to two sentence statement of the chapter’s subject, a list of tasks to be learned in the chapter, a series of questions that will be answered by the content of the chapter, and a “pre-requisite” list of information you should know before reading the chapter.

• “Key Concepts” includes a series of related concepts that are necessary to your

understanding of the chapter topic. Notes and definitions are in the margins next to the concept to which they relate.

• “Detailed Directions” includes step-by-step instructions, with screen shots, of each task that is related to the chapter’s topic. In addition, most tasks have a “Quick Steps” section in the margin of the page for experienced users who need a quick overview of the procedure. • Finally, “Next Steps” provides guidance for where to go next in the manual, and with

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Additional Materials

In addition to the LearnLinc Advanced Guide, your LearnLinc package contains the: • LearnLinc Student Guide

• Installation Guide • Quick Start Guides • Upgrade document • License Agreement

• License Key Fax-Back Form

• LearnLinc Authoring Guide (included on the LearnLinc Authoring Kit CD)

Conventions in this Guide

The following textual and graphic conventions are used throughout this guide. Textual Conventions

• Web page titles, web link text, window titles, error messages, and dialog names appear in “quotes”.

• Button names appear in plain text with an Initial capital letter. • Keyboard keys appear in <brackets>.

• Book, section, and chapter titles appear in italics.

• Variable input, text that you will replace with your own information, appear in italics. • Actual input, text that you should enter exactly as shown, appears in Courier New. Graphic Conventions

• All chapters use a two column layout. The outside column, the column closest to the page edge, contains notes, definitions, and Quick Steps. The inside column, the column closer to the binding, contains body text, warnings, and screen shots.

• Notes are indicated by a check mark

þ

and appear in the outside margin of the page, next to the topic to which they relate. An example appears next to this text.

• Definitions are indicated by an arrow

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and appear in the outside margin of the page, next to the topic to which they relate. An example appears next to this text.

þ

This is a note. Notes contain useful, but non-essential infor-mation about the topic next to which they appear.

Ä

This is a definition. Definitions describe LearnLinc or Learn-Linc related terms that are used in the topic next which they appear.

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• Warnings are indicated by a circled arrow

Ü

and rules above and below the warning text. Warnings appear directly below the text to which they relate. An example follows.

• Unless otherwise noted, information in the following screen shots is for example only. In some cases, partial screen shots may be used, which represent part of a larger interface element, rather than the entire interface. Partial screen shots are represented by jagged, “tear off” edges.

How to Get Help and Submit Suggestions

In addition to the Advanced and Student guides, you can find concept and task information online in the Virtual Campus online help system, Virtual Campus Quick Tutorial, LearnLinc palette online help system, and help systems for the classroom tools.

If this guide and the other resources provided in your LearnLinc package do not provide the information you need please contact your LearnLinc administrator for further assistance. He or she may be able to resolve your issue.

If you are the LearnLinc administrator and you cannot resolve the issue, you can consult the LearnLinc support web site or contact LearnLinc Customer Service. Access to the support web site and to Customer Service are provided on a contract basis–your organization must have a current support agreement and an assigned contact who is authorized to access the support web site and work with LearnLinc Customer Service.

If you would like to submit a suggestion for future releases of LearnLinc or report a bug in the software, please complete the “Wish List” or “Bug Report” forms on the Customer Service Support Site at http://support.learnlinc.com.

Registration and Update Information

Your LearnLinc package has a unique serial number that can be found on the LearnLinc Server CD jewel case, and on the inside cover of this guide. You will need this serial number to obtain your LearnLinc server licenses–please record the number in a secure location.

This is a warning. Warnings contain essential information that you should consider before completing the tasks with which they are associated.

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The LearnLinc documentation set and help systems are updated with each release of the LearnLinc product. If you have a current support agreement, you will receive the updated product documentation with your upgrade package. For most upgrades, new hard cover manuals are distributed, however LearnLinc Corporation reserves the right to distribute online documentation update packages as well.

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2

Getting Started

This chapter explains the LearnLinc environment and provides an overview of the LearnLinc system requirements, software architecture, and the tasks for creating and using the LearnLinc environment.

What is LearnLinc?

LearnLinc is an online learning environment that your organization can use to train students who are in your offices and at a distance, including those at other offices or locations, those who telecommute from home or while traveling, and those who contract with your

organization to receive training.

LearnLinc is a complete learning environment that supports both self-paced and live, interactive learning. In addition, the LearnLinc environment supports content creation or conversion, and system management. LearnLinc has several components, including the Virtual Campus web site, the Virtual Classroom software, and several administrative tools.

Detailed descriptions of all these components, and the tasks associated with them, follow.

About the Software

The LearnLinc software can be divided into two main pieces: the server and the client, each of which is made up of several individual elements.

Client/Server Architecture

LearnLinc relies on a client/server architecture to enable students and an instructor to meet and collaborate in the Virtual Classroom. When users join a class, they are connecting to the LearnLinc server. Based on information from the Virtual Campus, the server determines which

Ä

A client/server architecture is one in which computers con-nect to each other through a central server computer, rather than connecting directly to one another.

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class the user wants to join and connects the user’s client software to a communication channel for that class. All the class information is sent to the students and instructor on that channel. You can think of a communication channel in terms of a TV channel. Just as everyone who tunes their TV to a certain channel sees the same TV program at the same time, everyone who joins the same class receives the same data at the same time. In the same way that your TV has multiple channels LearnLinc has multiple channels, so that multiple classes can take place at one time without interfering with one another.

To join a LearnLinc class, each user must have the LearnLinc classroom software (the client) installed on his or her computer, and must be able to connect to the LearnLinc server. The components of both the server and the client are described in detail in the following sections.

Server Components

The LearnLinc server provides several functions for LearnLinc users, including storing LearnLinc information, making LearnLinc information available to users, and connecting LearnLinc users in virtual classrooms.

To accomplish these functions, the LearnLinc server relies on the: • Name Service

• Classroom Service • File Service Name Service

The Name Service is a database that stores all LearnLinc information, including LearnLinc user, course, class, and resource information. In addition, the Name Service also stores system information that is not visible to most LearnLinc users. The Name Service is a Microsoft Access database. If your organization uses SQL Server, contact LearnLinc Customer Service to learn about your options for using LearnLinc with SQL Server instead.

• LearnLinc students and instructors access Name Service information when they view information in the LearnLinc Virtual Campus web site, and in the LearnLinc Virtual Classroom.

• LearnLinc authors manage the Name Service by adding, editing, and deleting resources and courses in the Virtual Campus.

• LearnLinc administrators manage the Name Service by performing editing tasks in the Virtual Campus, and by using the LearnLinc Administration tool.

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Classroom Service

The Classroom Service connects two or more LearnLinc users in a Virtual Classroom by sharing and synchronizing information among them in real time. This information includes hand raising, application and content use, and audio or video conferencing information.

The Virtual Classroom is displayed to users in the form of the LearnLinc palette, which displays all classroom information, and provides users with access to interactive classroom tools. File Service

The File Service enables LearnLinc users to display their pictures in the LearnLinc palette. If the user’s picture has been uploaded to the LearnLinc server, it will be displayed when he or she takes the floor during a LearnLinc class.

Interface Components

LearnLinc has several interface components that users work with to view or edit information, participate in LearnLinc classes, and manage the LearnLinc environment. These interfaces are: • Virtual Campus Web Site

• LearnLinc Palette • Whiteboard • Q&A

• AppShare and AppView • Glimpse

• Classroom Recorder and Player • Administration Tool

• Server Information Page • Troubleshooting Page

• Server Configuration Control Panel Virtual Campus Web Site

The LearnLinc Virtual Campus is a web site that your organization hosts on its own server. The Virtual Campus provides students and instructors with easy access to LearnLinc courses, classes, resources, and contact information for other users. In addition, the Virtual Campus provides users with links to their classes, so that they can enter a virtual classroom. In addition,

Ä

When a user takes the floor in a LearnLinc class, he or she is the floor holder. The floor holder is the student, instructor, or assistant who is currently “on air” during a LearnLinc class. The floor holder can be heard and/or seen if conferencing is in use, and can launch and

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LearnLinc instructors, authors, and administrators can use the Virtual Campus to manage LearnLinc information by editing courses, classes, resources, and users.

LearnLinc Palette

The LearnLinc palette is the main interface element in a LearnLinc class. The palette displays the most commonly used tools, including conferencing (audio or video), the class list, the agenda, feedback, and text chat.

These tools enable students and instructors to interact with one another in real time. For example, when a student raises his or her hand, the instructor sees a hand raise notification immediately. Similarly, when anyone in the class sends out a text chat message, the rest of the

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class sees the message right away, and can respond to it. The instructor’s palette is slightly different from the student palette. Diagrams of each palette follow.

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Generally, the differences between the student and instructor palettes concern the amount of information displayed to the user. Instructors see some additional information that students either cannot see, or can only see if the instructor chooses to show it to them.

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Whiteboard

Whiteboard is a collaboration tool that students and the instructor can use to share simple drawings, text, imported pictures, and screen captures. For more information about whiteboard, please see “Collaborating With Your Students on the Whiteboard” on page 393. Q&A

Q&A is a multiple choice question and answer tool. The instructor, or the current floor holder, can use Q&A to ask a series of multiple choice questions and see the class’ response instantly. For more information about Q&A, please see “Polling the Class With Q&A Multiple Choice Questions” on page 445.

AppShare and AppView

AppShare and Appview enable the instructor to show an application on his or her computer to the rest of the class. For both tools, the students in the class do not have to have the shared application installed on their computers.

AppShare enables instructors to share their actions on one or several applications with the class, allow a selected student to use the shared applications, and allow students to share their applications with the class.

AppView enables instructors to use an application on his or her computer, and show his or her actions to the class. Students do not have to have the application installed on their computers. Students cannot use the instructor’s application, nor can they share their own applications with AppView. For more information on either AppShare or AppView, please see “Sharing

Applications With the Class” on page 413. Glimpse

Instructors can use Glimpse to take a screen capture of any student’s desktop during class. Glimpse is only available to instructors, and students are not aware that their desktops have been glimpsed. For more information on Glimpse, please see “Viewing a Student Desktop With Glimpse” on page 461.

Classroom Recorder and Player

The LearnLinc Classroom Recorder is an application that records a class on a student computer. The Classroom Recorder captures all classroom activity, including audio, video, text chat, and any actions on the classroom workspace. The recorder also uploads the recorded file and adds

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it to your course resource list. Students who miss class can play the recorded class from the contents list or you can run the recording during class to recap a lesson.

The LearnLinc Classroom Player is an application you or your students launch to play the recorded class files. The player lets you choose whether you want to stream the recorded file from the server to your computer, or download the file so that you can play it later. Streaming is useful when you want to play the recorded class during an active class. Downloading is useful when students want to play a file on their own at a later time.

For more information on the Classroom Recorder and the Classroom Player, please see “Recording Classes” on page 341.

Administration Tool

In addition to the Virtual Campus, administrators have several other tools to manage and troubleshoot LearnLinc. The Administration tool can be used to manage all LearnLinc system information, and can only be used by administrators.

The Administration tool displays information about all LearnLinc courses, classes, resources, users, and authority levels, and enables an administrator to add, edit, or delete any of these items. Note that most administrative tasks can also be performed in the Virtual Campus. The Administration tool is installed with the LearnLinc server. It can be installed on other computers from either the LearnLinc Server CD, or the Virtual Campus download page. You must be logged-in as an administrator to download the Administration tool from the Virtual Campus. For more information on using the Administration tool, please see “Installing LearnLinc” on page 43 and “Managing Users” on page 125.

Server Information Page

The Server Information page provides you with information about the status of the LearnLinc server, any active classrooms, and your installed LearnLinc licences.

The Server Information page can be accessed from your web browser at http://servername/ll/ ll.dll/ServerInfo, where servername is the name of your LearnLinc server.

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Troubleshooting Page

The troubleshooting page provides you with configuration information for the server, and tests your connection to the LearnLinc server.

You can use the troubleshooting page to gather information about any client computer’s connection to the LearnLinc server by asking the user at the computer to go the

troubleshooting page and send you the information it displays. The URL for the

troubleshooting page is tap//ServerInfo/virtualdirectory/troubleshooting.asp, where ServerInfo is the name of your LearnLinc server and virtualdirectory is the name of the folder in which the Virtual Campus is stored. For example, tap//www.xyzlearning.com/learnlinc/

troubleshooting.asp.

Server Configuration Control Panel

The server configuration control panel enables you to configure server information, including: • setting a UDP audio port for audio conferences (optional)

• specifying a server log file and viewing the current log • changing the LearnLinc server address

• changing the Virtual Campus location.

For more information on the Server configuration control panel, please see “Installing LearnLinc” on page 43.

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System Requirements

The following requirements are divided into several categories. For the LearnLinc server, system requirements are based on the number of concurrent users who will be using the server. For bandwidth, system requirements are based on the conferencing option in use, multiplied by the number of users in the class. For the LearnLinc client (the LearnLinc classroom software), system requirements are based on the conferencing option in use.

LearnLinc Server

Windows NT (for up to 25 concurrent users) Intel Pentium 200 or faster CPU

64 MB RAM

Windows NT Server 4.0 with Service Pack 3 150 MB hard disk space

Network interface card (supporting TCP/IP) MS IIS version 4.0

MS PowerPoint 97 or higher *

Windows NT (for 25-150 concurrent users) Intel Pentium II 300 MHz or faster

128 MB RAM

Windows NT Server 4.0 with Service Pack 3 150 MB hard disk space

MS IIS version 4.0

High performance network interface card such as a PCI Fast Ethernet card

* Required to enable uploading of PowerPoint files to the LearnLinc Server. PowerPoint 2000 is recommended.

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Windows 2000 (for up to 25 concurrent users) Pentium II 300 processor or faster

128 MB RAM

Windows 2000 Server 150 MB hard disk space

Windows 2000 (for 25 - 150 concurrent users) Pentium II 400

256 MB RAM

Windows 2000 Server 150 MB hard disk space

* Required to enable uploading of PowerPoint files to the LearnLinc Server. PowerPoint 2000 is recommended.

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Bandwidth

The following table illustrates the average amount of bandwidth required on a network per concurrent client for each LearnLinc conferencing option. Your network should be designed to accommodate peak bandwith conditions.

Note that the numbers in the previous table are averages only. At times LearnLinc uses much less bandwidth, and at other times it will attempt to use more.

Conferencing Options Average network bandwidth

Data only 20 Kbps per student

Unicast audio conferencing and data 28 Kbps per student (16 data + 12 audio)

Multicast audio conferencing and data 12 Kbps per class for audio plus 16 Kbps per student for data

Indeo Multicast video conferencing and data 340 Kbps per class for video plus 16 Kbps per student for data

H.323 Multicast Video 172 Kbps per class for Video plus 16 Kbps per student for data

Unicast streaming video and data 37 kbps per student (22 data + 15 streaming video) Multicast streaming video and data 15 per class for streaming video and 22 Kbps per

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Client–LearnLinc Classroom Software

Locate the requirements for the conferencing option your organization is using. Note that the requirements listed on the following pages are minimum requirements. Computers with faster CPUs and more RAM will provide better performance in LearnLinc classes. If you may be using more than one conferencing option, make sure your system meets the higher requirements

Data Only

Windows 95 or 98 Windows 2000 Windows NT 4.0

workstation with sp 3

• Intel Pentium 75 • 24 MB RAM

• TCP/IP connection with 20 kbps or more

• Supported browser (see Third-Party Software on page 25) • Monitor supporting 800x600, 16 bit color or higher • Intel Pentium 200 • 64 MB RAM

• Supported browser (see Third-Party Software on page 25) • Monitor supporting 800x600, 16 bit color or higher • Intel Pentium 133 • 32 MB RAM

• Supported browser (see Third-Party Software on page 25)

• Monitor supporting 800x600, 16 bit color or higher

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Unicast Audio Conferencing

* In unicast audio conferencing classes that use the “Low” bandwidth setting, users must have Intel Pentium II 233 processors or higher to achieve lower bandwidths while retaining audio quality.

• Intel Pentium 133 * • 32 MB RAM

• TCP/IP connection with at least 28.8 kbps

• 16 bit Sound Blaster-compatible sound card with support for DirectX6; full duplex recommended • Microphone and headphones • Monitor supporting 800x600,

16 bit color or higher

• Intel Pentium II 300 • 96 MB RAM

• TCP/IP connection with at least 28.8 kbps

• Sound card with support for DirectX6; full duplex recommended

• Microphone and headphones • Monitor supporting 800x600,

16 bit color or higher

• Intel Pentium 166* • 32 MB RAM

• TCP/IP connection with at least 28.8kbps

• Sound card with support for DirectX6; full duplex recommended

• Microphone and headphones • Monitor supporting 800x600,

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Multicast Audio Conferencing (for intranet or LAN only)

• TCP/IP multicast connection with 30 kbps or more • Supported browser (see

Third-Party Software on page 25)

• Sound card with support for DirectX6; full duplex recommended • Microphone and headphones • Monitor supporting 800x600, 16 bit color or higher • Intel Pentium 300 • 96 MB RAM

• Sound card with support for DirectX6; full duplex recommended • Microphone and headphones • Monitor supporting 800x600, 16 bit color or higher • Intel Pentium 166 • 32 MB RAM

• Sound card with support for DirectX6; full duplex recommended • Microphone and headphones • Monitor supporting 800x600, 16 bit color or higher

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Multicast Video Conferencing (Using ProShare 150 or ProShare 200)

Third-Party Software on page 25) • Intel Proshare 150 or 200 • Microphone and headphones • Monitor supporting 800x600, 16 bit color or higher

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Multicast Video Conferencing (Using Intel ProShare Video 500*)

* Note that all participants in the class must have ProShare 500 to achieve lower bandwith.

• Intel Pentium II 266 with MMX

• 32 MB RAM

• TCP/ IP multicast connection with 240 kbps or more • Supported browser (see

Third-Party Software on page 25) • Intel ProShare 500 • Microphone and headphones • Monitor supporting 800x600, 16 bit color or higher

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Streaming Video (multicast or unicast)*

* Can be used with data only, unicast, or multicast audio conferencing, or multicast video

conferencing

Instructor must have second computer to capture video and run streaming video encoder. Consult your streaming video server documentation for specific requirements.

• Sound card with support for DirectX6; full duplex recommended • Monitor supporting 800x600, 16 bit color or higher • Intel Pentium II 300 • 96 MB RAM

• Sound card with support for DirectX6; full duplex recommended • Monitor supporting 800x600, 16 bit color or higher • Intel Pentium 166 • 32 MB RAM

• Sound card with support for DirectX6; full duplex recommended • Monitor supporting

800x600, 16 bit color or higher

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Third Party Software

The LearnLinc classroom software also uses several third-party software programs to enable synchronized multimedia content in the Virtual Classroom. The table below outlines the software programs, their uses, and whether they are included in the LearnLinc installation.

LearnLinc includes all the software necessary to begin classes right away. This list includes additional software you may want to use.

Third-party software For use with Installed?

Microsoft NetShow Server 3.0 Streaming Video capture No Real Video Server 4.0 Streaming Video capture No Windows Media Player 6.0 and 6.4 Streaming Video capture No Asymetrix ToolBook 7.1 run-time Synchronized ToolBook content

playback

Yes, in “Advanced” installation option Asymetrix ToolBook 6.0, 6.1, 6.5, 7.0

(full version or run-time)

Synchronized ToolBook content playback

No Asymetrix ToolBook 6.0, 6.1, 6.5, 7.0

(full version)

Synchronized ToolBook content development

No Macromedia Authorware 3.5, 4.0, 5.0 Synchronized Authorware content

development

No Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 and

5.01

Synchronized web browser No. Included on CDs for separate installation Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01w/sp1

or sp2

Synchronized web browser No Netscape Navigator 4.05, 4.08 Synchronized web browser No Netscape Communicator 4.7x Synchronized web browser No Macromedia Director 7.0 Synchronized Director content

development

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Overview: Creating a LearnLinc Environment

This overview provides a brief look at the process for creating your own LearnLinc

environment. It is not a comprehensive guide–that can be found later in this manual. Use the overview to get a general idea of what is involved in planning and implementing a LearnLinc environment.

Assemble your Team

Before you begin, decide who you will need help from to make your LearnLinc installation successful. Smaller organizations can use LearnLinc right out of the box. For larger

organizations, we recommend that you assemble a team that fills all the following roles. In some cases, one person may play more than one role, or one role may be divided among several team members.

• Project Manager • IS Support Person • LearnLinc administrator • Content author • Instructor Project Manager

The project manager is the coordinator for your LearnLinc rollout. He or she will not only coordinate with the people on your LearnLinc team, but with others in the company as necessary. The Project Manger is responsible for acquiring all necessary hardware and software, ensuring that proper support is available from your organization’s network manager and IS staff, and reporting to others in management who are concerned with the LearnLinc rollout. In addition, the Project Manager may be responsible for managing the budget and schedule of the LearnLinc rollout and pilot program. Many organizations choose to begin using LearnLinc as a pilot–to introduce the system to others in the organization, to provide a staged, more comfortable, transition for the training department, and to ensure that they are ready to roll out LearnLinc to the entire organization.

IS Support Person

If you are rolling out LearnLinc on an existing corporate network, which almost all LearnLinc teams are, you will need support from your IS department. An IS support person can help you to assess your hardware needs and procure the necessary equipment, install and maintain that

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equipment, determine your network bandwidth needs and ensure that your network can support them, and troubleshoot installations. While you may not need full time support from your IS department throughout the roll out, we recommend that you have one individual assigned to the project, who can be available as needed.

LearnLinc Administrator

The LearnLinc administrator is responsible for creating and maintaining all LearnLinc information, including users, test courses and classes, and resources. Your LearnLinc administrator should be adept at learning new software and capable of managing a large amount of information, but he or she does not have to be a training specialist. If, however, the LearnLinc administrator will be responsible for teaching others how to manage LearnLinc information, make sure that he or she is able and willing to transfer his or her knowledge to others later.

Content Author

The content author is responsible not only for developing content to use in your LearnLinc classes, but for determining which types of content best suit your organization’s training needs as well. The content author should be familiar with one or more of the following authoring tools: • PowerPoint • HTML • Macromedia Authorware • Macromedia Director • Asymetrix ToolBook

In addition, the content author should be very familiar with the type of training you are planning to do with LearnLinc. Once you have installed LearnLinc, the content author should spend time evaluating each of the LearnLinc classroom tools, determining which are best suited to your training needs, and developing content for your pilot classes. The content author will likely work closely with the instructor in determining which tools and content types will work best in class.

Instructor

The LearnLinc instructor should be someone who is currently a trainer at your organization. If you choose to use a course that is currently being taught in traditional classes, the instructor for

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that course might be an ideal candidate for your team. The instructor should be comfortable using a computer and learning new software–though he or she does not have to be an advanced computer user. Once you have installed LearnLinc, the instructor should spend time in a LearnLinc class, evaluating the tools, determining which he or she would be comfortable using in class, and working with the content author to convert any existing content to an online format that the instructor is comfortable using.

Plan your Environment

Before you install LearnLinc, make sure that your environment is ready. The following list covers the main areas of concern:

Network

Using the bandwidth guidelines in the System Requirements (outlined earlier in this chapter), work with your IS support person to ensure that your network can support LearnLinc. Specifically, you need to make sure that your student and instructor computers can connect to the LearnLinc server, and that there will be enough bandwidth available for them to send and receive data from the LearnLinc server. In addition, determine if your organization uses a farewell, and decide if you want to use HTTP tunneling, or open a port on your farewell. For more information about farewell ports and HTTP tunneling, please see takes the floor, Getting Ready for LearnLinc.

Hardware and Software

Using the server and client guidelines in the System Requirements (outlined earlier in this chapter), work with your IS support person to ensure that you have all the necessary hardware and software in place for LearnLinc.

Schedule

Develop a schedule for your roll out. Include time to order and install any necessary hardware or software, and time for testing and experimenting with the system. Share your schedule with other departments who will be impacted by it (for example IS) so that you can count on them for resources when you need them. Of course, share the schedule with your LearnLinc team as well.

Include time and tasks for internal marketing on the schedule as well–to ensure that others are aware of your program and will be available to participate in your pilot classes.

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Choose a Pilot Class

Work with your content author and instructor to evaluate your current courses even before you install LearnLinc, to determine which ones are good candidates for conversion to online courses. Some criteria to consider include: length and format of class, ease of conversion for hard copy materials, and the amount of hands-on activities in class.

Online classes differ from traditional classes in several ways, one of which is the amount of time you can expect to hold students’ attention during class. Generally speaking, online classes should be shorter than traditional classes, and have more breaks to allow students to stretch, rest their eyes, and then refocus on the content. In addition, classes that require frequent interaction from students are more likely to hold students’ attention. As a very general guideline, look for a class that can be taught in sessions that are about 45 to 60 minutes long, with student interactions every 10 minutes. Adjust these times to suit your training needs. Consider the ease with which existing content can be converted as well. If your content author has significant experience with a CBT tool such as Authoring, or HTML tagging, you may be able to convert very complex content for your class. If, however, your content author will be learning to use new content tools as well as LearnLinc, look for content that can be easily converted. For example, Proponent presentations can be converted to HTML or Talbot using one of the LearnLinc content conversion tools.

Consider the amount of hands-on activity in a class as well. Classes that require students to build or take apart machinery, for example, might require you to develop complex simulations or shoot video footage of those actions. While effective, these types of content may be time consuming or expensive to develop. Consider your schedule and resources before choosing a hands-on class for your pilot.

Install the Server Software and your License Keys

Follow the instructions outlined in the LearnLinc Installation Guide to install the server. Be sure to fill out the LearnLinc Server Key tax back form to receive your license keys. Once your LearnLinc server software is installed and your keys are enabled, you should be able to log-in to the LearnLinc Virtual Campus from any computer, using the default LearnLinc administrator account. See the LearnLinc Installation Guide or takes the floor, “Installing LearnLinc#, for the default administrator account information and password.

The Virtual Campus contains several sample users, a sample course, and several sample classes. You can use these samples to explore the Virtual Campus interface, and to test the Virtual Campus and the Virtual Classroom.

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Install the Classroom Software

Install the classroom, or client, software on two computers. Use these computers to connect two of your team members in a LearnLinc classroom so that they can test your LearnLinc environment. Install LearnLinc on additional computers to enable your content author and instructor to explore the Virtual Classroom tools.

Test the Environment

Follow the test plan described in takes the floor of this guide to test your limited installation. Test your LearnLinc server-client connection on a small number of computers to work out any hardware or software issues before you attempt a pilot or roulette.

Add Users

Once you have tested your limited installation successfully, create instructor, author, and administrator accounts as needed for your team. If you are creating accounts for your pilot students, create those as well and record the account information so that you can distribute it to your pilot students later.

Create Content

Even as you are testing your limited installation, your content author can evaluate and start developing the content for your pilot class. Refer to Chapter 8 in this guide, and the LearnLinc Authoring Kit for more information concerning authoring content for LearnLinc classes. Schedule Courses and Classes

Once your testing is complete, your LearnLinc administrator can create your pilot course and classes in the LearnLinc Virtual Campus. By logging-in as an administrator, he or she can add a new course to the course catalog, and create classes in that course. Be sure to schedule your LearnLinc team instructor to teach the pilot classes, and assign another member of the team to act as an assistant instructor for the class. The assistant instructor can help students who are having problems, and help the instructor to manage the class.

Add Content to your Courses and Classes

Once the content author has completed the content conversion, or created new content, he or she can add the content as resources to the course contents list and class agenda as necessary. To do so, he or she can log-in to the Virtual Campus using an account that has author permissions.

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Rehearse the Class

Once all the elements are in place, ask your instructor to rehearse the class several times, until he or she is comfortable teaching in the LearnLinc environment. Make sure that other members of the LearnLinc team practice as well–as assistants and as instructor, in case your instructor is unavailable.

Make the LearnLinc Virtual Campus Available to Students

Once the course, classes, and content are available in the Virtual Classroom, and your team believes that they are ready to teach the class, make the Virtual Campus available to your students. To do so, publicize the address of the Virtual Campus, and provide instructions to your pilot students for accessing the Virtual Campus, downloading and installing the classroom software, and joining the class. Be sure to clearly state the date and time of the class.

Set time aside to test with your students once they have installed the classroom software. A quick test with each student to ensure that they can join a class, and that their audio or video conferences is working properly will ensure that your first class is successful.

We have included two documents on both the LearnLinc Server and Client Cads in the “docs” folder, to assist you in publicizing your class. “Installing the LearnLinc client from the web” (install.doc) provides instructions for downloading and installing the classroom software. “Your first LearnLinc class” (memo.doc) provides students with instructions for joining their first class. You can modify these documents for your organization and distribute them to your students to ensure that they are ready for class.

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Overview: Using LearnLinc

This overview provides a brief look at the process for taking a LearnLinc class. Use this overview to get a general idea of what is involved in using LearnLinc as a student.

Log-in to the Virtual Campus

Your LearnLinc experience always begins by logging-in to the LearnLinc Virtual Campus web site. When you go to the site, you can log-in, create a new account, or just browse the course catalog. Once you log-in, you can access courses, classes, resources, and the user information.

Access Online Help for the Virtual Campus

Before you begin using the Virtual Campus, take the Quick Tutorial by clicking the “Quick Tutorial” link on the left side of the site.

While you are in the Virtual Campus, you can access online help at any time. To launch a comprehensive set of help pages that describe concepts and tasks related to the Virtual Campus, click “Help” on the top menu bar. When you are on your home page, the course catalog page, or the directory page, you’ll also see links to related help topics.

Register for a Course

To use a course’s resources or join its classes, you must register for it. You can register for any course in the course catalog by clicking “Register” next to its name. You can drop a course from your course list by clicking “Unregister” next to its name.

Your LearnLinc administrator or instructor may register you for additional courses. When you log-in, you see a list of all the courses for which you are registered on your home page.

Join a Class

When you are ready to join a LearnLinc class, locate it in the Virtual Campus by finding its course, and clicking the course name. The course’s contents list displays, including any classes that are part of that course. To join a class, click “join” next to it’s name. Your web browser minimizes, and the LearnLinc palette displays, with tools that you can use to communicate with the rest of the class.

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Access Online Help for the Classroom

You can access online help for the classroom at any time by selecting Help > Help Topics, from the LearnLinc palette menu bar. The online help contains concept and task information for participating in LearnLinc classes.

Communicate with others in the Classroom

While you are in class, you can see the actions of the current floor holder and hear or see them if conferences is in use. If the floor holder launches an application, or a multimedia book, it opens on your computer as well. As the floor holder uses the application or book, you see his or her actions on your copy as well. If the floor is passed to you, your “On Air” indicator displays, and your actions are visible to the class. If you use a LearnLinc application or content, your actions are shared with others. For example, if you navigate to a web site in the

synchronized web browser, the class follows you there. In addition, if your class uses

conferences, everyone can hear or see you. When you are done, you can pass the floor back to your instructor so that he or she can continue with class.

Leave the Class

When class is over, you can leave by selecting File > Exit, from the LearnLinc palette menu bar. Once you have exited the class, the LearnLinc palette and most of the applications and content that were opened during class will close. However, some applications, such as the whiteboard, will remain open so that you can save your work, or continue working on the current

document.

Log-out of the Virtual Campus

When you have finished working in the Virtual Campus, you can log-out by selecting “Logout” from the top menu bar in the Virtual Campus. If you have been inactive in the Virtual Campus for more than 15 minutes, your account will be logged-out automatically to prevent others from using your account.

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Administrative Tasks

The “Administrative tasks” section of this guide contains concepts and tasks that are important to LearnLinc administrators. If you are a LearnLinc administrator, or you perform any of the following administrative tasks for LearnLinc, please read this section.

Chapter 3 Getting Ready for LearnLinc page 37 Chapter 4 Installing LearnLinc page 43 Chapter 5 Testing the LearnLinc Environment page 73 Chapter 6 Customizing LearnLinc page 97

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3

Getting Ready for LearnLinc

This chapter describes the information and equipment you need and the tasks you should perform to prepare for LearnLinc.

In this chapter you will learn how to:

• Determine how many licences your organization has purchased for the LearnLinc classroom • Determine which conferencing options your organization has purchased

• Advise others about bandwidth availability for LearnLinc

• Determine which, if any, firewall ports you should open for LearnLinc

• Ensure that all necessary server hardware and software is in place for LearnLinc • Ensure that all necessary client hardware and software is in place for LearnLinc In addition, this chapter answers the following questions:

1. What is the procedure for deploying LearnLinc? 2. How are LearnLinc licenses used?

3. How do LearnLinc users connect to one another? 4. What conferencing options does LearnLinc have?

5. How much traffic does LearnLinc create on your organization’s network? 6. How does LearnLinc work if I have more than one site?