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Student Digital Skills Hub
 

Blackboard Collaborate: Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting Collaborate

Make sure the proper audio device is being used by Collaborate Ultra

Use a headset if possible (instead of using a built-in laptop microphone for example). This helps prevent external noises from being picked up by the microphone.

  • Check your sound is not muted, check in the ‘taskbar’ and the sound icon or through your computer/laptop settings
  • Make sure your device speaker is up if you can’t hear anything. Test this out by playing another video e.g. on YouTube
  • Check the notifications setting in the Collaborate panel and ‘settings’ icon, adjust the audio settings
  • If your using a headset, check that you have not accidently muted the sound through the cable headset functions
  • If your using a headset make sure that they are selected to be used. This can be checked by selecting the sound icon and viewing the output sound device e.g. headset or speakers (computer/laptop).

You must give the browser permission to use audio and video to participate in a session. This is necessary so that you are seen and heard.

Try switching browsers, google chrome is highly recommended or Firefox. Make sure your browsers are up to date

Ensure you allow or grant permission to your audio and video when prompted in the browser, don’t worry this does not mean they are enabled. These can be toggled on/off

Instructions on how to set up your camera and microphone when using Collaborate Ultra via Chrome

Instructions on how to set up your camera and microphone when using Collaborate Ultra via Firefox

Enable third party cookies using Chrome

Enable third party cookies using Firefox

If you’re in a collaborate session and you are permitted to share content e.g. through a PowerPoint presentation, below are some key things to be aware of:

  • Arial font
  • Do not extended margins (keep default)
  • Not too much wording as may cut off bottom of slide - create a new slide instead
  • Keep the file name short without special characters
  • File size limit of 60MB - best to keep as small as possible
  • No animations (these will not work in Collaborate as the conversion tool flattens the documentation)
  • No embedded video or audio files
  • No high resolution images
  • Convert the PowerPoint to a PDF file (this is what the file will look like after it's been converted by the conversion tool in Collaborate, as well as quicker to upload a PDF file thn a PowerPoint file to Collaborate). There is a max upload limit of 60mb per file, with a maximum of 125mb per session.

If you experience the ongoing purple wheel on screen, you need to enable your browser to allow as exception third party cookies for the following site below:

Please Allow [*.]bbcollab.com (Chrome) or https://bbcollab.com (Firefox).

See links below for further information:

Firefox Enable Cookies

Chrome Manage Cookies