Setting Up Virtual Office Hours in Learn

Learn has a built-in capability to have real-time small-group interactions with a virtual white board. It can be linked right in Learn and is slightly easier to schedule than Skype or Zoom. It's not a good tool for real-time lectures, but it works fine for virtual office hours. Here's how to set it up in three steps (easy as ABC):

Step A

Courses initially designated as online already have Collaborate enabled. To see if you have Collaborate, click the plus sign at the top left of the Learn left-side menu.

Select Tool Link on the drop-down menu.
For the Type: pull-down, look for Blackboard Collaborate Scheduling Manager.

If it's already there, skip to Step C below.

Step B

For formerly in-person courses, you probably have to add the tool.

Way down near the bottom of the Learn left-side menu open the section called Customization.
Click on Tool Availability.
Check all the available check boxes to the right of all the Collaborate tools:
- Blackboard Collaborate
- Blackboard Collaborate Course Room
- Blackboard Collaborate MashUp
- Blackboard Collaborate Scheduling Manager
Click the Submit button.

Step C

See https://online.unm.edu/help/learn/faculty/tools/web-conferencing/index.html