Campus Technology Services

Elluminate Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is Elluminate?
Elluminate is web-conferencing software that allows you to either present or participate in a conference all from the Web. Listen to or give a presentation from your office, home, wherever you can find a computer connected to the Internet! Common uses for Elluminate include teaching, online workshops, online meetings, and general presentations.  More information is available from Elluminate's website.

How does Elluminate compare to Skype?
Skype is mainly for one-to-one or one-to-a-few web-based conferencing.  Elluminate is intended for one-to-many and includes features not available in Skype, such as break-out rooms for participant activities. 

Who can use Elluminate?
Elluminate is available to all SUNY Oswego faculty and staff.  Participants of sessions can be SUNY Oswego faculty, staff, and students as well as people outside of SUNY Oswego.

What is an Elluminate moderator/participant?
An Elluminate Moderator is the person giving the presentation within Elluminate.  It is the presenter.  They have access to all of the features built-in to Elluminate and have control over what the participants have access to.

An Elluminate participant is a person attending the web-conference.

How can I receive training on Elluminate?
Please see our Elluminate Training page on options available to you for training.

What do I need in order for moderators and participants to use Elluminate?

All users will need to verify their computer meets the Elluminate system requirements by going to this web address:
http://support.blackboardcollaborate.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=8336&task=knowledge&questionID=1279

a)You should receive green checkmarks for both the operating system and Java version under Step 1.  If not, it should tell you what you need to do to get your system compatible.
b) The other steps are optional. 
c) If you are unable to resolve any issues, please call the SLN Helpdesk at: 1-800-875-6269.

Participants can opt to use the speakers on their computer to hear the presenter.  If participants will be speaking, they can use the built-in microphone on their computer, but sometimes that can create echo feedback to the other participants.  It is recommended that all speakers use some type of noise-cancelling headset.  You can access Elluminate's recommended audio and video devices for specific suggestions.

I would like to use Elluminate room to give a presentation. How do I create a room/session?
There are two options available. 

1. Using Elluminate within ANGEL: 
   1. If you have a course or community group set up within ANGEL and would like the students enrolled in those courses or groups to participate in your Elluminate Live presentation, you can use the Elluminate nugget.  Please note, Elluminate participants are limited to the people enrolled in your class or group. The nugget is an ANGEL add-on that lets you create a room/session from within ANGEL.  Follow these instructions for directions on how to enable the nugget and create a session.
   2. Moderators and students enrolled in the course or group who will be participating in the Elluminate session will just need to login to ANGEL, click on the appropriate course, click the Communicate tab and click on the session within the "Elluminate Live" nugget. 
2. Using the Elluminate Live Manager:
   
   1. Those not wishing to use ANGEL for conducting online Elluminate sessions, will need to request an Elluminate room.   When the room has been created, an email will be sent to you with information on how to access your room using the Elluminate Live Manager or directly through a URL. 
   2. You and your participants can use the Elluminate Live Manager website to access the session or use the direct URL.

How do I access my Elluminate room as a moderator?
If you are using Elluminate from within ANGEL, follow these instructions:

1. Login to ANGEL
2. Click on the appropriate course
3. Click on the "Communicate" tab.
4. Click on the appropriate session in the "Elluminate Live" nugget.

If you are not using Elluminate from within ANGEL, you can access your room by following these instructions:

1. Login to the Elluminate Live Manager website in the upper right corner of the page.
2. In the search box, type "OSW" all in capital letters.  This will show you all SUNY Oswego rooms.
3. Your room should show up in the search results.  
4. Click on the name of your room to start Elluminate.

How do my participants access my Elluminate room?
If you are using Elluminate from within ANGEL, participants can follow these instructions:

1. Login to ANGEL
2. Click on the appropriate course
3. Click on the "Communicate" tab.
4. Click on the appropriate session in the "Elluminate Live" nugget.

If you are not using ANGEL, your participants can follow these steps to find your room:

1. Go to the Elluminate Live Manager website
2. In the search box, type "OSW" all in capital letters.  This will show all SUNY Oswego rooms.
3. Your room should show up in the search results. 
4. Click on the room, enter in your SUNY Oswego email address, your name and the password for the room.  Moderators will need to communicate the password for the room to session participants ahead of time.

My audio/video devices are not being detected  by Elluminate.  What's wrong?
To ensure Elluminate knows what audio, video and speakers it should be using all moderators and participants should run the Audio Setup Wizard from within Elluminate. This can be done by going to the Tools menu->Audio->Audio Setup Wizard.

If your devices are properly detected by Elluminate, but participants cannot hear you, make sure your audio device is not set to mute.  Often times there is a mute button right on the headset.

Can I record a session?
Yes, recording is available.  All recordings are kept for six months and then purged from the system.

Generally, Elluminate will ask you when you first join your session if you wish to start recording.  If you decide not to do it then, but want to later on, go to Tools->Recorder->Record within Elluminate.

How can I access a recorded session?
If you are using Elluminate from within ANGEL, follow these instructions:

1. Login to ANGEL
2. Click on the appropriate course.
3. Click the "Communicate" tab.
4. In the "Elluminate Live" nugget, click the "Recordings" link.
5. Use the calendar to select the date of the recording.
6. Click on the recording.

If you are not using Elluminate from within ANGEL, follow these instructions:

1. Go to the Elluminate Live Manager website
2. Click on the "Recordings" tab.
3. Use the calendar to click on the date of the recording.
4. Click on the recording.

What is Elluminate Plan?
Elluminate Plan is a client-based application that allows you to script some of your presentation ahead of time.  It then creates a "Plan" file that is uploaded into Elluminate to prep your session.  For example, in Elluminate Plan you could tell Elluminate to automatically start recording the session, upload your Powerpoint presentation, upload any other multimedia files you will be using, start a web tour, etc.  This is all saved in the Plan file and will be automatically executed at your command within Elluminate Live.

How do I obtain a copy of Elluminate Plan and Publish?
Elluminate Plan will be available from the restricted software downloads page by end of February, 2012. 

Elluminate Publish is a product that CTS pays for and a request for it can be sent to the Technology Support Center at help@oswego.edu.

Who do I call if I or my participants run into problems using Elluminate?
All faculty, staff and students having difficulty accessing an Elluminate session hosted at SUNY Oswego should call the SUNY Learning Network (SLN) Help Desk at 1-800-875-6269 during their normal business hours.

Isn't Elluminate owned by Blackboard now?
Yes.  In 2010, Blackboard purchased both the Elluminate and Wimba web conferencing companies. Blackboard has been working on combining the best features of these two products into a new Blackboard Collaborate product.  They will be dropping support for Elluminate at the end of 2012.  Please see our Elluminate Transition to Blackboard Collaborate page for more information.

When will the campus transition to Blackboard Collaborate?
Please see our Elluminate Transition to Blackboard Collaborate page for more information.