Transcript of the Conferencing Room
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Copyright The Veterinary Information Network (VIN) No portion of any VIN Organized Rounds discussion or event may be copied or distributed without the expressed permission of VIN.
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hi

Great job! Hello, everyone. I'm glad you could come.
During most of the RT Session, the CONFERENCE ROOM will be moderated.

When I switch the CONFERENCE ROOM to moderated mode, the !/? icon in front of the text-input field will be replaced with an 'M' and the yellow text-input field will turn white. I'll switch us to moderated mode now.

With moderation on, you can type your full comment or question and send it without interrupting the instructor's lecture. Your text will be redirected to the Question Screener and held there for the instructor.

Slide 12: Green Text Message
You'll personally receive a green text message about the resulting delay when your question or comment has been received by the Question Screener.

With Question Screener, the instructors can review your questions and decide which ones they have time to answer during the Real Time Session.

If your question is chosen by an instructor, it will be displayed in the CONFERENCE ROOM text window at the time an instructor has chosen to answer it. So, expect a delay.

Slide 13: Send Text to the Question Screener
Now, everyone, send a question (any type) to the Question Screener.I will answer your questions in Question Screener and send the resulting question/answer pair into the CONFERENCE ROOM text window.

How long will this practice session last?

This session takes about 45 minutes.

If the instructor chooses, the number of unanswered (pending) questions and the number of answered questions will be displayed on the CONFERENCE ROOM window under the list of connected users.

Slide 14: Pending/Answered Question Counts
An instructor often receives hundreds of questions during a single Real Time Session and cannot respond to all of them during that session. If you don't receive an answer, please post your question on the course message boards.

Even if your question is not answered during the Real Time Session, it will be logged and counted for participation credit.

Sometimes the instructor will ask a question and request that everyone answer. You will see the text "GA all" or "Go Ahead all".This means that everyone should answer. At that time, the classroom will be unmoderated so that your responses will be sent directly into the CONFERENCE ROOM text window.

Any questions so far?
GA, all.

No, I'm good.

Thank you!

During a course real time session, if you do not have a question, you do not need to type no.

If you need a private chat with a moderator or course assistant at any time, click on his or her name near the top of the list of users on the right of the CONFERENCE ROOM window. Names of moderators and course assistants are in bold black type.

When the name is highlighted on the list, choose "Talk in private" from the pull-down menu. This will start a private chat session between you and the person whose name you selected.

Slide 15: Talk in Private
To send text, type into the PRIVATE CHAT text input field and select the SEND button, as indicated in red.

Slide 16: Private Chat Window
To close the PRIVATE CHAT window, click on the small "X" (close button) in the top right corner of that window.

During the instructional part of the Real Time Session, please do not start a private chat with the instructor(s) (whose names will be in blue type on the list), as the instructor(s) will be busy running the Real Time Session.

To hide the list of users and make the CONFERENCE ROOM component window a bit smaller, click on the side bar located on the right of the list of users. To restore the list, click on the side bar again.
Slide 17: Hide User List

If the title bar for the CONFERENCE ROOM text window isn't orange then that window isn't active (have focus).
Slide 18: Conference Room without Focus

Note that only one component window can have focus at a time and only the component window with focus can receive input from the user. In slide 18 the title bar is blue, which indicates the CONFERENCE ROOM window does NOT have focus.

Click on the CONFERENCE ROOM component window title bar to change its color to orange and click anywhere outside the CONFERENCE ROOM component window to change its title bar to blue.

To activate a POLL FROM..., PRIVATE CHAT, or any other component window inside the Unity classroom (i.e., to make that window the active window so your keystrokes and mouse commands are associated with that window by Unity), you must be sure that the component window's title bar is orange. Then you can answer your poll, respond to a private chat, or take the desired action.

Slide 19: Open the Review Window
If you enter a session that is already in progress, you can select the overlapping yellow squares next to the SEND button in the CONFERENCE ROOM window to open the review window.

Slide 20: Review Window
The review window contains a copy of the CONFERENCE ROOM window content. Material sent to the CONFERENCE ROOM window will also be sent to the review window.

You can use the review window to catch up on the material you missed by being late to the session. At the same time you can keep an eye on the new material being sent into the CONFERENCE ROOM window.

The review window comes with a FIND function. To search for a specific string within the review window:

1. Scroll the search window to the page you want to start the search on.
2. Enter the text string you are searching for (it is case sensitive).
3. Then select the FIND button.

The line the match is found on will be scrolled to the top of the review window and the matched string will be highlighted.

Slide 21: Minimize or Close a Component Window
To close a component window, click on the small "X" (close button) in the top right corner of that window. The only windows within Unity that cannot be closed are the CONFERENCE ROOM and Presenter windows; they do not have a close button.

To minimize any of the Unity component windows (convert the window to an icon on the Unity tool bar), click on the small "-" (minimize button) in the top right corner of that window. All the windows within Unity, with the exception of the CONFERENCE ROOM have a minimize button.

When minimized, the name of the component window will appear on the Unity tool bar. Anytime you expect to see one of the component windows in the Unity classroom and it isn't visible, check the tool bar to see if the component window has been minimized.

If you see the words PRIVATE CHAT blinking on the Unity tool bar, you have a private message to receive.

If the PRIVATE CHAT window is not displayed in your Unity classroom, click once on the words PRIVATE CHAT on the Unity tool bar to display a drop-down menu with a list of names of those with whom you are currently chatting. Click on a name on that menu to bring the PRIVATE CHAT window forward.

Slide 22: Restore Unity Windows
To restore a minimized window (open a window and bring it forward in the Unity classroom) click on the window's name located on the tool bar at the top of the Unity window.

If a slideshow has been sent and you don't see the Presenter component window, it is either minimized or hiding behind another component window. Click on the word PRESENTER on the Unity tool bar to restore the Presenter window and bring it forward.

If a poll question has been sent to the session participants and that poll is open to accept answers, the word POLL will appear on the tool bar.

Whenever a poll is open, even when its window is minimized or if the poll window is hiding behind another window, the POLL icon will appear on the tool bar. If your poll window is not displayed, click on POLL on the tool bar to restore the poll window.

When a poll is sent, you will see a pop-up poll window with the poll question and multiple answer selections in it.

Slide 23: Select Poll Answer
Select your answer to the poll and SEND it. In our example, the participant has selected and sent the "C" response.

After you send your answer, the words "POLL RESULTS" will appear on the tool bar.

The poll question window will become a polling results window. You'll see a bar graph showing a real-time tally of the participants' answers for the poll question.

Slide 24: Poll Results Window
On the far right within the polling results window (indicated by the red arrow) is the time in minutes : seconds that you spent answering the poll question.

For those of you taking an examination preparation course, such as the VTNE(R) or NAVLE(R) preparation courses, you will want to answer questions as quickly as possible.

Slide 25: Poll Results in Conference Room
As soon as the moderator sends the tallied poll results into the CONFERENCE ROOM text window, the "POLL RESULTS" box will disappear from your monitor; you'll be able to view those results displayed in the CONFERENCE ROOM text window.

Slide 23: Select Poll Answer
Here's a poll for you to try.... Everyone, please submit an answer, even if you've participated in a poll before.

Poll 01
Is this your first time taking an on-line CE class with us?
1 (50%): A. Yes
1 (50%): B. No
0 (0%): C. No, but it's been over 6 months since my last VIN/VSPN class
Total responses: 2 (100% of 2 polled)

Fantastic job, everyone! Poll answers count toward the CE participation requirement. Be sure to participate in all the polls.

RTS Format and Course Level
The format of a Real Time Session presentation can be predominantly text, a mixture of text and audio, or predominantly audio.

Or the format can be non-interactive, meaning the course does not have any Real Time Sessions at all.

The RTS Format is indicated in the course Catalogs and on the CE Portal page for the individual course listings by a small image called an "icon."

Slide 26: Course Format Icons
Within the course Catalog, each course entry will indicate:

• who is offering the course - either VIN CE or VSPN CE,
• the Level or difficulty of the course (Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, or Specialty), and
• the Format of the course (as indicated by the format icon).

Slide 27: Catalog Entries
Definitions for Course Levels and RTS Formats are provided at: http://beta.vin.com/CE/CatalogAbout.htm .

Audio
Your instructor(s) may choose to deliver a portion or all of the class using audio.

When the moderator speaks to the class, you will see the green text message: "[name] will be speaking to the class shortly."

When the moderator stops speaking to the class, you will see the green text message: "[name] has stopped speaking to the class."

One of the moderators is going to speak to the class now. Please let us know if you do not hear her speaking.

Hello, this is Peggy. I'm your moderator for tonight's practice session. So this is a demonstration of audio as it is used during a Real Time Session. If everyone could please send in a question, any type of question will do, and I will answer them using audio.You should know that when a course is listed as being in a text/audio format, it can mean that some of the sessions for that course will be presented using text, such as the class we have here (the practice session) and other sessions will be presented using audio.

But a text/audio format generally means that the instructor will be presenting the lecture in a text format and answering questions using audio. So that is the more common meaning of text/audio format. If they don't tell you that each session is audio or text, then that is what it means - the lecture is text and questions are answered using audio. So let's see what kind of questions we have here.

What happens if I miss a real time session?

If you miss a real time session, don't worry, you can review the replay recording of the real time session which will be available in the course library the next day. So, let's go ahead and continue.

The day after each Real Time Session, the following transcript materials will be posted to the course library:

• a transcript of the text information sent to the Conference Room window.
• the slideshow.
• an audio recording, provided the instructor speaks to the class (uses audio).
• a recording of the Real Time Session in the Unity classroom (called a replay recording).

If audio is used, it will be transcribed into text and added to the session transcript approximately 3-5 days after the Real Time Session. Email notification will be sent when all items are available in the course library for this Real Time Session.

Let's talk a little bit about the component window called Presenter.

Slide 28: Presenter
Presenter is the component window used to display the images and videos the instructor provides for the Real Time Session. The group of images and videos used for a single Real Time Session are referred to as a "slideshow." Each image and video within the slideshow is called a "slide."

The Presenter component window will be sent to you at the start of the class. If you enter the classroom after the Real Time Session has started, the Presenter window will be automatically available and the correct Class Slide will be displayed.

Slideshow Navigation
As you've observed, each slide is sent to the Presenter window by the instructor or a moderator at the time it is to be discussed.

Let's look at the some of the ways provided by Presenter to navigate through a slideshow on your own.

You can change the slide displayed in Presenter by clicking on the First, Prev, Next, and Last buttons at the bottom of the Presenter component window.

Slide 29: Slide Navigation Buttons
When you resize the Presenter window very small, the labels are removed, and you will only see the slide navigation buttons.

Slide 30: Presenter Pull-Down Menu
A pull-down slide menu, accessed from the down arrowhead on the right side of the title bar, shows the slide numbers and titles.

A green check will be displayed in front of the menu item when that slide has been displayed in the Presenter window to all participants. The slide currently displayed in the Presenter window will be marked on the menu with an orange circle. If that slide has been sent to all participants, a green check will also appear on the circle. When needed, the slide menu will have a scroll bar.

After you select the slide to view or if you move the cursor off the menu, the slide menu goes away.

Slide 31: Presenter Menu
Presenter has a command menu named Menu.It is located on the lower right portion of your Presenter window as indicated in red on slide 31.

Selecting Title Sidebar from the Presenter Menu will display the list of slide titles and a thumbnail view of the currently selected slide to the right of the title list.

Slide 32: Title Sidebar
To return to the normal slide display, select Title Sidebar Off from the Presenter Menu.

I'll pause for a short time to give you an opportunity to try the various methods of slide navigation available within Presenter.

Poll 02
Do you have Presenter displayed in your Unity classroom, and can you use the buttons and menu to navigate?
1 (50%): A. Yes
0 (0%): B. No
1 (50%): C. I can do some things, but I need more practice
0 (0%): D. I still have some questions. What other information do you have for me?
Total responses: 2 (100% of 2 polled)

Slide 33: Open New Window
To view an enlarged slide image outside of Unity, select Open New Window from the Presenter Menu. The Presenter slideshow will be opened at the selected slide in a new browser window outside of Unity.

Don't forget to close the browser window when you are finished with it.

If you choose, you can print the slides from the slideshow posted in the course library outside the Real Time Session. Please note that animated and video slides are not printable. For instructions, please refer to Unity Presenter for Participants: http://beta.vin.com/Link.plx?ID=5312561 .

Presenter supports animation, stepped animation, and Flash video slides. These types of slides may or may not have a sound track associated with them. Presenter will always provide the volume control for these types of slides.

Step Animation Navigation
The slideshow provided by your instructor may contain step animation slides. These slides require manual advancement through the slide animation steps.

During a Real Time Session, the moderator, course assistant, or instructor will advance through the animation steps for you.

When viewing these slides on your own, however, you will need to use the step controls provided by Presenter to progress through the animation steps for the slide.

Slide 34: Animation Step Controls
The Continue button advances the slide to the next animation step.
The Restart button restarts the slide at the first animation step.

Please note the text display that shows which animation step is currently being displayed and the number of animation steps in the slide.

Slide 35: Step Animation Example
Slide 35, Step 2
Slide 35, Step 3
Slide 35, Step 4

Flash Video Navigation
Flash Video (FLV) slides will begin playing immediately after loading into the Presenter window. The FLV controls are located immediately below the Presenter display area.

Slide 36: Video Example - Sit, Good Dog!
If anyone is having a problem seeing or hearing the video, please private chat with a moderator now.

Finding Your Course Area

Poll 03
Have you visited and explored the course area yet?
2 (100%): A. Yes
0 (0%): B. No - the course area is not open yet
0 (0%): C. No - I haven't looked yet
Total responses: 2 (100% of 2 polled)

You will receive a Course Open email when the course area becomes available; this happens approximately 1 week before the first Real Time Session.

Slide 37: Login to MyCE
If you are not already logged in to VIN/VSPN, go to the CE Portal page (http://beta.vin.com/CE) and login via MyCE.

Slide 38: Go to Course Area
In the Current Courses tab of MyCE you should see a list of the currently open courses that you are enrolled in. Click on the green arrow in the Visit Course column of your course. This will take you to the course area for the specified course.

Once your course is closed/archived, you can access the course area via the Previous Courses tab in MyCE.

Course Area
The course area is divided into 3 areas: Header, Side Panel, and Content.

Slide 39: Course Area Layout

• The Header area (highlighted in green) is located at the top of the page and contains the course area navigation bar.
   
• The Side Panel area (highlighted in purple) is located on the left side of the page. It contains your user profile display, participation statistics, the Search function, and the Browse by Category menu.
   
• The Content area (highlighted in peach) is where the content for the Course Main Page, Library, and Message Board are displayed.

Please note the actual course area is NOT color coded. :-)

Unless otherwise indicated in the course description, your course will have an assigned classroom and 3 categories of content:

1. Course Main Page
2. Library
3. Message Board

Classroom
The course Real Time Sessions are held in the Unity classroom assigned to the course.

Slide 40: Enter Classroom
To enter the course Unity classroom, you can either select "Classroom" from the navigation bar in the Header area or click on the "Enter Classroom" button provided in an insert on the right hand side of the Course Main Page.

Course Main Page
The Course Main Page will display in the Content area when you login to the course area. It contains the course description including the course open dates, course Real Time Session dates, course objectives, and course outline.

Library
The course library will contain the course materials provided by the instructor (handouts, web links, quizzes, etc.), some help documentation from the Participant Resource Center, the Real Time Session Transcript materials (i.e. text transcript, slideshow, audio (if used), and Unity Replay recording), the course evaluation and (for accredited courses) the end of course test.

Slide 41: Library
To see the course library, you can either select "Library" from the navigation bar or select "Library" from the Browse by Category menu.

Please check the library each week for new materials.

Slide 42: Real Time Session (RTS) Transcripts
You will be notified by email each week when the transcript materials for the last Real Time Session have been posted in the course library. Transcript materials are located under the category: Library > Real Time Session (RTS) Transcripts > RTS # Transcript The example shown here is pointing out where the transcript materials for Real Time Session (RTS) 1 are located.

Slide 43: Tests, Quizzes, and Evaluations
The end of course test (accredited courses only) and the course evaluation will be available in the Library > Tests, Quizzes, and Evaluations Menu category from the day after the last Real Time Session until the course closes. The course close date is provided in the participation statistics display (more on that later).

Passing the end of course test with a minimum score of 80% is only required if you want a certificate of participation for a course offering CE credit.

Profile
Located at the top of the Side Panel area is your profile information.

Slide 44: Profile
It will show your name, your picture, a link to your MyVIN or MyVSPN profile, and the date your membership started. If your name is not showing, please logout and then return to the course area again. If you are not logged in as yourself, you will not receive participation credit.

Slide 45: View Full Table of Contents
Selecting "View full Table of Contents" will list the entire contents of the Browse by Category menu in an outline format in the Content area.

Message Board
There is typically only one message board per course. Each message board contains a set of folders. Within these folders are a group of discussions. Each discussion contains one or more messages.

Use the course message boards to communicate with the other course participants and the instructor(s) outside of the Real Time Sessions. If you have a question that will require a detailed answer, you want to expand on a topic covered during a Real Time Session, or the instructor(s) did not have time to answer one of your questions during the Real Time Session, please post your question or comments to the appropriate course message board folder.

Slide 46: Course Message Board
To access the course message board, select "Message Board" from the navigation bar or select "Message Board" from the Browse by Category menu.

Slide 47: Message Board Folder
You will see a list of folders both in the Browse by Category menu and in the Content area.

Click on one of the folders to view the discussions within that folder. In the example provided, the *Introduce Yourself folder was selected and the 2 discussions it contained are displayed in the Content area.

If a discussion contains messages posted since the last time you read that discussion, then you will see the text "New" in orange following the discussion title.

Slide 48: Message Board Discussion
Click on a discussion to view the messages within that discussion. In the example provided, the *Introduce Yourself discussion contains 2 messages. The discussion messages are displayed in the Content area to the right of the discussion list. 

Note - if a message has been added to the discussion since the last time you read it, it will have the text "New" in green letters preceding the message header.

Slide 49: Add a Message to a Discussion (Reply)
To add a message to an ongoing discussion, click on any of the "Reply" buttons located under each post in the discussion to bring up a posting form.

Slide 50: Add a Quote (Reply)
You can quote from the posted message to which you are replying by

• (a) highlighting that text and
• (b) selecting the "Quote >>" button.

Slide 51: Post Message (Reply)
Type in the text of your message and select the orange "Post Message" button to add your message to the discussion.

When you visit the course message board for the first time, please post an introduction in the *Introduce Yourself folder. Tell your fellow course participants a little bit about yourself.

Slide 52: Start a New Discussion (Post New)
To start a new discussion for a topic that has not already been introduced on the message board folder, click on the "Post New" button in that folder to bring up a posting form.

Slide 53: Post Message (Post New)
On the posting form:

• (a) Provide a title for the discussion. Please make the discussion title concise and to the point. DON'T use your question as the discussion title, rather use a general short topic so that others might add their questions/comments on that topic to the discussion that you started.
• (b) Enter the message text. Remember, this will be the first message in the new discussion that is being created.
• (c) Select the orange "Post Message" button.

Slide 54: Subscribe
If you would like to be notified by email when anyone posts a message to a specific discussion, select the orange "Subscribe" button located at the top of that discussion. You can subscribe to any number of discussions, there is no limit.

For additional information on how to use the course message boards, please refer to "How to Use the Course Message Board" http://beta.vin.com/doc/?id=6512746&pid=455

Slide 55: Participation Statistics
Located on the top left corner of the course area is a small grey box containing your participation statistics. It will display the date the course closes and the total number of participation points earned out of the required total. The total number of discussions will increase until the course closes - so be sure to keep up with your reading. These statistics are updated daily at midnight ET.

Slide 56: CE Certificate Requirements
Here's a brief reminder about what is required for CE credit. By the end of the course, you must have:

1. Participated in the course at least 3 times per week.
2. Scored 80% or better on the end-of-course test.

As required by RACE, taking the end-of-course test is mandatory. If you don't score 80% or better on the end-of-course test we cannot award a CE certificate for completion of the course. You can take the test repeatedly until pass or the course closes. You do not get extra participation points for a test score greater than 80%.

As you can see, there are many chances for participation and for earning credit. Your participation statistics will be displayed in your profile on the course area pages. In addition, you will receive a stats e-mail periodically while the course is open so you will know if you need to accrue more participation credit.

To review the information we have presented in this session, you can:

• Attend another practice session; days and times are listed in the CE Practice Area,
• Review the Practice Session transcript posted in the CE Practice Area, or
• Watch a recording of the Practice Session posted in the CE Practice Area.

The CE Practice Area is located at: http://beta.vin.com/Link.plx?ID=5384048

Remember, if you need help with any CE questions:
VSPN CE Services: VSPNCE@vspn.org
1-800-846-0028 or 1-530-756-4881; ext. 792
or direct line to VIN/VSPN from the United Kingdom: (014522) 26154
or direct line to VIN/VSPN from Australia: 011 +61 26 145-2357

VIN CE Services: CEonVIN@vin.com
1-800-846-0028 or 1-530-756-4881; ext. 797
or direct line to VIN/VSPN from the United Kingdom: (014522) 26154
or direct line to VIN/VSPN from Australia: 011 +61 26 145-2357

Please report any technical problems with the Unity software used for this class.

We're available to help now. For more serious problems, here's tech support contact information:

• 1.800.846.0028 ext 127 (Wally) or 1.530.756.4881 (outside the US)
• e-mail CESupport@vin.com or
• use the "Click Here for Live Help!" flashing live-support banner located at the top of the CE portal page.

Any questions? GA, all.

No questions

To exit the Unity classroom, close the browser by:

• For windows, selecting the "X" on the upper right corner of the browser window.
• For Macs, selecting the red circle at the upper left corner of the browser window.

Thanks for attending this practice session.
Slide 57: Thank You