FLO Student Support
Collaborate
Collaborate is an online live collaboration space integrated within FLO. It has a range of functions, including chat, audio, video, and screen-sharing.
Collaborate is a multi-purpose tool with many uses. You may use it to participate in an online lecture or tutorial, present a presentation, participate in direct consultation with a teacher, or hold a group discussion.
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Yes you can, although you may find that you prefer to access Collaborate on a device with a larger screen.
- Do
I need to use an app to access Collaborate on my device?
Accessing Collaborate on your mobile device is just
like accessing Collaborate on your laptop or computer, you will not need to
download an app.
We recommend that you avoid using the Okta app to access FLO, instead, access
FLO directly via your browser (for an ipad or iphone use Safari, for other
devices use Google Chrome).
Open your browser, navigate to your FLO topic and locate the Collaborate icon
inside. Click on the session and select ‘join
session’.
While we normally recommend that you use Google Chrome to access Collaborate, if you are using an iOS mobile device you will need to use Safari instead.
Enter your topic in FLO and look for the Collaborate icon. Click on the purple Collaborate icon to enter
Your teacher will schedule Collaborate sessions to be held at specific times on specific dates. By default, scheduled sessions open 15 minutes before the session start time
To join a scheduled session, wait until the session opens (is in progress) then click on the session name. You will then see the option to join session.
To join a session that forms part of a recurring series, click on the down arrow next to the series to reveal the sessions within. Click on the session to join.
If joining the room outside of a scheduled session, click 'Course Room' then 'join course room'
Tip: Make sure you plug your webcam and microphone / headset into your device before you enter Collaborate. If you plug these in during the session, Collaborate may struggle to locate them. If plugging in new equipment, just quickly exit and re-enter the session to make sure Collaborate recognises it.
To set up your audio and video, click on 'my settings and status' and then the settings cog. Select 'set up your camera and microphone' from the menu that opens.
You may need to give permission for Collaborate to access your microphone and camera.
This may look different depending on your browser. Please remember that Google Chrome is the preferred browser for using Collaborate.
Watch the audio bar moving as you speak to ensure that your mic is working. If you have more than one microphone available, select it from the drop-down menu.
Click 'yes - its working' when you are happy to proceed
Watch the video test and make sure you can see yourself in your webcam. If you have more than one webcam available, select the correct one from the drop-down menu.
Click 'yes - its working' when you are happy to proceed.
To test your speakers, play something with sound (like a song or a youtube video) and make sure you can hear it. If you cannot hear it, make sure you have your volume turned up and un-muted.
Your microphone and webcam will not audible or visible until you chose to share them.
Toggle the audio and video icons to start and stop sharing.
As a participant in a Collaborate session, basic tools that you might use include audio, video, chat, raise hand and set status and feedback.
For a full-list of tools, see the following webpage
- Toggle the share audio button to turn your microphone on and off
- Toggle the share video button enable and disable your webcam
- To text chat, open the Collaborate panel and select the Chat tab.
Type your message into the chat bar, or select an emoticon. Press enter to send your message.
- Raise your hand to indicate that you would like to answer a question, or to get the attention of a moderator.
- Set status and feedback to show how you feel, or to indicate if you are away from your computer.
Feedback statuses are temporary, and display for less than a minute.
- To facilitate collaboration within smaller groups of students, your teacher may set up and assign you to a breakout room within the Collaborate session. Each breakout room has its own private chat, audio, video, whiteboard, and application sharing. Your teacher can move between groups to facilitate. For more information about breakout rooms, click here.
Your teacher may choose to record your Collaborate sessions, and make them available to watch later.
Collaborate recordings can be both watched online or downloaded. For instructions, watch the short video below.
Please note that the 'download' option may not appear if your teacher has chosen not to enable it.
By default, Collaborate will only display recordings from the last 30 days. To view an older recording, select recordings in a range from the drop-down menu then use the calendar to broaden the date range
General tips
- Preferred Browser. Google Chrome is the recommended browser for using Collaborate. Collaborate works best in recent versions of your browser, so update your browser if you are using an older version. If trying an alternate browser, we recommend Mozilla Firefox.
- Only turn on your microphone or webcam when you need to. Multiple audio and webcam streams can cause excessive bandwidth consumption, with the potential to cause problems for you and other participants. Leave your webcam off unless you need it.
Having trouble hearing?
Having trouble hearing? - Check your volume control.
You will find volume controls in Collaborate itself, on your computer, and sometimes on your headset. Check them all!
Tip: Check if you can hear other audio through your speakers or headset - play some music or a youtube video with audio as a test.
- We are currently aware that users of Internet Explorer may have difficulty hearing in Collaborate. If you are using Internet Explorer, please switch browsers.
- After checking all the above, if you are still having trouble hearing participants in Chrome, try clearing your cache. Instructions on how to do this can be found here.
Having trouble being heard?
- Do you have a microphone connected? If your device does not have an inbuilt microphone, please connect a headset with a microphone.
If you don't have a microphone, others in Collaborate will not be able to hear you. - Make sure you have enabled your audio by checking that the audio icon is green.
- Perform the audio test detailed in the 'set up your audio and video' tab above.
- If multiple microphones are available on your device, make sure you have selected the right one from the drop-down menu.
- Check your microphone volume in Collaborate.
- Double check your microphone hasn’t been blocked by your browser. Look for a padlock or camera icon in your URL bar. Clicking on this icon will open settings where you can adjust permissions. See an example of this in the tab “Set up your audio and video”.
Camera not working?
- If you are confident your camera should be functioning but Collaborate does not recognise it, make sure your camera isn’t being blocked by Chrome. You can check this here: chrome://settings/content/camera. If Collaborate is listed as blocked, click link to see permissions and change Camera permissions to “Allow”. Once this is done, restart Chrome and attempt to access Collaborate using video again. More troubleshooting advice can be found here.
Can’t see your Collaborate session, even though other students can?
- Settings on your device, such as the time set and time zone you are in, can affect your ability to view available sessions. If you know a specific session should be showing when you enter Collaborate, but you can’t see it, look at your time and time zone. Are they both correct? Even if they are, it is worth switching to another time zone and then switching back to the correct time zone in order refresh the system. Once this has been done, open Collaborate again and see if your session has appeared.
Can't see your Collaborate session, even though you know one is scheduled?
- Each Collaborate space has a 'course room' which is available at all times. Rather than scheduling separate sessions, your teacher may choose to use the Course Room for your class. If you know you have a Collaborate session that should be in progress, but you can't see a session listed, click into the Course Room to see if your teacher and fellow students are meeting there.
Being prompted to login?
- You do not need to login to Collaborate when you access it via FLO, however refreshing the 'sessions' list may result in redirection to a login screen.
To resolve this issue, please close the tab in your browser, then re-enter Collaborate via your Topic page.
Struggling to stay connected?
Collaborate allows users to listen / talk into a session by dialing into a telephone number and enter the session PIN (please note: each pin is unique to a session and an individual user in that session) - commonly referred to as teleconferencing. This is useful if a participant does not have the correct equipment, or is struggling to enable their microphone.
Each participant receives a unique PIN for each session they enter (PIN is available within the Session Menu) and can dial into a local or international number to participate within the session. For help using this functionality click here
The local number for Adelaide is +61 8 7100 1859. Call charges will apply.
Trying to log onto FLO but keep being taken to Collaborate instead?
- Try clearing your cache. Instructions on how to do this can be found here
- Can I use Collaborate on my tablet or phone?
Yes you can, although you may find that you prefer to access Collaborate on a device with a larger screen.
- Do I need to use an app to access Collaborate on my device?
Accessing Collaborate on your mobile device is just like accessing Collaborate on your laptop or computer, you will not need to download an app.
We recommend that you avoid using the Okta mobile app to access FLO then Collaborate, instead, access FLO directly via your browser.
For an ipad or iphone use Safari, for other devices use Google Chrome.
Open your browser, navigate to your FLO topic and locate the Collaborate icon inside. Click on the session and select ‘join session’. - Tips for using Collaborate on iOS devices (iphone or ipad)
While we normally recommend that you use Google Chrome to access Collaborate, if you are using an iOS mobile device you will need to use Safari instead.