Welcome to Centra Web conferencing and application sharing utility

Setup  Required Internet Explorer Microphone Speakers  Recommended High-speed Internet connection (anything but phone modem, though a modem will work) Screen resolution 1152x864 or higher  Optional Web video camera

The Rock-Bottom Basics   Log in using your username and password. Your username is your U-M username. Your default password is “goblue!” – you can change it once you log in.  Raise your hand to indicate you want to speak.  Once you have a microphone (the icon will appear next to your name), hold down the CTRL key to talk.  Don’t interrupt – Centra works best with only one person speaking at a time.

Tour  Presenter and participant lists  Video Auto-switching None during appshare; will need to restart video  Microphone and screen control icons  Speaking tips  Clapping and laughing  Text chat

Tour, con’t.  Watch this Web Safari of the Centra tutorial for illustrations of basic functions.

Centra Etiquette It is almost impossible to understand anyone when two people talk at once. To help keep communications smooth, put the following guidelines into practice.  Decide about raising hands. Will you only let people talk if they first raise their hand and receive the microphone from the leader? Or will you let people talk at will? Free speech can be impractical in Centra.  Look before you speak. Look to see if a yellow square appears near anyone’s name. This means someone is talking, even if you can’t hear them. (There is a bit of a lag between when people start talking and when you hear their voices.)  Don’t say “Yes” and “No” verbally. Instead, use the  and  “voting” buttons, or laugh or applaud.

Application Sharing  Open the application you’d like to share – e.g., browse to a web page to share.  Only one person can have control of the screen at once. Raise your hand to request control of the screen.  The presenter will promote you to “Co-presenter.” (There are other ways to let you control the screen, but this is the most reliable.)  Your screen will change to “Presenter Layout.”

Application Sharing  Click the “Share Application” button or choose “Share Application” from the Tools Menu. You will be asked to designate an application to share.

Application Sharing, con’t  After choosing an application to share, your entire window layout will change drastically!  The shared application window breaks off and moves to the upper left corner.  Centra controls all move to the right side.

Application Sharing, con’t  “Markup Mode” allows you to use a virtual marker to draw on the screen and highlight points.  When you are done, choose “Quit Appshare” from the Appshare Tools Menu.

Don’t Panic!  If all your controls disappear, drag the main window to the side – the controls are behind the main window, which has gotten too big. (For best results, stay in “Normal View”  If you’re talking and no one can hear you, send a text message to the group.  You can change your view of an appshare by dragging inside the screen, or by moving your cursor to the edge of the window.  If you want to un-raise your hand or un-vote yes or no, click the corresponding icon a second time.