Click on this text for detailed instructions on using Wimba Voice Boards, Voice Authoring, and Voice E-mail.

SP2 / Windows XP in Internet Explorer v6.0 users: click on this text for special instructions.

Q: What is the point of the voice tools?

A: With the addition of the Wimba voice tools (discussion board, authoring, and e-mail) to your Blackboard course web page you can communicate with your students by recording and listening to voice messages through a simple graphical user interface online, anytime.

The Wimba Voice Board adds a new dimension to (online) instruction:

Instructors can lead voice discussion among their students;

Preceptors can narrate solutions to math problems and answer their students' questions - asynchronously;

Language instructors can assign oral exercises, and respond with individual comments to each student, helping them with pronunciation and intonation as needed.

Online office hours can be held using Voice Direct -- a "chat room" with audio!

Besides the discuss board tool, ther si the Wimba Voice Authoring feature, which lets you add a short vocal announcement to any content area of a Blackboard web page (e.g., "Course Documents").Another feature is Wimba Voice E-mail, which allows you and your students to send recorded e-mail messages.

You'll need a microphone to record Wimba voice messages. If you don't have one (they are built-in to most laptops), you can sign out a headset with microphone from Media Services, New South, x 8-3196 or at the Language Resource Center at 011 East Pyne, 609-258-2114.

Click on this text for instructions on using Wimba Voice Boards, Voice Authoring, and Voice E-mail.

For more information contact the Blackboard course management system at x 8-0737, or blackboard@princeton.edu or Marianne Crusius at x 8-2114, or lrc@princeton.edu.

Q: What are the supported operating system, supported browsers, and system requirements for Voice Tools?

A: Below, you'll find the supported Operating Systems, supported Internet Browsers, and recommended system specifications for using the Voice Tools.

Horizon Wimba recommends using headsets (such as Plantronics DSP 500) instead of external speakers or microphones, particularly built-in microphones of laptops

* Browsers listed in the supported section are recommended browsers for use with Voice Tools.  Browsers that are not listed have not been tested fully and therefore may or may not work with the Voice Tools.

** Voice Tools Server must be running version 5.1.0.3 or higher

Q: I'd like to use the voice board, but my computer doesn't have a mike or speakers. What are my options?

A: Faculty can borrow a headset (microphone and earpiece) on a semester basis from the Learning Resource Center ( at 011 East Pyne, 609-258-2114) or Media Services (B Floor, New South; 609-258-3196). The computers in the Learning Resource Center may also be used for the voice board.

Q: Does Wimba work on Macs?

A: Yes, it does work on Mac OSX. However, there is an issue with Intel Macs using Safari with Rosetta. For a solution, see the Help Desk Knowledgebase article http://helpdesk.princeton.edu/kb/display.plx?id=9848. Also, due to a bug in the way Java is handled by Firefox on Intel based Macs, Live Classroom and Voice Tools applets will cause the browser to crash.  This is a know issue and Mozilla is currently working to resolve this bug.  Firefox will still work with all non-Intel, or PowerPC Macs.  This should be resolved in a future release of Firefox.

Q: Wimba does not work for me. What can I do?

A: You can check that your browser is correctly configured by running Wimba's Diagnostic tool. If you the diagnostic passes all tests successfully but you are still unable to connect to your Wimba Server, then contact the Blackboard course management system at x 8-0737, or blackboard@princeton.edu or Marianne Crusius at x 8-2114, or lrc@princeton.edu.

Q: The applet acts like it is playing but no sound comes out.

A: This almost always indicates a problem with the speakers. It's probably something simple: the speakers aren't plugged in correctly, etc.

Q: The applet seems to record but nothing gets recorded.

A: First, make sure that the problem is not your speakers. It may be that you are indeed recording, but you can't hear what you recorded. Obviously, if you can hear other sounds from your computer, the problem is not your speakers.

Make sure your microphone is connected correctly. Make sure your microphone switch is turned on.

Check your microphone settings.

Under Macintosh, make sure that the correct microphone is selected as the input source. ( Macs have a built-in microphone and may also have an external microphone.)

Q: What is the Java console and how do I get it?

A: The Java Console is the output log of the events that occur in the Java applets. If the applet has a problem, the Java Console most likely contains the error code.

The first step in determining how to get the Java Console is determining whether you use Sun's Java 2 plug-in. If you have JavaScript activated, you will see below whether you have the Java 2 plug-in installed.

Java 2 users:

When you load an applet for the first time, a little icon like this or this should appear in your tray (in the bottom-right of the screen). Double-click this icon to see the Java Console. Mac OS X users To enable the Sun Java Console, open the Java Plugin Settings panel. You will find it in Applications->Utilities->Java->Java 1.4.2 Plugin Settings [for Safari] or Applications->Utilities->Java->Java 1.3.1 Plugin Settings [for everything else]. However, the content of the Java Console goes by default in the System Console available in Applications->Utilities->Console. Windows/ IE users Choose View --> Java Console. If you do not see this choice, you must enable the Java Console.

Note that if the Java Console has less than about fifteen lines, it is likely that one of the following has occurred:

1. You did not get the Java Console following use of the applet (you must open a page with the applet if it is to write to the Java Console), or
2. You mistakenly concluded that you do not have the Java 2 plug-in, but you actually do. In that case, you must follow the instructions above for Java 2 plug-in.
3. To copy the Java Console, highlight everything and copy it, then paste it where you want. (Normally you will want to paste it into an e-mail to technical support.) Under Windows, the copy key is Ctrl+C and the paste key is Ctrl+V. Under Macintosh, the copy key is Apple+C and the paste key is Apple+V.

Q: The page says: "Your browser apparently does not render applets with the OBJECT tag" when I attempt to load a Wimba applet; What should I do?

A: This usually means that you are having troubles with Java.

Browser does not render applet with the OBJECT tag:

In certain cases users may experience the message "Your browser does not render applet with the OBJECT tag" when attempting to load the a Wimba applet. This message means that the Browser is cannot find Java. Java may not be installed or there may be several versions of Java installed. In this later case, the registry does not indicate the same Java runtime environment as that which is indicated by the path variable.

How to check whether Java is installed or not?

On Mac OS X, Java is installed by default and this issue does not happen. Depending on your browser, you will use Java 1.3.1 for Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla and Netscape or Java 1.4.2 for Apple's Safari browser.

On Windows, Open the Control Panel in "Start > Control Panel". Then open "Add or Remove Program", you should find all the different Java versions installed in the list.

Java is not installed:

In this case, that probably means that you do not have enough privileges to install software on your computer. Try to download Java at http://java.sun.com/getjava and install it. If windows prevents you from installing this software, contact your system administrator and ask him to install Java.

Several versions of Java are installed:

If the different versions of Java are not correctly installed, Windows can be confused about which version to use in a browser. Therefore, a workaround is to remove all the versions of Java currently on your computer and install the latest available at this address: http://java.sun.com/getjava. Of course, to perform these actions, you need to have enough privileges on this computer.

Q: I use a pop-up add blocker; does this impact the Wimba tools?

A: Yes, some pop-up add blockers may prevent your browser from opening some windows containing Wimba tools. For instance, some the Voice Direct archive window cannot be opened with the drop-down menu. Therefore, it is recommended to disable the pop-up add blocker software when you use Wimba tools.

Q: Can I use Wimba behind a firewall?

A: Yes, Wimba passes through almost all corporate and personal firewalls.

Q: Why does the applet take longer to load the first time?

A: What takes time is the downloading. Once the applet has been loaded, the browser caches it so that you don't have to download it again.

Q: What is a signed applet?

A: An applet is a small computer program that runs inside a web browser. Because the program is often downloaded over the Internet, your web browser watches over the applet to make sure it doesn't do anything unusual. For an extra measure of security, Wimba's applets are digitally signed, meaning that no one can forge Wimba's identity or alter an applet coming from Wimba.

Q: Why do I get security warnings?

A:Wimba automatically downloads and installs all the software needed to run on your computer. In particular, Wimba downloads onto your computer a signed Java applet that has special permissions. Whenever applets with special permissions are downloaded on your computer (by Wimba or anyone else), you get notified with a security warning window. The security warning window indicates that the applet indeed comes from Wimba and not some third party that is pretending to be Wimba. Nevertheless, you must still grant the computer permission to download and run the applet on your computer. If you don't choose "yes" or "grant", then you will not be able to hear or compose messages in Wimba Boards. You can check "Grant Always " to avoid these security warnings in the future.

Q: How can I avoid static while recording?

A: Obviously, you should record using a good quality microphone in a quiet setting. In addition, you should place the microphone a little below your mouth rather than right in front, otherwise the microphone will record the pressure of your breath.

Q: In Internet Explorer the Java Console is turned off by default. How do I turn it on?

A: To turn it on:

1. Choose Tools --> Internet Options.
2. Choose the Advanced tab.
3. About the fifth item down is "Activate Java Console". Make sure it's checked.
4. Confirm (Ok) the settings and close the configuration window.
5. Close all browser windows, then re-execute the browser.
6. You should see View --> Java Console now. (Reproduce the error, then get the Java Console. You must reproduce the error because it was lost when you closed the browser.)

August 20, 2008

Disclaimer: Some information in this archive may have changed due to feature upgrades to the Blackboard software and/or new discoveries about the capabilities of Blackboard.