Click here for a Breeze Presentation by Macromedia about getting started with Breeze Meeting.
Screen configuration in Breeze Meeting consists of Layouts and pods. There are 3 default layouts called Sharing, Discussion and Collaboration. Each one of the layouts consist of functional units called pods that provide resources such as Chat or Camera and Voice. These pods can be added or deleted by the presenter. For an overview of layouts and the types of pods available and their function click here.
When your enter your meeting room for the first time, you will see the sharing layout as seen below. To change to a different layout, click on the button for that layout in the menu bar at the bottom of the screen.
In Breeze 5 the default settings are that both camera and voice are broadcast. You can choose to broadcast your voice, and if you have a web cam (don't consider using this unless you everyone is on broadband and you have tested it), a video will appear in the upper left hand corner of the slides layout as shown above. You can turn off the camera or voice options by opening the pull down Menu in the lower right hand corner of the pod and turning the camera or voice off by clicking on the desired option in the menu.
To begin broadcasting, click on the start button. This button is located in the lower left hand corner of the camera and voice pod and can be recognized due to the camera and voice icons on the button. A security message will appear asking you to confirm that you want to give Breeze access to your video and sound output. You will then see your video in the pod and an equalizer bar showing your sound signal intensity.
In Breeze 5 you can choose either push to talk or hands free mode. In the hands free mode the output from your microphone is broadcast while you are speaking. When using the push to talk mode you must click and hold down the talk button to begin broadcasting your voice. To place Breeze Meeting in the hands free mode click on the lock icon located next to the talk button. To return to the push to talk mode click on the lock icon again.
The sound settings for Breeze 5 are set using the Audio Setup Wizard. The wizard is started by clicking on Meeting in the menu bar and then clicking on the Audio Setup Wizard option. The introductory dialog box for the wizard opens as seen at left below.
Click on the Next button to open step one of the wizard Test sound output as seen in the image at above right. Click on the Play button. A test sound will now be played through the speakers on your computer. If you do not hear the sound you need to check the computer's audio settings located in the control panel. If you hear the sound click next to continue to step 2 of the wizard as shown in the image at left below. Select the sound card for the system from the dropdown menu and click next to proceed to step 3 of the Audio Setup Wizard
Step 4 of the wizard helps the computer to compensate for background noise. Click on the Test Silence button and be as silent as possible until the progress bar shows that the test is complete. Click next to go to the last step of the wizard as seen in the image below. Click on the finish button to complete the wizard and return to the Breeze Meeting site.
If you are still having sound quality problems, check the Computers sound settings in the Windows Control Panel. For the best results do not use hand held mikes. Purchase a headset with a boom mike. These are available at most electronic stores for $15 - $20.
The presenter can give the participants the ability to broadcast their voice or image. This feature is enabled by first clicking on the name of the participant and then clicking on the pod options button located in the lower right hand corner of the Attendee List pod. From the menu that opens select the Change Enhanced Participant Rights option and click on it. Then Enhanced Participant Rights dialog box for the participant is opened.(See Image Below)
Select the Camera and Voice Pod option by clicking on the check box and click OK. The participant will now see controls allowing them to start broadcasting their voice and webcam output. In Breeze 5 the meeting participants can choose either the push to talk mode or the hands free mode for broadcasting audio. To select the hands free mode click on the lock button located next to the Talk button. To return to the push to talk mode click this button again. In hands free mode difficulties can arise if more than one person speaks at a time, leading to delayed responses. If you are receiving too much background noise from a participant, you can mute them by hovering over their name in the Participant list and clicking on the speaker symbol that appears. A red slash mark will appear telling you they have been successfully muted.
To date, the use of the video portion for participants has not been tested and it is not expected to function well, particularly for participants who are using a dialup connection to the Internet.
Below the Camera and Voice Pod is the Participant pod which displays the names of all meeting attendees. In addition, the status of each attendee is shown. The attendees have the ability to change the status at any time and an icon appears next to their name. They can choose from the options seen in the image to the right from the dropdown menu. The presenter can then use this feedback to control the flow of the presentation. To clear the status, point to the participants name. Click on the clear status link in the popup menu which appears.
In addition to the personalized feedback, Breeze will allow the presenter to see if any of the participants are having technical problems. This feature can be enabled by clicking on the arrow in the upper left hand corner of the Participants List pod. From the popup menu that appears, click on the Show Connection Status option. If the participant is having no bandwidth problems, no status is shown. If an orange triangle is present, the participant is on a connection that is experiencing some loss, dropping between 5 and 20% of the packets being sent. If a red square appears, the participant is dropping over 20% of the packets being sent. In either case, the participant will not be able to see or hear the meeting clearly and if the problem becomes severe enough, not at all. One way to help minimize this effect is to select the lowest participant bandwidth allowed. This can be accomplished by clicking on Meeting in the menu bar. From the dropdown menu that appears, select the Optimize Room Bandwidth option and then select the Modem option from the submenu.
You can also give the participants the ability to present material. To do this, click on the name of the participant and then click on set user role button located in the lower left hand corner of the Attendee list. Select the presenter option in the menu that opens. When they are done presenting the material, you can return them to their normal status by clicking on their name, clicking the set user role button and selecting participant from the menu. In order to act as presenters, the participant will need to have the ability to allow Breeze to download and install the presenter plugin.
If it becomes necessary to remove a participant, first select the participant's name in the Attendee List. Then click on the pod options button located in the lower right hand corner of the Attendee List Pod and select the Remove Selected User option from the menu. The participant will then see a screen telling them that they have been asked to leave the room. They may only enter the meeting by logging back in as a guest with the permission of the presenter.
Breeze meetings can be recorded for playback at a later time. To record the meeting click on Meeting in the menu bar and selecting the Record Meeting option. The Record Meeting dialog box opens allowing you to enter a name for the meeting recording as well as a summary. Click OK to close the dialog box and begin recording. A recording light appears at the far right hand side of the menu bar. If you hover over the light, a popup appears with a link allowing you to stop recording. To access the recording, log on to the breeze server and select the meetings tab. Click on the name of the meeting to open the information page for that meeting. At the top of the information, click on the Recordings link. This opens an information page for the meeting. You may now view the recording by clicking on the View Recording button at the bottom of the page. In the information is a URL that can be posted on UASOnline which will enable the students to view the recording for review or if they were unable to attend the live meeting.
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