STUDENT: How do I find my conference information?

Your instructor has likely posted information regarding your course conference numbers in their UAS Online course website, or perhaps in the course syllabus. Also, for many classes, information is distributed via the postal service prior to class. Be sure to check through all your class materials. If you are unable to locate the proper dial-in numbers, contact the academic department or the Helpdesk.

There is noise, music, or echo in my conference. What can I do?

Noise in the conference can come from a variety of sources. Cell phones and speaker phones are a common culprit. Another common source of the problem could be a bad line connection from one of the callers. As the host you might want to ask your participants to pick up the receiver if they are on a speaker phone, dial-in on a land line if they are on a cell phone or have the participant hang up and dial back in again.

When I dial, I get a busy signal. What do I do?

In most cases, these have been issues with local telephone providers. Please report issues to: 800-290-5900 or customercare@encounter.net Provide the date & time, the phone number dialed to (i.e. conference number), the phone number dialed from, and any error codes that are received (ex. LM4). The customer care representative should be able to help you join your conference.

FACULTY: What are breakout sessions and how do I use them?

Encounter Collaborative's breakout session technology allows you to combine multiple calls together onto one call. This is most commonly done when coordinators have a speaker or presentation that they want several groups to hear and then have the ability to disconnect each of the groups so that they can have their own discussion, free from other groups. In the case of UA, you could connect two different classes so that all callers can speak and be heard. This capability requires that you use the Audio Control Panel for a second number to bring together or disconnect classes.

Also there may be a need to break an individual class into subgroups. If this is the case, we would need to create new numbers for each of the subgroups and have you manage the breakout session as described above. This type of setup would require your students to dial their subgroup number and PINs so that you can separate the groups at the appropriate time during your class.

Encounter Collaborative can set up the system so that you have the capability to do this. After the initial setup and training, you would be able to conduct your own breakout sessions using your numbers and the Audio Control Panel.