Adobe Connect Student Fact Sheet

Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro (a.k.a. "Adobe Connect") is a web conferencing platform used by some SAS courses for live online class meetings.  The information below explains the functionalities of Adobe Connect Pro for students.

  • Technical Requirements:  Please review our technical requirements for Adobe connect, detailed at https://computing.sas.upenn.edu/AdobeConnect  The summary is that you must have

    • headphones or earbuds (not just computer speakers) and

    • a microphone

      both plugged in BEFORE you launch Adobe Connect
       
    • a wired internet connection (not wireless)

    • And we strongly recommend using

      • an up-to-date browser

      • an up-to-date version of Flash

  • Text Chat:  The Chat tool has two modes: public chat and private chat.  Messages in public chat are seen by everyone in the Adobe Connect Pro session, and are recorded if the session is recorded.  Private chat messages are only seen by the people to whom they are addressed, and are not recorded. Professors can disable the private chat functionality from the configuration menu on the Chat pod.
                   chat_pod 
    • Recipients for private chat can be selected by hovering over a name from the Attendee List pod.  A menu will appear with a Start Private Chat option. Select it and a new tab will appear in the chat pod for your private chat.

  • 'My Status':  Status is a way for you to signal your instructor.  You can see all possible statuses from the status menu, which is available as a drop-down menu at the top of the Attendee List and also a pop-up list at the lower-left corner of the screen. 
    This shows where to click on the Attendee List, and what the status menu looks like there:
                   Attendee List              Status List
    This is the icon at the bottom of the screen that also shows the status menu:
                   Alternate Status Menu
    • Most of the status options are intended just to signal the instructor, such as agreeing or disagreeing. 
    • The only two status options that have more functional meaning are 'Raise Your Hand' (which can be used  to request the microphone) and 'Step Away' (which disables most of your features until you return).
  • Microphones:  By default, only hosts and presenters are granted the ability to enable their microphones.  Professors may choose to enable microphone rights for everyone by using the Attendee List configuration menu. 
    • To request microphone access, you can choose 'Raise Hand' from the status menu (described above).  If the professor calls on you, your microphone access will be enabled and you will see a white microphone icon Microphone - white at the top of the screen, in the application bar. 
    • To turn on your microphone, click on it and it will turn green.  When the microphone icon is green Microphone green everyone can hear what you say.  An active-microphone icon  will appear next to your name when the system detects sound from your microphone.
      The first time you do this, a pop up window may ask for permission to use your microphone – be sure to click Allow. 
    • To avoid having everyone hear every cough, sneeze or sigh that you express, you should mute your microphone when you're not actively speaking.  To do this, just click the microphone icon again, and it will become crossed-out Microphone muted .  To un-mute it, click the icon again.
    • Many microphone configurations will work without problems, but everyone should go through the Audio Setup Wizard, on the 'Meeting' menu, under Audio Setup Wizard.  Completing the wizard tends to fix most microphone problems.
    • Remember, for you headset to be recognized by Adobe Connect, it must be plugged in before you launch Adobe Connect.
    • Volume
      • Some headsets have "mute" or volume control buttons that aren't obvious - make sure you are familiar with the headset you're using and leave it un-muted when you're in Adobe Connect.  Just use the "Talk" features to control whether or not you are sending your voice.
      • If others in the web conference can't hear you, turn up the volume on your microphone in Adobe Connect.  To do this, look in the lower right corner of your screen and click on the downward arrow to the right of the Talk Lock button.  Choose "High Volume".    Volume
      • You should also know where the volume controls are on the computer that you're using.  It's different on Windows computers than it is on Macs, but the "Help" on your computer will tell you how to find the volume controls.
  • Breakout Rooms
    • If your instructors want to separate the class into smaller groups for some work, they will put students in Breakout Rooms
    • Once you're in a Breakout Room, you are automatically promoted to the role of Presenter.  This means that you will have access to the following Presenter tools:
      • Whiteboards and Other Shared Content
        • See "Share a whiteboard"
        • Also see "Sharing a computer screen, document, or whiteboard"
        • You should turn off document syncing, as detailed here, if you and the other students will be moving through a document at your own pace.  Otherwise, every time a Host or Presenter moves the document, it affects everyone's view of the document and it becomes very confusing.
      • Notes
        • As a Presenter, you can use a Note pod to type notes that everyone can see, and the contents of a Note pod can be emailed for future reference.
          • You may want to email yourself the contents of the Note pod if the instructors want you to share your Breakout Room work with the whole class later.
        • See "Taking notes in a meeting" for instructions.
  • Recordings:  If your instructor is recording the class sessions in Adobe Connect, then links to them will be posted to your course's Canvas site after class.
    • Note that interactions in Breakout Rooms are not included in any recording.