Session Settings lets you control what you want to allow in your session. Some settings you need to set before the session begins. Other settings you can change any time before or during the session.
Settings to make before sessions begin
While most settings can be changed any time during the session, you must set some settings before the session begins, if you want to use them.
- Guest access
- Default Attendee Role
- Anonymize chat messages
- Enable session telephony
- Private chat settings
- Profanity filter
- Allow 250+ attendees to join
Note: If you don’t see this large scale session option, it may not be available in your integration. Your administrator can set this for you. - Multimedia: Use AWS Chime for audio and video
More about Collaborate in Chime.
Settings you can change during a session
Some settings you can change during the session. If you want to change settings during a session, open the Collaborate panel, select My Settings, and open Session Settings.
- Choose your preferred language
- Only show moderator profile pictures
- Gallery view
- Participant permissions
- Multimedia: Use AWS Chime for audio and video
Attention: If you apply this change while a session is running, you must keep the session empty – with no attendees – for 5 minutes for the change to take effect. This also applies when switching from your standard Collaborate sessions to AWS Chime, and from AWS Chime to standard sessions. More about Collaborate in Chime.
Watch a video about session settings
Video: Session settings shows you session settings that must be set before a session and settings you can change during a session.
Guest access
Guests are attendees who don’t need to sign into the session or be enrolled in your course to join the session. Guests don’t require authentication.
When you allow guest access, a guest link is available for the session. This link is a public link that can be used and shared by anyone who has it. Anyone with the guest link can join the session.
Default attendee role
By default, everyone joins the session as a participant. Session owners and course instructor join as a moderators. Use the Default Attendee Role menu to change the default for guests and students.
You can’t change the default during the session. But if there is no end date for the session, you can change the default before the next time you use it.
Make sure you understand the different roles and their permissions before making any a default.
Session recording settings
- Allow recording downloads: If you are the session owner, you don’t need to turn this option on to download recordings. Session owners, course instructors, and administrators can always download recordings. The Allow recording downloads check box lets others download the recording. Select this option to let your attendees and students download recordings.
Tip: You can turn this setting on after the session has ended. If the session has ended, change the session end date to the current or a future date and select Save.
Attention: The Collaborate Downloader Chrome Extension allows users to download the recording even if the Allow recording downloads check box is not selected.
- Anonymize chat messages and mentions (@): Chat messages and mentions @ posted during the session appear as anonymous posts in the recording. You need to plan ahead with this option and turn it on before recording the session. Once the recording has started you can’t change your mind. This option is not reversible.
Choose your preferred language
Up until now, Collaborate used the default language set in your browser, which may not be your preferred language. Now you can choose any language supported by Collaborate as your default language during a session in Session Settings. Your selection is then remembered by this browser on this device for your next sessions.
In order to improve security and in support of this release, Class will implement product changes that will strengthen security of Collaborate integrations. This change will roll out as part of the release automatically within the scheduled release window.
Show profile pictures for moderators only
If you want to keep your session secure and free from inappropriate profile pictures, only allow moderators to show theirs. If selected, participant profile pictures don’t appear anywhere profile pictures are seen in the session. This includes in the Attendees list, chat, breakout groups, and on the main stage. The default avatar appears for participants instead.
Gallery view
Gallery view lets you see the most students at one time. With this view you can see up to 25 attendees on a page. 25 is the optimum number of videos you can show on a page and still see enough detail for visual non-verbal feedback.
With the Gallery view settings you can decide if:
- Everyone in the session can use Gallery view
- Only moderators can use Gallery view
- Turn Gallery view off for everyone
When you disable gallery view, up to 4 videos are visible. Attendees can’t choose to see more.
Participant permissions
By default, all participant permissions are on for sessions with fewer than 250 participants. Participants can share share audio, video, post chat messages, and draw on whiteboards and files. Clear any check box to turn off the permission.
You can change participant permissions any time before or during the session. These settings turn the permission on or off for all participants. You can’t change permissions for just one participant. If you want certain attendees to have different permissions, change their role.
Participant permissions don’t change what moderators and presenters can do.
For larger sessions all participant permissions are off by default and can’t be changed. To learn more, go to Settings in webinar mode.
Enable session telephony
Select Allow attendees to join the session using a telephone to let attendees dial into the session teleconference. Up to 25 attendees can call into a session from the phone. If the maximum number of dial-in attendees has been reached, nobody else can call in.
You can’t change this setting during the session. If you want to let attendees dial in, select this check box before the session starts.
More on Collaborate teleconference
Private chat settings
Private chat between attendees is on by default but you can limit how it’s used.
- Participants can only chat with moderators: When selected, participants can only chat privately with moderators. If you don’t select it, participants can chat privately with any body else in the session.
- Moderators supervise all private chats: When selected, moderators can see everything that is said in private chat channels between attendees. An alert appears at the top of the private chat channel informing attendees that the chat is being supervised. If you don’t select it, you don’t see the private chat channels.
Chat profanity filter
If someone uses inappropriate words in the chat, those words can be filtered out in both the live session and the recording. The words are replaced with a series of stars.
The profanity filter primarily filters out some of the most commonly used offensive terms relating to race/national origin and gender identity/expression, as well as derogatory slang for body parts or sexual acts. It is in English, French, and Spanish. It is primarily intended for use by K12 schools. The default is that this feature is disabled. We understand that, by its nature, no such list will be complete and is likely to be over- or under-inclusive.
Moderators can turn it on in Session Settings.
- Select the checkbox next to Hide profanity in chat messages.
- End the current session.
- Start a new session to apply the changed setting. Changes will also apply to subsequent session recordings.
Attention: Reloading the session is not sufficient.
Large scale session
By default, sessions support up to 250 attendees. You can set up your session to support up to 500 attendees. From the session’s settings, select Allow 250+ attendees to join before the session begins.
Note: If you don’t see this large scale session option, it may not be available in your integration. Your administrator can set this for you.
This option makes the session a webinar that supports up to 500 attendees. Not all features are available in webinar mode. These features are turned off:
- Video: Attendees see a maximum of 2 videos at a time.
- Participant permissions: Participants can’t share audio, video, post chat messages, or draw on whiteboards and files.
Tip: Moderators can choose to turn chat on DURING a session. Moderator permissions don’t change.
- Breakout groups: Breakout groups aren’t available while in webinar mode.
- Session closes at scheduled end: Attendees are removed from the session at the scheduled end time.
What if I want to let participants chat or use their audio?
If you want a single participant to share audio or video, post chat messages, or draw on whiteboards and files, promote the participant to presenter.