Collaborate is a webinar tool that your course team might use to run online teaching activities.

If you are asked to join a Collaborate session:

1. Using the Google Chrome web browser (see browser support below) where possible, make sure you have a strong WiFi or wired connection and ask others in the household to limit their bandwidth use during the meeting. Click the Collaborate session link provided by your lecturer. They may have renamed the link as Webinars or something more specific such as Seminars. (You will never need to login to access meetings as they will be via MyBeckett (which you have already logged into), or via a guest link.
2. This will open the Collaborate Scheduler page in your module / course group, to locate your session you may need to open the Folders to reveal the sessions and/or scroll down this page to find your session, or click to go to Page 2 if there is a long list of active sessions. Another option is to use the search box at the top of the page if you know the name of your session e.g. 'Group A'.
3. When you click on a session, it will open in a new browser tab. If prompted, click Allow to allow Collaborate to use your 'microphone' and complete the audio test by saying something and checking that the audio bar moves on screen. If prompted, click Allow to allow Collaborate to use your 'camera' and complete the video test by confirming that your camera is working and you can see yourself.

You are now ready to start your session. You can change your audio / video / notification settings as described in our next FAQ, or add a profile picture if you wish.

A note about browser support

Collaborate will work with the latest version of the Chrome, Edge, Safari and Firefox browers. We recommend using Chrome for the best experience. To check if your Chrome browser is up to date:

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Click the three dots (Customise and control Google Chrome) at the top right of your browser.
3. Click Help.
4. Click About Google Chrome.
5. Chrome will then check for updates.

What if I accidentally blocked Collaborate from accessing my webcam / microphone?

If you are attending a Collaborate session and cannot switch on your microphone or webcam, there is a chance that your lecturer may have applied a setting to prevent attendees from sharing audio / video. This is more common in very large sessions with lots of attendees.

Another possibility may be that you have inadvertently blocked Collaborate from accessing your webcam or microphone via your browser settings. You can check this in the Google Chrome browser as follows:

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Click the three dots (Customise and control Google Chrome) at the top right.
3. Click Settings.
4. Click Privacy and Security.
5. Click Site Settings.
6. Click Microphone (or Camera if the issue is with your webcam).
7. You can then see if any websites are blocked from using your microphone / camera and click the remove icon to the right of eu.bbcollab.com if that is on your blocked list.

Alternatively, unblock via the method described in our Why are camera and audio not working in Collaborate? FAQ if you have missed the session.