Collaborate Ultra - Instructor Guide

This article provides instructors with an overview of Collaborate Ultra and links to step-by-step instructions for and best practices associated with many of the features in Collaborate Ultra.

What is Collaborate Ultra?

Collaborate Ultra is a real-time, synchronous video conferencing tool. Instructors and students can meet in real-time in an online space using features such as video and/or audio, chat, whiteboard, slideshow, and screen sharing. Collaborate Ultra is accessible from a desktop, laptop, iOS/Android phones and tablets and is integrated into Canvas.

Instructors usually create and facilitate Collaborate Ultra sessions as Moderators, and students usually engage in Collaborate Ultra sessions as Participants. Both instructors and students should access Collaborate Ultra in a Canvas course site, through the Collaborate Ultra link in the course navigation area. To help students use Collaborate Ultra successfully, instructors should refer students to the Student Guide to Collaborate Ultra.

How should I use Collaborate Ultra?

Instructors most often use Collaborate Ultra for virtual office hours, to invite guest speakers into an online or face-to-face course, and to provide a space for students to work on group projects. When moving lecture-based courses into the online environment, is it usually best to record lectures asynchronously using narrated PowerPoint or screen recording tools. When using Collaborate Ultra, instructors should leverage the synchronous capability of the tool -- communicating with audio, video, or screen sharing in real-time, rather than using Collaborate to make asynchronous recordings without real-time interaction.

How do I use Collaborate Ultra?

More information is available below on how to set up, moderate, record, and participate in a Collaborate Ultra session.