1	AN INTRODUCTION TO OPAL (ONLINE PROGRAMMING FOR ALL LIBRARIES—AND ALL LIBRARY USERS) AND tcCONFERENCE VERSION 4 Presented by Tom Peters tpeters@tapinformation.com
2	Outline of Today’s Presentation The Basics: terminology, room layout, etc. Features of an OPAL online event Uploading PowerPoint presentations Recording a session Administrative module Troubleshooting tips Organizational membership information Q & A and general discussion
3	Some Basic Terminology OPAL = Online Programming for All Libraries— and All Library Users The online meeting software we use is called tcConference, version 4 The service is hosted and maintained by a group called Talking Communities (http://www.talkingcommunities.com/) Everyone in an online event is either a participant or a moderator. Because moderators have additional rights and responsibilities, the facilitator of an OPAL event should have moderator status.
4	Quick Tour of an OPAL Room Three areas on the screen: Text Chat (upper left) Embedded Browser (right) Info Center (lower left) Note the dropdown menu in the upper left Moderators have an additional dropdown menu Anyone can resize the three areas on the fly Note the horizontal slide bars in the lower left to control microphone and speaker vol.
5	Icons Indicate Participant Activity Moderators are listed first, then participants Both groups are listed in alphabetical order Conversation bubble indicates who is speaking Speaker moves to top of list of participants Bubble with number inside indicates someone waiting to speak Circle with “AB” inside indicates a person who is typing a message. Circle with “R” inside indicates a person who is recording the online event.
6	Overview of Basic Features Converse using Voice-over-IP (VoIP) Press and hold the Control Key to speak Release the key when you are finished. Text Chat Text chat input box is located in the left-central area of the screen. Move your cursor into the input box, type your message, then press Enter/Return. Synchronized Browsing
7	Some Advanced Features Upload and share a PowerPoint presentation Record all aspects of an OPAL event: Sound Text chat Websites visited tcScreen software (sold separately) records the instructor’s computer screen with voiceover. tcPresenter (still in beta) provides video, audio, slides, co-browsing, plus text-chatting for all.
8	Accessibility Features Keystroke alternatives to buttons and drop-down menu options. Accessibility options under “help” Append text icons to user names (Alt+shift+4) Highlight new text messages (Alt+shift+5) Suppress private conversation tabs (Alt+shift+6) Suppress colors in text messages (Alt+shift+7)
9	Options for Regular Participants Browse unilaterally at will Modify the sizes of the various windows Choose a different colored font for text chatting Work on different tasks while listening to the conversation Customize their interface
10	Setting Personal Preferences Anyone can set their personal preferences Preferences you establish are persistent Timestamp all chat entries (Alt+Shift+i) Show URLs in text chat box (Alt+Shift+U) Select Text Chat Font and Size (Alt+Shift+F) Select Text Chat Message Color
11	Voice-over-IP (VoIP) Inexpensive microphones (e.g., Labtec) can be purchased for less than $10 at places like Wal-Mart. Controlling the speaker volume Slide bar in lower left corner of screen Controlling the microphone volume Slide bar in lower left corner of screen Queue to speak To lock your microphone on, click on the microphone icon in the lower left. Click on it again to unlock your microphone.
12	Text Chatting Sending a message to everyone Alt-T moves the cursor into the chat box Indicates when someone is typing in the text chat window Sending a message to another individual (private text chat) Private text chatting among small groups in a room is not possible.
13	Embedded Browser Basics An embedded browser occupies the right side of the screen. URL address line is at the top. Left and right green arrows can be clicked on to browse forward or backward. Down arrow at right end of URL address line is a dropdown menu of previously visited URLs. Use the Favorites dropdown menu to manage your favorites list of URLs within this embedded browser. Hint: If you are facilitating a session in which numerous URLs will be visited, you can create a favorites folder with the URLs in the sequence you want to visit them. This avoids having to type and talk at the same time.
14	Synchronized Browsing in Action Continuous, from the moderator Press F3 to initiate synchronized browsing Note that a reminder that synchronized browsing is turned on appears in the lower right corner. On the fly, from the moderator Press F2 to send the current web page On the fly, from a participant All other participants may unilaterally accept or reject what is pushed at them
15	Synchronized Browsing Tips Try to avoid co-browsing to PDF files on the web, because doing so could cause your iVocalize room or a participant’s to lock up. You can have another browser software program running on your computer, then cut and paste the URL into the embedded browser within tcConference. For audio and video files, you can ask everyone in the room to click on the link.
16	Uploading a Presentation The easiest way to provide group access to a presentation within an OPAL room is to send your PowerPoint file to Tom Peters, the OPAL Coordinator. The next easiest way is to load the presentation on a website you control, then co-browse to the presentation.
17	Ways to Save a Session Full Presentation Audio recording as a Windows Media Audio file Text chat URLs of webpages visited during a session Text Chat only in a Text File
18	Preparing to Record a Session Recorded and archived OPAL sessions are very popular with users, and they extend the reach of your online programming efforts. Make sure that you have version 9 or higher of Windows Media Player on your PC. Free download available at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/default.asp
19	Starting and Stopping a Recording Session Set up the recording session (Alt+R). Input a file name into the “Save As” dialogue box. Note the file folder it is saved in. When recording, Alt+P toggles between pausing and resuming the recording. Note: periods of no sound are automatically removed by the software. To conclude the recording at the end of the session, either press Alt+R or simply exit the room.
20	Working with Session Files Two files with the same name but different extensions are created: Filename.HTM contains the text chat and the URLs of websites visited. Filename.WMA contains the audio recording in Windows Media Audio format. Play the HTM file in your browser to get the full experience (streaming audio, text chat, and websites) The WMA file can be played in any freely available media player (e.g., Windows Media Player, Real Player, MusicMatch Jukebox). To make an OPAL audiorecording playable on an MP3 player, you probably need to convert the WMA file to MP3 and increase the bitrate.
21	Saving Text Chat Text Chat Transcript can be saved as a separate simple text (ASCII) file. Save text chat at the end of a session, not at the beginning! Alt+Z initiates the text chat save process. In the “Save As” dialogue box, either accept the filename provided, or input your own. Note the folder in which the file was saved. This text file (.txt) can be viewed and edited in any wordprocessor or text editor.
22	Managing an Online Group Clearing someone from the speaker queue (F6) Locking the Room (F4) Kicking Someone Out Banishing Someone
23	Administrative Options Separate administrative module Change the basic screen layout Change default homepage in the browser window Change the default sizes of the various windows Users: Adding and deleting moderators User stats: Who has been in your room? When did they enter? When did they leave?
24	Admin Module Homepage
25	Admin Module--Room Settings
26	Admin Module--User Accounts
27	Troubleshooting Tips No voice from your microphone? Make sure the microphone is plugged into the correct slot. Make sure it is pushed all the way in. Check the horizontal slide bar in the lower left. No sound from your speakers? Some speakers need to be turned on. Make sure the volume is turned up. Check the sound settings in your control panel within Windows. More documentation and help available at http://www.talkingcommunities.com/support.htm
28	OPAL ORGANIZATIONAL MEMBERSHIP INFO 27 OPAL member organizations on 3 continents (as of Nov. 15, 2005) 200 USD annual membership fee Two or more organizations may share an OPAL membership Join at any time (prorated fee) Please provide at least 2 “fully public” programs each membership year Details at http://www.opal-online.org/charter200508.htm
29	Questions and Discussion Tom Peters TAP Information Services Email: tpeters@tapinformation.com Phone: 816.228.6406 Website: www.tapinformation.com