University of Illinois, College of ACES, TeleNet Teleconferencing

Instructions for PARTICIPATING in a data conference, visual conference, or E-conference

Think of this as a distance-learning lecture hall.  The audio (sound) comes over the telephone, with visuals over the Internet.  This combination is called teleconferencing, data-conferencing, internet-visual-conferencing, or E-conferencing.  To fully participate you will need to:

Step 1. Access the Conference Audio via Telephone

  1. Dial 800-DISTANT (800-347-8268)
  2. Press “1” to attend a live meeting.
  3. You will be asked for the Meeting ID,  (push numbers xxxx) followed by the # sign
  4. The computer-teller will repeat your Meeting ID number.
  5. You will be asked for the Meeting Password, (push numbers xxxx) followed by the # sign.
  6. Various recorded announcements may be made, and then you will automatically join the conference.  If you are the first online, music will play.

IMPORTANT – You can only join the conference 10 minutes in advance of the scheduled starting time.

 

Step 2. Access the Data-Conferencing Web-Page Visuals

  1. Bring up your web browser, i.e. Internet Explorer (any version), or Netscape (not version 6.0)
  2. Type in this URL to open the conference web page: http://telenet.aces.uiuc.edu, and click on color hotlinks “Meeting Place Web Interface”, OR “to join a data conference”.
  3. This will open a Welcome to Meeting Place page.   [TIP: First-time data-teleconference-users should scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “browser test” to make sure your security settings are open.]
  4. Enter the Meeting ID (numbers xxxx), and hit “enter”/“return” on your keyboard, OR click on Attend Meeting button.  [TIP: if assigned, you may type the ID-word instead of converting it to numbers as you have to do on the telephone keypad.] 
  5. Enter your first and last name in the “Guest Name” blank box on the left side of the screen.  You must put in your name or the program will not move forward.  [TIP: if entering the meeting as a Guest, nothing should be filled-in on the right side of the Attend Meeting screen.]  Check to make sure the Meeting ID is already filled in the bottom box, and click on “Attend Meeting” button.
  6. The Welcome-Page will greet you by the name you entered, and ask for the password.  Type in password (numbers xxxx), and hit enter/return key or click on Submit button.  [TIP: if assigned, you may type the word instead of converting it to numbers as you have to do on the telephone keypad.  If you enter it wrong, the screen message says incorrect password, and you have to enter it again.]   You cannot get past this screen until you enter the correct password, and click on “submit” box.  This serves as a “hotlink” to the data conference.
  7. A basic information block about the meeting will appear.  Click on “Join Web Conference” box.  Answer affirmatively (click “grant” or “yes”) to any security questions that may appear.  Now you have entered the data conference sharing session.  It may take several minutes to load the program, depending on the speed of your Internet connection.
  8. A “Welcome to Meeting Place Application Sharing” text message window with three bullet points will appear on a white background.  If the data conference has already begun, you will see the first visual of the presenter.  You will want to adjust your screen resolution up or down to adjust for the best viewing according to your screen size.  [TIP: Adjust screen resolution by right-clicking on your desktop screen and clicking on the Settings tab.  Higher resolution settings tend to make the image smaller.  If you do not see the white Welcome screen, the security settings on your computer are set too high, and will need to be lowered for you to view the conference.]
  9. For Internet Explorer browser software users only.   The “Participants List” on the left side of the screen can be eliminated by Internet Explorer browsers to give maximum screen space to your visuals.  Click on the tiny “black-triangle” on the frame bar between the list and the visuals to toggle making the list disappear or reappear.
  10. ALTERNATIVE METHOD.  If you become totally lost, start at the home page URL and click on “find meeting”; browse meeting list; click on our meeting, entering the Meeting ID and Password as required.  This is a slower method of arriving at the same point at the data-conference start page.

NOTE 1-SECURITY:   The data conference system requires Java script be enabled on your local computer.  The computers are interactive and exchange data packets of information, similar to “cookies” on some web pages.  Some computers may have the security level set too high to participate in a data conference, and will need to be adjusted lower to receive a picture in the window.  When you are asked a Security Question during entry, you must click to indicate “Okay”, “Grant”, “Approve”, “Yes” or whatever the affirmative answer is on your browser security screen.

NOTE 2-VIEWING:    If you have to scroll around to see everything, adjust the screen resolution higher on your computer monitor.  It is a good idea to quit other software running on your machine to give maximum memory size.  If you have any trouble, let us know via the telephone audio part of the conference, or redial 800-347-8268 and then hit #0 for HELP DESK assistance.   If your computer crashes during the conference, reboot your browser and start over at http://telenet.aces.uiuc.edu.  

JLH 9/20/05