About Webhuddle

Webhuddle is a free web conferencing package that allows for application sharing, including co-browsing and basic whiteboard functionality. GSLIS maintains its own WebHuddle server for school use, and it can be used for LEEP live sessions, during office hours, for workshops, to perform tech support, and more. During instruction, it is primarily used for application sharing and guided browsing through slides or websites-- audio and other such functions are usually handled with the LEEP live session technology.

Tutorial Contents:

Joining a Meeting
Starting a Meeting
Running a Meeting
Meeting Logistics

Joining a Meeting

If a direct link to the meeting is sent to you, simply click on the link, enter  your information and hit submit.

If a direct link to the meeting has not been provided to you, you can do the following:

1. At the webhuddle site https://apps2.lis.uiuc.edu/leeplive/ , click Join Meeting.

 

2. Type your full UIUC e-mail address and your name (as you wish it to appear in chat). Then type the meeting host's full UIUC e-mail address and the meeting password-- these will be provided to you. Click submit to enter the meeting.

3. You should arrive at a screen like this, and be able to view the meeting and chat with other participants (if chat is being used).
Note: You will not see anything in the main window until the presenter starts sharing content.

 

Starting a Meeting

1. Go to the Webhuddle site and log on.

2. Enter your netID and GSLIS domain password and click "submit."

3. When logged in, click "Begin a meeting" and enter meeting information including name, description, meeting password (we suggest gslis) and options for VOIP (not normally used, as we use the LEEP live session for audio) and recording (normally used to archive the webhuddle session). Note: If you are teaching a class and would like the session archived, it is easiest for your assigned ITD tech to set up the meeting so that they have access to the archive.

4. To have others join, you have two option:

1. you will get an automated e-mail sent to your @uiuc.edu account with a direct link for others to join by entering in their information.
2. you can have them go to the webhuddle page, click on "join meeting" and enter their information plus information you provide about the meeting (your e-mail and meeting password.

Running a meeting:

4. You will enter the Webhuddle session, which looks like this:

 

The user with the hand next to her/his name has control of the presentation and will be able to share websites and applications with others. This user can pass control to other users by selecting that user's name and then clicking the hand button. These and other useful tools are highlighted below:

5. The easiest way to bring others into your meeting is to send them the link Webhuddle e-mails you when you create your meeting. This eliminates potential confusion about the log-in process. However, if you need to start a meeting without waiting for the link, instructions for joining the meeting are at the top of this tutorial page.

6. When the other participants have entered the meeting (you will see their names listed below yours) and you are ready to start, click the triangular "play" button pictured above to start sharing your desktop contents.

Note that by default, everything on your screen is shared.To share only a specific application, click the "share part of desktop" button shown above and drag the application you want to share into the area indicated on the screen.

Those viewing the Webhuddle meeting will see something like the image below. Keep in mind there may be some lag between the time you see a page and the time they see it. Image quality is normally somewhat low. If you would like to share full color images, press the jpeg mode (camera) button-- this is recommended only for slides/still images.

7. When you are finished, end your meeting by clicking the "stop" button at the bottom left of the toolbar (the red circle with the X in it).

Meeting Logistics:

During a meeting, everyone has a Webhuddle screen and a live session chat screen. Sometimes this can cause confusion about where discussion should take place, or about how the presenter can best manage the presentation and respond to questions. Here are some possible approaches to consider as you plan your meeting:

1. Students can hold questions until the Webhuddle meeting is complete, or simply type questions in the Moodle live session chatroom as necessary, and the instructor can answer them after the meeting. The latter does mean that students have to toggle between multiple browser windows or tabs.

2. Students can ask questions in the webhuddle chat and ignore the Moodle chat window. This does mean the chat archive is now split between two locations (the archived webhuddle chat is more cumbersome to view since there is no fastforward option). This also means anyone who cannot join the webhuddle session is also missing this part of the discussion as well.

3. The instructor can view the Moodle chat on a second screen, or have a TA relay questions from the chat. This still requires students to have multiple browser windows/tabs.

4. The instructor can view the Webhuddle session on a second screen to monitor the chat, and to see exactly what students are seeing (and therefore compensate for any lag that occurs).