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Virtual Classroom e-Learning Technical Support

Who do I contact if I am having trouble and need help?

E-mail: e.supportNA@globalknowledge.com
Phone: Toll Free 866-825-8555
Local: (919) 469-7067
Office Hours: 7:30am-8:00pm (EST)

What are the minimum and recommended system requirements for virtual classroom?

Note: If your class includes remote labs you only Internet Explorer is supported.

Is it OK to access my class session through a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection?

No - we advise that if students are working from home they disconnect from their corporate VPN connection before joining the class. This will improve internet performance and prevent all session traffic from going through your corporate network.

What is the student client side software required for a Virtual Classroom event?

The student client side software is a small one-time automatic <2MB file download that allows you to attend Virtual Classroom events. The file does not require Java support to run and is built on non-invasive C++ technologies that provide reliability and performance, and that work even in secure lock-down environment.

Why can't I get into the Event Communications Center?

• First - check to make sure you have the correct User Name and Password - this should have been sent to you in your Welcome letter from Global Knowledge.
• Second - check to ensure that you have cookies enabled - in most browsers this can be set under Tools > Internet Options > Privacy > Advanced.
• Third - if could be your Virus protection software - check to ensure that Norton Anti-Virus Script blocking is turned off. This setting is found in the Options dialog box, under System > Script Blocking. Make sure the Enable Script Blocking check box is cleared.

We suggest that you always use cookies. A cookie is a small piece of information that your web browser stores on your hard drive. The Communications Center uses temporary cookies to establish if you are logged in. If you choose to be alerted before saving cookies, you will be prompted at every page after you log in, and you must accept each cookie to remain logged in.

How is the VoIP audio delivered in the session?

The virtual classroom system (powered by iLinc) will attempt to use port #11730 for UDP audio, if that port is not available; the iLinc software will fail over automatically to port 80 & 443 on native http(s) transport, with out requiring any interaction from the end user.

You can easily check if UDP is being used in session by clicking just above the presenter's name, "menu", then help, then about current session.

This will display information specific to each user's connection, in this discussion, of particular interest will be the third box, under Conference Type, it will display if the enduser is using UDP, or Http(s), for the audio transport.

On this same screen, the last row displayed as "health" should display ok, if it doesn't it will reflect time stamps indicating either soft or hard disconnects, aka loss of internet connection.

Why can't I get into my event?

If you can not get into your event please check the following in your session confirmation e-mail letter from Global Knowledge:

• The name and date of the event is correct
• The start time and time zone of the event is correct
• It is less than 45 minutes before the event scheduled start time

Why can I not hear the instructor?

Check you cable connections and make sure they are firmly plugged into the correct port. The pink connector is the microphone and the orange is for the earphones. For those who may have red and black connectors, the black is the earphones and the red is the microphone. Additionally, your sound card might be "hung" and you may want to reboot your computer and rejoin your class.

I get a proxy error when joining - are there other methods I can try to join?

Try adjusting the 'transport' that iLinc is using as follows:

1. Go to Start>Programs>iLinc>Client Configuration>
2. Under the Network tab, Advanced button, try deselecting the two transports (WinINET and WinHTTP).
3. Now hit apply/close to exit the client configuration tool.
4. Now try to rejoin your session.

If this works, then you can either leave the settings the way they are, or update the transport by reinstalling the latest service pack or browser for the machine. Note: iLinc can use different 'transports' to join sessions. Depending on what OS and browser is installed, the iLinc software can be adjusted to try different transports which in some cases can allow users to join successfully.

I keep dropping out of class and can not stay connected - what do I do?

This may have something to do with your firewall or proxy server - please contact our HelpDesk (see below) and they will work with you to troubleshoot the issues.

How much bandwidth does the Virtual classroom application use?

In general, when two or more users are in a virtual classroom session, they use a certain amount of bandwidth to connect to the server and send data back and forth. Bandwidth is a measure of the amount of data transmitted or received per unit of time, usually measured in seconds. Bandwidth is proportional to the complexity of the data that is being transmitted. For example, it takes more bandwidth to download a photograph in one second than it takes to download a page of text in one second. Large sound or video files require even more bandwidth to download. Let's use the following example to illustrate bandwidth use in a Virtual classroom session. The following graph illustrates the average bandwidth that is being consumed during an action in a session.

Here is a scenario that explains the graph above. A seasoned instructor is preparing to teach a class using Voice over IP for audio. He dials in over his 28.8 modem, and gets a 26 kbps connection. This means that the maximum bandwidth he can use is 26 kbps.

1. The instructor launches his web browser and points it to the Communications Center. His browser will use as much bandwidth as it can get until the entire page is loaded.
2. The instructor logs in, finds his class, and clicks join. His iLinc Client software exchanges a small amount of information with the server and establishes the connection. Once he is connected and in the class, a very small amount of bandwidth (about 1 kbps) is used to handle "background data" such as hand raises, text chat, and general overhead.
3. Next, he starts talking to the class, telling them about the day's lesson. In most circumstances, iLinc will use an average of 12 kbps for each voice that's talking. Since only the instructor is talking, it is using 12 kbps in addition to the background data bandwidth, making a total of 13 kbps for as long as he is speaking.
4. The instructor now prepares to launch a Whiteboard. As a good instructor, he knows that the Whiteboard application will take up as much bandwidth as it can until the Whiteboard image is transferred to everyone. To free up some bandwidth so that the transfer can happen faster, he stops speaking and then launches the Whiteboard.
5. After about 3 seconds, the instructor assumes that the image has been transferred to all of his students and resumes speaking. Once the Whiteboard image has been sent, it doesn't use any more bandwidth unless someone changes the image.
6. One of his students raises her hand, so he passes her the floor and they begin speaking. As long as only one of them is speaking at a time, iLinc will use 12 kbps for VoIP on average.
7. But the instructor decides to interrupt his student by talking "over" them. While both he and the student are speaking at the same time, iLinc is producing two audio streams, each using 12 kbps to a total of 24 kbps for audio (on top of the 1 kbps for background data).
8. The instructor takes the floor back and continues speaking. But since his student no longer has the floor, the student can no longer transmit audio. Thus iLinc returns to using only 12 kbps for the instructor's audio.
9. At this point, the instructor decides to close the Whiteboard and tell all of his students that he is going to launch Application Sharing. He stops speaking and then launches AppShare. The amount of bandwidth that AppShare uses depends upon the extent that the instructor changes the screen that is being shared. By default, AppShare will not use more than 14 kbps on average, no matter what the instructor does.
10. While the instructor is sharing the application and making a bunch of screen changes, he resumes talking. Notice that this adds another 12 kbps to the bandwidth. This brings the total average bandwidth to 26 kbps.
11. The instructor continues talking, but stops making screen changes. AppShare continues to run and project his screen, but since he is not making any changes it uses very little bandwidth. Only his audio is still using bandwidth (12 kbps).