How (and Why) do I use the Guest URL feature in a Virtual Classroom Offering (VCO)?

When you create a Virtual Classroom Offering, you have the option of publishing a Guest URL.  This can be used to invite attendees who are not users within your LMS.  It can also be used for registered students who may not have administrator access to their PC to ensure their system requirements (current version of Java, ability to install Saba Client app, etc.).  Either way, users can attend and fully participate in your VCO using this guest URL. 

NOTE:  User’s progress/completion will NOT be monitored in Latitude LMS if the user has participated via a guest URL.  Therefore, it’s especially important for the instructor to keep accurate attendance/participation records to report while processing the roster.

Distributing the Guest URL

After creating your offering, click on the Action tab of the Offering Details page.  The click on Request Guest URL.

The Guest URL will be displayed in a pop-up window, already selected.  Hold down the CTRL key and press C to copy it to your clipboard.  (Note:  You may want to copy it into Notepad to ensure that you don’t accidentally erase it from your clipboard.)

This URL can then be emailed directly to the appropriate attendees.  You can also paste it into the reminder message for the offering.  (Click on Messages tab in the Offering Detail page, then Reminder Message.)

Launching the Virtual Course Offering from the URL

Attendees can then paste the URL into their preferred browser window and launch the course.  When the URL launches they’ll need to enter an email address, and choose between Launch on Desktop or Attend in Browser.

Attending a session via the Desktop client

The Desktop client is a full-featured downloadable client application that is launched and installed to the user's machine when the user joins an event. To attend a session via desktop client, use the Attend on Desktop button.

Attending a session via Saba Web Access

Saba Web Access is a light-weight browser-based client application that allows participants to attend Saba sessions directly in the web browser without downloading the application to the user's machine. The browser client supports most of the participant and leader/co-presenter functionality and is a quick way to join a session without downloading the Saba desktop client application.

Either option will allow the student to fully participate in the session, chat, speak and use the other options available, including video conferencing.  You may need to adjust the video and audio settings (i.e. change from Phone to VoIP), just as you would if you were launching it through your LMS portal..

Note:  Virtual Classroom Offerings is an Add-On capability.  Go to  Virtual Classroom Offering Add-On to learn more about this feature.