Tool list

For reference, below is a list of all the tools available in the Tutor Room, along with notes and tips. You can also read the Basic guide or Advanced guide to using the Tutor Room.

• Video chat tools
• Setup tools
• Room tools
• Tab tools
• Whiteboard tools
• Document tools
• Chat tools
• Screen sharing tool

 

Video chat tools

Video chat is available to you and your students. The camera and microphone will turn on automatically when entering the Tutor Room.

 

Video Layout Modes:

• Sidebar (default): Videos are automatically arranged in a sidebar so that they never obstruct the workspace. If the video bar becomes full (due to lots of users' videos), scrolling down will show the other videos. As the tutor, double clicking (or double tapping) on any video will change to Grid layout (see below) for you and all students.
•  Grid: Videos are automatically arranged over the top of the workspace using all the screen space available (the whiteboard and document tabs are therefore not visible). By default all the videos will be shown at the same size, but as the tutor you can double click any video to make it larger than the other videos.
• Floating: Videos float over the top of the workspace and can all be moved (drag the centre) and resized (drag the corner) independently. Each user has independent control of how the videos are arranged on their own screen. Some parts of the workspace may therefore be obscured for some users depending upon the size of their screen and where they choose to place the videos. As the tutor, double clicking (or double tapping) on any video will change to Grid layout (see above) for you and all students.

By default, as the tutor when you change the video layout mode (i.e. Sidebar, Grid or Floating) it will also change for all your students (students are therefore not able to change the video layout mode themselves).

Note: On mobile and tablets the videos, workspaces and chat may be automatically split into separate tabs (depending upon screen size and orientation) with icons at the bottom of the screen to toggle between them. In this case, the above video layout modes do not apply.

 

Video Chat Controls

Users can toggle their own video feed on and off during a lesson, if required. Users can also choose to stop receiving the video feed from another user, if required (hover over their video and click Stop Receiving Video). If you have multiple cameras or microphones you can select which one you'd like to use ( Setup > Device setup).

As the tutor you can also turn off a student's camera or microphone at any time ( Chat > People > [person's name] >  Mute Microphone /  Stop Video). Alternatively, if a student has turned off their camera or microphone, you can request for them to turn it on again ( Chat > People > [person's name] >  Ask to Unmute Microphone /  Ask to Resume Video).

If needed, users can also increase the noice cancellation on their microphone or blur the background on their camera (see Setup tools below).

 

Setup tools

Setup tools are available to you and your students.

• Device setup: Allows selection of which camera, microphone and speakers are used.
• Layout videos: Restores the video boxes to their original size and position on your own screen, if you have moved or resized them. Note that the layout on other users' screens will not reset unless they also select this option themselves.
• Advanced Noice Cancellation: Standard noise cancellation is enabled by default, but if a user's microphone is still picking up a lot of background noice they can try enabling the advanced version.
• Background Blur: Blurs the background of the users camera image.
• Troubleshooting: Provides diagnostic information for your system and the students' systems to identify technical issues and suggest solutions.
• Report: Allows reporting of a technical issue. The report will be logged but you will not receive any reply.

 

Room tools

Room Tools available to you and your students:

• Menu: Refresh reloads the Tutor Room; Help opens the Help Centre; and Exit leaves the Tutor Room.
• Duration: Shows the lesson duration in minutes.
• View Timer: Hover over the timer to see the remaining duration (if one has been set).
•  Options >  Export: Allows the Tutor Room contents to be exported, including all whiteboard tabs and all document tabs. A file (.zip) will be saved to the downloads folder of the users device to allow the files to be viewed outside of the Tutor Room. Users can also upload the exported ZIP file back into the Tutor Room at a later date to continue working on the content.
• Options >  Dark/Light Mode: Changes the colour of the user interface.
• Options > Language: Changes the language of the menus and tool tips. English, French (Canadian), Italian, Polish and Spanish, Hungarian and Bulgarian are currently available.

Room Tools available only to you, the tutor:

• Waiting Students: If a student is waiting to enter your Tutor Room you'll see Waiting students displayed at the top right. This allows you to Authorise the student to enter your Tutor Room. Once authorised, a student can leave and re-enter the Tutor Room freely throughout the lesson without having to be authorised again, but this authorisation expires when the lesson ends. You'll need to authorise a student's entry once per lesson.
• Participants: Shows the students currently in your Tutor Room and allows you to Eject them if necessary. If a student is ejected then the lesson is ended for them and their authorisation to re-enter your Tutor Room is removed.
• End Lesson: This will eject all participants, clear all resources and log the lesson. Ensure you and your students have exported the room contents to your devices if required, before ending the lesson.
• Leading Mode:
  • • Enabled (default) - students will always see the same tab as you and the same content within that tab. As you change tabs, move the whiteboard canvas or change the whiteboard zoom, it will also change for your student(s). Students will also see the same video layout mode (Floating, Sidebar or Grid) as you. Students can therefore not change the tab, move the canvas, change the zoom or change the video layout mode themselves, because their view is synced with yours.
    • Disabled - students are free to control their own screen independently, including viewing other tabs, moving the whiteboard canvas, changing the zoom, which will apply to their screen only. You can keep track of which tabs your students are viewing via the colour indicators next to the tab names. Each student is assigned a colour upon entry to the Tutor Room (shown in their video box) and the tab they are currently viewing will show a vertical line of the matching colour. You can re-enable Leading Mode at any time which will re-sync all students' views with yours. Note: with Leading Mode disabled, students will also have access to tab tools, which includes the ability to delete tabs.
• Read-only Mode: Disables all whiteboard tools and document tools for students and prevents them from making any changes to tab contents.
• Set Timer: Allows you to start a countdown timer or a stopwatch. Once set, you and your students can hover over the icon to see the remaining duration or elapsed time.

 

Tab tools

Tab tools are only available to you as the tutor, unless Leading Mode is disabled in which case they also become available to students. The exceptions to this are the Import and Download tools, which are available to all participants at all times.

 

Tab Bar

New Tab Menu:

•  New Whiteboard Tab: Opens a new collaborative whiteboard tab for creating, uploading and annotating resources.
•  New Document Tab: Opens a new collaborative document tab for creating or editing pieces of text.
•  New Code Tab: Opens a new code tab for creating and editing of code.
•  Import: Uploads a file from your device to the whiteboard, including PDFs, Office files (e.g. PowerPoint, Word) and images.
• Import ZIP: Uploads a ZIP file which was previously exported from the Tutor Room, restoring the tabs' contents. Note that only ZIP files which were exported from the Tutor Room are supported for upload.

Tabs controls:

• View tab: Click on a tab's name to view the tab.
• Close tab: Click on the cross icon to move it to the Deleted Tabs folder in the Tab List (see below).
• Edit tab name: Double click on a tab's name to change it.
• Move tab: Click and drag tabs to change their order in the tab bar.
• Scroll tab bar: If there are too many tabs to display, scroll icons will appear allowing you to scroll the tabs in the Tab Bar  left and right, to view all the tabs.

 

Tab List

The Tab List allows you to find and organise tabs. It is particularly useful when using large numbers of tabs or when uploading documents with large numbers of pages.

All tabs are shown in a list. If you have a large number of tabs, simply scroll the list to view all the tabs, or type into the Search bar to filter the tabs according to their name. Click on a tab name to view the tab. Click and drag a tab to change its position in the tab list, or double-click to rename it.

Use the Delete icon to move it to the Deleted Tabs folder. Deleted tabs can be Restored throughout a lesson, until the Tutor Room is closed and all content is removed.

 

Tab Menu

Right-click a tab name to open the tab menu (or use icon on tablet and mobile).

• Disallow / Allow Tab to be Closed: Controls whether the tab can be closed and applies to all users. If disallow to be closed is set an  icon will show next to the tab name.
• Disallow /  Allow Changes: Controls whether changes (e.g. annotations, edits, uploads) can be made for the selected tab, which applies to all users. If changes are disallowed an icon will show next to the tab name.
• Rename Tab: Allows the tab name to be changed. This can also be done by double clicking on the tab name.
• Duplicate Tab: Creates a copy of the tab, including its contents and settings.
• Download as  Image /  HTML: Downloads the individual tab contents to the user's device as either an image (for whiteboard tabs) or an HTML (for document tabs).
• Delete Tabs to the Right: Deletes all tabs to the right of the selected tab (or below the selected tab if viewing in the Tab List).

 

Whiteboard tools

Whiteboard tools are available to you and your students, unless Read Only Mode is activated, which prevents students from using the tools. The whiteboard tab is collaborative so users' movements and edits appear in real-time to all other users.

 

Main tool bar:

Tool (keyboard shortcut): Tips.

• Point: All users can simply move their cursor to point within the whiteboard area and this will be shown to all other users (even when using tools).
• Colour: Line colour is used for the Draw, Highlighting, Shape and Text tools. Fill colour is used for the Shape tools.
• Select Tool (S): Click to select one object, or click and drag to select multiple objects. Once selected, objects can be moved, resized, reshaped or rotated (depending upon where you click and drag from). Note: to select a Locked object, right-click on it to unlock it first.
• Move Canvas: With the Move Tool selected, left-click and drag to move the canvas. However, if you have a different tool selected (e.g. Draw tool) you can still move the canvas without needing to select the Move tool, either: right-click and drag; or hold ⇧Shift and scroll.
•  Draw Tool (D): Draw free freely, or hold Ctrl or Cmd to draw straight lines, or also hold ⇧Shift at the same time to draw lines at 15 degree increments.
•  Highlighting Tool (H): Highlight freely, or Ctrl or Cmd to drag a straight line above the area to be highlighted (the highlight will appear below the line).
•  Erase (E): Hover over an object and it will become transparent, then click to erase that object. Alternatively, click and drag to erase all objects within drag path. Note that the eraser will not affect any objects which are Locked.
•  Shape: Draw  Rectangle,  Ellipse, Triangle, Right Angle Triangle, Solid Line, Dotted Line, and Arrow Line. When using the 2d shapes, hold Ctrl or Cmd to draw regular shapes (i.e. perfect squares and circles etc). Shapes can be moved, resized, and rotated using the Select tool, or copy and pasted. Shapes can be drawn as outlines only or can be filled with colour (use the Colour tool to control line colours and fill colours).
•  Text Tool (T): Use the Select tool to resize the text. The Text tool is designed for short annotations on the whiteboard, whereas longer pieces of text are better handled using a Document tab or the Chat.
• Equation & Graph Creator: Allows equations and graphs to be created and inserted into the whiteboard. Once inserted onto the whiteboard, double click an equation or graph to edit it, or right-click on it then select Edit. Full LaTeX commands are supported.
•  Upload: Upload images, PDFs and Office files (e.g. PowerPoint, Word) from your device onto the whiteboard. If uploading multiple pages, each page will be added to a separate tab, meaning you simply change tab to change the page. Also note that each page will be added as a Locked Object (see below).
•  Snapshot: Use the camera to take a snapshot and add it to the whiteboard. You can snapshot from your own camera or from a student's camera. Note: although your own live camera image is flipped/mirrored, your snapshot won't be and will display correctly once added to the whiteboard.
•  Background: Chose between a white or yellow or black background ( Background). You can optionally add an overlay to the whiteboard ( Lines,  Dots,  Grid or Graph) to assist with your annotations. You can then choose an overlay size of small, medium or large (click the left, centre or right radial) which determines the gaps within the chosen overlay pattern. You can also chose an overlay colour of black,  grey, or blue.
•  Undo (Ctrl+z or Cmd+z): You can only undo your own actions, not the actions of others.
• Redo (Ctrl+y or Cmd+⇧Shift+z): You can only redo your own undo actions, not the undo actions of others.
•  Zoom: Use  Zoom to fit to automatically fit all whiteboard contents to your screen. Depending upon your device you may also be able to  zoom in and  zoom out with pinch gestures, by scrolling, or using a mouse wheel.

 

Object tool bar:

Use the Select tool and click on an object to show the object tool bar.

• Colour changes the line/text colour, or if applicable the fill colour.
• Lock / Unlock (prevents an object from being moved, changed, or deleted)
• Duplicate (makes a copy of the object)
• Bring forward (brings the object forward one layer)
• Send backwards (sends the object back one layer)
• Delete (or use the Delete key or the Eraser).

 

Other:

• Copy (Ctrl+c or Cmd+c) / Paste (Ctrl+v or Cmd+v): Use the Select tool to select a whiteboard object first (or group of objects), then you can copy and paste. You can also copy images or text from external sources (e.g websites) and then paste directly onto the whiteboard. Copy and paste is also useful if you need to move an object from one whiteboard tab to another.
• Drag and drop files: You can drag files on to the whiteboard to upload them (images, PDFs and Office files).

Document tools

Document tools are available to you and your students, unless Read Only Mode is activated which prevents students from using the tools. The document tab is collaborative so users' edits appear in real-time to all other users.

Tool (keyboard shortcut): Tips.

• Point / Select: All users can simply click or select text within the document area and this will be shown to all other users.
• Font Colour / Font Size / Font / Bold /  Italic /  Underline /  Strikethrough / Highlight: Click the tool then start typing. Alternatively, click and drag to select some text, then click the tool to apply or remove the formatting.
• Horizontal line: Click to insert a section divider at the current position.
• Upload Image: Click to upload image from your device.
• Numbered List / Bullet List: Click to start a list. Click again to stop listing or press return twice.
• Copy (Ctrl+c or Cmd+c) / Paste (Ctrl+v or Cmd+v): Use copy and paste to import text into the document tab.

 

Chat tools

Chat tools are available to you and your students, with all messages being visible to all participants.

• Send message: Type a message into the chat to send it to all lesson participants (they will be notified of your message). To delete a message you've sent, hover over the message and click the drop down to Delete Message. Note that as the tutor you also have the ability to delete any message sent by a student.
• Send file: Click the Attach icon to upload a file from your device and share it with all lesson participants. Images shared in the chat can be dragged directly onto the whiteboard, while other types of files can be downloaded by clicking the file.
• Show emoticon: Any participant can click an emoticon to display it over their video for 3 seconds (this will be visible to all other participants). Emoticons: 👍 👎 👏 👋 🙏 🤔 😮 😂 🙈 🤷. On laptop or desktop, with the Chat tool closed hover over the chat icon (without clicking it) to display a range of emoticons (emotion icons). On tablet or mobile, open the Chat then click the Emoticon icon. As the tutor, you also have access to celebration buttons which will launch confetti across all participants' screens. Celebrations: 🎉 🎆 

Screen sharing tool

Any user can  share their screen which will appear as another video. As the tutor, simply double click on a student's screen share to apply the Grid video layout for all users, with the screen share being displayed larger than the other videos (this will happen automatically when you share your own screen).

However, screen sharing does not allow students to interact with the content, does not allow editing or saving and requires higher internet speeds and newer devices for a smooth experience. Therefore, it is highly recommend to use whiteboard tabs or document tabs for your lessons, rather than screen sharing.

Note: When screen sharing, select only the browser tab or application window you wish to share. Avoid sharing your entire screen, as this will result in you sharing your own view of the Tutor Room (unless you minimise the Tutor Room window).