Connect Home > Get Connect

Get Connect

ELIGIBILITY:
METNET provides Adobe Connect  to affiliated MnSCU institutions that are members of METNET region (Twin Cities metro-area) as well as the COMET region (Southeast) of the Learning Network of Minnesota. A MnSCU StarID account and Password are required to get a Connect account.

  • Faculty and staff may use Connect for work-related purposes.
  • Graduate students employed as teaching assistants may use Connect for job-related responsibilities. Contact METNET to have your account authorized. See information below for details.
  • Students enrolled in courses do not use StarID to enter a Connect meeting. Students may access online Connect content and participate in web conferences and webcasts through a browser as Guests using the URL provided to them.  

1. Activate Your MnSCU StarID Account - (Faculty, Staff and Eligible Graduate Students only)

If you haven't already activated your StarID or don't know it, go to the MnSCU StarID web page for assistance - http://starid.mnscu.edu/. MnSCU StarID and password are required to get a new Connect account. Contact MnSCU if you have questions regarding StarID.

2. Activate your Connect 9 Account (Faculty and Staff)

The account becomes active the first time you log in.

Graduate Assistants - Request Connect Access From METNET
 
Contact METNET by E-mail to request a Connect account - METNET-Connect at umn.edu - (replace the "space at space" with the @ symbol) and include the following:

  • Your full name
  • StarID username
    Note: StarID will be formatted as follows - 2 letters, 4 numbers, 2 letters. If you do not know your StarID see 1. above.
  • TechID number
    If you do not know this, please check with Tech. support staff at your institution. This is needed to verify account information.
  • Position (faculty, staff, graduate assistant)
  • Institution name and department
  • E-mail address
  • Phone number
  • A brief description of how you will use Connect. Include Course Number and name of faculty/supervisor for whom you work.
    For example: "I will use Connect in assisting Prof. Jane Smith in course ENGL 100 for online office hours."

When the new Connect account is ready the user will be notified by E-mail. You may then follow instructions above (2.) to activate your account. 

 

CONNECT
Getting Started with Creating Meetings - (Faculty, Staff and Eligible Graduate Students only)

  1. Review the Connect 9 Help for Getting Started:
    Adobe Connect How-To
    How-To's and Video tutorials on the Support and FAQ page.
    Best Practices for Hosts and Presenters
    Getting Best Results from VoIP (Voice over IP) Audio
  2. Check your computer to be sure that it meets the Adobe Connect System Requirements. For best results, have the most current version of the Adobe Flash Player and browser software. If your computer is not current, update it before using Connect.
  3. The Connect Meeting Add-in allows you to share your screen and upload files to meetings. If the Connect add-in is not installed, Connect usually prompts you when you log in to a meeting room.
  4. Connect requires that ports 80, 443 and 1935 be open on the routers and firewall. Users may need to check with local tech support staff to verify this.
  5. If you plan to use Voice over IP built-in audio, a headset type microphone is recommended to avoid echoing and picking up ambient room noise. Always connect your headset or other external microphone before entering the meeting. Run the Audio Setup wizard to be sure the microphone works properly.
  6. If you plan to use a web camera, connect your camera before entering the meeting. Select the camera and test it.
  7. Use a wired connection, not wireless.
  8. Test your computer to make sure that you are set up with all of the tools you will need to participate in the meeting.
  9. Always run a test meeting prior the the real event to make sure all equipment is working properly and to become familiar with the Connect interface. Use the exact network and hardware (including cables) that will be used in the live meeting.
  10. Add users (METNET account holders) and create user groups to invite to the Connect Meeting by visiting the Manage Account page.
  11. Log in to Connect Manager and click on the New Meeting link on the home page.
  12. Complete the Meeting Creation wizard. Unless other meeting participants have a METNET Connect account, use the Custom options to select "Allow anyone with URL to enter".
  13. Enter the meeting room by clicking the Enter Meeting Room button.
  14. Set the meeting bandwidth. Click on the Meeting menu then Manage My Settings>My Connection Speed. More details about Meeting Bandwidth.
  15. To invite other participants to the meeting, select "Invite Participants" from the Meeting menu or e-mail them to share the meeting URL.
  16. To help your first time meeting participants, provide them with the link to a "Participating in Your First Connect Pro Meeting", a short video tutorial at http://seminars.adobe.acrobat.com/participatemeeting/. Meeting participants should also set their personal bandwidth through the Meeting menu when they enter the meeting room.
  17. Adobe Connect has built-in Help which can be accessed within a meeting room. An online version is also available at http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Connect/9.0/Using/index.html

ADOBE PRESENTER

METNET No Longer has Presenter licenses. Anyone wishing to use Presenter must purchase their own license from Adobe. Educational pricing is available. Presenter 10 has been released and can publish to video sharing sites like YouTube and Vimeo.

Connect 7.5  -  Getting Started with Publishing Presentations - (Faculty and Staff only)

PC (Windows) Only and is not available for the Macintosh operating system.

METNET no longer has Presenter licenses therefore support is very limited.  We recommend that new users interested in Presenter begin by using the free Adobe trial version 8 or earlier. After the end of the trial period, users who wish to continue using Presenter will need to purchase their own license. Get the Free Trial version from Adobe.

  1. Install Adobe Presenter. Presenter is installed as a menu in Microsoft PowerPoint.
  2. NOTE: If you download and install Adobe Presenter, it will add a Presenter menu inside your PowerPoint application. The Presenter menu allows you to create audio narrated presentations and publish them locally or to the web.
    1. On the left-hand side of the page under "Learn", click on "Getting Started".
    2. Click "Install Adobe Presenter".
    3. After downloading, double-click on the file and follow the installation instructions. After installation is completed, an Adobe Presenter option will be added to the PowerPoint menu bar.
  3. To publish to your own computer, In the Publish window, click on the My Computer tab on the left hand side of the window.
  4. To publish to the Connect Server, (Faculty and Staff only), first publish to your desktop then upload ZIP file. See detailed instructions on Support and FAQ page.
  5. Log in to Connect Manager and click on "Content" to manage content, including setting permissions or using presentations in courses and curriculums.
  6. Consult Adobe Presenter Resources to to access the Adobe Presenter Quick Start Guide and other Presenter references.