This serves as a comprehensive How-To guide for Webex Training Center as part of the Cisco Webex suite of apps. This article will include additional material linked below for further viewing and reading. This material is not guaranteed to be updated nor is it a perfect match to the St. John’s University Webex experience. Differences found in any of the additional support material compared to the St. John’s University (sju.webex.com) instance will be noted.


Webex Training Center Version 40.7


  • Webex Training Center Scheduling
    • How do I schedule a Training Session?
    • How do I schedule Training Sessions with Breakout Sessions?
      • Assigning Breakout Sessions Automatically
      • Assigning Breakout Sessions Manually
    • How do I schedule training with Hands-On Lab?
  • In Session Host Tips and Tricks
    • How do I start an Instant Session for Training?
    • How do I join Audio for a Webex Training?
      • Webex Audio
        • Call Using Computer (Recommended)
        • Calling In Via Phone
      • VoIP Only
        • Change Audio Devices:
    • How do I end a training session?
    • Breakout Sessions
      • How do I start Breakout Sessions?
        • How do I create Breakout Sessions Manually during a Live Training Session?
      • How do I ask participants to return from a Breakout Session?
        • How do I end breakout sessions?
    • How do I record a Training Session?
      • How do I pause a recording?
    • How do I stop recording?
    • How do I Track Participant Attention?
    • How do I poll my participants?



Webex Training Center Scheduling


How do I schedule a Training Session?


This will guide users on how to schedule a basic Webex Training Session in Webex Training Center. It will only cover the basics needed to get a training session scheduled and a link for users to register for your training.

  1. Login to the St. John’s University Webex page (sju.webex.com). 

  2. On the St. John’s University Webex page, click the Webex Training link on the bottom left of the screen.

     


  3. A new tab will open in your browser and you will be taken to the Webex Training page. On the left side of the Webex Training page, click the Schedule Training button and the Schedule Training Session window will open.

  4. At the top of the Schedule Training Session window under Topic, give your training session a name. A name is Required to schedule a session.


  5. By default, Webex will provide a unique session password. You can choose to use that unique password, or enter your own. A password is Required in order to schedule a training session.

    1. It is recommended that you make a password that is not easy to guess but memorable. Do not use a password you use for secure information like your St. John’s University Email, bank accounts, or computer passwords as you will need to give participants this password to attend.

  6. Using the drop-downs, set a Date and Time for your session.


  7. Scroll down the page until you see Registration. If you would like attendees to register, check the Require attendee registration box. This is Optional

    1. Checking the Require attendee registration box will display options like setting a password for registration as well as registration dates. Attendees must be approved by the Host or you can check the Automatically approve all registration requests option to automatically approve attendees.


  8. Next, scroll down to Attendees. Click the Invite Attendees… button.

  9. This will open up a popup window where you can either select any contacts you have or add Attendees one at a time to this training.

  10. Enter the participant's Full name and Email address (blue box below). These are required.

    1. If you have people saved in your Webex Contacts list you can select them by clicking the Select Contacts… button (red arrow below).

  11. Once an Attendee’s information has been entered, click the Add Attendee button (green arrow above).

  12. When you have entered all the Attendees you want, click the Invite button (red arrow below) under the list of Attendees.

  13. Next, scroll down to Presenters. Click the Invite Presenters… button. Note: Presenters are optional. A Host is automatically has a Presenter role. 

  14. This will open up a popup window where you can either select any contacts you have or add Presenters one at a time to this training.

  15. Enter the Presenter's Full name and Email address (blue box below). These are required.

    1. If you have people saved in your Webex Contacts list you can select them by clicking the Select Contacts… button (red arrow below).

  16. Once a Presenter’s information has been entered, click the Add Presenter button (green arrow above).

  17. When you have entered all the Attendees you want, click the Invite button (red arrow below) under the list of Attendees.

  18. Next, scroll down to the bottom of the page and select the Schedule button.

  19. Congratulations! You have successfully scheduled a Webex Training Session! You should see the following screen below. You and your Attendees and Presenters will also receive an email confirmation about your upcoming Training Session. If you selected Require Attendee Registration, the attendees you invited will still need to register and you will get emails when they register.






How do I schedule Training Sessions with Breakout Sessions?


Breakout sessions are one of the key features that Webex Trainings provides over Webex Meetings and Webex Events. With Breakout Sessions, you can split off your attendees into smaller groups and allow them to work together to complete a task, share screens, documents, and converse. The following will guide you on how to set up breakout sessions for your training session.


Assigning Breakout Sessions Automatically

  1. To assign people to a Breakout Session, you will need Attendees added under the Attendees section. 

  2. In the section titled Breakout Session Assignments Settings, check the box next to Enable Pre-Session Assignment (specify automatic or manual attendee assignments before starting the session) (red arrow below).


  3. When enabled, by default students will automatically split into one of 4 breakout session groups under Set the number of breakout sessions: . You can change this number if you want more or fewer breakout sessions. Or if you can specify the total number of breakout sessions you want and have attendees fit evenly or as evenly as possible within that number of sessions by selecting the Set the number of attendees in each breakout session: and entering the number of breakout sessions you want.

  4. With automatic Breakout Session Assignments, when you start the Breakout Session inside your Training Session, attendees will automatically be assigned and you can start the session instantly. This is good for large group trainings as it can take time to assign members manually.



Assigning Breakout Sessions Manually

  1. To assign people to a Breakout Session, you will need Attendees added under the Attendees section. 

  2. In the section titled Breakout Session Assignments Settings, check the box next to Enable Pre-Session Assignment (specify automatic or manual attendee assignments before starting the session) (red arrow below).

  3. Next, check the Manually assign registered attendees to breakout sessions option (blue arrow above). Do note however this will require Registration for attendees as sessions will have to be manually created based on those who have registered for the Training Session.

  4. Now schedule your training session. As attendees register to attend your session, you will receive an email (see below) that they have registered, unless you have selected Automatically approve all registration requests option to automatically approve attendees.

  5. To approve an attendee's registration, click the Link (blue arrow above) in the email to navigate to the training session page.

  6. On the Session Information page, as the host, locate and click on the button called Manage Registrations (red arrow below).

  7. You will be taken to the Registered Attendees page for the training session. All the Pending tab will show you all the participants that need the approval to attend the session. Check the Checkbox (red arrow below) next to their name and click the Accept (blue box below) button.


  8. You will be prompted once more if you wish to accept these attendees to attend your session. Click the OK button.

  9. At the top of the Registered Attendees page in Webex Training, click the Pre-assign attendees to Breakout Sessions… button (red arrow below).

  10. A new popup window will open allowing you to Pre-assign registered attendees to breakout sessions. Under Breakout session settings: (blue box below) you will also have the option to switch to an automatic assignment if decide you wish to switch to an automatic assignment.

  11. To assign an Attendee to a breakout session, select their name from the Not Assigned (green box above) list.

  12. Next, click the Person Icon (red arrow above) to move them to the desired Breakout Session.

  13. By default, the first person into a breakout session will be the Presenter when Breakout sessions are started. You can change who is the presenter by selecting their name in the Session list and selecting the Webex Ball Icon (red arrow below)

  14. You can add additional breakout sessions by clicking the Add Breakout Session button (green box below).

  15. When you have moved all your attendees from Not Assigned to a desired Breakout Session, click the OK button (blue arrow above).

  16. Congratulations you have successfully scheduled and manually assigned users for breakout sessions!





How do I schedule training with Hands-On Lab?


Webex Hands-On labs in conjunction with Webex Training allow for remote learners to access remote desktop applications hosted in Labs on PCs on St. John’s Campus. Hands-On Labs can be done in 2 options, in-session to be used during the scheduled training and in an on-demand fashion where they can be accessed outside of a session during reserved times. Hands-On Lab scheduling has already been documented as well as how to do On-Demand Hands-On Labs where a professor can instantly have access to lab computers for his students to use. 




In Session Host Tips and Tricks



How do I start an Instant Session for Training?


Instant Sessions are a quick ad-hoc way to get the features of Webex Training Center when you need them without the need to go through scheduling. With this method, options for Training Session setup are limited and most of the default options are used. Attendees and Presenters can still be invited, but this is done inside of Webex Training Center, not through the web application.

  1. Login to the St. John’s University Webex page (sju.webex.com). 

  2. On the St. John’s University Webex page, click the Webex Training link on the bottom left of the screen.

  3. In the Webex Training tab locate and click on the Instant Session (red arrow below) option on the right side of the screen under Host a Session (blue box below)

  4. You will now see the Start an Instant Training Session window. There are only 2 Required fields and 1 optional check option. Under Topic enter the topic of your Training Session.

  5. By default, Webex will provide a password for this session. You can change this password if you choose but a password is Required.

  6. Next, make sure to check the Audio Conference checkbox (blue box below). Most Webex Training Sessions require some kind of audio, be it from the Host, Presenters, or even Attendees. If you wish to have verbal communication, make sure you check this box.


  7. When you have at least set a title and a password, click the Start Session button.

  8. If you have checked the Audio Conference option (blue box above), you will be taken to one last screen which will show options for the Audio Conference. Otherwise your session will start.

  9. For Audio Conference Settings, you will see the following:


  10. You will see a dropdown titled Select Conference type (green box above). Here you can choose the type of Audio conference you would like to use. Webex Audio is the recommended option as it is the most flexible for all in attendance.

    1. Webex Audio - Recommended option as this allows the Host, Presenters, or Attendees to join using their computers, mobile devices via the Webex App, or dial-in via phone.

    2. Other teleconference service - Not typically applicable, but if there is an alternative dial-in phone conference option, Host, Presenters, or Attendees can use this number you list to join for Audio.

    3. Use VoIP Only - This option allows Host, Presenters, or Attendees to join using computers and mobile devices only. All must be connected to the internet to join Audio.

    4. None - No audio for your conference will be used for the Host, Presenters, or Attendees.

  11. For Webex Audio and Use VoIP Only options, as the Host, you will have the option to Mute attendees upon entry . This is useful and is recommended as this will keep all in attendance muted when they enter causing fewer disruptions to the training session.

  12. Finally, Entry and exit tone (blue box below) is useful in smaller meetings, however, for training, it can be highly distracting when you may have Presenters and Attendees coming and going throughout the session. Because of this, it is recommended that you select the No Tone option from the dropdown.

  13. When all your options are set, click the OK button (red arrow above) to start your Instant Training Session.



How do I join Audio for a Webex Training?


Joining Audio may depend on how the Training Session was set up by the Host. The following is how to connect using the 2 computer methods Webex Audio and VoIP.

Webex Audio

When you connect to a session that used Webex Audio, you will see the following and you’ll have 2 options to choose from to join the Conference; Call Using Phone (Recommended) and Calling In Via Phone




Call Using Computer (Recommended)

  1. If you decide to use your computer to attend the training session, under User Computer for Audio you will see a green Call Using Computer button (red box below).

  2. If you have already used Webex Audio in the past and have a headset and microphone connected to your computer and configured, click the Call Using Computer button (red box above) to enter the training session.



  3. If you do not have a headset and microphone connected or you wish to check your Audio settings, click on the Test speaker/microphone option (red box above) below the Call Using Computer button to open the Speaker/Microphone Audio Test window.

  4. In the Speaker/Microphone Audio Test window, use the drop-downs (red boxes above) to select your desired speaker and microphone combination. When you are satisfied, click the OK button (blue arrow above) to close the Audio Test window.

  5. Click the Call Using Computer button to enter the training session.

  6. Once you have joined, the controls to mute and unmute (red arrow below) your line will be located next to your name in the Participants panel inside of Webex Training Center.



Calling In Via Phone

  1. If you decide to use a cellphone or landline phone click the Use Phone dropdown to display the call-in number, session access code, and Attendee ID.

  2. Using your phone, dial the phone number listed under Call in to the session .

  3. When prompted on the phone, use your telephone keypad to enter the 10 digit access code located under Enter the access code followed by the pound (#) sign.

  4. When prompted on the phone, use your telephone keypad to enter your Attendee ID number located under Enter your Attendee ID , followed by the pound (#) sign.

  5. Once you have joined, the controls to mute and unmute your line will be located next to your name in the Participants panel inside of Webex Training Center.



VoIP Only

When you connect to a session that used VoIP only, you will see the Cisco Webex Training Session launch and it will automatically select the default speaker and microphone device(s) set on your computer. You will see the Webex Training Session window as well as a Volume Mixer (red box below).

Change Audio Devices:

  1. To change your default audio devices, click the Audio tab (red arrow below) at the top of the Cisco Webex Training window.

  2. From the list, select Speaker/Microphone Audio Test… (red box below) and the Speaker/Microphone Audio Test window will open.

  3. In the Speaker/Microphone Audio Test window, use the drop-downs (red boxes below) to select your desired speaker and microphone combination. When you are satisfied, click the OK button (blue arrow below) to close the Audio Test window.

  4. You should now be connected to the training session. The controls to mute and unmute (red arrow below) your line will be located next to your name in the Participants panel inside of Webex Training Center.


How do I end a training session?

  1. When it is time to end your training session, the host can locate the End Training Session button near the bottom right side of the Cisco Webex Training window.


  2. Webex will ask you to confirm that you wish to end the session. If so, click the End Session button (red arrow below).

  3. Webex Training Center will close for you and all your participants. Their default browser will then open and give them a Feedback survey. Participants are not required to complete this survey but can leave feedback if they choose.



Breakout Sessions

Breakout sessions are a useful tool inside of Webex Trainings allowing the host to separate out participants into smaller groups to work privately. These smaller groups have much of the same capabilities as a regular Webex Meeting being able to use screen sharing, file sharing, voice communication, whiteboards in a Breakout Session, and even multimedia like video. Each breakout session has a dedicated Presenter assigned at the creation of the group, and that role can be passed to anyone in that Breakout Session. Finally, content created in Breakout Sessions can be shared with the Main Training Session when everyone leaves their respective sessions and returns to the main training.

How do I start Breakout Sessions?

note

Before beginning a Breakout Session, if the Host or Panelist is presenting using Screen Share, you will be unable to start a Breakout Session. Once breakout sessions start, you will not be able to share anything in the main session until the Breakout Sessions are ended.

Users who join a training session from the Webex Meetings App for iOS or Android will be unable to create breakout sessions. They can start sessions if they have been created before the Training Session

  1. Click the Open Breakout Session Panel option (red arrow below) from the Breakout tab (green box below) located at the top of the Webex Training application window.

  2. On the lower right side of the Webex Training window, a new panel called Breakout Session will open and depending on if you set Breakout Sessions to be set Automatically or if you set assignments to be Manual, you will see one of the two options below

    1. Automatic Assignment - Attendees will automatically be split as evenly as possible into groups based on the number of sessions set by the Host. One Attendee will automatically be set as the Presenter. You can increase or decrease the number of sessions automatically generated by clicking the Breakout Assignment button (green box above) and changing the number of Breakout Sessions created or by changing the number of attendees allowed in each breakout session.

    2. Manual Assignment - Attendees will need to be added to Breakout Sessions Manually. 

  3. When you are ready to start your Breakout Sessions, click the blue Start button (red arrow below) in the Breakout Session tab.

  4. Attendees assigned to a Breakout Session with the Presenter Role (Webex Ball Icon) will be asked if they wish to start that session now. Instruct those Attendees to select Start. Attendees who are not Presenters will be asked to Join their respective Breakout Session.

  5. Attendees will then be dropped into their own private Breakout Sessions.


How do I create Breakout Sessions Manually during a Live Training Session?

  1. In the Breakout Session panel, in the lower right side of the Training Session window, click the Breakout Assignment button or by clicking the Breakout Session Assignment option from the Breakout tab at the top of the Training Session window.


  2. In the Breakout Session Assignment window, click the Add Session button (green box below) to add a new Breakout Session to the list. You can name these sessions otherwise they will default to Breakout session X and count up from 1.


  3. Select a person from the Not Assigned list, then click the >> button (blue arrow above) to move them into a selected Breakout session. The first person in a Breakout Session will be set as the Presenter Roll and have the Webex Ball icon next to their name to signify this.

  4. When you have created all the Breakout Sessions you want and assigned Attendees to Breakout Sessions, click the OK button (red arrow below) at the bottom right of the Breakout Session Assignment window to close it.


How do I ask participants to return from a Breakout Session?

  1. When you are ready for participants to return from their Breakout Sessions, you can ask them to end and return to the main session. Click the Ask All to Return option (red arrow below) from the Breakout tab (green box below) located at the top of the Webex Training application window.

  2. Participants to your session will all get a notification informing them that the Presenter for the Training Session would like them to end their session. They will have the option to Continue their session or End Session.

How do I end breakout sessions?

  1. When you are ready for participants to return from their Breakout Sessions and you do not want them to have the option to continue their Breakout Session, locate the End All button in the Breakout Session panel located in the lower right corner of the Webex Training application window.


  2. Participants in Breakout Sessions will get a notification informing them that the Breakout Session will automatically end in 30 seconds. At that time they will be returned to the main training session.


How do I record a Training Session?

Recording a Training Session is very easy to do though is slightly different in Training Center than it is in Webex Meetings.

  1. In the Cisco Webex Training window, locate the Recorder button in the top right corner of the window.


  2. Click the Recorder button (red arrow above) to open the Recorder panel (green box below) in the lower right corner of the Cisco Webex Training window.

  3. Click the Recording button (red arrow above) to start a recording.


How do I pause a recording?

  1. While a recording is running, in the Recorder panel (green box below), click the Pause (red arrow below) button to pause the recording.

  2. The Pause button will blink Red (green box below) to indicate the recording is paused. Click the Pause button (red arrow below) again to unpause and resume recording. 

How do I stop recording?

  1. When you are ready to stop recording this training session, in the Recorder panel, click the Stop button (red arrow below) to stop the recording

  2. Webex will prompt you once verifying if you wish to stop the recording. If you do, click the Stop Recording button 

  3. Your recordings will be uploaded and saved to your Webex Account under Recordings. If you start another recording during this session, a separate recording will be created.



How do I Track Participant Attention?

  1. By default, unless turned off by the Host, Attention Tracking is turned on for Webex Training Sessions.

  2. Under your Participant List, you will see the list of Participants. If you see a Red Exclamation Point  this is an indication that Participant may be focused or looking at another Window on their device other than the Cisco Webex Training Window

  3. You can also see an average for Attentiveness by clicking the Exclamation Point button (red arrow below) to open the Attentiveness window (green box below). This will show a bar indicating how attentive participants are to your training.


How do I poll my participants?

  1. At the top left of the Cisco Webex Training window, locate the dropdown arrow next to the Recorder button (green box below).

  2. Click the arrow then select Polling (red arrow above) from the list of options

  3. This will open the Polling panel on the right side of the Cisco Webex Training window.

  4. By default, a new Poll, Poll1 is created. Simply add questions to it.

  5. Select the type of Question either Multiple Choice or Short Answer using the radio buttons (located in the blue box below), and select the New button. Enter the question into the text box.

    1. To change to a Checkbox style question, select the question, then change the dropdown to Multiple Answers and then click the Change Type button. The question will change to checkbox answers where multiple options can be selected.

  6. Next, to add answers to your question, select your question and click the Add button in the Answers section (red box above) of the Polling panel. If you choose, you can select one of the answers to Mark as Correct if you are quizzing participants.

    1. Additionally, if you want to record each participant's answers for review later, check the Record individual responses checkbox.

  7. If you wish to save your Poll questions for a later Training, click the Save button (red arrow below) to export questions. You can load questions by clicking the File button (blue arrow below).

  8. When you are ready to release your poll to your participants you can click the Open Poll button (green box above).

  9. You can create multiple Polls and release them at any given time during your training. Simply click the New Poll button (red arrow below) and you will see Poll2 (green box below) and subsequent numbers appear.