What's New in Cornerstone Classroom 8.5.5

Third-party support changes

Functional area: App Client, CMS

Type: Enhancement

Applicable to audience: All

Enabled by default?: Yes

Configurable by admin?: No

Configurable by Saba?: Yes

Description

Starting with this release, the following third-party software is supported for Cornerstone Classroom App clients and servers:

Table 1. Third-party support changes
Type of Software	Previously supported version	New version
Java (for App client)	JRE 1.8.0_141 (bundled with Cornerstone Classroom App)	JRE 1.8.0_151 (bundled with Cornerstone Classroom App)
Java (for server)	JDK 1.8.0_73	JDK 1.8.0_151

Enhanced App-based Agenda Builder

Functional area: App Client

Type: Enhancement

Applicable to audience: Leader, Presenter, Co-Presenter

Enabled by default?: Yes

Configurable by admin?: Yes

Configurable by Saba?: No

Description

How did it work?

Prior to this release, the Agenda Builder in Cornerstone Classroom App provided limited set of features.

How does it work now?

In this release, the Agenda Builder in the Cornerstone Classroom App has been enhanced to include the following additional features:

Allows export of an agenda to a local (.saz) file
Adds modal progress meters to save, export and import functions
Provides ability to insert a URL
Supports drag-and-drop in the agenda tree to allow re-arrangement of agenda items
Allows adding AppShare, Evaluations, Polls, Whiteboard, and YouTube videos to the agenda
Supports renaming of agenda items
Allows folder creation to support multi-level agenda

Important: The Agenda Builder is only available for classroom events because it can only run in a pre-session, which is not available in meeting events.

Figure 1. Enhanced Agenda Builder - Menu

Figure 2. Enhanced Agenda Builder - Export

Attention: To use the enhanced Agenda Builder, it is mandatory to upgrade your Cornerstone Classroom App client.

Use Case

There is a need to enhance the ability to prepare content regardless of a browser without requiring install beyond App install.

Auto-hide AppShare toolbar by default

Functional area: AppShare, Client

Type: Enhancement

Applicable to audience: All

Enabled by default?: Yes

Configurable by admin?: No

Configurable by Saba?: No

Description

How did it work?

When leaders shared a presentation in a session, the AppShare toolbar was always visible. To hide the toolbar, leaders had to select the Auto-hide appshare toolbar property under Settings > App Share, because this property was not enabled by default.

How does it work now?

With this release, the Auto-hide appshare toolbar property under Settings > App Share for leaders in the Cornerstone Classroom client is enabled (selected) by default.

This hides the toolbar when not in focus and helps to improve the experience while sharing presentations using AppShare in a Cornerstone Classroom session.

Figure 3. Auto-hide appshare toolbar property

Use Case

For high profile presentations and presentations with animations, there is a need to encourage the share option rather than conversions so that leaders can be sure their presentation is exactly as they designed with animations, links, intact and no conversation alterations however minor. The best approach in this case is to share such presentations and optimize the share experience.

Audio enhancements for App and Browser clients

Functional area: App Client, Browser Client, Audio

Type: Enhancement

Applicable to audience: All

Enabled by default?: Yes

Configurable by admin?: No

Configurable by Saba?: No

Description

How did it work?

Prior to this release, users using a laptop with no headphones could hear a looping audio because the audio of the Cornerstone Classroom session coming out of the speakers was picked up by the microphone. The App client was not able to cancel out the echo from the session.

How does it work now?

This release enhances the audio for Cornerstone Classroom App and Browser clients by providing the following enhancements to the underlying voice engine:

Echo Cancellation
Echo cancellation works by listening for audio already transmitted from the client and coming back in a receive channel after a short delay. If the audio is recognized as an echo, then the voice engine removes it from the audio stream played for the user. If the audio delay is large (> 100 ms), then the voice engine does not categorize it is an echo, though. So, this works only for users using the latest client with this enhancement. Other users in the session are not affected irrespective of them using the latest client or not.
Automatic Gain Control
Automatic Gain Control works on a client producing the sound such that the volume of the microphone audio is adjusted to a medium level. So, this works only for users using the latest client with this enhancement. Other users in the session continue to hear the effect of volume adjustment irrespective of them using the latest client or not.
Noise Suppression
Noise Suppression works on a client producing the sound by removing low-level noise from the audio stream. So, this works only for users using the latest client with this enhancement. Other users in the session continue to hear the reduced noise in the audio stream irrespective of them using the latest client or not.

Attention: To experience the audio enhancements in the App client, it is mandatory to upgrade your Cornerstone Classroom App client.

Use Case

Users using the App and Browser clients must not hear any echo during a Cornerstone Classroom session as this causes distraction and reduces session clarity.

Increased number of simultaneous VOIP audio channels

Functional area: App client, Browser client

Type: Enhancement

Applicable to audience: All

Enabled by default?: No

Configurable by admin?: No

Configurable by Saba?: Yes

Description

How did it work?

When running VOIP, there was a limit of 4 VOIP audio channels that can be granted to users in a session. However, for Cornerstone Classroom sessions where open microphones were always in use, users were not aware of the audio channel limitation. So, when users joined a session, they could not speak at will.

How does it work now?

This release increases the number of available audio channels to a maximum of 10 in a Cornerstone Classroom session while not causing a significant increase in audio traffic.

Domain administrators can configure the following domain-level properties to set the required number of audio channels in a session.

Note: To configure this feature, submit a request. For details, contact Saba support.

Changes to Domain properties

This release introduces the following changes to Audio domain-level properties:

Allows domain administrators to configure the maximum number of audio channels for using VOIP in a Cornerstone Classroom session by introducing the following new property.

Table 2. New domain properties for Audio
Property	Description	Default Value
Maximum number of audio channels allowed	Set the maximum number of audio channels supported for using VOIP in a session. Supported values are 4, 6, 8, and 10.	4

The existing property Default number of concurrent speakers for meetings and events works in conjunction with this new property. You cannot set a value of this property greater than the value set for Maximum number of audio channels allowed because the number of concurrent speakers cannot exceed the maximum number of audio channels.
Introduces additional values of 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10 to the Default number of concurrent speakers for meetings and events property. Thereby, optional values are displayed in the domain property as well as on the event creation page. So, concurrent speakers in a session can be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

Figure 5. Modified audio property
When the value selected for Default number of concurrent speakers for meetings and events is higher than 4 (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10), either at startup or changed in-session, the Audio Quality setting is ignored and the default audio is set to OPUS 10 bps.
By moving the property value in-session from a value higher than 4 (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10) to 4 or less (1, 2, 3, or 4), it sets the codec to the one specified in Audio Quality codec (either OPUS 24, FS, ILBC or ISAC).

Important Recommendations

To use this feature, all attendees would need to upgrade their App. If they do not and the value is set above 4, they would only hear the first four channels of audio and their Settings menu would not be accessible. For using this feature, it is recommended you force all attendees to upgrade to the latest App by setting the Client Domain property Minimum App version (6-digit version number) to the value '855000'.
It is highly recommended that the following Audio domain property Default number of concurrent speakers for meetings and events is set to 4. That way, all events will still default to 4 channels but the value can be changed either at event creation or in session to a higher value (up to value specified in Maximum number of audio channels allowed.

Note: This feature is not supported by the legacy Desktop Client. Therefore, for those using the Desktop Client, you must ensure that the new Maximum number of audio channels allowed property is set to 4 and the Default number of concurrent speakers for meetings and events property is not increased beyond 4.

Use Case

There is a need to increase the number of audio channels in a session so that all users attending the session can speak concurrently. Domain administrators need to have an option to configure the maximum value of audio channels to accommodate more number of concurrent speakers.

Alert users about unavailability of audio channels

Functional area: Client

Type: Enhancement

Applicable to audience: All

Enabled by default?: Yes

Configurable by admin?: No

Configurable by Saba?: No

Description

How did it work?

If a user wanted to speak in a Cornerstone Classroom session and if no audio channels were available, then there was no indication from the Cornerstone Classroom client to the user about the unavailability and the users voice could not be heard by others.

How does it work now?

With this release, if no audio channels are available when a user wants to speak in a Cornerstone Classroom session, then the Cornerstone Classroom client displays the following message to that user indicating the unavailability of audio channels:

All the available audio channels are in use. Please use the Raise Hand or the text chat option to request other speakers to deselect their mic, if not in use.

Only when one or more of the remaining participants deselect their microphone, and if the maximum number of audio channels for the session has not reached, then you can be audible to others.

Note: This message is displayed only in App client and Browser client. For Express clients, no message is shown.

Use Case

Users need to know when the max capacity of audio channels is reached and no audio channels are available for them to speak in a Cornerstone Classroom session.

Identify and report the type of Cornerstone Classroom clients

Functional area: App client, Browser client

Type: Enhancement

Applicable to audience: All

Enabled by default?: Yes

Configurable by admin?: Yes

Configurable by Saba?: No

Description

How did it work?

Prior to this release, there was no ability to identify and report the type of Cornerstone Classroom clients that were used by attendees in Cornerstone Classroom session.

How does it work now?

This release provides the ability to identify and report the type of Cornerstone Classroom clients used by attendees in a session.

To identify type of Cornerstone Classroom client, the following changes are made for the App and Browser client:

For users using the Express Client, their names appear italicized in the People panel.

Figure 6. Italicized names in People panel
When a presenter or leader right clicks a user in the People panel and if the user uses an Express Client, then the menu now displays a title bar with the words "Express Client" in the center. This allows the presenter or leader to know that they cannot promote the user because the user is using the Express client.

Figure 7. Express client details in People panel

Attention: To use these features, it is mandatory to upgrade your Cornerstone Classroom App client.

Reporting

The Attendance Detail report now displays the following additional column:

Table 3. New column
Column Name	Description
Client Type	This column displays the type of Cornerstone Classroom client used by an attendee. The following client type values are supported: null - Indicates attendance records prior to version 8.5.5 (Displayed as "unknown" in the Attendance detail report in CMS UI) app - Indicates the App client browser - Indicates the browser client or App prior to version 8.5.5 express - Indicates the WebRTC client legacy - Indicates the native Desktop client or record user or PSTN converter user unknown - Indicates an error condition or playback client mobile - Indicates the mobile client

Figure 8. New column in Attendance Detail report

Additionally, this release also provides support to identify the type of operating system used by an attendee. The following OS type values are used for internal reporting purpose; however, they are not displayed on the UI in any report:

null - Indicates attendance records prior to version 8.5.5
mac - Indicates Apple Macintosh OS
windows - Indicates MS Windows OS
unknown - Indicates an error condition or legacy App client or Playback client

Note: Legacy Desktop client and Mobile client do not record the OS type.

Use Case

Organizations can gauge the usage of each Cornerstone Classroom client, leaders can have a better understanding of participants abilities, and administrators can provide better help with troubleshooting and understanding the client usage in the organization.

Configure text chat at domain level

Functional area: Client

Type: Enhancement

Applicable to audience: All

Enabled by default?: No

Configurable by admin?: Yes

Configurable by Saba?: No

Description

How did it work?

Prior to this release, Cornerstone Classroom did not provide domain administrators with an option to enable or disable the text chat for events at the domain level. Text chat had to be configured for every event individually.

How does it work now?

This release provides domain administrators with the ability to configure text chat for events at the domain level by configuring the following Client properties:

Table 4. New domain properties for text chat
Property	Description	Default Value
Text chat: Participants can send to all presenters	If enabled, then event participants can send text chat to all presenters only.	Default On
Text chat: Participants can send to all (public chat)	If enabled, then event participants can send text chat to all people attending the event.	Default On
Text chat: Participants can send to other participants (private chat)	If enabled, then event participants can send text chat to other participants privately.	Default Off
Text chat: Participants can save chat to file	If enabled, then event participants can save the chat to a file locally.	Default On

Note: To configure this feature, submit a request. For details, contact Saba support.

All these text chat properties support the following values:

Default On - The property is enabled by default for an event, but a leader can change it.
Default Off - The property is disabled by default for an event, but a leader can change it.
Required On - The property is enabled by default for an event and a leader cannot change it.
Required Off - The property is disabled by default for an event and a leader cannot change it.

Attention: To use the new chat properties, it is mandatory to upgrade your Cornerstone Classroom App client.

Leaders and presenters can override the property values at the event level depending on the property value set at the domain level.

Note:

Only the browser client and App client presenters can change the Text Chat properties in session, unless they are marked as Required On or Off at the domain level.
All these domain property values are applied to an event as soon as the first attendee is in session; they do not require the Leader or Presenter to join the session.
Domain-level values impact all event types even if they are pre-existing. That is, all property values are applied at the event startup and not at event creation. However, if an event is in session and if the domain properties are changed, then the new property values do not impact the ongoing event.

To configure these properties, login as a domain administrator and navigate to Administrator > Manage domains > Properties and select Client from Category drop-down list.

Use Case

Many organizations have security restrictions around monitoring of chat. In addition to configuring text chat at the event level, Cornerstone Classroom must allow domain administrators to configure it at the domain level as well, so that security concerns about monitoring of text chat are addressed. This will also provide greater flexibility to configure the in-session defaults for text chat as per their preference.

Display text chat panel in playback by default

Functional area: Text Chat

Type: Enhancement

Applicable to audience: All

Enabled by default?: Yes

Configurable by admin?: No

Configurable by Saba?: No

Description

How did it work?

Cornerstone Classroom recording playbacks did not display the text chat panel.

How does it work now?

With this release, Cornerstone Classroom recording playbacks display the text chat panel by default.

If users jump ahead in the recording, then they are taken to the appropriate index point in the chat. They cannot see all the chat for the section they have jumped over.

Similarly, if users jump backwards in the recording, then the chat clears and restarts at the new start point.

Use Case

Users need the ability to see text chat panel during playback of Cornerstone Classroom recordings. This allows users watching the recording to view and learn from questions, answers and comments exchanged in the chat during the event.