Maine's Public Universities - University of Maine System

Multilink Phone Bridge

The phone bridge enables students to converse with one another or with their instructor via a toll-free line. Students who are alone at a site or Center may participate in group work with other lone students. The phone bridge is also often used by faculty for toll-free office hours and tutoring. It may be used during or outside of class time, including weekends, and is accessible from any touch tone telephone in Maine. Reservations are on a first-come first-served basis.

Contact Faculty Liaison Services (1-800-245-5544 or 621-3416). Because the "bridge" has a limited capacity and is first-come, first-serve, please contact us two months before the start of the semester to assure you will get your choice of time slots.

Discuss your specific conferencing objectives and desired date(s) and time(s). We will confirm bridge availability or offer alternative reservations if already in use.

Ask your classroom technician to play the Multilink orientation videotape if using the phone bridge during an ITV class.

Working from your class list and the group codes provided, assign one code to each group of single-student sites. Post these group codes during class, before you plan to use the bridge for the first time.

The bridge should be reserved for just the time you need, not the entire class time. Maximum in-class use is limited to 1.25 hours, preferably the first or last half of class, so that more faculty may be accommodated.

In class use of the phone bridge is intended to link together lone students. Though it is possible to link sites with two or more students by placing a speakerphone at those sites, there are a limited number of speakerphones, which must also be reserved through Faculty Liaison Services.