USING CRANIUM CAFÉ

Cranium Café is a meeting and collaboration platform designed specifically for student support.

ConexEd is the name of the company that developed the program platform called Cranium Café.

Cranium Café is used by faculty and staff to engage with students to either live chat, schedule appointments, or do virtual “walk-ins” which can be either by chat or video based.

For Current Students:

1. Go to LACCD.CRANIUMCAFE.COM or access through your mycollege.laccd.edu portal by clicking on the ONLINE SERVICES & ONLINE CHAT TILE
2. Agree to the informed consent statement (at the bottom of that page)
3. Click on the LACCD login Icon (blue icon on left hand side)
4. Login using your LACCD credentials
5. Click on the drop-down menu at the top-right of the page and select Los Angeles City College

For Prospective Students:

1. Go to LACCD.CRANIUMCAFE.COM
2. Agree to the informed consent statement (at the bottom of that page)
3. Click on Guest Registration Icon (orange icon on right hand side) to create an account.

If you have an LACCD student email address you already have a Cranium Café account. Access your Cranium Cafe account through your student portal through mycollege.laccd.edu.

If you have not applied to any colleges in the LACCD, you may create an account. See the section ”How do I log into Cranium Café" for more help.

Once on Cranium Café, both students and the support team can utilize a variety of tools to enhance their collaboration including:

• Document upload/share
• Collaborative whiteboard
• Screenshare
• Google Docs collaboration (not recommended at this moment)
• Document edit pad
• Recording and archiving capabilities
• Speech-to-text for great Closed Captioning
• A virtual lobby
• Classroom-like space for workshops
• and much more

Most Student Services are available in Cranium Café. Here is a list in alphabetical order (and more are adding)

• Admissions & Records
• Business Office
• Break It to Make It
• CalWORKs
• Career Center
• Career Technical Education (CTE)
• Cooperative Education Work Experience
• Dream Resource Center (DRC)
• EOPS/CARE
• General Counseling
• Genderversity Multicultural Center
• Guardian Scholars/Next Up
• First Year Experience (FYE)
• Financial Aid
• Health and Wellness Center
• International Student Programs
• LACC Cubstore (Bookstore Services)
• MLK Jr Library
• Office of Special Service (OSS)
• Outreach and Recruitment
• Ralph Bunch Honors Transfer Program
• Student Life
• STEM Pathways Program
• Transfer Center
• TRIO Student Support Services
• Upward Bound
• Veterans Resource Center (VRC)
• Welcome Center
• Writers’ Block

Visit the Department's homepage, or the Online Student Services Building to connect with them via Cranium Café

Cranium Classrooms is a web-based classroom envirnment that is appropriate for distance learning and simulates in-class experiences. This tool is often used for workshops and to host larger scale events. Most Student Services departments are not using this feature, but training will become available in the future.

It is easy to set up your Cranium Café to have LACC as your home campus.

1. Login to Cranium Café
2. Click on the “Account Settings” tab in the menu on the left
3. Click on “Change Default Institution”
4. Click on the drop-down menu and select Los Angeles City College
5. Click on “Change Default Institution”
6. Save with “OK”

Once you’ve logged onto Cranium Café, go to the navigation bar on the left and select “Customize Card.” You can add a profile picture of yourself where it says, “Select Photo.” You can also fill in the other fields as well. Once you have updated your card, click “Save.”

For best user experience, it is recommended that you use a PC or a laptop. All PCs, Desktops, Chromebooks, Netbooks, MacBooks, as well as Android, Chrome, and Windows handheld devices can connect to the video platform without downloading an application but will require you to use Chrome or Firefox.

For some general information about how to get started, check out our website: https://lacitycollege.edu/Resources/Online.

• Operating Systems: Windows 7 or higher, OS 10 or higher (iMac/MacBook 2009 or later), Linux/Android Specs: any version of Linux that supports the latest Firefox or Chrome build.
• Android and Windows Device Requirements: Use the latest version of Chrome or Firefox (Do not use Internet Explorer)
• Mac OS and Windows Requirements: Use the latest version of Google Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge (Do not use Safari)

While the phone is not a recommended mode of communication, iPhone and iPad users can download the ConexEd application. Using a Google web-based browser may work better on the mobile. Android users should use a Chrome or Firefox. Updates and changes in technology change often so be mindful about that when using a mobile device.

If you are only using chat, then a mic or camera will not be needed. If you are scheduling a video appointment, students have the option to turn off their camera and only communicate by audio or chat. At times, the individual you are scheduling an appointment with may have a different request for communication.

During a video meeting, for the best user experience, you will need a webcam, mouse, and audio accessibility.

We recommend using a dedicated microphone of some kind, because without a dedicated microphone, any closed captioning will be negatively impacted by ambient and background noise.

Most of our Student Services programs are available to students on Cranium Café during the following hours:

Monday - Thursday: 8:30AM - 4:30PM
Fridays: 9:00AM - 12:00PM

To see if there are any changes or updates to hours of operations, please review the Student Support Directory and locate the office you are seeking services from.

Each office will provide a description of their hours and additional information.

Lastly, always check the department’s website for the most updated information.

Note: Before you search, make sure you have selected LACC as your campus of choice on Cranium Café.

The Student Support Directory will appear and list the different departments you can receive services from. You can select the department or specific user to search for at the top of the page.