Sakai: Meetings

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Meetings

Meetings (BigBlueButton) is an open source webinar tool available in Sakai that allows you to communicate with your students remotely. You can display presentations, use a white board, use audio and/or a webcam, chat with your students, and share your desktop. Meetings is a synchronous tool, which means users have to be online at the same time to interact. You can also add polls to your Meeting and record your Meetings, too.

Creating and Running a Meeting plus Student Handouts *

What can you do with Meetings 1.0-Beta?

Minimum computer requirements

  • You must use a web browser running Adobe Flash, according to BigBlueButton.
    • To check your web browser flash version (and download the latest version), visit Adobe's Flash Version Check
    • Note: On the Adobe Flash Player Version check web page, scroll to step 5. If anything is moving (tire swing, clouds), you don't need to download the latest version of Adobe Flash.
  • When you join a meeting:
    • Meetings will give you a prompt to let you know that you must give your browser permission to get to your meeting.
    • Meetings will allow you to test your audio and choose your microphone (if you have one).
  • Instructors and Presenters only:
    • Starting April 14, 2015, use Firefox to share your desktop. Why? Chrome is dropping support for Java applets, so you can't use Chrome to share your desktop.
      • You can use Chrome to do everything else in Meetings, and your students can use Chrome, too.
      • If you forget, you'll get a message reminding you to use Firefox.
    • To share your desktop, you must have Java installed: Test Java or install Java on your computer.
    • If Java is not working after you install it, you may have to remove old Java versions, activate Java in your web browser or enable the Java Plug-in in your web browser.
    • Recommended Number of Users per meeting session: 25 or fewer. According to BigBlueButton, you may experience performance problems with more than 25 students in a single session.

Sound or Voice "Conferencing"

  • For the best results, all participants should use a headset, vs a microphone and speakers.
  • Or, once you join the Meeting, you can call the number displayed in the Chat area, enter the conference pin displayed in the Chat area, and you can use your phone to talk in the Meeting.
    • Note: The phone call is NOT free.
    • If I use my phone, is there a way to hide my phone number from the Meeting participants? Yes.
      • Now only your area code is displayed.
      • Otherwise, follow the first set of instructions, they are the easiest way to hide your phone number

Users Area

Uploading and Displaying Presentations

Whiteboard Features

  • At the bottom middle of the presentation area, click on the next arrow, to get to a blank slide to use with the Whiteboard.
  • The Instructor and Presenter can use a Whiteboard in Meetings, by moving your cursor over the right side of the default presentation area.
  • A number of icons will pop up for you to click on and draw with:
    • Whiteboard icons available: A hand (pan and zoom), pencil, shapes (rectangle, circle, triangle), line, T (text), X (clear page), backward arrow (undo shape), color box (to pick a drawing color), sliding arrow icon (to change the thickness of the lines/shapes drawn).
      • To draw perfect shapes (rectangle, circle, triangle), click and hold the Ctrl or Shift key on your keyboard, then click and draw your shape.
    • You can draw on the default presentation page, an uploaded document, or you can upload a blank document.
    • Note: If you already uploaded a presentation but want a blank slide to draw on:
      • Click on the upload presentation button
      • Click on the default.pdf file
      • Beside the default.pdf file, click on the Show button

Chat box

  • A Chat box is displayed on the right side of Meetings.
  • At the bottom of the Chat box, type in text, then click on the Send button. All participants will see your message.
  • All participants can type in Chat messages.
  • If you need to chat with a specific user, near the top of the Chat box, beside the Public tab, click on the Options tab.
    • Click on the name of a user. A new Chat tab will appear, with the user name.
    • In the user's Chat tab, type in text, click Send. Only the selected user will see a new Chat tab appear with your name. They have to click on the tab starting with your name. The user will then be able to see your private Chat message.
    • If the user responds to your private Chat message, their message will pop-up in your Chat tab with their user name.
  • Click on the Public tab, to post chat messages to all participants.
  • How can you change the size of the chat font size displayed? At the top of the Chat box, click on the Options tab.
    • Click on the number beside Chat Message Font Size, click on a new font size, such as 12 or 14.
  • How can I copy all chat messages to the clipboard? (BigBlueButton)
  • To share a video, share the video link in the Chat box. If you try to share your desktop and play the video, students won't hear the video, only the presenter will!
  • New! Can I turn off private chat? YES.
    • In the User area, you can now lock users Private Chat.
    • Note: Don't lock viewers from using the Public Chat if they don't have a microphone, they won't be able to communicate with you!

Layout Manager

  • Are there different layouts available, so I can make one part of my Meeting session larger than the others? Yes.
    • In the lower right corner of a Meeting, you can click on a dropdown box (usually it says Default Layout) to change your session layout.
      • Some layouts give more emphasis to the lecture display (Presentation Meeting, Lecture, Default Layout)
      • Other layouts give more emphasis to the webcam (Video Chat and Webcam Meeting).
      • You can click on the Default Layout to return to the original view.
    • The student's layout matches the instructor's, but the student can change their layout, too.
  • Can I permanently lock the layout for my students? YES
    • If you click on the lock beside the layout dropdown box, your students’ layout will match yours and they can’t change it, until you click on the lock again.

Webcam Features

  • The instructor can display their webcam, as well as students.
    • After the instructor has plugged in their device, they must go to the upper left corner, and click on "Share my Webcam". You'll be presented with a Webcam Settings dialog box.
    • In the Webcam Settings dialog box, you must click on the Start Sharing button to display your Webcam or click Cancel.
      • Optionally, you can change the device you're using and change the size of your webcam display.
    • Your webcam will display in the Webcams area, usually located in the lower left corner of the default presentation.
    • Students can perform the same steps to display their webcams.
    • Instructors can move their cursor over student webcam displays, click on the microphone icon, and mute or unmute them.
      • Instructors can also click on the "X" in the upper right area of a student webcam display, and close the display.
  • Can I permanently lock the my students from using their webcams? YES, see the Users Area above for details.

Advanced: Desktop Sharing

Record and Playback Basics

Meetings does record lectures now easily. The recordings won't show up immediately, but short recordings show up fairly quickly. You can "Hide" Recordings (make recordings unavailable) to students, too.

  • New! Is there a record start/stop button? YES.
  • How do I set up a recording? When you create a meeting, you must click on the box beside Recording.
  • When does a recording start and stop?
    • BigBlueButton will record the meeting from the time you press the record button to the time you press the record button again.
    • You can start and stop the recording as many times as you like-only one recording will be created.

Note: When you set up a meeting, you can also state it's duration, therefore, a meeting may also end when it reaches your stated meeting duration. (BigBlueButton)

  • What web browsers play recordings? Firefox and Chrome do playback recordings, but Internet Explorer and Safari do not. (BigBlueButton)
  • How can I hide a recording? In Meetings, in Recordings, move your cursor over the recording you want to hide.
    • Below it, you'll now see links you can click on to Hide or Delete the recording.
    • After you click Hide, make sure the Status changes from Published to UnPublished. Now only you can see your recording.
  • How can I make a hidden recording available again? Follow the steps above, but now you'll see a new link "Show" you can click on.
    • After you click on Show, make sure the status changes back to Published.

Advanced Record and Playback

  • What parts of the session does the latest version of BigBlueButton record? Your presentation, now polling, whiteboard and mouse movements, plus webcams, desktop sharing, chat, as well as audio (BigBlueButton). Note: The User Area is not recorded.
  • When does a recording appear for review? It can take a few minutes, depending on how long your recording is, after you make a recording:
    • Click on Meetings, Click on Recordings.
    • To the right of your Meeting title, you can click on one of two links to recordings of your meeting. Click on a recording link to review it.
  • How do you Share Recordings?
    • Click on Meetings, click on Recordings.
    • Now you can direct students to the Meetings Recordings area link, or after clicking on the video link, you can copy the web address of the link and share it with others.
  • Can I download recordings? You can do this now, but we don't recommended it. Why not share the link to the video?

Polls

Accessibility

  • Are Meetings/Chat/Recordings Accessible to those using screen readers? Yes, with since release 0.8+.

What features will be added in the future?

BigBlueButton has a feature roadmap that you can check out at any time

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