BBB is a Core video conferencing tool for hosting meetings, seminars and lectures online.
Introduction
Famous for being an open source video conferencing/webinar tool aimed at educators, Big Blue Button makes it easy to schedule and host a live session with your students. There’s also support for recording sessions as well as splitting your class up into breakout groups for more focused discussion.
There’s some good guidance from the university on how to get going with BBB in the remote teaching Moodle pages.
Can I use it?
This tool is marked as Core in the Teaching and Learning Ecosystem document, meaning it’s central to teaching and learning and available to all staff. Login for Core tools is typically via Single Sign on or you can contact the Learning Enhancement Team to find out more.
Firewall Status: Safe – This tool is likely to work for learners in countries with more restrictive firewalls.
Privacy notice for recording sessions
Please ensure that students are aware that the session will be recorded, and that they have the option to ‘opt out’ and turn off their cameras if they wish. Please also refer students to our privacy notice, which can be found here.
The IGU have highlighted the specific part of this notice that is relevant to the recording of sessions:
As part of our efforts to keep our campuses and other sites safe and secure, enabling us to operate CCTV, body cams and audio and visual recordings of lectures and seminars.
What can I do with it?
There are currently no guides available for this tool. If you’re familiar with it, perhaps you’d consider contributing to the knowledge base?
