How do I use the Conferences interface as a participant?
Once you have joined a conference as a participant, the Conferences interface contains multiple tools to help you participate in the conference. Any student who joins a conference that was started by someone else will be considered a participant.
You may also start a conference or be given the role of presenter or moderator. Learn more about using the Conferences interface as a moderator or presenter.
The Conferences interface is displayed using BigBlueButton's conferencing system. This guide provides a basic overview of the Conferences interface. To learn more about specific features, view BigBlueButton's user documentation.
It is recommended to use Chrome or Firefox browsers to access the Conferences interface. Screen sharing is not supported on Safari browsers.
View Conferences Interface
The Conferences interface contains a variety of tools to help you moderate and participate in your presentation. The interface consists of the following areas:
- User Menu [1]
- Presentation Window [2]
- Conference Tools [3]
- Options Menu [4]
View User Menu
From the User Menu, you can view all the users in the conference [1]. Each user is represented by their display name in Canvas.
You can also chat with conference participants and contribute to shared notes. To open the conference chat, click the Public Chat link [2]. To open the Shared Notes, click the Shared Notes link [3].
The User Menu is open by default. To close the User Menu, click the User Menu icon [4].
Note: If your institution uses BigBlueButton Premium Tier, Canvas user profile pictures may display as user avatars in BigBlueButton.
View Chat Tool
You can reply to, react to, or delete your own messages.
You can only reply to or react to individual messages from others.
View Presentation Window
The Presentation Window displays the presentation that has been uploaded by the moderator or presenter [1]. If the conference is being recorded, the recording time will display at the top of the screen [2].
The Presentation Window also includes several tools that control how you can participate in the conference. To Mute or Unmute your microphone, click the microphone button [3].
To enable your webcam, click the Share webcam button [4]. If webcams are enabled, you can hide the presentation window and display only webcams by clicking the Minimize presentation icon [5].
To show reactions, click the Share a reaction [6]. To signal that you want to speak or ask a question, click the Raise your hand button [7], and the Leave session allows you to leave the session [8].
View Annotation Tools
If the moderator allows, participants can use tools to annotate the presentation window. If an annotation is added to your presentation, you can select the thickness and color of text, click the Styles [1].
To point to or indicate specific parts of an image, click the Select [2]. To pan a document zoom in or zoom out, click the Hand icon [3].
To emphasize or mark certain parts of an image or text, click the Highlight [4].
To use a pencil to draw in the presentation window, click the Draw icon [5]. To remove, click the Eraser icon [6].
To draw or place arrows on an image or document, click Arrow icon [7], to add text, click the Text icon [8].
To delete all annotations that you have created, click the Clear all annotations icon [9]. To create a note, click Note [10].
To undo the most recent annotation, click the Undo icon [11], to restore an action that was previously undone, click the Redo icon [12].
To hide or minimize the toolbars [13].
To create line annotations or shape annotations, click More [1]. The whiteboard tools includes line and shapes [2].
Note: If you cannot view the annotation tools, they are not enabled for participants in your conference.
View Poll Results
When poll results are published, you can view the poll results as a graph in both the chat and presentation area.
Open Options Menu
To open the Options menu, click the Options icon [1].
To indicate availability, click I'm available [2]. When in I'm away status, it toggles both your audio and webcam on or off simultaneously.
To view the conference in fullscreen mode, click the Fullscreen Application [3].
To view information about the interface, click the About option [4]. To view help tutorials, click the Help link [5]. To view hotkeys, click the Keyboard shortcuts link [6].
To view presentation layout, click Manage layout [7].
To view your connection status, click the Connection status icon [8].
View Settings Menu
To open the Settings menu, click the Settings link.
Manage Application Settings
To manage applications settings, click the Application link [1].
To manage animations that display when a user is speaking, click the Animations toggle [2].
To manage microphone audio filters, click the Audio Filters for Microphone toggle [3].
To press a button to activate your microphone and speak, click Audio push to talk toggle [4].
To switch between light and dark user interface, click Dark mode toggle [5].
To allow you to auto-hide the toolbar for a cleaner workspace, click Auto Hide Whiteboard Toolbars toggle [6].
To hide your own video feed while still keeping your camera on for others to see, click Disable self-view (all cameras) toggle [7].
To manage excessive use of reactions, set auto-close the reaction bar toggle [8] after a reaction is shown.
To select the language for the interface, click the Application Language drop-down menu [9].
To adjust the font size, click the Decrease or Increase buttons [10].
Manage Notification Settings
To manage notification settings, click the Notifications link [1].
To manage chat alerts, click the Chat Message Audio Alerts [2] and Popup Alerts toggles [3].
To manage user join alerts, click the User Join Audio Alerts [4] and Popup Alerts toggles [5].
To manage user leave alerts, click the User Leave Audio Alerts [6] and Popup Alerts toggles [7].
Note: Chat alerts only function within the same browser in which the Conferences interface is open.
Manage Data Savings Settings
To manage data saving settings, click the Data savings link [1].
To enable or disable webcams, click the Enable other participants webcams toggle [2].
To enable or disable desktop sharing, click the Enable other participants desktop sharing toggle [3].
