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 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 leave or join the conference audio, click the Audio button [4].
To enable your webcam, click the Webcam button [5]. If webcams are enabled, you can hide the presentation window and display only webcams by clicking the Hide icon [6].
View Annotation Tools
If the moderator allows, participants can use tools to annotate the presentation window. To use a pencil to draw in the presentation window, click the Pencil icon [1].
To view all annotation tools, click and the hold the Pencil icon. In addition to the pencil tool, you can also create text annotations [2], line annotations [3], or shape annotations [4].
To pan a document that has been zoomed in, click the Pan icon [5].
To adjust the thickness of an annotation, click the Thickness icon [6]. To adjust the color of the annotation, click the Color icon [7].
To undo the most recent annotation, click the Undo icon [8]. To delete all annotations that you have created, click the Delete icon [9].
To enable palm rejection, click the Palm Rejection icon [10].
Note: If you cannot view the annotation tools, they are not enabled for participants in your conference.
Open Options Menu
To open the Options menu, click the Options icon [1].
To view the conference in fullscreen mode, click the Make fullscreen link [2].
To view information about the interface, click the About link [3].
To view help tutorials, click the Help link [4].
To view hotkeys, click the Keyboard shortcuts link [5].
To logout of the conference, click the Leave meeting link [6].
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 select the language for the interface, click the Application Language drop-down menu [4].
To adjust the font size, click the Decrease or Increase buttons [5].
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].
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 webcams toggle [2].
To enable or disable desktop sharing, click the Enable desktop sharing toggle [3].
