Be advised: BigBlueButton is limited to recordings whose visibility is limited to only two weeks and cannot be saved to video. For recording meetings for later use, use Zoom.
“BigBlueButton” is the brand name of the web-conferencing solution that is automatically available with Canvas. You can find it under “Conferences” in the menu of your Canvas course shell. The written steps that follow the video correlate with the times the steps are shown in the video.
| Step | Time | Description of step |
| 1 | 0:16 | Click “Conference” in the Canvas course menu. (Note: If Conference is not visible in the Course Menu, go to Settings/Navigation to “enable” Conference, and save.) |
| 2 | 0:19 | Type in a name for the conference (e.g., Your name Virtual Office Hours, or Class #) |
| 3 | 0:46 | Know that all students in your course will receive an email invitation to join the conference, (but you should let them know ahead of time through specific communications that the session is coming up). |
| 4 | Note also that recordings of BigBlueButton meetings are retained for 2 weeks and then they disappear forever. | |
| 5 | 1:00 | When the time comes, click “Start” and the BigBlueButton meeting opens on its own. There are no apps to download. |
| 6 | 1:13 | Test your audio. You will be prompted to “allow” your audio to proceed. |
| 7 | 1:27 | The interface is simple but it’s “noisy” with a lot of text and extraneous information. Notice that the sharing rectangle has automatic slides and that you “draw” on it with whiteboard tools. |
| 8 | 2:03 | Turn on your web camera. Your visual presence is important for social interaction! You will be prompted to allow the use of your webcam. |
| 9 | 2:22 | You can make the webcam full-screen if you wish. Just as you can do with other sections. |
| 10 | 2:45 | Note that you can share your screen. |
| 11 | 3:02 | Stop sharing when you’re done. |
| 11.1 | If your conference window has been minimized, you can select the browser icon on your taskbar and restore the display. | |
| 11.2 | NOT SHOWN: You have the ability to switch to note-taking where the chat window is located. | |
| 12 | 3:48 | End the meeting when you’re finished. |