BBB features and tips

1. Click on the Camera icon at the bottom of the BBB screen to the right of the audio configuration “telephone” icon.
2. A new Webcam Settings window will open on your screen.
3. Select which camera device you would like to use (if you have more than one connected) and the level of quality (Low, Medium, High, or High Definition) from the drop-down menus.
4. Click the “Start Sharing” button at the bottom of the Webcam Settings window.

Hover your mouse cursor over the webcam tile (or the entire ribbon) and the cursor will appear as a Hand (panning) tool. Click, hold, and drag to move the webcam tile/ribbon above or below the presentation window.

There are four ways to change the size of a webcam tile for yourself:

• Click on the “four outward arrows” button in the top right-hand corner of a webcam tile to make it full-screen.
• Click on the blue Hide presentation button in the top right-hand corner of the Presentation window to minimise the slide presentation. (The Presentation window can be restored by clicking on the Restore presentation icon at the far-right bottom corner of the BBB screen.)
• Hover your cursor over the bottom border of the webcam image. (Or the top border, if the webcam ribbon has been moved below the Presentation window.) The cursor will now turn into a Resize tool (two vertical arrows pointing in opposite directions). Click, hold, and drag to resize the webcam tile/ribbon in relation to the Presentation window.
• Click on the “down arrow” next to the name on a specific webcam tile and select Focus. This will make that webcam larger in relation to other webcams in the ribbon. (This feature only works when at least three webcams are active in the lobby.)

By default, all participants in a BBB session can view all active webcams. BBB’s current settings permit only 5 webcams to appear on-screen at a time (and in alphabetical order according to username). Participants can scroll through the various active webcams by hovering over the webcam ribbon and clicking on the left and right arrows at the far sides of the ribbon.

When the instructor or another moderator creates Breakout Rooms, a new window will appear on your screen with an invitation to join a Room.

If you have been assigned to a Breakout Room, there will be only the options to Join the Room or ignore the invitation for the moment.

If the self-select option has been enabled, the Breakout Room invitation will include a drop-down menu of the available Rooms.

Clicking on the Join button will open a new tab in your web-browser dedicated to the Breakout Room. Clicking Cancel will return you to the view of the main lobby. [To join your Breakout Room after clicking cancel or to self-select a different Room, see “How do I get back into my Room” below.]

When first entering a Room, you will be asked to conduct the Echo Test again to configure your audio. (The same thing will happen when the Rooms close and you are returned to the main lobby.)

A timer at the top centre of the BBB screen will show you how much time is left in the Breakout Room session. A separate notification will appear on your screen when the Breakout session is about to expire.

All participants have limited Moderator status abilities in Breakout Rooms, regardless of their status in the main lobby. As such, everyone has the ability to assume and assign the Presenter role, which will allow you to upload a presentation, activate the Multi-User Whiteboard, and initiate other activities.

If you leave your Breakout Room or decline the invitation, there is an option to rejoin. When Rooms are active, a new “Breakout Room” tab will appear above the User List at the far-left side of the BBB screen.

• Click on the Breakout Rooms tab in the main lobby to expand the menu window. This menu will show which Rooms you have been invited to join.
• Click on the Join Room link next to your Breakout Room to join that Room.

If, however, you have exited the BBB session entirely and the Breakout Rooms are assigned (not self-select), ask the instructor/moderator to re-invite you to a Room.

1. Click on your User Icon in the User List at the far-left side of the BBB screen. [If you have collapsed this column, click on the “head-and-shoulders” bust icon at the top-left corner of the screen to expand the window.]
2. Click on Set status in the menu that opens. This will reveal a drop-down menu with status options.
3. Select a status icon from the list by clicking on it.

The initials in your User Icon should now be replaced with the status icon you selected. If you would like to switch to a different status icon, go back to the “Set status” menu and click on a different item.

To remove your status icon:

1. Click on your User Icon in the User List.
2. Select the Clear status option in the menu.

1. Click on your User Icon in the User List at the far-left side of the BBB screen. [If you have collapsed this column, click on the “head-and-shoulders” bust icon at the top-left corner of the screen to expand the window.]
2. Click on Set status in the menu that opens. This will reveal a drop-down menu with status options.
3. Select the Raise status icon (in the shape of a flat, open hand) from the list by clicking on it.

Your User Icon will now feature a “hand” symbol. Additionally, your User Icon will now move to the top of the User List to make it easier for the instructor to see. If multiple participants have raised their hand, the User List will be arranged in the order that hands were raised.

The instructor has the option to lower your hand after addressing your question, comment, etc. If you would like to lower your own hand (e.g., because your question was answered for someone else):

1. Click on your User Icon in the User List.
2. Select the Clear status option in the menu.

Use of the whiteboard in the main lobby is limited to the instructor by default, but there is the option to make it available to individual users (Presenter role) or to everyone (multi-user whiteboard).

Since all participants in a Breakout Room can assume the Presenter role, it is possible for anyone to access the whiteboard and give access to everyone in the Room.

When the whiteboard option is enabled, a vertical column of buttons will appear at the far-right side of the presentation window.

Clicking on the topmost icon will extend a tray with various writing tools:

• Hand (panning) tool: When the BBB presentation is zoomed in, this tool will move the slide around. Click, hold, and drag to move the slide. It also doubles as a laser pointer.
• Pencil: For free-hand drawing.
• Shapes: For creating Squares, Triangles, and Circular objects. Click, hold, and drag to create your dimensions. Release to place the image.
• Line: For creating straight lines.
• Text box: To create a field you can type in. Click, hold, and drag to create the dimensions of the text box. Release to create, and then begin typing. Click anywhere on the screen to close your text box. (There is no need to click inside the text box before typing. Doing so will erase your text box.)

Depending on the tool you choose, additional options will appear beneath the writing tool tray:

• Solid dot icon: Change the width/size of your lines.
• Solid square icon: Change the colour of your lines.
• Text letters: Change the font size for your text box.

The bottommost three icons are standard features:

• Backward arrow: Undo your last annotation.
• Trash bin: Delete all annotations.
• Rectangle with a line: Activate and deactivate the Multi-User Whiteboard. (This option is only available to the Presenter.)

You can expand or collapse the Public Chat window my clicking the Public Chat tab above the User List on the far-left side of the BBB screen.

Type your message in the “Send message to Public Chat” field at the bottom of the window. Click the blue arrow icon beside it to send.

Any URL’s (i.e., web addresses) posted in the Chat will automatically become active hyperlinks. If the session is being recorded, they will be hyperlinks in the BBB interactive video player as well.

To save the Public Chat, click on the three dots menu icon in the top right-hand corner of the Public Chat window.

The Save option will automatically download a text file to your device’s default Downloads folder, unless you have changed your computer’s or browser’s download settings.

The Copy option will save the contents to your device’s clipboard so that you can manually paste it in a word-processing document of your choice.

To initiate a Private Chat, click on the instructor’s, TA’s, or moderator’s name in the User List at the far-left side of the BBB screen. In the menu that appears, select Start a Private Chat. The Private Chat window will open in place of the Public chat.

Alternately, a moderator may initiate a Private Chat with you. (See “Using private chat” below.)

Aside from the privacy aspect, the Private Chat operates the same way as the Public Chat. Only you and the other person involved in the Private Chat can view, contribute to, and save the content of the Chat.

When a Private Chat has been initiated (whether by you or by a moderator), a new tab will be created above the User List with the name of the other participant in that Chat. Click on the tab to expand or collapse the Private Chat.

The Private Chat uses the same window area as the Public Chat and Shared Notes. You can toggle between the different windows by clicking on their respective tabs above the User List.

Click on the Shared Notes tab above the User List at the far-left side of the BBB screen to expand or collapse the Shared Notes window. An alert symbol will appear on the tab when there is new content.

The Shared Notes uses the same window area as the Public Chat. You can switch between the two views by clicking on their respective tabs above the User List.

No, that is not its primary function. The Shared Notes tool is like a word-processing document. Continuous text can be added, and content can be deleted and formatted.

Formatting and style options can be found at the top of the Shared Notes window for creating more dynamic notes.

Participants can annotate the text using the bold, italics, underline, and strike-through styles, and even create bullet lists (both symbols and numbers).

There are also options to undo and redo edits.

Click on the down arrow icon at the top right-hand corner of the Shared Notes window to export the contents of the Shared Notes.

In the drop-down menu that appears, you are given several file-format options, including PDF and Microsoft Word. Selecting the file format will automatically download the file to the default Downloads folder on your device, unless you have changed your computer’s or browser’s download settings.

If the BBB session has been recorded, a copy of the main lobby Shared Notes will be saved automatically with the content as it was when the session ended. To access this, click on the Format Note Html link next to Video link in the Recordings menu. (See Viewing Recordings section below.)

No, it is possible only to export the contents of the Shared Notes.

You can copy the content of a document on your computer and paste it into the Shared Notes, but it will not always preserve the original formatting.

Recordings for a BBB session are listed beneath the “Join Session” button on that BBB activity’s joining page. To access a recording:

1. Login to your course/module.
2. On the course homepage, click on the link for the BBB session that was recorded.
3. Scroll down on the joining page to the Recordings menu, below the “Join Session” button.
4. Click either the “Video” or “Presentation” button to view the recording. The BBB recording will open in a new window.

The “Video” and “Presentation” feeds are created using the same information, but are displayed slightly differently. The Presentation format is more dynamic.

Video is a static view of only the elements that were used in the recorded session. For example, if the webcam and Public Chat were not used in the session, only the slide presentation will be displayed in the video. Additionally, all elements are in a fixed position for viewing.

Presentation will display all elements that are used to produce a BBB video, whether they were used in the session or not. So, even if no webcams were used in the session itself, a space for it will still appear in the recording.

Additionally, clicking on the swap views button (“parallel arrows facing opposite directions” icon) at the bottom right-hand corner of the player will swap the webcam and slide presentation windows.

Lastly, the Presentation view automatically creates a bookmark whenever the slide presentation changes slides. Click on the “three horizontal lines” button at the top-left of the BBB player to open the list of timestamped slide thumbnails.