BigBlueButton v4.4.0 (GWDG Meet integration)
The Gesellschaft für wissenschaftliche Datenverarbeitung mbH Göttingen (GWDG) offers GWDG Meet (BigBlueButton, BBB) as an open source video conferencing tool, maintained within the MPG IT infrastructure. Members can now create, join and manage ad hoc GWDG Meet video conferences from inside Minerva Messenger. The tool is based on HTML5, runs in the browser, and does not require any software installation.
Functionalities
BigBlueButton offers the following features that go beyond video conferencing:
- Upload and show presentation
- Annotation function for presentations (also by multiple users inside)
- Download function of the presentation for participants inside
- Establishment of so-called “break-out rooms” for group work
- Note function
- Recording options for the conference
- Conducting surveys
- Individual sessions with up to 100 people
For more detailed information, check out the GWDG Meet documentation, FAQs, and Privacy or watch some of the BBB tutorials on the BigBlueButton website.
Please note: when starting an instant GWDG Meet video conference from within Minerva Messenger, the user will have many but not all functionalities available compared to when registering for and using the GWDG Meet Service of the GWDG directly. For example, there are no user-specific, personalized (Home) Rooms with respective meeting history available, among others.
If you require support or have any questions regarding the GWDG Meet integration for Minerva Messenger, please contact the Minerva Messenger Support Team.
Usage
No additional login or user account registration is required for using the Minerva Messenger BigBlueButton (GWDG Meet) integration. Please note that the integration does not support the individual GWDG Meet user accounts (registered at GWDG); instead, a new host (linked to the user’s Minerva Messenger account) is created for each meeting.
- Clicking the BBB video icon (top icon bar) in a Minerva Messenger channel…
…creates a GWDG Meet call and invites all channel members to join. Recording can be allowed or disabled by the host.
- To participate in the meeting, click the ‘Join Meeting’ button, and then ‘Join the BBB meeting here’. These actions will open a browser window with the respective GWDG Meet video conference interface
- Users can also start a meeting in any chat window by using slash commands
/bbb
- External participants can be invited to participate in a meeting by sharing a meeting link, allowing them to join the meeting. The sharable link is provided in the video call summary
- Directly meet with any user – Users can click on any user’s name and choose ‘Start BigBlueButton Meeting’.
- End a GWDG Meet video conference – users can end the GWDG Meet call, either by clicking ‘End Meeting’ in the top-right Menu in the GWDG Meet browser interface or by clicking the ‘End Meeting’ button in the Minerva Messenger interface.
- Video call summary – once the video call has been ended, the initial post for creating the GWDG Meet call will be updated to show a call summary including meeting status, date/time, duration, attendee information, and, if applicable, a link to related recordings.
Recording options
The processing of GWDG Meet recordings has been enabled in the plugin settings. Therefore, access information related to GWDG Meet recordings will be fetched into Minerva Messenger (not the actual recording but links to the recordings stored within the GWDG Meet Service system).
If the recording functionality is being activated in an instant GWDG Meet video call, all participants must be notified prior to their meeting participation that audio and video signals are being recorded and processed. The responsibility for the legally compliant usage of the system bears the meeting creator.
- To start a recording, click the ‘Start recording’ button (top center of GWDG Meet interface) and confirm:
- To pause the recording, click the recording button again and confirm.
- Recording can be resumed anytime by clicking the recording button again
Access to recordings
- Links to video call recordings (which are being stored within the GWDG Meet Service system) are accessible to ALL members of a channel, in which the instant video call had been created (also if they have not participated in the video call).
- Users can access the recording/thumbnails in the respective video call summary listed in the Minerva Messenger post interface (the actual (updated) video call post).
- After the meeting has ended, it takes a couple of minutes until the recording information is included.
- Users are able to delete the link to the recording or make the recording invisible.
- A user can also view all recordings of a channel by clicking the BBB icon in the top icon menu, and then ‘View Recordings’.
Additional notes
- For BigBlueButton to work properly, the use of a Chromium-based browser or Google Chrome is recommended.
- We recommend a meeting size of up to 10 participants for best service performance.
- Please avoid creating video calls for more than 100 participants. However, if you are planning to host meetings with more than 100 participants please register for the event by sending an email to the Minerva Messenger Support Team.
- Meetings that impair the stability of the GWDG Meet Service can be terminated without advance notice by the Service provider.
References
GWDG Meet (BigBlueButton service of the GWDG)
GWDG – BigBlueButton Datenschutz (Privacy; in German)
Please note: The Max Planck Digital Library and the Minerva Messenger Service only provide an interface for the use of the Third-Party Plugins. Legal provisions of third parties may apply in the context of the use of the Third Party-Plugins.