What parts of a BigBlueButton session are recorded?
Presentations, chats, webcam activity, audio, screen-sharing and whiteboard marks are recorded.
Can students record a presentation in BBB and submit it as an assignment?
If the student is only recording himself or herself speaking (audio, webcam, both):
We would not recommend BigBlueButton for standalone audio recordings. We recommend that students use a standard audio file maker, or use YouTube and submit that link to the instructor for the assignment.
If the student also has a PowerPoint/PDF to present:
Instructors can create a BBB room for each individual student and assign them as the non-editing instructor for that particular activity. Assigning the role is imperative; otherwise, students will not have presenter rights within the BBB room.
We say one room per student because it’d be easier to name the recordings that way and keep them separated – the instructor can use only one room if they’d like, but this will require a strict schedule for the students to use the room (to ensure they don’t overlap) and changing the recording name every time to match the student’s name (and, of course, assigning the non-editing instructor role to all students for that activity).
Can the instructor pre-record lectures using BBB?
Yes, instructors can use BigBlueButton to pre-record lectures for their students. They would record the lecture or presentation within BBB, make sure to create a recordings resource (this may occur at any point throughout the course; it not need to be prior to a recording), and then direct their students to the recording. We recommend naming the room or recording by lecture so students can keep their materials organized and clearly labeled.
Please note: BigBlueButton recordings do not transfer from class to class, or from term to term. We do not recommend creating lectures using BBB if the instructor intends to use them for more than one course.
Can instructors use BBB to administer group discussions/projects for students?
Yes. Create a BBB room for each group, and then assign the group members as non-editing instructors for their assigned room. This allows students to share presenter rights and work collaboratively regardless of instructor presence.