Lecturers of the University of Twente who need to conduct live online lectures in order to achieve two-way interaction with their students can choose between BigBlueButton (Canvas Conferences), Microsoft Teams Meetings, or Zoom. Instructions on how to get started with these tools are presented below.
Specific manuals for streaming and recording solutions in the lecture halls can be found here.
You can use your own equipment at your own desk to conduct live lectures. However, we strongly recommend using a good-quality headset. If you do not own one, you can request one here (home delivery is possible).
BigBlueButton
If you want to conduct a live stream and you have a Canvas Course, we recommend you to use BigBlueButton. We strongly recommend limiting your sessions to a maximum of 100 students, as performance will degrade if you have a larger number of participants. Below you can find alternatives for larger student groups. Instructions on how to get started with BigBlueButton in Canvas can be found here.
Microsoft Teams Meetings
Microsoft Teams Meetings supports up to 1000 students per meeting, including the ability to have audio, video, screen sharing, whiteboards, and shared notes. Meetings can be scheduled or can be created ad-hoc. You can meet within a private space or within a team channel. Meetings can also be recorded and saved for attendees to review later. You can find instructions on how to get started with Microsoft Teams Meetings here.
Zoom
Starting from 26 August 2024, the maximum number of participants in Zoom will decrease to 100 participants and the maximum duration of a Zoom meeting will be 40 minutes. UT employees are encouraged to use Microsoft Teams, specifically Teams Webinar for large online meetings. For more information, consult this news message and/or LISA's FAQ.
Need support?
If you have specific questions on how to use these conference tools for educational purposes, you can contact your faculty's e-learning specialist or the TELT team.