BigBlueButton
From EFrontWiki
This module provides integration of BigBlueButton conferencing in eFront.
You can access the BigBlueButton public demo server at http://demo.bigbluebutton.org/ if you would like to see it first-hand.
Contents |
[edit] Overview
BigBlueButton (henceforth to be refered as "BBB") is a free web-conferencing tool with text chat, audio and video capabilites, a virtual whiteboard and many more presentation and conferencing features.
The main functions of the module are to:
- Provide scheduling of BBB conferences in eFront.
- Automate the task of sending e-mail invitations to the desired participants.
- Make the BBB log-in procedure easy and simple.
- Assign each conference participant a role (presenter/viewer) according to his/her eFront role.
[edit] BBB module interface
The BBB module functionality available depends on the role of the current eFront user:
[edit] Administrator
An Administrator is responsible for setting up the server information of the BBB server. After the module is installed, this menu can be accessed from the module button in the Administrator's control panel.
The first field should contain the BBB server's address. This can be either an IP (e.g. http://192.168.1.10/) or a URL (e.g http://www.mybbbserver.com/)
The second field should contain the security salt (encryption key) set up on the BBB server.
The last field is a checkbox. Make sure it is ticked if you are using BBB server version 0.7 or later, or keep it empty if you are using an earlier version.
(introduced in BBB module v1.1)
Remember, no changes are saved unless you press the 'Submit' button.
[edit] Professor
BBB conferencing must first be activated by a professor for every lesson where it is appropriate, from its administration page.
After the module is enabled, there will be a conference menu link in the options menu of the lesson and on the left-hand sidebar where it is available. Conferences can be created by pressing "Add conference" in this menu.
To create a conference, a name must be given for the conference as well as a starting date, time, and duration.
After you press 'Submit', the conference has been scheduled.
You are then forwarded to the student invitation screen, where all the students who are enrolled for this particular lesson are shown.
There, you have the option to send automated e-mails to any of the students you would like to attend the conference.
Tick the boxes to the right of the students you wish to invite, and press 'Send notification email to participants'.
Every scheduled conference has three buttons available on the far right:
- Edit: Change the time and/or duration of the conference, or perform more e-mail invitations.
- Start: Start a conference. This option is not available until the scheduled time for the conference has come.
- Delete: Deletes an scheduled conference.
Note: A deleted conference is purged from the eFront database but the room is not closed before the participating professor leaves.
[edit] Student
Students may view the list of conferences either at the related lesson page or at their dashboard.
Students may only join conferences where the professor has set them to participate and only after they have been initiated, by clicking on the “Join” link of the appropriate meeting in the list.
[edit] BigBlueButton Server
To use BBB, you need to have a server available to host your meetings. There are some hosted (paid) solutions out there, but setting up your own server is not difficult.
[edit] Setting up the BBB server
The BBB server runs in Linux, so you have to choose between installing it on a computer using Linux, or using a virtual machine.
[edit] Virtual machine
You can follow the instructions found at: http://code.google.com/p/bigbluebutton/wiki/BigBlueButtonVM
[edit] Linux installation
The instructions to install in Ubuntu can be found here: http://code.google.com/p/bigbluebutton/wiki/InstallationUbuntu
And here are the instructions for CentOS: http://code.google.com/p/bigbluebutton/wiki/InstallingBigBlueButtonCentOS
[edit] Security salt
The security salt is an encryption key that helps secure the communication between the module and the BBB server.
You can see your currently set salt in your BBB server, at:
/var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/bigbluebutton/WEB-INF/classes/bigbluebutton.properties
and for the demo:
/var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/bigbluebutton/demo/bbb_api_conf.jsp
[edit] Changing the security Salt
The process to change the security salt is different depending on the BBB Server version you are using. Version 0.7 introduced change through the command line, which makes things a lot easier.
[edit] BBB Server v0.6x
Change the salt directly in these files:
/var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/bigbluebutton/WEB-INF/classes/bigbluebutton.properties
and for the demo:
/var/lib/tomcat6/webapps/bigbluebutton/demo/bbb_api_conf.jsp
[edit] BBB Server v0.7
Simply run:
sudo bbb-conf --salt new_salt
Note: Whenever you change the security salt in the server remember to also change it in the appropriate eFront menu.
[edit] Version 0.7 changes
The latest version of BBB (v0.7), brought some changes to the way the checksum is calculated in the message.
If you haven't already, please download and use BBB module v1.1. It implements a setting in the admin menu that switches between the old and new type of calculation to support both old and new versions fully.
