Digital tools for video conferences, lectures, consultations

5. BigBlueButton

BigBlueButton is a videoconferencing system developed specifically for education. Its functionalities include an interactive whiteboard, polls, screen sharing, breakout rooms, chat, learning/student engagement analytics, integration into the Moodle LMS core and the ability to record lectures (recordings are stored on the HEI server). Due to these features, it is very popular and is often used in open and remote learning environments. The two largest implementations of BigBlueButton in the higher education system of the Republic of Croatia are at the University of Zagreb, at the Faculty of Organization and Informatics and at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.

One of the key advantages of BigBlueButton is that it is an open source software solution. This allows institutions to set up and adapt the system to their own needs, without a mandatory license. On the other hand, this also means that technical performance, stability and quality depend on the server and resources of the institution. For optimal functioning, technical support and a sufficiently strong infrastructure are required.

BigBlueButton is education-oriented and therefore offers features that many commercial tools lack, such as tools for group work and monitoring student participation and learning analytics. The fact that all lecture recordings are hosted on HEI servers and infrastructure is a great advantage, especially in terms of security and GDPR. However, limitations may arise in the case of a lack of institutional IT resources or poor scalability for a large number of users.

When we talk about the platforms from which it is possible to use this tool, these are: