BBB, the open source virtual classroom web conferencing solution for online learning, supports Educators in their engagement with remote students. The next release of the Moodle Learning Management System (LMS), Moodle 4.0, will feature BBB as a standard integration. It will enable Educators and Instructors to measure, manage and improve student engagement in a live environment.
Let’s explore the history of BBB, its relationship with Moodle LMS over the years, and take a peek at what BBB will deliver in Moodle 4.0.
How BBB started
Back in 2007, Carleton University, a publish research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is the place where BigBlueButton (BBB) was first created. Designed for the Education sector, unlike many proprietary products that were designed for business, it was the first open source solution for virtual classrooms. The name was chosen as it represented how easy BBB was to use, simply press the big blue button.
BBB and Moodle LMS
Early in BBB’s development, the BBB Team identified that integration with open source LMS, Moodle, was a priority. They envisaged that the integration would give Moodle the second of two key learning components:
Asynchronous learning – provided by MoodleLMS
Asynchronous learning is not constrained by time and place. It is education and learning among a group of people sharing information and resources, but not simultaneously. Prior to having technology for synchronous learning environments, most online education took place through asynchronous learning methods.
Sychnronous learning – provided by BBB virtual classroom tool
Synchronous learning is live, interactive learning, where the educator or instructor can engage with a group of students at the same time. The benefits of synchronous learning include the ability to build relationships, collaborate and learn from peers.
A BBB Moodle plugin was developed to support easy integration. The solution is a Certified Moodle Integration.
BBB Moodle plugin
Now, in 2021, the BBB plugin is one of the most popular Moodle LMS plugins. At time of writing, it is installed on 20,677 Moodle sites.
Functionality
The plugin was created to enable Moodle users to leverage BBB’s capabilities from within the Moodle site itself. Here’s a selection of its key functionality:
- Create multiple activity links to online sessions within any course
- Manage when students join a session e.g. wait until a moderator
- Launch BigBlueButton in a separate window
- Create a custom welcome message that appears at the top of the chat window when joining the session
- Specify join open/close dates for the session that appears in Moodle’s calendar
- Record and playback sessions
- Access and manage recordings, to use as learning material in future courses
How to install BBB in Moodle LMS
The easiest way to install BBB in Moodle yourself is directly from moodle.org. Here is a simple video that talks you through the steps:
