Initiating a course on Moodle and BigBlueButton

From Karnataka Open Educational Resources

The following are the various steps to be followed for initiating a course on Moodle Learning Management System (LMS) and BigBlueButton webinar platform. The course content and activities will be available on Moodle. BigBlueButton will support online video/audio interactions between faculty and course participants.

1. Registration of the participants

The details of the participants (name, cell phone number and e-mail id) are to be collected and shared with ITfC team.

2. Creation of a WhatsApp group for quick communication

Once the participant details are available, a WhatsApp group needs to be created with all of them added. This group will be used for quick communication.

3. Creation of the Moodle IDs for the participants

Once the participant details are shared, their Moodle IDs will be created. ITfC team will do this and share the details (user id & password). These details can then be shared with the participants in the WhatsApp groups.

4. Enrolling the participants to the appropriate courses

Once the Moodle IDs are created, the participants need to be enrolled to the appropriate course. This to be done by the course creator.

5. Creation of the course in Moodle

The new course needs to be created in Moodle. This will be done by the System Administrator. The course content needs to be added by the Course Faculty.

6. Creating the BigBlueButton (BBB) webinar platform link in the CELT courses in Moodle

This will be done by the ITfC team. Participants will click on this link to join the webinar, using the BBB platform. The participants can refer to https://teacher-network.in/OER/index.php/Learn_BigBlueButton to become comfortable in using BBB

7. Installation of Moodle app by the participants who are using Mobile

The instructions and links for installing the Moodle app should be shared in the WhatsApp group. The participants can refer to https://teacher-network.in/OER/index.php/Learn_Moodle for help. Participants can join using the browser on their mobile also.

8. Message to the participants to familiarize themselves with the BigBlueButton

A message needs to be sent to the participants on familiarizing themselves with the BigBlueButton webinar platform. The message can include the link to the BBB tutorial video. The sample message is given in the next page.

9. Message to the participants on how to join the webinar

There needs to be a message sent to the participants on how to join the webinar. This should have clear step-by-step instructions. The sample message is given at the end of the document.

10. An overview session on the BBB & Moodle for the participants

Before starting the actual course, there should be an overview session conducted to familiarize the participants to the BigBlueButton and Moodle platforms.

Message to the participants to familiarize with the BBB

Dear <Course Name> Participants,

Welcome to the <Course Name> online course.

The course execution will consist of various activities using the following tools/technologies.

1). Daily webinars using BigBlueButton, a free and open source webinar tool

2). Course content sharing and transaction and assessment on the Moodle Learning Management System

3). WhatsApp for quick communication (like this one)

The course will begin on DD/MMM/Y YYY.

Before this first session, we would like you to watch the student tutorial video on BigBlueButton at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYYnryIM0Uw&t=27s. It is just a 5-minute video which can be viewed on desktop/laptop or any smartphone. Please watch the tutorial prior to the first session.

Message to the participants on how to join the webinar

Dear <Course Name> Participants,

Welcome to the <Course Name> online course webinar.

To login to the session on using BigBlueButton (BBB), please follow the below steps.

1. login to the <Course Name> course on moodle - https://karnatakaeducation.org.in/lms/course/view.php?id=<course id> or login to the Moodle app on your smartphone or on laptop using https://karnatakaeducation.org.in/lms/

2. In the main page, under the section “General”, you will see a BBB icon and ‘course webinar’ link.

3. Click on this link and it will take you to the next screen where you will see an option to ‘Join session’.

4. Click on ‘Join session’. You are now logged into the BBB session. If there are other people logged in, you will see their names in the left window.

5. All of you have been registered as ‘students’ and hence you will be able to attend and participate in the session.