Virtual Classroom FAQ

Plan a meeting

How do I announce a planned a meeting?

You create a meeting by going to Activities > Virtual Classroom. When you create a meeting, a Calendar event will automatically be created in your Brightspace course. This event will be visible on your homepage and in the Pulse app. If you make changes to the date and/or time of the meeting then this will automatically be processed in the Calendar event. You might also want to add the planned meeting to your Course Content. Additionally, you can create an Announcement.

When will students and lecturers have access to the meeting?

Students can enter a meeting when the planned starting time has passed and when the lecturer has opened the meeting.

A lecturer can access the meeting 10 minutes in advance to prepare.


How do I create a meeting with one or a few participants?

Plan a meeting where you do not invite the entire class (turn off the Invite entire class option).
Go to the planned meeting and choose Edit.
Use Manage Invites to choose the students you want to add.
Read this manual for additional instruction.

How do I invite the other lecturers in my Brightspace course for a meeting?

Each person who is in your Brightspace course and does not have a student role automatically has access to all meetings. That is why you do not need to add lecturers to a meeting separately.

Can I invite lecturers who are not part of my Brightspace course for a meeting?

It is possible to select the option Allow External Participants when you are creating a meeting. Once the meeting is planned you go to Actions, click the three dots icon and select Copy External Link.
This link can be shared with your colleagues, for example via email. They can then access your meeting without having to access your Brightspace course. Within the meeting they will then be assigned a student role.

You share a public link to the meeting. This means the meeting is accessible for anyone who clicks the link. The person who opens the public link has to enter a (screen)name in order to participate, but it is not possible to check the identity of the participant even when the person is logged into Brightspace.


Is there a limit for my file sizes?

If you want to present documents, for example a Powerpoint presentation, you have to keep in mind that the document can be 30 MB or 200 pages at most. This limit applies to every file. If you want to share a large file, you might want to create several smaller files, or save the file as a smaller format.

Can students present during the meeting?

Yes, you can make a student presenter.  Go to the list of participants on the left side of your screen and click on the name of the person you want to make presenter. This person can now control the whiteboard, upload a presentation and share their screen. If you want to present yourself, click your own name in the list of participants and make yourself presenter again. 

Can I share files with my participants during a meeting?

You can use the chat to send files to all participants, or use the private chat to send files to one specific participant. Open the chat window and click Send file at the bottom.

Audio and webcam

How many participants can use a webcam simultaneously?

The maximum number of webcams that can be turned on simultaneously during a meeting is 30. This includes the lecturer's webcam. When this limit is reached the next participants will not be able to turn their webcam on as this option is blocked. One of the ten participants will have to turn their webcam off in order to allow a next participant to turn theirs on. 10 of the 30 webcams are visible on everyone's screen. If someone starts talking, they will be moved to the front and made visible on screen.

Can I mute a student or turn off their webcam?

You can mute all students at once by going to Participants and then clicking the microphone (Mute all). However, each separate student will be able to turn their microphone back on. You can use this option if you want students to participate but prevent them from speaking all at once. 

You can also block all microphones and webcams:

  • Click the three dot icon at the top right.
  • Select Settings and then select Participants.
  • Add a checkmark to the microphone and/or webcam to lock it.

Students can no longer turn on their webcam or microphone, unless you disable this setting again.

This setting only applies to participants who are students. Lecturers are always able to use their microphone and webcam.

You cannot turn off the microphone and/or webcam for one specific student.

Breakout rooms

How many groups can I create?

You can use breakout rooms to divide the participants of the meeting into a maximum of six groups. Each group will get their own meeting, and the maximum number of participants for each respective breakout room is 150.
Read this manual to learn more about the breakout rooms.

What is the time limit for a breakout room?

When you create a breakout room you can decide how long it should last. The default setting is 15 minutes, but you can change the duration and make it longer or shorter. The time for the breakout room cannot exceed the remaining time of the main meeting.

When the time has passed the breakout room will be automatically closed. Students can then close the breakout room tab and thus return to the main meeting.

Which sounds do breakout room participants hear?

Breakout room participants will only hear the sound of their own breakout room. As lecturer you will only hear the sound of the participants who remained in the main meeting. If you want to talk to the students of a specific breakout room you will have to join that room.

How can students ask for help while in the breakout room?

The breakout room opens in a new window. Students can click on the tab containing the main session and then send a chat message there. They do, however, have to keep the tab containing the breakout session opened as well. The lecturer can then answer the question via the main session's chat, or move to the breakout room containing the student with the question.

Create and share recording

How do I record a meeting?

There are two options:

  1. Turn on Automatically record meeting when you are creating the meeting. The recording will start at the predetermined start time, even if you open the meeting ten minutes in advance. 
  2. Click Start recording at the top of your screen once the meeting is opened. This option is recommended because you can then determine which parts of the meeting need to be recorded.

Can I record a breakout room?

No, only the main meeting can be recorded. A message will appear at the top of the breakout room stating Not recording. 

How do I share a recording with a group or certain students?

  • Go to Activities and then to Virtual Classroom.
  • Go to Recorded Meetings, then the Actions column and click the three dots icon.
  • Select Copy Public URL.
  • Go to Content and navigate to the module in which you want to place the link.
  • Use Upload/Create to add a topic of the Create a link type. 
  • Use release conditions to determine who within your course gets to see the topic.

You are now sharing a public link to your recording. Even though you restrict the access to the topic within Brightspace, the link can be found by students in your course and can then be shared with the entire world. Be careful when using this method, especially when you are dealing with privacy sensitive data.

How do I prevent a meeting from getting downloaded?

When you are creating a meeting you have to deselect the option Automatically publish meeting. The student will then not see a download link. You can, however, add a link of the recording to the course. Students can use this link to play the recording within Brightspace, but cannot download it.
Lecturers are always able to download the recording.

Can I edit a recording afterwards?

No, you cannot edit a finished recording. If you do not want to record all components of a meeting then you will have to stop the recording and resume at a later moment.


Why do I get to see Access denied when I try to access the Virtual Classroom?

It is important to allow so-called 'third-party cookies' in your browser (the recommended browser for Virtual Classroom is Chrome). You can change this setting by going to your browser and then Settings > Privacy and security > Site Settings > Cookies and site data. Check whether the option 'Block third-party cookies' is turned off.

Why is the Enter Meeting Room button gray when I try to start a meeting?

This can mean two things:

  • You have opened the meeting more than ten minutes before the starting time.
  • You are using a browser that is not supported, such as Safari, Internet Explorer, or Edge. The recommended browser for Virtual Classroom is Google Chrome.

For more information about the Virtual Classroom, please click here to read the manuals.