Running live online classes

Live online classes let a teacher start a video lesson from the staff portal and students join from theirs, using a meeting platform your institution chooses. Use them for remote days, catch-up sessions or blended courses.

Before you start

• The meeting platforms themselves are third-party services. Any that need an account depend on your institution's or your teachers' own accounts with that provider, including any limits or costs on those accounts.
• Classes, sections, subjects and teachers must be set up, and students need portal logins.
• Setting up platforms needs access to Integrations > Online Classes. Scheduling needs LMS > Live Classes. If you do not see this option, it may not be included in your plan or your role may not have permission; ask your administrator.

Steps

1. Choose a platform

1. Go to Integrations > Online Classes.
2. Click Add a Gateway and pick a platform. Each one tells you how it is set up: some are ready to use with no setup, some are configured once for the whole campus with details from your provider account, and some need each teacher to connect their own account.
3. For a campus-wide platform, enter the details from your provider account and save. Options not offered in your country are marked as such.

2. Teachers connect their account, if needed

1. In the staff portal, the teacher opens Online Classes and clicks Connect Platform.
2. They choose the platform and click Connect Account, then sign in with their own account at the provider and approve access.
3. If a connection expires, the teacher sees Reconnect and repeats the sign in.

3. Schedule the class

1. Go to LMS > Live Classes and click Add Class Schedule.
2. Choose the class and section, or program, batch and semester for colleges, then the subject and the Teacher.
3. Pick the Platform, the Class Days, and the Start Time and End Time. Save.
4. For many schedules at once, use Import Excel File.

4. Teach and join

1. At class time the teacher opens Online Classes in the staff portal and clicks Start Class. When finished, they click End Class.
2. Students open Online Classes in their portal and click Join Class.

Good to know

• Recording, attendee limits and meeting length are set by the platform and the account plan you hold with that provider, not by this screen.
• Some platforms do not let a class be ended remotely. Ending the class in the meeting app itself always works.
• If a teacher leaves, they can disconnect their account from Connect Platform. Their scheduled classes then need a new teacher or a reconnected account.
• Schedule each class for the right class and section, so the right students see it in their portal.

Common questions

Which platform should we use?
Start with the one your teachers already have accounts for. A platform that needs no setup is the quickest way to try it.

For an overview, see LMS.