4 Virtual Conferencing Options to Keep the Learning Going

Learn how to keep the learning going with virtual coferencing!

Contributed By

David Wolpert

Director of Product Marketing at Schoology

4 Virtual Conferencing Options to Keep the Learning Going

Posted in Community | March 18, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic is forcing widespread school closures in the United States, with some states ordering all schools to shut down, in an unprecedented disruption of K-12 schooling.

PowerSchool has a commitment to help educators be prepared for school closures through access to our technology and best practices. We hope this will help minimize disruption and ensure every child continues to have access to the education they deserve while remaining safe and healthy.

One of the requirements we have been hearing a lot from customers is support for expanding choice in video conferencing software integrated in Schoology. With that we are very pleased to announce that we have partnered with best-of-breed providers to ensure that your district has the right conferencing system for you.

Microsoft Teams

We just released our new integration with Microsoft Teams for Education, a free collaborative learning tool in Office 365. Now, Schoology users with Office 365 accounts can create Teams meetings from within Schoology. With Schoology integrated with Teams, you can quickly enable remote learning for your students for free. Learn how to get Office 365 for your school or university today.

Install Microsoft Teams within Schoology

Zoom

The Zoom Pro LTI app allows districts to install Zoom for all Schoology courses enabling teachers to schedule and manage meetings, record classrooms, and more. This app can be installed by LMS Administrators at districts that have a Zoom Enterprise Agreement. For teachers taking advantage of Zoom’s temporary lifting the 40-minute time limit on Zoom Free accounts, they can create Zoom meetings outside of Schoology and add the links to pages, assignments, updates, and calendars.

Install Zoom for Schoology

Schoology Conferences

Schoology Conferences (BigBlueButton) is the built-in virtual classroom solution for Schoology. There is a concern that extreme increases in usage could cause performance issues. As an alternative, BigBlueButton Premium Hosting, which includes unlimited downloads and recordings, is available with a pay-as-you-go option to help meet temporary customer needs.

Install Conferences

Google Hangouts Meet

You can always add Google Hangouts Meet links to your pages, assignments, updates, and calendar in Schoology If you want to use Google Hangouts Meet as your conferencing tool, adding links is a great way to do that. The Google Meet will start when you join and will run until all users leave. You do not have to update the link to start a new session. When you’re ready for your next class to start, the same link will create a new Google Meet.

Google is rolling out free access to their advanced Hangouts Meet video-conferencing capabilities to all G Suite and G Suite for Education customers globally including: