What is the Conference tool?
How to Select Your USB Headset as Audio Input and Output on your Computer
How to Create a Conference
How to Use the Conference Interface
Troubleshooting Tips

What is the Conference tool?
The instructor may want to use the Conferences tool for virtual presentations, office hours, or to meet with select students who are having trouble in the class or with student groups. Students can go in and create a web conference at anytime with other students. This is helpful if they have to give a virtual presentation in your class.

Using the Conferences tool, you can:

Upload a file
Share your desktop
Share your webcam
Chat with the entire class or initiate private chats with specific users
Accommodate up to 50 users

The person who creates the Conference is the moderator in the Conference. If you have a class presentation, the moderator will be your instructor.
- For group presentations: For group presentations, groups need to be made beforehand. Click this link to see how. At the start of a group's presentation with a PowerPoint, the instructor will make one group member a Presenter, which means that this student has the ability to upload a PowerPoint and navigate between the slides for the group.

As the moderator, you can upload a PowerPoint, share your desktop, mute or unmute all users at anytime.
All users can turn their webcam or microphone on or off, but only the moderator can mute or unmute specific students or the entire class at anytime.
The moderator can also click on the gear next to the student’s name and make them a presenter. Doing so gives that student all the abilities of a moderator. The student passes this role back in the same way.
Only one student can be a presenter at a time in the class Conferences tool.

How to Select Your USB Headset as Audio Input and Output on your Computer

Be sure to plug in your USB headset and webcam prior to starting and joining a Conference. To learn how to check that your USB headset is selected as the audio input and output on your computer, do the following:

Plugin your USB headset into your computer.
1. For Mac Users:
  Click on the Apple icon in the top-left corner and select System Preferences. Click on Sound.In the Input tab, select your USB headset. In the Output tab, select your USB headset.
2. For PC Users:
  Click on the Start menu and click on Control Panel.Click on Manage Audio Devices. In the Playback tab, select your USB headset. In the Recording tab, select your USB headset.

How to Create a Conference

In your course in Canvas, click on Conferences in the Course Navigation.
IMPORTANT: Plugin your USB headset and webcam (if not built-in) into your computer.
Click on the New Conference button.
On the New Conference page, add the Conference details:
- Record the conference (Note: Recordings are automatically deleted 14 days after the conference ends).
- Indicate if the conference will be a long-running conference by selecting the No time limit (for long-running conferences) checkbox.

Type a name for the Conference in the name field. You may want to include the time and date in the name if you're setting up the conference ahead of time.
Choose which members to invite to the conference. By default, the Invite All Course Members checkbox will be selected for you, but you can deselect it and choose to invite only specific members of your course.
Click Create Conference.
Your conference will appear under New Conferences.
When you are ready to begin, click on Start.
If prompted, you may have to accept permissions required by your browser.

The Conference will look like the following:
For further assistance, moderators can view the Teacher (Moderator) Overview video. Feel free to share the Student (Participant) Overview video to help students join a conference.

How to Use the Conference Interface

The conference interface contains a variety of tools to help you moderate your presentation. Each area of the interface is created within its own window and can be resized.

Users Panel:

The Users panel [1] displays the users in the conference. To locate the presenter/moderator, look for the presentation icon next to their name [1].
1) Switch presenter: When you are the presenter/moderator, you can switch the Presenter by clicking the button to the left of their name. That user will now be able to upload a presentation file.
2) Mute specific users: You can mute or unmute yourself or other users as the presenter.
3) Mute all users: You can mute all users by scrolling down to the gear button and select mute all users. You may also select to mute all users except the presenter.
4) Upload a file to share
5) Start a poll
6) Enable/Disable audio
7) Enable/Disable webcam
8) Enable/Disable screensharing. Viewers can see your desktop. (Moderators only).
9) Privately chat with one user: In the chat window, click on the options button. You then are able to select a specific user to open a private chat with.
10) Publically chat with all users

If you put your cursor over the presentation, you reveal the annotation toolbar.

1) Pencil
2) Undo all annotations
3) Undo most recent annotation
4) Allow multi-user drawing
5) Zoom
6) Next slide

Troubleshooting Tips

If you are having any issues with your USB headset and webcam, close the Big Blue Button Conference window. Then, go back into your course in Canvas, join the Conference again, click on Allow, and then click Join Audio. Doing so will most likely solve the technical issue.
If a user's audio or webcam video is delayed, it most likely has to do with that user's Internet service or connection (low bandwidth).
It's a good idea to have a practice session before a presentation to resolve any technical issues.
Need more assistance? Canvas Support is available 24/7 from the Help icon on the Canvas navigation bar.