Facilitating discussion in a virtual classroom requires active management of multiple communication channels.Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://bigbluebutton.com/docs/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Microphone Management
Control who speaks and when:- Mute all — silence all participants before starting a discussion
- Unmute selectively — call on students by unmuting them or asking them to unmute
- Lock microphones — prevent viewers from unmuting themselves (useful for large classes)
Raise Hand Queue
The raise hand feature creates an orderly discussion flow:- Students click Raise Hand to signal they want to speak
- Raised hands appear in the user list in the order they were raised
- Call on students in order to keep things fair
- Ask students to lower their hand after speaking
Chat Monitoring
Use public chat as a parallel discussion channel:- Monitor for questions while presenting
- Encourage students to post questions in chat during lectures
- Pause periodically to address chat questions verbally
- Use chat for quick informal polls (“type yes/no in chat”)
Clearing Chat
If the chat becomes too noisy or off-topic, moderators can clear the public chat: See Clear the Public Chat.Discussion Strategies
| Strategy | How | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Think-Pair-Share | Breakout rooms → return to main room | Deep discussion |
| Rapid Response | Type answers in public chat | Quick checks |
| Moderated Q&A | Raise hand → unmute → speak | Formal discussions |
| Backchannel | Chat alongside lecture | Continuous engagement |
| Anonymous Input | Polls or shared notes | Sensitive topics |