GoGuardian Teacher Video Conferencing Overview

GoGuardian Teacher has a new video conferencing and screen sharing feature set. These newly added functionalities enhance distance learning by providing classroom management and collaboration tools for your complete virtual classroom.

With video conferencing built for K-12, teachers can deliver instruction, keep students on-task, and stay connected to students wherever they learn, all from within GoGuardian Teacher's powerful classroom management solution.

Super Admins: How to enable/administer Video Conference and Presentation/Lecture mode

1. Navigate to manage.goguardian.com
2. Click Products at the top of the page
3. Click Teacher from the list of options on the left side of the page
4. Enable feature toggles as needed
   
5. Missing a feature? Your subscription may not include GoGuardian Conference Calling. This new feature consumes additional server and storage resources that may not have been included in your most recent contract. Contact your account representative for details on how to access this new feature. Call: 1-888-310-0410
6. Experiencing difficulties with your call or presentation? Please have your network administrator verify that the necessary back-end services are allowed in any firewalls or other content filters that your organization has in place. For more information, click here.

Configuration Specific Articles:

• Voice-Only Call Mode
• Video Call Mode
• Lecture / Presentation Mode

What are the functionalities?

1. Video Conferencing

The video conferencing feature allows teachers to:

• Initiate group audio or video calls with students (up to 2-hour time limit)
• Initiate one-on-one audio or video calls with students
• Mute students and disable webcams during the call
• Administrators have policy-level controls over when webcams can be enabled

2. Recording Lessons

• Record one-on-one audio and video calls
• Record group audio and video calls
• Record screen-sharing presentations
• Admins have policy-level controls over when recording can be enabled

3. Screen Sharing with Teacher Audio/Video

The screen-sharing feature allows teachers to

• Share their screen, audio, and/or video with students
• Lock students to view only what the teacher is presenting
• Alternatively, allow students to use other tabs while the teacher is presenting

Video Conferencing FAQ

1. How much bandwidth does this feature take up?
   We are currently running tests to see how much bandwidth these audio and video calls use.

2. Can a teacher call just a few students at a time?
   Yes! After a teacher has determined what type of call they would like to initiate, they can select one student, a group of students, or the whole class.

3. Can district admins disable student camera access by OU? Is it all or nothing?
   Currently, an admin can only set permissions for their entire organization, not by OU. 

4. Can a teacher turn on student webcams and/or audio?
   No. When a teacher initiates an audio or video call, the student will be prompted to accept terms and conditions before joining the call. Thus, students can accept or decline to enable audio and/or video.
   
   
5. Will students be able to see other students in the video conferencing setting?
   Yes. If the teacher has enabled a group video call, students will be able to see the other students on the call. Students have a similar view to what teachers see, except that teachers can hover of students to mute them, disable their webcams, or click to view student browsing activity. Additionally, teachers can always click the GoGuardian Teacher tab to monitor student device activity, while students do not have that option.
   
   
6. When a student only has audio enabled, it shows their initials. Can photos be uploaded instead of seeing student initials?
   We do not currently integrate with services that have access to student photos. There are no plans to allow teachers or administrators to upload photos at this time.
   
   
7. Is there a way to add a student to a group call after it has started?
   A teacher cannot add students after a call has started. However, a student will see a link in their chat bubble area to "re-join" the call if they declined the call or left the call prematurely.
   
   
8. Does audio or video stay enabled after the audio or video call ends?
   No. As soon as a teacher ends the call or a student leaves the call, audio and video are no longer enabled.
   
   
9. Does the recording include student video and audio? If so, what are the privacy and consent concerns related to this?
   Before a teacher starts recording on a call, all student participants on the call will be prompted with a consent form asking if they're okay with being on a recorded call. If they say no, they can still join the call and listen, but they won't be able to speak or turn on their webcam.
   
   
10. Do video conferencing calls or screen-sharing presentations show up in timeline view?
    If a student views the conferencing page, then it will appear in the timeline for the duration of time they were viewing that page. 

Screen Sharing FAQ

1. Can teachers see or hear students with this feature?
   A teacher would need to have access to the video conferencing feature in order to see or hear students while doing a screen-sharing presentation.
   
   On its own, the Lecture / Presentation mode only enables teachers to share their screens, video, and audio with students. The cameras and microphones on student devices are not enabled with just the Lecture / Presentation mode. If your organization does not have the video conferencing feature set, we recommend that students communicate through the GoGuardian Teacher Chat feature.
   
   
2. How much bandwidth does this feature take up?
   For screen sharing, teachers will likely use up to 3 Mbps, depending on their settings and what they've chosen to present. Students (that are being presented to) will use around 2.5 Mbps.
   
   
3. Can a teacher present to a few students at a time?
   Yes! After a teacher has determined what they want to share, they can choose to present to the whole class or select one or more students.
   
   
4. Can students share their screen?
   Teachers will always be able to view what students are doing on their devices, but the Lecture / Presentation mode does not currently allow students to share their screen with the whole class. The Lecture / Presentation mode only enables teachers to share their screens across student devices.
   
   A workaround would be to let the student know that you are going to share their screen, click the "Call Students" tab to initiate a video call with the student while sharing your screen, and navigate to your GoGuardian Teacher classroom session. Then, in the Screens view, maximize the student's screen. However, this would not be live streaming.
   
   
5.  If a teacher shares their screen, will students see GoGuardian Teacher and other student screens?
   Not necessarily. The teacher is in full control of what students see, and they may limit their presentation to a particular tab or window. However, similar to a classroom environment, if a teacher would like to show their GoGuardian Teacher classroom session running, they may.
   
   
6. If a teacher locks students to the presentation, what happens to the work students had open?
   Any additional open tabs are minimized and will not be accessible to the student during the presentation. When the presentation ends, those tabs will reappear for the student to continue working.
   
   
7. Can a student close the presentation?
   No. Regardless of whether they are locked to view only the presentation or allowed to browse during the presentation, students will not be able to close the presentation tab. A teacher would have to end the presentation.
   
   
8. What if two teachers are presenting to a student at the same time?
   If two teachers are presenting at the same time, there will be a bar at the top of the student's window that will say, "Another teacher is presenting. Click here to see what they're presenting." A student can switch back and forth between the presentations, even if the student is locked to view only presentation content and cannot browse. If one teacher stops presenting, within ten seconds, the student will be redirected to the presentation that is still active.
   
   
9. Can a teacher change what they are presenting during the presentation?
   As far as changing the presentation settings, teachers currently cannot adjust the settings during a presentation. If they started a presentation that shares their screen, audio, and video, and they want to stop sharing video, they would have to end the current presentation and start a new presentation that only shares their screen and audio.
   
   However, the teacher is in full control of what students see and may limit their presentation to a particular tab, window, or their whole desktop. Thus, teachers can choose to show an entire window and switch between tabs to change what content they are presenting.
   
   
10. If a teacher plays a video while sharing their screen, will the student be able to hear the audio of the video?
    If the teacher turns up the system audio loud enough while on a video call or a presentation, the other participants will likely be able to hear it. If the teacher is using headphones, then the audio from any video they play will not reach the microphone, and the participants will not be able to hear the system audio of the teacher's device.
    
    
11. Can teachers record their presentations?
    Yes. If their organization has purchased video conferencing, it will include the ability to record calls and presentations. A Super User admin will control the settings for the organization and can enable teachers to record their screen-sharing presentations.