BigBlueButton is an open-source virtual classroom for teaching, office hours and group collaboration. Its classroom tools include document uploads, an interactive whiteboard, breakout rooms, chat, polls, shared notes, hand raising, webcam video and screen sharing. Instructors can review attendance, participation and poll responses in the Learning Analytics Dashboard, and sessions can be recorded. The platform supports up to 200 participants and lists integrations with learning systems including Moodle, Canvas, Schoology, Open edX and Sakai. Its API allows applications to create, join and end meetings, manage recordings, insert documents and perform other meeting actions. BigBlueButton is free, with web, iOS, Android, Linux and self-hosted options listed. Organizations hosting it themselves are advised to use a dedicated Ubuntu 22.04 64-bit Linux server; production recommendations include 16 GB memory and 8 CPU cores. Security measures described include HTTPS, API checksum validation, and DTLS and SRTP encryption for real-time media. BigBlueButton says it cannot eliminate all security risks, and permanent sessions that preserve slides and chat after users leave are not supported.
Who it is for
BigBlueButton is intended for K–12 schools, higher education and government, as well as online teaching, office hours and group collaboration. It suits organizations that want a virtual classroom with teaching tools and learning-platform integrations.
What is good
- Classroom tools include polls, whiteboards and breakout rooms.
- Dashboard shows attendance, participation and poll responses.
- Supports up to 200 participants.
- Free and open source.
- API supports meeting and recording management.
What to know first
- Permanent sessions preserving slides and chat are not supported.
- Self-hosting recommendations include a dedicated Ubuntu 22.04 server.
- The company says it cannot guarantee absolute security.
Verdict
BigBlueButton combines live classroom tools, session recording, attendance information and learning-platform integrations. It is free and open source, but self-hosting has dedicated server requirements and sessions cannot persist with slides and chat after users leave.
Compared on video conferencing software
- Free plan
- Yes
