Create an open / group meeting

Open / group meetings are meetings for the whole module run - anyone on the module run will be able to see and join the meeting from the meetings list in Blackboard. This type of meeting would be used for events such as group / module discussions or drop-in sessions etc but should NOT be used for assessments or anything that is private. Please note that you will need to activate the Teams class in order to use this type of meeting as it uses the Teams ‘group’.

Users will not receive email invites or see the meeting in their calendars unless they have been specifically invited. Any staff or student on the module run will be able to join without going into the lobby and will have full presenter access in the meeting, meaning they can share screen, use apps and record etc. You can specifically invite staff or students if you wish and those invited people will receive an email invite and be able to see the meeting in their Teams and Outlook calendars.

IMPORTANT: By default open / group meetings are NOT set to migrate to Panopto automatically. If you want a copy of the recording migrated to Panopto, you will need to set the appropriate migration folder when creating the meeting. Also please note that shares on the original OneDrive recording are NOT removed for open / group meetings.

If a meeting has a migration folder set, you will see a black camera icon to the left of the meeting join link.

Open / group meeting recorded demo

  1. Select New Meeting.
  2. Do not tick the check box for assessment / private meeting.
  3. Enter a name for the meeting. Optionally use the ellipses to add the meeting date or an invited student name to the name of the meeting (note that only 1 student name will be added).
  4. Any member of staff or student will have access to the meeting but you can optionally specifically invite people. Start typing the names of the users you want to attend - as you start typing, a list of the people on the module that match will be displayed. Against the appropriate user select Presenter. The user will be added to the box. Repeat until all the required people have been added. Optionally use the Add all instructors link to add all the members of staff attached to the module run.
  5. As the creator, you will not see the meeting in your Outlook or Teams calendar. If you want to see it, tick the Add event to my personal calendar option.
  6. Set the start date and time. Set the end date and time. Make sure the start and end dates/times are correct.
  7. Optionally set a repeat option.
  8. Optionally set to post a notification and join link to a channel in your Teams class. The default is set to not post a notification.
  9. By default, open / group meetings will be set to NOT migrate to Panopto. If you want a copy of the meeting recording to be copied to Panopto, change the Don't Migrate Recordings to Open Online Meetings - students do have view access to this folder.
  10. Optionally, add tags for use in Panopto adding a space between tags. By default, a #TeamsMeeting will be added as tags to the recording in Panopto.
  11. Select Submit.
  12. You'll get an on screen processing box showing the various settings being made. When complete select the Back button to return to the main meetings list.
  13. If you want to share the meeting URL with a wider audience, you can get a copy of the URL from selecting the Edit option to the right of the meeting name and then select Copy join link. The URL will be copied into your copy and paste function.
  14. The following processes will happen automatically:
    1. The meeting will display in the main meetings list in Blackboard for the creator and anyone who is on the module run in Blackboard.
    2. Only people specifically invited will receive an email invite.
    3. Only people specifically invited will be able to see the meeting in their Outlook and Teams calendars.
    4. If you set the Add event to my personal calendar option, you as the creator will see the meeting in your Outlook and Teams calendars.
    5. When the meeting is ended, if a recording was made AND you set a migration folder:
      • A copy of the recording will be migrated to the course folder in Panopto within a folder called 'Open Online Meetings'. Students have view access to this folder.
      • The recording link will be removed from the meeting chat.
      • The recording in OneDrive will automatically be shared with anyone who attended the meeting.
examle screenshot of creating an open meeting showing steps 2 to 9 and 11

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