BigBlueButton
Encyclopedia
BigBlueButton is an open source
web conferencing
system developed primarily for distance education.
or FreeSWITCH
, and support for Microsoft Office documents using OpenOffice. Moreover, users may enter the conference in one of two roles: viewer or moderator.
As a viewer, a user may join the voice conference, share their webcam, raise their hand, and chat with others. As a moderator, a user may mute/unmute others, eject any user from the session, and make any user the current presenter. The presenter may upload slides and control the presentation.
Although its components are open source, the BigBlueButton client depends on a browser plugin for the Adobe Flash
platform. The BigBlueButton server runs on Linux and can be installed either from source code or from Ubuntu packages. BigBlueButton is also downloadable as a Virtual Machine (VM) that runs within VMware Player
on PC and Unix computers and within VMWare Fusion
on Macs.
, BigBlueButton uses red5, an open source implementation of Adobe's Flash Media Server, to support its real-time collaboration.
The BigBlueButton server can run within a cloud environment, such as Amazon EC2, but in version 0.70 there were problems with audio delays using the built-in VoIP in such environments. The core developers recently demonstrated improvements to the VoIP in the upcoming BigBlueButton 0.8.
by the Technology Innovation and Management program.
The first version was written by Richard Alam (it was initially called the Blindside project) under the supervision of Tony Bailetti.
In 2009 Richard Alam, Denis Zgonjanin, and Fred Dixon uploaded the BigBlueButton source code to Google Code and formed Blindside Networks, a company pursuing the traditional open source business model
of providing paid support and services to the BigBlueButton community.
In 2010 the core developers added a whiteboard for annotating the uploaded presentation. Jeremy Thomerson added an application programming interface (API) which the BigBlueButton community subsequently used to integrate with Sakai
, Wordpress
, Moodle 1.9
, Moodle 2.0
, Joomla, Redmine
, Drupal
, Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware, Foswiki, and LAMS
. Google accepted BigBlueButton into the 2010 Google Summer of Code
program. To encourage contributions from others, the core developers moved the source code from Google Code to GitHub. The project indicated its intent to create an independent not-for-profit BigBlueButton Foundation to oversee future development.
In 2011 the core developers are focused on adding record and playback capabilities to BigBlueButton 0.8 (currently in beta-3).
The BigBlueButton name comes from the initial concept that starting a web conference should be as simple as pressing a metaphorical big blue button.
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
web conferencing
Web conferencing
Web conferencing refers to a service that allows conferencing events to be shared with remote locations. Most vendors also provide either a recorded copy of an event, or a means for a subscriber to record an event. The service allows information to be shared simultaneously, across geographically...
system developed primarily for distance education.
Features
As of version 0.71a, BigBlueButton supports multiple audio and video sharing, presentations with extended whiteboard capabilities - such as a pointer, zooming and drawing - public and private chat, desktop sharing, integrated VoIP using AsteriskAsterisk (PBX)
Asterisk is a software implementation of a telephone private branch exchange ; it was created in 1999 by Mark Spencer of Digium. Like any PBX, it allows attached telephones to make calls to one another, and to connect to other telephone services including the public switched telephone network and...
or FreeSWITCH
Freeswitch
FreeSWITCH is a free and open source communications software for the creation of voice and messaging products. It is licensed under the Mozilla Public License , a free software license...
, and support for Microsoft Office documents using OpenOffice. Moreover, users may enter the conference in one of two roles: viewer or moderator.
As a viewer, a user may join the voice conference, share their webcam, raise their hand, and chat with others. As a moderator, a user may mute/unmute others, eject any user from the session, and make any user the current presenter. The presenter may upload slides and control the presentation.
Although its components are open source, the BigBlueButton client depends on a browser plugin for the Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
platform. The BigBlueButton server runs on Linux and can be installed either from source code or from Ubuntu packages. BigBlueButton is also downloadable as a Virtual Machine (VM) that runs within VMware Player
VMware Player
VMware Player is a freeware virtualization software package from VMware, Inc. . VMware Player can run virtual appliances. VMware Player can also create virtual machines since version 3.0...
on PC and Unix computers and within VMWare Fusion
VMware Fusion
VMware Fusion is a virtual machine software product developed by VMware for Macintosh computers with Intel processors. Fusion allows Intel-based Macs to run x86 and x86-64 "guest" operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows, Linux, NetWare and Solaris as virtual machines simultaneously with Mac OS...
on Macs.
Architecture
Similar to OpenmeetingsOpenmeetings
OpenMeetings is software used for presenting, online training, web conferencing, collaborative whiteboard drawing and document editing, and user desktop sharing. The product is based on OpenLaszlo RIA framework and Red5 media server, which in turn are based on a bunch of open source components...
, BigBlueButton uses red5, an open source implementation of Adobe's Flash Media Server, to support its real-time collaboration.
The BigBlueButton server can run within a cloud environment, such as Amazon EC2, but in version 0.70 there were problems with audio delays using the built-in VoIP in such environments. The core developers recently demonstrated improvements to the VoIP in the upcoming BigBlueButton 0.8.
History
In 2007 the project was started at Carleton UniversityCarleton University
Carleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
by the Technology Innovation and Management program.
The first version was written by Richard Alam (it was initially called the Blindside project) under the supervision of Tony Bailetti.
In 2009 Richard Alam, Denis Zgonjanin, and Fred Dixon uploaded the BigBlueButton source code to Google Code and formed Blindside Networks, a company pursuing the traditional open source business model
Business models for open source software
There are several different types of business models for making profit using open source software .- Introduction :Open source software can be sold and used commercially. It is a part of the software industry. The financial return on open source software can also come from selling services, such...
of providing paid support and services to the BigBlueButton community.
In 2010 the core developers added a whiteboard for annotating the uploaded presentation. Jeremy Thomerson added an application programming interface (API) which the BigBlueButton community subsequently used to integrate with Sakai
Sakai
Sakai most often refers to one of the following:*Sakai, Osaka, a city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan*Sakai , Japanese surnames written with various kanji*Sakai Project, an open-source educational and research software project...
, Wordpress
WordPress
WordPress is a free and open source blogging tool and publishing platform powered by PHP and MySQL. It is often customized into a content management system . It has many features including a plug-in architecture and a template system. WordPress is used by over 14.7% of Alexa Internet's "top 1...
, Moodle 1.9
Moodle
Moodle is a free source e-learning software platform, also known as a Course Management System, Learning Management System, or Virtual Learning Environment...
, Moodle 2.0
Moodle
Moodle is a free source e-learning software platform, also known as a Course Management System, Learning Management System, or Virtual Learning Environment...
, Joomla, Redmine
Redmine
Redmine is a free and open source, web-based project management and bug-tracking tool. It includes calendar and Gantt charts to aid visual representation of projects and their deadlines. It supports multiple projects...
, Drupal
Drupal
Drupal is a free and open-source content management system and content management framework written in PHP and distributed under the GNU General Public License. It is used as a back-end system for at least 1.5% of all websites worldwide ranging from personal blogs to corporate, political, and...
, Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware, Foswiki, and LAMS
LAMS
LAMS, the Learning Activity Management System, is an open source Learning Design system for designing, managing and delivering online collaborative learning activities. It provides teachers with an intuitive visual authoring environment for creating sequences of learning activities...
. Google accepted BigBlueButton into the 2010 Google Summer of Code
Google Summer of Code
The Google Summer of Code is an annual program, first held from May to August 2005, in which Google awards stipends to hundreds of students who successfully complete a requested free or open-source software coding project during the summer...
program. To encourage contributions from others, the core developers moved the source code from Google Code to GitHub. The project indicated its intent to create an independent not-for-profit BigBlueButton Foundation to oversee future development.
In 2011 the core developers are focused on adding record and playback capabilities to BigBlueButton 0.8 (currently in beta-3).
The BigBlueButton name comes from the initial concept that starting a web conference should be as simple as pressing a metaphorical big blue button.
See also
- Collaborative softwareCollaborative softwareCollaborative software is computer software designed to help people involved in a common task achieve goals...
- Web conferencingWeb conferencingWeb conferencing refers to a service that allows conferencing events to be shared with remote locations. Most vendors also provide either a recorded copy of an event, or a means for a subscriber to record an event. The service allows information to be shared simultaneously, across geographically...
- Comparison of web conferencing softwareComparison of web conferencing softwareThis page is a comparison of web conferencing software available for various platforms.- Comparison chart :- Terminology :In the table above, the following terminology is intended to be used to describe some important features:...