Big Blue Button conferences prove user friendly for professors and students
by Jake Mott
Big Blue Button is the conferencing tool on Canvas, and it’s the one Professor Tyler Peterson has chosen to use during this time at home.
“Since my students see this tool every time they login to Canvas, I thought this would be the most convenient tool for them and for me,” Peterson said. “I also knew that Big Blue Button is free to use, which was also convenient.”
Adjunct History Instructor, Dr. Tyler Peterson (Photo: Tyler Peterson)
Peterson saw all the tools he needed to run his classes successfully, like screen sharing and a live chat box. With the tool, he is able to run most of his classes at their normal times in the week. Something his students like Drew Modestino, a sophmore, appreciates.
“Posting all of his notes and slides on Canvas and always saying we can ask him questions is very helpful to us,” Modestino said. “I think that the professors I have are doing a fine job with the transition online.” He also said he’s been receiving about the same amount of work, something he and his friends were unsure about before.
While many Pierce classes are using Zoom, Modestino sees Big Blue Button as being just as capable of a platform. “I think that zoom is more towards video conferencing and Big Blue Button is for classes and/or presentations” he said.
The tool has proved user friendly for Peterson, who says his planning for classes hasn’t even seen much of a change. He especially likes the level of student interaction it allows.
He’s been impressed with the effort from his students since the transition to online. “Several students had high scores on the last exam,” he said. “The essays I received, which called for the students to write an essay reviewing a biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., also were quite thoughtful and most of the grades were high.”
While the switch to online has gone as well as he could have hoped, Dr. Peterson looks forward to getting back into the classroom. He prefers in-person exams over online ones and knows everything will go more smoothly in terms of scheduling.
Jake Mott is happy to be working on articles again! He wishes everyone the best of safety and health!
