BigBlueButton
Principal function(s): Video conferencingGroup/pair work - classmatesWhole classTeacherStudentYou SupplyWebsite/other users supply
BigBlueButton is a web conferencing tool specially developed for teachers and educators. It includes built-in features such as an interactive whiteboard, polling, emojis, session recording, real-time broadcasting, screen sharing, virtual classrooms, and breakout rooms. BBB is open-source, completely free to use, and does not require installation. It also provides an official tutorial page for teachers. It was created by the Technology Innovation Management (TIM) program at Carleton University's Institute for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization in Ottawa, Canada, in 2007.
Evaluation: BigBlueButton is a practical open-source web conferencing tool. Its built-in functions, such as polling and lecture recording, allow teachers to increase student engagement. Teams and classes can also use the live whiteboard to collaboratively make annotations on screens that can be viewed by participants in real time. BigBlueButton can also integrate without major problems with other learning management systems such as Moodle, Canvas, and Jenzabar. It is overall a valuable, rich, and privacy-friendly web-conferencing tool for educators and teachers. Read more about it here.
Cost: Free.
Website: https://bigbluebutton.org/
Categories
Type Of Interaction
- Group/pair work - classmates
- Individual work
Content
- Website/other users supply
- You supply
Usability
Interface 
User-friendliness/complexity of the tool´s interface
Not as attractive as other videoconferencing tools, but still intuitive, neat.
Time efficiency Time needed for mastering the „how-to“ of the tool and a production of a task
Medium. Somewhat complicated in the beginning, then easy to use.
Interface language(s) The number of languages in which the tool is currently available/adaptable to
Over 50 languages. Easily modifiable in the “Settings” section.
Respect for privacy Does the tool require registration? Who can see my data? Can I remain anonymous?
Very high. BigBlueButton does not share user data with third parties for advertising purposes. It records sessions for technical purposes. BBB is a not-for-profit open-source software such as Jitsi. In this regard, they are much more privacy-friendly than other more mainstream web conferencing tools such as Google Meets, Skype or Zoom. All content is encrypted and so security standards are very high. BBB operations do not require a privacy policy since it does not gather any user information, hence implicitly complying with the GDPR. See more here.
Saving work for future use Possiblity to save your or others´ work for reuse/reproduction
Yes. Recordings can be saved and downloaded.
Tailorability (If so, how?) Possibility of the tool to be used for a range of different activities (e.g. to what extent you can organize a project assignment with a central activity based on this tool)
Usable as it is for teachers, tailorable for software developers. The full source API is available to customise and further develop BBB. It can also be integrated into existing IMS Learning Tools.
Technical requirements
Compatibility/ Operating System
Other technical requirements