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The communication tool Jitsi is available to employees, students and teachers of the University of Vienna while normal teaching operation is paused.

Jitsi is particularly well suited for communicating with students via video and audio in smaller courses (seminars, etc.). It can also be used for video exams.

The most important functions of Jitsi

  • Chat
  • Video conferencing
  • Profile picture (Gravatar is possible)
  • Hand raising (the teacher can tell when a student wants to say something)
  • Option for sharing your screen or making a specific window available


Inhalt

Alternatively, you may use eduMEET, a video conferencing service operated by GÉANT. It is currently in the test/beta phase.

Notes on use

  • Please use Jitsi with the Internet browsers Chrome or Chromium. These are currently guaranteed to support Jitsi.

  • Previous experience has shown that scalability problems arise when around 10-12 persons are using the tool simultaneously. Use the video option sparingly or not at all, if you do not need it.

  • You can also change the quality of the video transmission. To do so, click the three vertical dots on the bottom right below Manage video quality.



  • To ensure a stable connection, please use the video transmission option sparingly or not at all. To do so, click the Start/Stop video button on the bottom in the middle of your screen.
  • Only activate the microphone when you are speaking. You can do so by clicking Mute/Unmute.

Embedding Jitsi in Moodle

Embedding a Jitsi session in a Moodle course is quite easy. Simply add the activity Jitsi to the respective Moodle course.



Choose an appropriate session name. This will also be the name of the activity that is displayed on the first page of the Moodle course.

Please only use upper and lower case letters and numbers for the room and activity name. No spaces, special characters or umlaut characters.




This name will then be visible in the address bar of your browser.


To prevent persons who are not part of the course from accidentally logging into the session, please choose a unique name.
The session name may only contain letters and numbers. Spaces and special characters are not allowed.

You can set the start time for the video conference to prevent early access. To do so, please check the Show checkmark on the right, first. You can allow early acces for participants to gather in the virtual room (5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 minutes before the official start of the videoconference).



Now save the activity.

To start the video conference, click the Access button.



A new tab opens that redirects you to your Jitsi session.

If you are the first participant, you have to confirm that you are the host.



Click I am the host and log in as usual using your u:account.

Other participants can now join the video conference as well.

You can change your display name in the upper right corner.


General user guide for Jitsi

If you are not using Jitsi in combination with Moodle, please refer to the official Jitsi user guide: https://jitsi.github.io/handbook/docs/user-guide/user-guide-start


FAQs

  • Can I change the language settings in Jitsi?
    Yes, it is possible. English is set by default but you can change this via the Settings-menu in the lower left corner of the screen:

    Go to the register More. Here you can choose a language from the drop-down-menu. Click Ok to confirm the changes.

         


  • I cannot share my audio. What can I do?

If you access Jitsi from a centrally managed PC of the University of Vienna, for example, the microphone may be disabled by default for reasons of data protection. Please follow these steps to change this setting:

    • Click the Windows start button.

    • Type in Privacy settings and click Microphone privacy settings.



    • Enable the Allow apps to access your microphone option by toggling the switch On.




  • I cannot share my video. What can I do?

If you access Jitsi from a centrally managed PC of the University of Vienna, for example, the camera may be disabled by default for reasons of data protection. To enable it:

    • Click the Windows start button.

    • Type in Privacy settings and click Camera privacy settings. A new window opens.



    • Enable the Allow apps to access your camera option by toggling the switch On.


  • Can I restrict access to my Jitsi room and/or protect it with a password?

    Yes, you can create a temporarily valid password directly in Jitsi.
    This password is valid until the last participant leaves the session. If you would like to use a room multiple times, you have to create a new password for the next session.


    Procedure:

    • Please share the password with the participants ahead of time.

    • Join the Jitsi session in good time before the course is scheduled to start (so that additional participants can only join by using the password).

    • Click the information icon () at the bottom right of the window.

    • A new window opens. Click “Add password”.



    • Type any combination of characters directly into the Password field and press Enter to save it.
      The password you have created is now active. Any other participants who want to join the Jitsi session now have to enter the password.

      Please note: If you would like to change the password later or delete it entirely, click Remove password.


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