20 May 2025 - Collaboration and Digital Teaching heiCONF Update 3.0 Introduces New Functions
The newest version of the university's video conferencing service heiCONF heiCONF-Audimax can now be used as of the past weekend. With the update of the open-source software BigBlueButton to version 3.0 (preceded by version 2.7), users have access to new developments, optimizations of existing features and a general improvement in overall performance. Overview of the most important changes:
User friendliness
- New layouts for hybrid use scenarios
Several new layouts have been added for use in various hybrid teaching scenarios or for other hybrid event formats: “Custom layout,” “Smart layout,” “Focus on presentation,” and “Grid layout.”
- Improved Away Mode
The Away Mode feature has been moved to the three-dot menu in the top right corner and the design slightly adjusted. In addition, when you activate Away Mode, the microphone will now be muted, the webcam will be turned off, an alarm clock icon will be placed on your avatar, and a notification message will be sent in the public chat.
- Separate window for the welcome message
The welcome message and accompanying information, such as linked tutorials, which previously appeared in the public chat upon joining, are now located in the Session details dialog box. To open this dialog box, click on the name of the session. By default, the dialog box will open when the user first joins the session.
- Addition of "Push to talk"
You can now use the “M” key during a call to control when the microphone is active. In Settings, you can enable or disable the option “Audio push to talk’” under the Application tab. When this option is enabled, the microphone is active whenever the button is being pressed. When the button is released, the microphone is inactive.
- Optimized Leave Button
The button to exit the call is now clearly visible at the top right. Users can now leave a call using this new button. It was previously located near the settings menu. For moderators, the button also contains the option of ending the meeting.
Interactivity
- Editing as well as reactions and replies to messages now available
Users can now edit their own messages if they wish, for example to correct spelling mistakes. It is also possible to react to chat messages and send direct replies. The “Delete message” option is available to both the original author of the message as well as the session moderator.
- Better looking survey results
Voting results will now be shown in the chat. How they are displayed has also been improved.
A detailed description of all the improvements and bug fixes in BigBlueButton version 3.0 can be found on the linked website. However, some of the features listed there have not yet been implemented in heiCONF.