The KENET web conference platform which runs on the BigBlueButoon open-source software is used for group collaboration and remote teaching. The interactive platform supposrts real-time sharing of audio, video, chat, screen, slides (with whiteboard controls) and allows instructors to remotely engage with students using polls, emojis, multi-user whiteboard and breakout rooms.

Some of the updated features include distinguishable moderator messages in the public chat, network connectivity icon, webcam background, setting the name of the breakout rooms as you create them, extending the duration of ongoing breakout rooms and learning analytics dashboard.

The distinguishable moderator messages in the public chat enables participants to easily identify bolded chat messages from moderators. Through the network connectivity icon, moderators see their connection stability as well as that of the participants in their session hence users can opt to turn off web cam, screen share videos to reduce bandwidth consumption. 

Using the web cam background participants can select between several backgrounds available in the preview window. Setting the name of the breakout rooms as you create them and extending the duration of ongoing breakout rooms enables you to edit the name of each room to specifically reflect and align to the activity or task and to extend the duration of ongoing breakout rooms in any preferred minutes or longer.

The Learning Analytics Dashboard enables the instructor to tell the amount of enaggement demonstarted by each participant/learner. A report gives a breakdown of participants activities during a session generated with details of participation ranging from talktime, raising hand, response to poll surveys, web cam sharing, status whether online or offline.

The features of the web conference platform are continuosly updated to serve the KENET community. The platform is currently being offered to KENET members for free and has a total of 14,878 users. KENET has now launched an intergration of the KENET webconference platform to an institutions LMS. This enables institutions to create virtual classes from the LMS. This service is currently available to institutioms whose LMSs are hosted at KENET at no extra cost.