School: online lessons

Video calls are external: a Jitsi room the school creates itself, or your own Zoom, Google Meet or Teams link. There is no built-in video platform and no lesson recording. The school takes care of the rest: who can join and when, reminders, attendance, homework and money.

The group room#

In the group card (School → Groups → a group → Settings) choose the Online or Hybrid format and the connection:

• “Create a video room automatically (Jitsi)” — the server names the room when the group is saved: long and unguessable. The default domain is meet.jit.si; your own Jitsi server is a school setting (changing the domain applies to all groups at once). The room has “Join” and “New room” — after a new room the old link is no longer given to anyone.
• “Own link” — Zoom, Google Meet, Teams or any https:// meeting. Links with a password (?pwd=) and long Teams invitations are accepted; links with a login in the address, IP addresses and localhost are not.
• “No link” — if you will set a link for each lesson separately.

An in-class group has no online room, but a single lesson can still be held online (see below).

A link for a single lesson#

In the register, open the lesson → the Online tab:

• “Same as the group” — the lesson uses the group room;
• “Own link for this lesson” — for example, a guest speaker with their own meeting;
• “A separate video room for this lesson (Jitsi)” (and “New room”).

This is how an in-class group runs a one-off online lesson, for example in bad weather. The lesson’s teacher or an administrator changes the link; a cancelled or moved lesson cannot get a new link.

Teacher#

• “Join” — in the lesson window (the attendance header and the Online tab) and on the lesson card in “My lessons today”; for a lesson in progress it is the main button. The link opens in a new tab.
• “Joined online at HH:MM” — next to a student who pressed “Join the lesson”. It is a hint, not a mark: if there is no mark yet, a “Mark present” button sits next to it. Charges follow marks only.
• On the free meet.jit.si service, a meeting is started by the first participant who signs in with Google, GitHub or Facebook — usually the teacher; students join without an account.

Student#

• The lesson link reaches a student only through the “Join the lesson” button in the family portal and in the reminder email. Websites, widgets and the guest schedule never show links.
• The button appears 15 minutes before the start (a school setting, up to 120 minutes) and works until the lesson ends.
• Only a student of that lesson who is not frozen sees it.
• The debt rule is a school setting: “all enrolled” (default) or “only without debt”. With the second option, a debt above the limit hides the button and the reminder shows the amount due instead of the link.

Materials and homework#

In the lesson window, the “Topic and homework” tab:

• Materials and homework files — “Upload” (several files at once; up to 10 in a list, up to 50 MB each; PDF, office documents, images, audio, video, ZIP) or “Link” to a video or a cloud document.
• The homework deadline — in the school’s time zone.
• The “Work” tab — who handed in, who is late, what awaits review; review with a grade and a comment for the family, or “Return for rework”.

Families hand in work from the portal as text and files (up to 5 files, up to 50 MB).

Limitations#

• There is no built-in video and no lesson recording: record with Zoom, Meet or Jitsi.
• Recorded courses (video lessons with progress tracking) are a later stage of the section.
• A Jitsi room on meet.jit.si is a free public service with its own rules; for guaranteed quality use your own Jitsi server or a paid video service.

Troubleshooting#

FAQ#

Can in-class and online students study together? Yes, the Hybrid format: the lesson runs in the classroom and in the group room at the same time.

Is attendance marked automatically when a student joins the room? No. “Joined online” is a hint; the teacher marks attendance, or the “auto” mode does it after the lesson ends.

Can I use my own Jitsi? Yes, the server address is a school setting; room names are kept when the domain changes.

Related articles#

• School: launch in one day
• Student and family portal
• Tariffs, absences and charges