Joining a video meeting
Some of your bookings may be online rather than in-person, depending on how each staff member is set up for the event. Your timetable tells you which is which for every booking you have. For online bookings, you can join the meeting directly from your timetable. There is nothing to install and no separate meeting link to keep track of, as the video call loads inside the page when it is time to join.
Video and audio are transmitted directly between participants where possible, and relayed through our video provider when a direct connection is not available. Schoolea does not record meetings. We do keep a record of who joined each meeting and for how long, which is used for attendance reporting and for troubleshooting if a meeting has problems. This data is removed as part of the standard 90-day event anonymisation process.
Checking your setup before the meeting
Before your first meeting, it is worth running the setup check to make sure your browser, camera, microphone, and internet connection are ready. You can find a link to the setup check in your booking confirmation email, and it is also available from your timetable at any time. Running the check will ask your browser for permission to use your camera and microphone, and will then confirm whether each part of the setup is working. The check runs entirely in your browser, and nothing is recorded or shared.
If any part of the check fails, the most common fixes are to use a current version of Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari, and to make sure you have allowed the site to use your camera and microphone.
Joining the meeting
When it is time for your meeting, open your timetable or the reminder email you will receive ten minutes before the booking starts, and click Join meeting next to that booking. The meeting opens inside the page, and you will wait briefly in a virtual lobby until the staff member admits you, or join straight through if they are already there.
You can join from ten minutes before the scheduled start time, and up to thirty minutes after the slot is due to end. Outside of that window the join page will explain when the meeting becomes available rather than opening the call.
If the meeting will not open, check that your browser has permission to use your camera and microphone, and then refresh the page. If the join page says that the meeting is not yet available, it means you are trying to join too early, and you should come back closer to the scheduled time. If it says that the meeting has ended, the join window has closed and you will need to contact your school to arrange another booking.