Video meetings
Any staff member running their bookings online meets their attendees over a built-in video call that happens directly in the browser. A persistent meeting room is provisioned for each staff member the first time one is needed, and attendees join that room from their timetable at the scheduled time. There is nothing to install, and no separate meeting links for you to distribute or for staff to manage.
Because the in-person or online mode is set per staff member, a single event can mix the two. See in-person and online bookings for how to set the mode for each staff member on an event.
Setting a staff member to online
From the event's Staff settings, change the mode next to the staff member from in-person to online. The staff member's video room is prepared automatically the next time it is needed. Attendees with bookings against that staff member see a Join meeting button next to the booking on their timetable, and their booking confirmation and reminder emails include the same join link along with a link to the setup check page described below.
You can mix in-person and online staff within a single event, and you can switch an individual staff member between the two at any time before or during the event.
Attendee experience
Checking the setup before a meeting
Attendees can visit the setup check page at any time to make sure their browser, camera, microphone, and internet connection are ready for their meeting. The check runs entirely in the attendee's browser and does not record or share anything. It flags common problems such as a browser that has not been given camera or microphone permission, missing devices, or a network connection that is too unstable to sustain a call. A link to the setup check is included in the booking confirmation and reminder emails, and attendees can also reach it from their timetable.
Joining the meeting
At meeting time, the attendee clicks Join meeting next to the online booking on their timetable. The meeting loads inside the page, and the attendee waits briefly until the staff member admits them, or joins immediately if the staff member is already in the room.
Attendees can only join for a limited window around the scheduled slot: from ten minutes before the scheduled start time, and up to thirty minutes after the slot is due to end. Outside that window, the join page explains when the meeting will become available rather than opening the video room, which helps prevent accidental joins to the wrong booking.
Staff experience
Staff run their meetings from the My Day console, which is a single-page workspace that combines the day's schedule, the embedded video room, shared profile notes, and private staff notes. Each staff member has one persistent room that every one of their online attendees joins, so the staff member stays put while attendees come and go around their booked slots.
For staff who have both online and in-person bookings on the same day, the timeline shows both kinds in the same list. Only the online bookings use the embedded video room.
Reminders and confirmations
When an online booking is created, rescheduled, or is about to start, Schoolea sends emails that include the join link for the meeting.
Booking confirmation emails include a join button and a link to the setup check, so attendees can test their equipment ahead of time. Reminder emails are sent ten minutes before the booking, with a join button that takes the attendee straight into the meeting. Rescheduled booking emails include the join link for the new slot.
Attendees who have opted out of email communications, or whose email address has bounced, do not receive these messages. They can still join their meeting at the scheduled time from their timetable.
Data and privacy
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.
For full details on how data is handled, see the privacy policy.
Troubleshooting
If an attendee sees "This meeting is not yet available", they are trying to join more than ten minutes before the scheduled start. The join page will tell them when the meeting opens.
If an attendee sees "This meeting has ended", they are trying to join more than thirty minutes after the slot is due to end. If the meeting needs to be run again, the attendee should contact your school to arrange a new booking.
If an attendee sees "Setup in progress", the staff member's meeting room has not been provisioned yet. This usually resolves within a few seconds. If it does not, the staff member should open their My Day page so that the room can be prepared.
If an attendee's camera or microphone is not working, point them at the setup check page. It will tell them whether the browser has the right permissions, whether a camera and microphone are detected, and whether their network is likely to sustain a call.