UTC conference tool

• Turn off your microphone after entering the room. Only switch it on for your own contributions. This reduces noise in the session. (Keyboard shortcut: Alt+Shift+M)
• Turn on the camera only as needed. Especially with large groups, many live images are a problem for the end devices. To prevent problems, it is recommended to limit webcams to those people who are currently speaking.
• The usual rules of social courtesy apply. Communication should be constructive, appreciative and respectful. This also includes an appropriate (everyday) appearance. Pajamas and undershirts are not part of this.

 

Is modSuite accessible?

Yes. modSuite achieves Level AA of WCAG 2.0 with the following limitations:

• The presentations and documents shown cannot be shown barrier-free via the presentation mode. They must be designed according to accessibility rules and otherwise made accessible to students.
• The "shared notes" window is not accessible.
• The subtitle function has limited accessibility.
• The help is not barrier-free.

 

Can I operate modSuite via buttons?

Yes.

Key combination	Function
Alt + Shift + O	Open settings
Alt + Shift + U	Open/close participant list
Alt + Shift + M	Mute/unmute
Alt + Shift + J	Start audio
Alt + Shift + L	End audio
Alt + Shift + P	Open/close public chat (participant list must be open)
Alt + Shift + H	Hide private chat
Alt + Shift + G	Close private chat
Alt + Shift + A	Open action menu (+ bottom left)
Alt + Shift + S	Open status menu
Spacebar	Activate Move Tool (Presenter)
Arrow right	Next slide (presenter)
Arrow left	Previous slide (presenter)

 

 

My screen reader cannot capture the presentation slides

The presentation can be prepared barrier-free within limits by the lecturer so that it can also be used barrier-free in modSuite. Unfortunately, in any case it will be transferred as a video and not as a text-readable file. Please contact the lecturer or the conference management.

Questions as a lecturer

How do I set up a conference/online seminar?

Conferences set up via modSuite are not linked to other events. Participants can simply be invited via a link.

 

What presets can I make for the room in general?

In the room settings area, you have the option of defining general guidelines for your room. These are displayed as soon as you create a new room. You can change the room guidelines at any time. To do this, please click on the three dots to the right of the desired room name, set the desired parameters and click on "Update room". You can edit the following options there:

1. Change the name of the room.
2. Generate a password to access the room by clicking on the two cubes next to the input field.
3. Specify that all participants (including you) are muted when entering the room. The echo test for the microphone works normally under Windows. You are automatically muted when you enter the room and can activate the microphone if necessary. On iOS, you don't hear anything during the echo test, but the microphone works as soon as you activate it in the room afterwards.
4. Allow entering the room only with your permission. The participants will be put on a waiting list and can be accepted or rejected individually by you. If you select this option, then all participants will be marked as guests. But this has no effect on the normal functions.
5. Give each participant the opportunity to start the meeting.
6. Determine if all participants are automatically allowed to participate as moderators. Please note that the participants then have the same rights as them and could classify them as spectators as well as end the conference. Therefore, use this option only if you really need it.

 

There is a lot of background noise from the participants

Mute the participants:

• Mute, but everyone can turn your mic back on for speaking engagements.
  • Click on the gear in the list of participants.
  • Click "Mute all participants" or "Mute all participants except the presenter".
  • NOTE: "Unmute conference" currently (as of 08.04.20) only changes the menu entry back to "...mute...". The participants will still be muted.

• Switch off microphone authorization (can only be switched on again by moderator): ==
  • Click on the gear in the list of participants.
  • Click "Restrict viewer rights".
  • Remove the release for the microphone.

• Mute a person (person can turn themselves back on):
  • Click on the "disturbing person" in the list of participants.
  • Select "Mute subscriber".
  • TIP: Talking participants appear above the videos/presentation with their names. Click on the name that appears to mute it.

 

I hear my voice as an echo

Probably at least one participant does not use a headset but a loudspeaker. Their voice is then picked up again by the microphone and comes back as an echo. The following solution is possible:

• Ask all participants to turn on the microphones only for their own speeches. Also, ask them to use a headset at the next meeting.
• Simply mute the person.

 

Apparently some participants have connection problems

• Point out the recommendation regarding browsers above.
• It may also be easier for some participants to participate via telephone dial-in.
• If possible, spread out the start of the meeting a bit. Start a few minutes earlier so that participants don't all join at the exact same time. This will reduce connection problems at the beginning of the meeting.
• If individual users see a "Session ... not found" error, they should close the browser and rejoin the meeting completely. Just reloading the page is not enough.

The problem generally occurs in large groups of more than 20 people when a large number of the participants have the webcam activated.

• The most radical solution is to have all participants turn off their webcams. You can revoke everyone's permissions (Participant List→Cog→Restrict Viewer Permissions).
• If several webcams are nevertheless necessary, they ask the participants* to reduce the quality. To do this, the webcam transmissions must be switched off and restarted. In the dialog that appears, everyone can select Low Quality. Again, the fewer webcams that are transmitted, the better the stability of the session for the individual participants.

 

How can I show presentations?

There are two options:

• You share your preferred presentation program (e.g. PowerPoint) via desktop sharing and give your presentation with it. There is no sound transmission!
• You load your presentation directly into modSuite. Supported formats are: pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, ppt, pptx, txt, rtf, odt, ods, odp, odc, odg, odi, jpg, png.

Please note the following restrictions. modSuite converts the uploaded files into a PDF format. Animations from presentations will be lost as a result! Furthermore, slides hidden in presentations will not be displayed after conversion. The conversion of Word and other text formats can produce results that are difficult to read.

Our recommendation is therefore to always work with PDF documents. This not only preserves the appearance, but you can also ensure the accessibility of the documents.

• For files to be uploaded there is a size limit of 50 MB.
• You can set a checkmark when uploading to allow the file to be downloaded. Please note: Only the original document in PDF can be downloaded. There is currently no download option for any annotations added during the meeting. These can only be viewed later if the meeting was recorded.

 

Can I upload PowerPoint files to modSuite?

Yes, but all animations, videos and sounds will be lost. modSuite converts the presentation to PDF. The formatting may also differ.

Therefore, it is recommended to first convert the document from PowerPoint to PDF by yourself.

 

What should I consider when creating my PDF presentation?

Pay attention to the embedding of the fonts. Landscape format makes more sense than portrait format. Paper size: DIN A4. Then no downloaded presentation better be printed. Do not fill the slides too full! You can't know if your audience will follow your presentation on 3 inch cell phones or 38 inch monitors. If possible, design barrier-free. With PowerPoint, don't use hidden slides because they won't show up after conversion.

 

I have a PDF to present, but modSuite does not display the correct fonts and icons

Fonts must be embedded in the PDF document. This is a standard for PDFs but there are a few pitfalls. Fonts that are prohibited from being embedded for licensing reasons will not be included in the PDF. Some programs give a hint before PDF creation. However, almost all Microsoft programs leave users in the dark.

All Microsoft programs cannot embed some Open Type fonts with Postscript outlines (file extension: otf). Open Type fonts with True Type Outlines (file extension: ttf) are no problem. The remedy here is not to create the PDF with the integrated function of Word and PowerPoint, but to use plug-ins from PDF-XChange or Acrobat. However, accessibility may suffer as a result.

 

Integration of external media

You can include files by clicking the "PLUS" icon at the bottom left as a presenter, and then clicking Share \External Video. The link must end with ".mp4", ".m4v" or ".webm" for videos, and ".mp3" or ".ogg" for audio files.

It is also possible to directly include links to external providers such as YouTube or Vimeo in this way.

Please note: if you include external media, these media will be excluded from the specified URL retrieved from all users. This also means that personal data of the participants will be transferred. As the organizer, you are responsible for ensuring that the participants agree to this.

 

Change source for webcam and microphone

Instead of a webcam and microphone, you can feed in another source. This can be done either via software or via a video mixer with external feeds, which is recognized as a webcam by the operating system.

 

How can I implement group work in modSuite?

Via the function "Create breakout rooms" you have the possibility to set up a maximum of 8 new rooms for a group work. These are rooms that are independent of the main room, open in a new window and can be regulated by you in terms of time. Through the newly opened window the participants have the possibility to return to the main room at any time to contact you in case of problems or questions. In the breakout rooms, the respective groups can hold separate video conferences. You, as the moderator of the main room, can always connect into the respective rooms to answer possible questions, if necessary.

To create a breakout room, proceed as follows:

• Click the gear icon next to the Participants area.
• Select "Create Breakout Room".
• Now specify the desired number of rooms and the time limit.
• Decide if the participants should be assigned randomly or if they can choose the groups themselves.
• If you check "Allow participants to choose their own breakout room", participants* can choose a breakout room directly at the beginning of the BR session and during the BR session via the main room.
• Alternatively, you can manually assign a specific room to each participant using drag and drop.
• Click on "Create".

Please note:

• It is not possible to rename the breakout rooms.
• When you create a breakout room, you can set a time limit. After this time, the breakout rooms will be dissolved. Please note that content created in a breakout room (e.g. drafts, shared notes...) will be lost when the time limit is exceeded.
• All breakout room members are moderators in the room.
• The number of rooms is limited to eight.
• In the breakout rooms, the slide shown last in the main room appears (1 page only).
• The contents of the shared notes and the whiteboard will be lost when the room is closed. Participants must make their own efforts to back up in a timely manner. For the whiteboard, only one screen bulkhead works.
• Participants can send messages to moderators via the main room. This is not possible within the breakout room.

 

 

Is my modsuite event/conference accessible?

There is no blanket answer to this and it depends on what you have in mind.

Basically, modSuite complies with level AA of WCAG, albeit with a few restrictions. If it's just audio/video conferencing, there should be no problems.

However, as soon as you show a presentation, a video or the desktop, you must ensure that this content is prepared in an accessible way. Please note that presentations always appear as 'video' to participants, even if you have uploaded a PDF.

 

My participants cannot click on links in the presentation

This is not possible. If you want to share links with all participants, they can write them in the Public Chat or in the shared notes.

 

The whiteboard is gone! / How do I get a blank page?

The whiteboard is closely related to the presentation. If the presentation is closed there is no more whiteboard. If the presentation has no empty pages, you will not have an empty whiteboard.

Solution: Prepare PDF files that you will use as a template for a whiteboard. It doesn't matter if you use blank pages or create squared, lined or similar pages. Create pages. You post this presentation to modSuite as needed.

 

Records

Can I record a session?

Above the presentation there is a button "Start recording".

If you want to record a meeting, please consider the personal rights and data protection of all persons involved in advance and make sure that the necessary authorizations are available.

 

What exactly is being recorded?

Recorded are activated camera images, public chat and the presentation interface including uploaded presentations, screen sharing and annotations made on the whiteboard or slides. In contrast, the participant list, shared notes, shared videos, and group work in breakout rooms are not included. In the case of surveys, only the published survey results are reflected in the video.

 

How long will it take for my recording to be available?

Usually, the recordings are not available immediately after the meeting is over. It can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours before you find your recordings.

 

Where are the records stored?

The records are stored exclusively on the storage system of the Hetzner AG. Access is secured against unauthorized access via effective and industry-standard mechanisms. However, it is possible to retrieve a published recording from anywhere, provided the link is known.

 

Can I download the recording of my meeting?

Unfortunately, the current version of modSuite does not provide for downloading the recordings.

 

Can I edit the recording of my meeting afterwards?

Subsequent editing of recordings is not possible.

 

How can I delete the recording of an event?

Recordings will be deleted by the modSuite team upon request. Please contact support and state the user ID and meeting ID in question. We will then delete the recording for you.

 

Can I use records for a longer period of time?

Currently, the retention period for records is at least one semester so that they are still available for the second exam date. This period refers exclusively to published ("published") recordings. A final concept for automatic deletion will follow soon, for both published and non-published recordings.

Troubleshooting/Problems

The echo test takes very long

This can happen. Our observation is that the process is much faster in all Chrome-based browsers. (Google Chrome, Chromium, Opera, Vivaldi, Microsoft Edge from version 79 ...).

 

I can not provide video

• No share in the browser or share denied → grant share (mostly: click on the lock icon to the left of the address line and grant camera share there).
• Test general function, e.g. with https://webcammictest.com/de/
• Other program uses the webcam: Close all other programs.
• External webcam not connected correctly: Check connector.
• Webcam covered: Open integrated slider or flap.
• Windows: Settings→Privacy→Check Camera

 

My microphone does not work

No share in browser or share denied → grant share (mostly: click on the lock icon to the left of the address line and grant camera share there).

The microphone may also be very quiet - see next point.

 

Microphone is too quiet

• The distance to the mouth may be too great.
• Microphone is covered by garment (e.g. by collar).
• Microphone is covered by the hand (e.g. with cell phones).
• Increase the sensitivity of the microphone:
  • Windows: Usually the level is already set to 100%. Check and change as follows: Settings → System → Sound; In the Input section you can see the level, select the microphone and change the level via "Device Properties".
  • MAC OS:
  • Android: Android does not offer the option to set the microphone sensitivity.
  • iOS: iOS does not offer the possibility to adjust the microphone sensitivity.
  • Linux: the level can be increased in the audio options of the control center or the control panel. Alternatively, the program "pavucontrol" can be used on current distributions.

 

Connection poor

• Use cable connection instead of WLAN.
• At the edge of WLAN coverage: Move closer to the WLAN access point.
• Many people use the same WLAN access point at the same time: Find another, less used WLAN access point/location.
• Stop programs running at the same time that use network connections intensively, e.g. downloads, music streaming, file sharing.
• Go to another network.
• Webcam transmission Reduce quality or turn off.
• Connection throttled because data volume of cell phone plan used up.

 

Desktop sharing does not work

• You do not have the rights to release:

Only organizers and moderators can release on their own. The moderator must first give you the right to release.

• You use modSuite from a mobile device with Android or iOS.

Sharing the desktop/screen does not work here.

• You are using Safari on macOS and cannot share the screen or do not see this option at all

Safari unfortunately does not support all features of modSuite please use Firefox or Chrome.

 

I cannot view records

There seems to be a problem with Safari when playing recordings. View the recordings with another browser instead, such as Chromium, Google Chrome, or Vivaldi.

 

Selection "Unmute conference" does not work

This is a bug that cannot be fixed at the moment. For the time being, participants must activate their microphone themselves in order to be able to speak again.

 

What can I do if a conference does not work (e.g. people cannot join the audio and are shown an error)?

If the problem occurs with a single person:

1. Make sure that the problem does not occur, for example, because the person concerned has not given permission for microphone or webcam transmission.
2. Point out that modSuite is more compatible with a Chromium-based browser (like Google Chrome, Vivaldi).
3. Ask the person concerned to join the conference by telephone (note: costs may be incurred (local rate). Please recommend only if a flat rate is available).
4. Advise the data subject of this FAQ towards.
5. Ask if the use of modSuite has been done before without any problems. If this has been the case, we recommend ending the session and starting it again (see next point).

If the problem occurs with multiple users or in setups that worked without problems when used before, it is probably a server-side problem.

1. Close the room (press the three dots on the top right → "End Meeting").
2. Wait at least 2 minutes.
3. Start a new session.

 

Can an internet connection be lost when entering a breakout room?

When entering a breakout room, new audio and video connections are started. If the Internet connection is weak anyway, it is possible that it will then drop completely.