Technical Minimum Requirements for our virtual classroom usage

Technical Minimum Requirements for our virtual classroom usage

The CambridgeSchool.online Virtual Classroom platform uses the professional plugin BigBlueButton for virtual classrooms. Thanks to this, we provide our students with online lessons on our “browser based” platform based in the cloud on our servers located in Europe.

To keep the quality of the participation in our online classes on a satisfactory level, users must comply with the minimum technical requirements described below.

Please make sure before starting the online classes, that the device with which you want to connect, meets the following requirements, Internet browsers are up-to-date to the latest version, and a working headset and camera are connected to the computer.

If you want to test your connection before joining a virtual classroom, you can do so at: https://test.bigbluebutton.org/

Computer devices (computer, laptop)

  1. Minimum technical requirements for the computer equipment used (computer, laptop)
    1. a.at least 4 GB of memory and a 2+ GHz processor (each computer bought in the last 3 years should meet these requirements)
    2. or any Chromebook with 4 GB of memory and a 1.5+ GHz processor
  2. Minimum requirements for the operating system installed on the computer
    1. Windows: Windows 7 and higher
    2. Mac: iOS 12.2 and higher
  3. Minimum requirements for additional devices:
    1. headphones (in combination with a microphone, wired or wireless with no specific parameters). Please do not use speakers built-in the computer or laptop.
    2. microphone (in combination with headphones, wired or wireless with no specific parameters). Please do not use the microphone built-in the computer or laptop. If you do have troubles with your microphone, use this online mic test to check if your microphone is properly set up: https://www.onlinemictest.com/
    3. camera – built-in the laptop or computer (no specific parameters)
  4. Minimum requirements for an internet connection
    1. bandwidth (link to check: https://speedtest.net/)
      1. 1.0 Mbit/sec for data transfer (upload)
      2. 2,0 Mbits/sec for data download (download)I
    2. f possible, we recommend connecting through a wired network, if you connect to a wireless (WiFi) network that is not reliable, you may experience periodic disconnects or audio interruptions.
  5. Network connection settings
    1. Each user should be able to make the following TCP / IP and UDP network connections.
Protocol Port (s) Description
TCP/IP 80 HTTP
TCP/IP 443 HTTPS
UDP 16384-32768 Encrypted WebRTC audio, video, and screen share media stream (DTLS-SRTP)
  • Note: If a firewall that blocks the UDP connections for the user, it would cause the media connections to “tunnel” through port 443, which, if is also behind a firewall, the user may experience performance issues with sharing and viewing audio/video.
  • Recommended browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Edge (latest versions). Note: Internet Explorer and earlier versions of the EDGE viewer are not supported.

In case you do face any troubles with the above, please do contact your IT department.

Mobile devices (phone, tablet)

  1. Minimum technical requirements for the equipment used (phone, tablet)
    1. at least 4 GB of memory and a 2+ GHz processor (each smartphone or tablet purchased within the last 3 years should meet these requirements)
    2. or any Chromebook with 4 GB of memory and a 1.5+ GHz processor
  2. Minimum requirements for the operating system installed on the mobile device
    1. Android 6.0 and higher,
    2. iOS 12.2 and higher
  3. Minimum requirements for additional devices:
    1. headphones (in combination with a microphone, wired or wireless with no specific parameters). Please do not use speakers built-in the mobile device.
    2. microphone (in combination with headphones, wired or wireless with no specific parameters). Please do not use the microphone built-in the mobile device. If you do have troubles with your microphone, use this online mic test to check if your microphone is properly set up: https://www.onlinemictest.com/
    3. camera – built-in the mobile device (no specific parameters)
  4. Minimum requirements for an internet connection
    1. for data networks, we recommend 4G LTI
    2. for wireless (WiFi) connections, we recommend available private and public networks. If you connect to a wireless (WiFi) network that is not reliable, you may experience periodic disconnections or audio interruptions.
  5. Recommended browsers: Chrome, Mozilla Firefox (latest versions)
  6. Recommended browser settings: if a Pop-up blocker or Add blocker is installed on your device, then our website and platform should be given permission to allow pop-ups or messages. This is essential for joining properly the virtual classroom and to give access for our platform to the microphone and camera of your device.
  7. Device Settings: We recommend that you reduce the use of the device while connecting with the virtual class, please close applications that may be running in the background and reduce the bandwidth and the quality of the connection.
  8. Note: Screen sharing is not supported from mobile devices. People who want to use screen sharing should use a laptop, desktop, or Chromebook.

In case you do face any troubles with the above, please do contact your IT department.

Actualized: 2020-11-06