Share Desktop in Virtual Classroom

Explains how to share your screen in the Virtual Classroom meeting space when using Chrome.  Users completely new to Virtual Classroom may want to read the general overview here. Also, please be sure to review our Basic System Requirements, Bandwidth Requirements and  Common Troubleshooting Solutions.

  Pro Tip

The required bandwidth to use or watch the desktop share feature can be higher or lower depending on the content being shared. If you are experiencing network issues or poor performance, you can disable this feature within the Virtual Classroom Settings. Please note that changing this setting will only affect your view of the session, not others.

In Virtual Classroom meetings, you may want to share your screen with other participants*.

  Important

• Due to an issue with version 87 of the Chrome browser, sharing the webcam or screen for a second time in a Virtual Classroom meeting does not work in Chrome 87. If you’re currently using version 87 of the Chrome browser, please consider the following:

  • If you’re currently in a meeting and you’ve previously shared your camera or screen but they cannot be shared again, refresh the browser tab and join the meeting again. You will then be able to share your camera and screen normally, until you stop sharing them.

  • If you’re planning to join a meeting soon and would like to avoid this issue, download the Firefox browser. Version 87 of Chrome is the only version affected by this issue, so you can use Chrome again when they release version 88.
• Desktop share within Virtual Classroom is only fully supported in Chrome or Microsoft Edge (Chromium). In Firefox, you can only share a specific application window*. If you want to share your entire screen, use Chrome.
  *In Firefox 70, screenshare will not work if you are in private mode. To avoid this issue entirely, please update to Firefox 70.0.1 or higher.

If you use an Apple computer and recently updated your OS, click here

If your computer currently uses Mac OSX 10.15 “Catalina” or 11.0 "Big Sur," you need to explicitly allow your browsers to record your screen. This permission will only need to be accepted once.

• When you open screensharing in Virtual Classroom, you will see a dialog like this one:
  
  
• Select “Open System Preferences"
• In the menu on the left, scroll down and click on Screen Recording.
• In the window on the right, make sure the box next to your browser is checked.
• Quit and re-open your browser to apply the changes, and your system will now allow screenshare in Virtual Classroom.

Click the Share Desktop icon.

You can share Your Entire Screen (recommended*) or Application Window. Select your preferred option and Share.

*Certain applications may not refresh quickly enough to display your actions. 

  Note

When you share your entire screen (if you're sharing the same screen where you're using the Virtual Classroom meeting), you may see an "infinity effect" where the screen repeats itself within the presentation space. This is normal and will not affect the performance of other Virtual Classroom features.

Other Virtual Classroom participants will see what you're sharing. 

After uploading your presentation, you are able to share your desktop at the same time and switch between the two screens by clicking on the View Presentation/View Screenshare button. 

When you’re done sharing, click the Exit desktop icon.