We've rolled our a new virtual classroom build across all global locations. This new build introduces some amazing features and improves overall stability of the app.

New Features:

1) Introducing "New Enhanced Recorder"

• New Enhanced Recorder is designed to record the entire browser tab including all the app icons and layout. Customers can choose between current standard and all-new enhanced recorder layouts for recorded videos.

2) Improved DPI for uploaded documents

• Improved DPI (dots per inch) offers improved quality for all your documents on the whiteboard. Documents in general with a higher DPI will look much better when compared with those of a lower DPI. Now, the documents will look amazing across all the devices.

3) Plugin free Screensharing for Chrome 70+ browsers

• Similar to our plugin-free screen sharing with Firefox browsers, this new update introduces the same technology with Chrome browsers version 70+ and above. This offers faster and improved performance when sharing entire desktop screen, application window or Chrome tab.

4) Enable/Disable video of all attendees globally

• Introducing a new global option to mute or unmute webcam of all attendees similar to the microphone option available today.

5) Improved look for the stacked videos

• Removed unnecessary black areas on the videos stacked on the right top of the application screen and increased the quality.

6) Show angle when drawing straight lines

• Teaching maths is now lot of fun. With this new feature, you can dynamically find out the angle of a straight line. Angles are measured in degrees, written °. The maximum angle is 360°. This is the angle all the way round a point. Half of this is the angle on a straight line, which is 180°.

7) Text editor support

• Introducing dynamic text editor support to select font, size and colors when writing text on the whiteboard using the 'text tool'.

8) Improved bandwidth usage and CPU consumption

• Improved bandwidth consumption when switching between video conferencing, screen sharing and recording by adapting to the conditions and lowered CPU usage across all devices.

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Bug Fixes & Improvements:

• [FIX] Video tab icon is shown on mobile devices when isBoard=2
• [FIX] Message counter shows wrong number on mobile device when 2+ students in the room when private chatting
• [IMPROVEMENT] Add a Email field into the Report a problem window to track issues reported
• [FIX] Side panel out of reach (>7 WhiteBoard tabs, Firefox)
• [IMPROVEMENT] Different image scaling for desktop and mobile browsers
• [FIX] Whiteboard access popup doesn't disappear for attendee when presenter deny the access
• [IMPROVEMENT] Improve layout and cosmetic changes for mobile devices
• [FIX] Report window is not closed by tapping report button
• [FIX] Buttons icons for "Chat" and "Videos" in the right modal window are the same
• [FIX] Distance between top bar icons is not the same (Safari)
• [FIX] Reduce document tool buttons width
• [FIX] Video stream is reconnected when user changes the audio stream source
• [IMPROVEMENT] Make "Original image" link for shared images popup uploaded in chat to a button
• [FIX] Pop-up which appears for attendee when Presenter allows using a VC features are out of screen on mobile
• [FIX] Semicircle tool doesn't have step to regulate needed area
• [FIX] Make Mic\Cam order for other users in attendee list for attendee the same as for presenter
• [FIX] IsCorporate=1 video area has grey areas from the right and left
• [FIX] Exit button not displayed in isBoard1/2
• [FIX] Chat input window disappears if N of messages > 13
• [FIX] Header disappears when N. of messages in chat > 13
• [FIX] Attendee doesn't see camera and mic icons next to his name in attendee list
• [IMPROVEMENT] Increase chat text and smiles size in the recordings
• [FIX] Text tool should be opened for editing when user double click on text with select tool
• [FIX] Connectivity Re-test button not active if the connection failed
• [FIX] Whiteboard name can not be changed (IOS)
• [FIX] Youtube video can not be opened by Video tool (IOS)
• [FIX] Item selection disappears when user removes the finger from the screen on mobile devices
• [IMPROVEMENT] Implement new design for private chat windows
• [FIX] Media player buttons are displayed out of video area in Video tool on devices
• [IMPROVEMENT] Improve private chat window design
• [FIX] Pop-ups on mobile are displayed out of the screen
• [FIX] Undocked video window from right modal don't have the same height as docked
• [FIX] Private chat collapsed window height is doubled on MacOS
• [FIX] Text displayed on the buttons in the End class pop-up is bigger than buttons (MacOS)
• [FIX] Info pop-up doesn't appear when user clicks on Screen share tool in Safari
• [FIX] Pictures\Woldram\Latex are not displayed on whiteboard when exported from Safari browsers
• [FIX] Video area are not displayed by default in Video tool for device users
• [FIX] Whiteboard is not scaled by browser window height (Firefox)
• [FIX] Undock button is not working when isBoard=1&2
• [IMPROVEMENT] Rotate icon is pixelated. Changed to new icon.
• Chat shortcuts don't work after select tool was used
• [FIX] Allowing or disallowing Screen share, Cam, Teacher Tool, Board switches off Unmute all attendees button
• [FIX] Show pop-up for students when they are moved to BreakRoom\MainRoom
• [FIX] Icons in attendee list are not displayed fully (IOS)
• [FIX] Change front\back camera change icons on iOS devices
• [FIX] Video tool window elements order can be broken when window size is decreased on mobile
• [FIX] Private chat expand\collapse animation is not smooth
• [FIX] Black square are displayed in the chat area instead of video on iPhone
• [FIX] Decrease Video tool borders size
• [FIX] Attendees list icons don't scale when browser window height is changed
• [IMPROVEMENT] Add "Enable/disable all videos" feature to Presenter part
• [FIX] Vimeo video is not played for attendees (Chrome)
• [FIX] Recording is not produced when browser tab is closed
• [FIX] Whiteboard bottom border disappears after escaping full screen mode in Firefox
• [FIX] Video window appears without animation
• [FIX] Document tool tab name is out of the border in the mobile version
• [FIX] Private chat popup is not displayed fully
• [FIX] Text tool does not work properly (IOS)
• [FIX] Collapse hint text is upside down for private chat window
• [FIX] Text can be displayed only on a half of sound output select dropdown
• [FIX] Play button is higher than text field for link in Video tool on mobile devices
• [FIX] Top/bottom borders color are different for screen sharing and whiteboard on the recording
• [FIX] UI recording time doesn't stop when user loses internet connection
• [FIX] Text tool is not shown as an active tool on draw tools panel when it is collapsed
• [IMPROVEMENT] Border line thickness depends on browser window size
• [FIX] Collapse button is displayed on undocked private chat window
• [IMPROVEMENT] Remove black areas from the sides of the video
• [IMPROVEMENT] Improve PDF documents display for screens with high DPI
• [IMPROVEMENT] Improve bandwidth when switching between video conferencing, screen sharing and recording by adapting to the conditions.
• [FIX] Undock button make right modal sub-window disappear

Great News! Based on popular request, we've rolled out an update to allow entering the virtual classroom 30 minutes in advance as teacher/presenter to prepare the class session.

You can upload and prepare documents, presentations, and other artifacts in advance on the whiteboard to deliver engaging classes.

Starting today, BrainCert platform and services will serve requests in TLS v1.3 protocol with 0-RTT support.

What is TLS 1.3?

TLS 1.3 is the newest, fastest, and most secure version of the TLS protocol. SSL/TLS is the protocol that encrypts communication between users and your website. When web traffic is encrypted with TLS, users will see the green padlock in their browser window. By leveraging the TLS 1.3 feature, traffic to and from BrainCert platform and all service endpoints will be served over the TLS 1.3 protocol when supported by clients.

What is 0-RTT?

0-RTT is a feature that improves performance for clients who have previously connected to BrainCert. It allows the client’s first request to be sent before the TLS connection is fully established, resulting in faster connection times.

Students now easily look at the different pricing options offered by the instructor and buy a subscription package easily.

When "View all price options!" is clicked, it will now show all the avialable pricing options:

We've rolled our a new virtual classroom build across all global locations. This 'performance build' was created to fix the issues affecting our users and improve overall class delivery experience with our new backend updates and improvements.

Bug Fixes & Improvements:

• [NEW] Show logo in video recordings
• [FIX] Fix Chrome browser's "audioplay" policy issue which was corrupting the audio stream resulting in no video recordings
• [FIX] Recording is not produced when browser tab is closed in the middle of a recording session by the instructor
• [NEW] Avail BrainCert's new dynamic SFU/MCU engine (codename 'Fast Tiger') that is highly tuned to provide an immersive audio and video experience. All 15 of our global locations is now powered by this new technology.
• [IMPROVEMENT] Default video tool window size should fit the video without any dark areas on the left and right side of the recorded videos output file
• [IMPROVEMENT] "Enhanced video recorder" feature that automatically recovers corrupted or partially recorded videos by checking the file integrity and compare the data points from the session and produce a video recording file
• [FIX] Attendees were able to control video player even when when allow control toggle is turned off by the instructor
• [FIX] Whiteboard toolbar is not shifted to the right side when using RTL interface language such as Arabic and Hebrew.
• [FIX] Pencil Tool is changed on Select tool when document is uploaded
• [FIX] WolframAlpha was not producing output on the whiteboard
• [FIX] Settings windows are partly displayed out of the screen on Android devices
• [IMPROVEMENT] Rework Net Speed Check
• [IMPROVEMENT] New feature to resize media player window by dragging the right bottom of the window and resize it. This is useful when you want to have a bigger window to watch streaming videos using media player
• [IMPROVEMENT] Increase the window size of the media player popup
• [IMPROVEMENT] Improve 'capacity planner' tool that comes into play when you schedule a live session. This tool helps to create a 'blueprint' for the session by analyzing various metrics such as compute resources available in a global datacenter, optimal network path required to achieve very low-latency, switch to dynamic SFU or MCU configuration (core technology), low bandwidth optimizations and congestion control.

Planned Accomplishment in next version (2-3 weeks from now)

• Add expand button for media player pop-up to enlarge it in whiteboard area (similar to code editor)
• Add ability for presenter to hide Whiteboard tabs from students by locking and unlocking specific boards
• Improve document display for screens with high DPI so all uploaded documents look better on mobile devices

Great News! We've introduced two new options to manage your test delivery.

In 'Questions' page, click on "Test Delivery Settings".

You'll now see the new features that is designed to pull questions evenly from all objectives and/or based on questions difficulty level.

Randomize questions order during test → The question order will also be randomized ensuring that two students won't be shown the exact same questions.

Randomize answer choices during test → This feature ensures the answer choice order will be randomized ensuring that two students answering a particular question will see the answer selections in a different order.

Even distribution of questions from each objective → This feature pulls the questions evenly from all the test objectives ensuring that all objectives are given same priority.

Even distribution of questions based on difficulty level → This feature pulls the questions evenly based on the difficult level percentage configured. Make sure the the total percentage distribution equals to 100%.

We've released a new media player with ability to manage playback rate controls and casting feature.

Playing, Fast and Slow

This feature was designed for learners who might want to speed up a lecture using our pre-set rates (which are 0.5x, 1x, 1.25x, 1.5x, and 2x) or savor a great moment by slowing a video down.

Casting and Airplay

Casting enables a viewer to use Google Cast or Apple AirPlay technologies to stream video and audio content to a compatible TV or sound system. With this casting feature, a student can tap an icon in the control bar to stream a lecture content on a cast-compatible device. If no compatible device is detected by the player, no cast icon appears.

A minor patch for virtual classroom has been updated to fix the following issues and improve overall performance:

• Fix insert image issue with Firefox browser
• Chat message window shifting upwards bug with Firefox browser
• Low volume output in a live virtual classroom session
• Improve the adaptive bitrate algorithm to deliver the best possible audio & video performance in low bandwidth situations
• Improve network congestion control feature to improve overall transmission performance and stability
• Some of the old recurring classes were using old cached DNS hostnames of the VC server clusters in multiple locations. Recent updates has forced everyone to use new backend servers automatically which is transparent to end users. However, few users running very old recurring schedule were affected and this issue has been resolved by pointing to new DNS entries without any further changes
• Improve recording bandwidth consumption and produce complete recorded video in low bandwidth situations

There was an issue reported by one of our esteemed customer that when the test instructor had setup test notification to inform students when their test is graded, it sends out an email to the student. The problem with this approach leads to students receiving multiple notifications for each question manually graded by the instructor.

To overcome this issue, we've rolled out a patch that sends our only one notification email once all the open-ended questions are graded. If the notification template is not turned on, it will show a warning popup when the final open-ended question is graded.

Student notification email template below:

There is also a new option called "Notify Student" in grading page to trigger the above notification template manually by the instructor.

All the good things comes to an end...and be replaced with something way better!

We've launched our much-anticipated all-new virtual classroom major update across all 15 global locations worldwide. The new virtual classroom boasts a modern and responsive design along with new features such as code editor.

Here is a sneak preview of what to expect in this new version: https://braincert.wistia.com/medias/nvlhp5kr91

New Features

• Completely Revamped Design: We have been hard at work with a significant update to our entire UI and UX. Everything has been completely redesigned from the ground up with a collapsable right and left panels.
• Collaborative Code Editor: We have integrated an amazing built-in code editor to teach any kind of code in a virtual classroom session. Lock or unlock code editor to teach coding one-to-many or code online collaboratively.
• "Onedrive For Business" Integration: With this premium 'onedrive for business' integration, you can choose the Office 365 tenant and share files from OneDrive folders on the whiteboard. You can leverage this feature from Cloud Uploader using document tool.
• Collapsible Navigation: The all-new collapsible navigation blocks makes it possible to close or open whiteboard tools on the left and video/attendee list/chat menus on the right making more room for the whiteboard viewing area.
• Chat Timestamp: This new feature shows the localized timestamp of the messages arrived in the global chat area.
• New Whiteboard Paper Tool: We've removed the old 'grid' tool and added new lined, grid and millimeter paper background tools.
• Take photo from student's webcam: This is a useful feature created specifically for younger students in mind. Instructor can now take a photo from student's webcam and show it on the whiteboard or save locally.

Bug Fixes & Improvements:

• [NEW] Add whiteboard Background tool
• [NEW] Redesign the speaker output drop-down menu width in Video settings
• [IMPROVEMENT] Show audio\video permissions pop-ups above all other windows
• [FIX] Filtering PDF library content by date does not work
• [IMPROVEMENT] Add ability to move Video Settings window
• [IMPROVEMENT] Add mention someone pop-up button to the chat
• [IMPROVEMENT] Improve naming format in attendee list
• [IMPROVEMENT] Show name abbreviation in chat
• [IMPROVEMENT] Remove the grid tool that is inside line tools
• [IMPROVEMENT] Improve UX and fix UI issues in the text chat
• [NEW] Add ability to pass presenter role to a student in Break Room
• [IMPROVEMENT] Keep showing video/audio in video settings without disappearing it for a second when recording button is pressed
• [IMPROVEMENT] Improve Screen Share tool
• [NEW] To add "Export as PDF", and "Export as an image" features when right-clicking on the whiteboard
• [FIX] Fix isVideo=1 (single recorded video file) option which was not producing final recorded file.
• [New] To create Photo feature for Presenter which is used to take photo from student's webcam output.
• [FIX] Speed check tool is taking too much time to product results
• [IMPROVEMENT] Add ChromeOS detection in "info box" popup in attendee list.
• [IMPROVEMENT] Show number of attendees in a break room
• [New] Add ability to pass presenter role to a student in BreakRoom
• [IMPROVEMENT] Improve whiteboard drawing smoothness and teacher tools performance
• [NEW] Add pagination for document and media library to allow faster loading of larger content library.
• [IMPROVEMENT] Minor UI improves
• [IMPROVEMENT] Using eraser tool on the border of highlighted area make this area turn into square
• [IMPROVEMENT] Cube, cylinder and cone one tool lines are disappearing when user redact them
• [IMPROVEMENT] Acute angles disappear on erase
• [IMPROVEMENT] Change save icon design in popups
• [IMPROVEMENT] Add borderlines for overall whiteboard navigation panes
• [IMPROVEMENT] change default interface font to make it more modern
• [IMPROVEMENT] Improve design for right click menu
• [IMPROVEMENT] Add keyboard shortcuts for whiteboard objects
• [IMPROVEMENT] Improve right bar design
• [IMPROVEMENT] Redesign navigation and menus in mobile version
• [IMPROVEMENT] Change active speaker animation
• [IMPROVEMENT] Make all VC button's pictures in vector format
• [IMPROVEMENT] Move Net Speed check functionality into Video settings sub tab
• [IMPROVEMENT] Draw tools instruments pop up doesn't appear right under the tool
• [IMPROVEMENT] Add cam\mic turn on\off buttons on the top bar on the right
• [IMPROVEMENT] Add logout button on the top bar on the right
• [IMPROVEMENT] Increase default width of media player pop-up
• [NEW] Add collaborative code editor
• [NEW] Presenter should be able to allow/block code editor tabs to all students
• [NEW] Sort code editor drop down menus by alphabetical order
• [NEW] Improve help page popup for code editor
• [NEW] Make codeEditor independent for each BreakRoom
• [FIX] iOS devices receive sound stream only when they switch on their own mic
• [FIX] Fix lagging Eraser tool
• [IMPROVEMENT] Move recording timer to the left side of recording stop button
• [NEW] Add ability to upload document from Onedrive for business using Document tool
• [FIX] When there are more than 2 elements drawn on each other eraser tool is working by layers
• [NEW] Play a sound for receiver when first message in private chat is received
• [IMPROVEMENT] Users should be able to turn on more than one screen share and switch between tabs while screen share is active
• [FIX] Draw tools don't reappear when enlarged code editor is closed
• [FIX] Chat messages can move all the layout up in Firefox browser making it unusable