This page provides the release notes for Flexible Classroom.

Known Issues

Flexible Classroom does not support displaying GIF images in the whiteboard of a classroom.

v1.1.5.1

v1.1.5.1 was released on October 20, 2021.

New features

Support for customizing the video encoding configurations

As of v1.1.5.1, developers can customize the video encoding configurations, including the width, height, frame rate, and bitrate. When calling the launch method, developers can set the videoEncoderConfig parameter in mediaOptions to customize the encoding configurations for the video stream captured by a camera or the screen-sharing video stream.

The recommended video encoding configurations are as follows:

• One-to-one Classroom: 320x240, 200 Kbps, and 15 fps.
• Small Classroom and Lecture Hall: 160x120, 65 Kbps, and 15 fps, if the number of students in a classroom who send their video stream at the same time is less than or equal to six.

Students automatically going onto the "stage"

v1.1.5.1 adds the feature of students automatically going onto the "stage" in the Small Classroom scenario. Once the teacher or TA enables this feature, students go onto the "stage" at specified intervals.

Support for setting the latency level of a receiver

As of v1.1.5.1, developers can set the latency level of an audience member. By default, the latency level is ultra-low. Developers can set the latencyLevel parameter in the launch method to change the latency level:

• Ultra-low latency: The latency from the sender to the receiver is 400 ms to 800 ms.
• Low latency: The latency from the sender to the receiver is 1500 ms to 2000 ms.

The charges for low latency and ultra-low latency are different. For details, see the pricing page.

Support for setting whether students automatically send streams after going onto the "stage"

v1.1.5.1 allows developers to control whether students automatically send audio or video streams after they go onto the "stage". By default, students do not send audio nor video streams after they go onto the "stage". You can change the default behavior by setting the streamState parameter when calling launch.

Pre-class device test and local video preview

As of v1.1.5.1, Flexible Classroom adds the Media Context API to allow developers to implement the pre-class test module, with which students can check whether their camera and microphone are functioning correctly and preview how they look and sound before they join a class.

The countdown timer

v1.1.5.1 adds a countdown timer in Flexible Classroom. The teacher can find the countdown time in the toolbox and set an initial value. After the teacher clicks the start button, students see a countdown window.

Support for media device management

As of v1.1.5.1, students can control whether local cameras, microphones, and speakers are on or off during the class. Agora adds the DeviceContext and IDeviceHandler classes in the Agora Edu Context and provides methods and callbacks for local device control.

Teachers making notes on their shared screen

As of v1.1.5.1, teachers can make notes notes on the screen that they share with the basic whiteboard tools.

Support for custom user properties and classroom properties

As of v1.1.5.1, developers can customize properties for users and classrooms. These properties can be updated, and the updates can be monitored. For example, developers can set the profile photo as a custom user property. To support this feature, Agora makes the following changes to the Agora Edu Context:

• Classroom properties:

  • Add the updateFlexRoomProps method in RoomContext for adding or updating custom classroom properties.
  • Add the onFlexRoomPropsInitialized and onFlexRoomPropertiesChanged callbacks in IRoomHandler for indicating the initial custom classroom properties and subsequent classroom property changes.

• User properties:

  • Add the userProperties parameter in AgoraEduLaunchConfig for passing in custom user properties when launching a classroom.
  • Add the updateFlexUserProperties method in UserContext for adding or updating custom user properties.
  • Add the onFlexUserPropertiesChanged callback in IEduUserHandler for indicating user property changes.

Improvements

• To optimize the PPT display on the students' clients, v1.1.5.1 adds the boardFitMode parameter in AgoraEduLaunchConfig for setting the PPT display mode. By default, the PPT display mode is fit, which means uniformly scaling the PPT until one of its dimensions fits the boundary. Developers can change the boardFitMode to Retain when calling the launch method. In this mode, if the student manually adjusts the PPT size, the client maintains this size no matter what class the student joins.
• As of v1.1.5.1, Flexible Classroom supports displaying HTML5 courseware on the whiteboard.

v1.1.0.1

v1.1.0.1 was released on July 7, 2021.

New features

Media encryption

To ensure the security during real-time audio and video transmission, v1.1.0.1 adds the mediaOptions parameter in AgoraEduLaunchConfig for supporting media stream encryption. By default, Flexible Classroom does not encrypt the media stream. To enable media encryption, use the mediaOptions parameter to choose an encryption mode and set the encryption key. Flexible Classroom supports the following encryption modes:

• AES_128_XTS: 128-bit AES encryption, XTS mode.
• AES_128_ECB: 128-bit AES encryption, ECB mode.
• AES_256_XTS: 256-bit AES encryption, XTS mode.
• AES_128_GCM: 128-bit AES encryption, GCM mode.
• AES_256_GCM: 256-bit AES encryption, GCM mode.

Issues fixed

v1.1.0.1 fixes the issue that the default region was not NA (North America).

v1.1.0

v1.1.0 was released on June 18, 2021. This is the first release of Agora Flexible Classroom with the following features:

• Real-time audio and video interaction
• Real-time messaging
• Interactive whiteboard
• Screen sharing
• Recording and replay
• Teaching tools, including cloud storage, classroom rewards, and the user list
• Customizing the classroom user interfaces and embedding custom plugins in classrooms
• Flexible Classroom cloud service for classroom and user management