Discover the enhanced capabilities of Sana Live, where you can seamlessly integrate your preferred video conferencing tool with Sana's interactive learning environment. This offers a unique blend of familiarity and interactivity, designed to elevate your virtual sessions in your preferred environment.
What does this mean?
You can effortlessly create and manage interactive sessions while continuing to use your trusted video conferencing tool: Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or Zoom. The new scheduling modal and easy access to Present mode ensure that your sessions are up and running quickly.
The experience involves two tabs: one for the video meeting and one for Sana content.
Quick access to each session by entering the session code in sana.app
Each session includes a QR code that you can display or send to people to join and interact with the content directly in Sana - especially useful for hybrid sessions.
Increased participant limit allows you to host sessions with over 500 participants.
External meeting link generation is directly available in the scheduling modal
Flexibility to run recurring sessions, generating new instances with separate Recaps for each, enhancing the continuity and effectiveness of your learning initiatives.
How does it work?
Configuration
For admins
Admins of the organisation can enable and set which meeting tools should be available when hosting online sessions. Sana will always be on by default.
This is an organisation wide setting to enable or disable the external meeting tools used, and it will control which tools are available when scheduling live sessions and generating external meeting links. When you configure an external meeting tool here, we authenticate your personal account to verify that the organisation has given users the correct permission to let us create meetings. This is not the account used when users are creating meetings, every meeting link will be created on behalf of the requesting user.
You find this configuration in Settings > General > Meeting tools
For regular users
After an admin has approved the external meeting tool, every meeting link created is created on behalf of the user scheduling the session. Each user that want to create a meeting link needs to authenticate their own Google / Teams / Zoom account, and we associate the sana account with this same account when creating the meeting links. Users can control this linking from their personal settings menu.
💡 Keep in mind: For some organizations, the configuration will require the approval of an internal central administrator of your meeting tool.
Scheduling
Prepare your course material in Sana as you normally would. Note that users will not be able to see Lobby or Breakout cards as these will be controlled through the external meeting tool.
When you're ready to present or schedule a session, simply click "Present" to start immediately and share the quick code with attendees - or use the dropdown menu next to "Present" to view scheduled sessions and choose to either start a session now or schedule it for a later time.
Under Meeting Tool, you will have three different options:
Create a new meeting: generates an external meeting link for you
Use an existing meeting link: Paste your Teams/Meet/Zoom link to connect the Sana Live meeting with your preferred video conferencing tool
Have the meeting entirely in Sana
Enter all session details in the scheduling menu. Read more about the general settings here.
Facilitators set in the scheduling modal are still controlling progress of the cards. They are also able to invite other users as facilitators. If you want to add a participant as facilitators after the session has started, you can do so through the participant list in the Sana meeting.
Toggle ‘Enable smart transcriptions and summaries’ if you want to have a Recap of your session. This can also be enabled in the session by a facilitator when clicking ‘More’ in the bottom toolbar in the Sana session.
Click Schedule and you're done! An email notification with a calendar invite will be sent to the facilitators and any participants you may have added.
💡 Keep in mind: The first time you schedule a meeting in Sana with your existing meeting tool, you will have to log in to your respective account. You will only be able to schedule meetings in an external meeting tool that is configured by an admin of your organization. See Configuration.
Recaps
Activate the smart transcriptions and summaries toggle in the scheduling modal to receive a comprehensive meeting recap. As mentioned, this can also be done by the facilitator after the session has started from the session view by pressing More > Enable smart features. When this feature is enabled, a Sana bot will ask to join your meeting tool - be sure to admit it to allow the session to be recorded and transcribed.
Once the session concludes, you can access the recap as usual via the Sana meeting link or through the session's overview in Manage.
💡 Remember to share your screen during the session to ensure that all Sana content is included in the recording.
Hosting the session
As a facilitator of the session, you will be able to switch between cards in Sana as usual.
Tips and tricks for hosting a session
Share your screen with the Sana content in your meeting tool for optimal engagement.
Utilize picture-in-picture to view participants while presenting.
Paste the Sana session link in the video-chat meeting as well! In case someone accidentally closes down the page, it is easy to click and get back again. Simply copy the session link directly from the Sana meeting.
Joining the session
Assigned users and facilitators will receive a calendar invite containing a link to Sana.
By clicking on this Sana link in the invite, or accessing the session through the home page in Sana, users will enter the session and be prompted to join the chosen meeting tool video call.
The video call and Sana cards will be presented within two separate ‘tabs’ or ‘windows’. Note: most video conferencing tools have picture-in-picture functionality that allows users to see a portion of the video stream, even while in another tab or window.
Relax and enjoy your interactive Sana Live experience, all through the comfort of your preferred video and audio conferencing tool.
After the session
Participants will automatically be tracked as attended if they were joining the Sana cards (i.e. it is not enough to only be in the video call for Sana to track attendance).
Participants can browse the cards as usual in Sana after the session has ended.
FAQ
What about the previous version of Sana Live?
You can still use it! Choose Sana in Meeting Tool in the scheduler.
Can I use breakout rooms based on poll results if I use my own meeting tool?
Not currently, as breakout room functionality is controlled by the video conferencing tool.