Join a Live Online Lesson
Join a live lesson from its list entry, its detail page, or a shared link, choose camera/mic in the pre-join lobby, then use the in-call controls for screen share, chat, files, and reactions.
For School administrators, Teachers, Students, Staff. Updated 2026-09-18.
Overview
A live lesson can be joined from its Join button in the Online Lessons list (shown once it is Live), from the lesson's own detail page, or by opening a shared join link, which lands on a full-page classroom outside the normal app layout.
A visitor who isn't signed in yet sees an inline sign-in form directly on that page rather than being redirected away — there is no true anonymous or guest access, so a student still needs their own account and an active enrollment in that class.
Opening the page before the teacher has started shows a waiting screen that checks automatically every few seconds and moves on once the lesson goes live. Joining passes through a pre-join lobby where camera and microphone both start switched off by default, letting the voter choose before entering.
Once in the call, the main stage shows the active screen share or speaker with a filmstrip of other participants, and a presenter's own camera floats as a small bubble over their screen share. A side panel holds Participants, Chat, and Files tabs, and the control bar has mic/camera/screen-share toggles, emoji reactions, raise-hand, and Picture-in-Picture.
Shared files are capped at 15MB each. There is no lesson recording available in this version — after a lesson ends, only the chat transcript and shared files remain accessible from its detail page.
Before you start
- Have the “join online lesson” permission permission
- Students need an active enrollment in the lesson's class
- A MySchoolGH account (no anonymous/guest join)
- Browser permission for camera/microphone if using video or audio
Steps
- Open Sidebar > Online Lessons and select Join on a Live lesson, or open a shared join link
- Sign in if prompted
- Wait for the teacher to start if the lesson hasn't gone live yet — this refreshes automatically
- In the pre-join lobby, choose whether to enable camera and microphone, then select Join
- Use the control bar to toggle mic, camera, or screen share, react, or raise your hand
- Use the side panel for Participants, Chat, and Files
- Select Leave to exit the call
Common problems
Camera or microphone isn't working
The browser likely denied camera/mic permission. Both start switched off by default; re-enable the site's camera/mic permission in the browser and try again.
Stuck on "Waiting for the teacher to start"
This is expected until the teacher starts the lesson — the page checks automatically every few seconds, so no action is needed.
"This lesson has ended" message
The room has closed. The chat transcript and shared files remain on the lesson's detail page, but there is no recording to watch — recording isn't available in this version.
A file won't upload
Shared files are capped at 15MB each; reduce the file size or split it.
Picture-in-Picture is missing or doesn't work
Full Picture-in-Picture support is strongest in Chromium browsers (Chrome, Edge); other browsers may fall back to a basic video-only PiP or not support it at all.
A shared join link asks the visitor to sign in
There is no anonymous/guest access. Sign in (or ask an admin to create an account) and, for a student, confirm they have an active enrollment in that class.