Setting Up Online Meetings

Before anyone in your center can run a live online class, you need to choose how those classes are hosted. You have three options: QraOnline Free Meetings, Zoom, or your own meeting link from any other service.

You only do this once.

▶Setting up online meetingsSample video

Placeholder. See how to switch on QraOnline Free Meetings in under a minute, how to connect Zoom instead, and how to paste in a link from another service.

Your three options

	QraOnline Free Meetings	Zoom	Your own link
Cost	Free — included.	Requires a paid Zoom plan.	Whatever that service costs.
Do I need an account?	No. Nothing to sign up for.	Yes — a paid Zoom account (Pro or higher).	An account with that service.
Setup needed	None. Switch it on and you're done.	Create an app on Zoom's website and copy three values into QraOnline.	None here — you create the meeting yourself and paste the link.
Time to set up	About one minute.	About 15 minutes.	Per meeting, however long that service takes.
Link created for you?	Yes, automatically for every meeting.	Yes, automatically for every meeting.	No — you make it and paste it in each time.
Extra host controls	None.	Waiting room, mute on entry, join before host, requiring signed-in Zoom users.	Whatever that service offers.
Cancelling a meeting	Removes it from QraOnline. The link itself stays open.	Cancels the real Zoom meeting too.	Removes it from QraOnline only.

Not sure? Start with QraOnline Free Meetings.

It costs nothing, needs no account, and works immediately. You can switch to Zoom later without losing anything.

Where these settings live

1. In the left sidebar, click My workspace.
2. In the settings navigation, find the Operations group.
3. Click Meetings.

You'll see one of two screens:

What you see	What it means
Select a provider — two cards to choose from	Nothing is connected yet. Pick one.
Current provider — one card with an Enabled or Disabled chip	Something is already set up. Use Configure to change its details, or Change provider to switch.

Screenshot neededmeetings-provider-cards.png

What to capture: The Meetings settings page in the 'Select a provider' state, showing both provider cards side by side. The free option must clearly show its Free badge.

Add an arrow/highlight on: A box around the Free badge on the free provider card.

Save as static/img/docs/meetings-provider-cards.png

Read-only view

If your role lets you view meeting settings but not change them, the page still opens — the fields are just greyed out and there's no save button. Ask an admin who can manage center settings, or see Roles & Permissions.

Option 1 — QraOnline Free Meetings

This is our own built-in meeting service. There's no third-party account, no billing, and no credentials to copy.

You'll see this called "Jitsi" on screen

The card on the Meetings settings page is labelled Jitsi — that's the open-source technology powering our free meeting service. It's the same thing described here, and it's marked with a Free badge.

1. Go to My workspace → Operations → Meetings.
2. Click the free meeting service card (the one with the Free badge).
3. Read the notice at the top. It explains that these rooms are open to anyone holding the link, and asks you to tell teachers and students to sign in with a real email address before joining — that gives them moderator controls and keeps strangers out.
4. Leave Base URL empty unless your organisation runs its own meeting server. Empty is correct for almost everyone.
5. Turn on the Enabled switch.
6. Click Update.

That's the whole setup. Every meeting from now on gets its own fresh room link automatically.

These links stay open

Because the free rooms aren't password-protected, anyone who has a join link could rejoin later — even after you cancel the meeting in QraOnline. Don't post these links publicly for sessions that should stay private. If you need a waiting room or a locked room, use Zoom.

Option 2 — Zoom

Zoom needs a small "app" created inside your Zoom account. That app gives you three values you paste into QraOnline. Nothing is installed on your computer.

You need a paid Zoom plan

The app type QraOnline needs is only available on paid Zoom plans. If the option is missing or greyed out on Zoom's site, your Zoom account isn't eligible — use QraOnline Free Meetings instead, or upgrade your Zoom plan first.

Step 1 — Create the app on Zoom's website

1. Go to marketplace.zoom.us and sign in with the Zoom account your center will host meetings from.
2. Click Develop → Build App.
3. Choose the Server-to-Server OAuth app type.
4. Give it a name, such as "QraOnline", and fill in the basic details Zoom asks for.
5. On the Scopes tab, add the permissions for creating and deleting meetings.
6. Click Activate to switch the app on.
7. Open the App Credentials tab. Copy these three values — keep the page open:
   • Account ID
   • Client ID
   • Client Secret

Screenshot neededmeetings-zoom-app-credentials.png

What to capture: The App Credentials tab of a Server-to-Server OAuth app on marketplace.zoom.us, showing the Account ID, Client ID and Client Secret fields. Blur or replace the real values with fake ones.

Add an arrow/highlight on: Arrows on all three values, and a note that the Client Secret must be revealed with its show button first.

Save as static/img/docs/meetings-zoom-app-credentials.png

Step 2 — Paste them into QraOnline

1. Go to My workspace → Operations → Meetings.
2. Click the Zoom card (or Change provider → Zoom).
3. Fill in all three fields:

Field	What to enter	Required?
Client ID	The Client ID from Zoom's App Credentials tab.	Yes
Client Secret	The Client Secret. It's hidden as you type — treat it like a password and don't share it.	Yes
Account ID	The Account ID of the Zoom account that owns the app.	Yes

4. Turn on the Enabled switch.
5. Click Update.

Screenshot neededmeetings-zoom-credentials-form.png

What to capture: The Zoom provider form inside QraOnline with all three fields filled in (use fake values), the Enabled switch turned on, and the Update button visible.

Add an arrow/highlight on: An arrow pointing at the Enabled switch — it's easy to fill the fields but forget to switch it on.

Save as static/img/docs/meetings-zoom-credentials-form.png

All three values are needed. If any one is missing or mistyped, meetings will fail to start.

One shared Zoom host

Every meeting your center creates is a real meeting on that one Zoom account — not a separate Zoom login per teacher. That means your Zoom plan's participant limit and meeting length limit apply to all of them, and two classes can't be hosted at the exact same time unless your Zoom plan allows it.

The extra Zoom options

If you use Zoom, whoever creates a meeting can switch on these per-meeting settings under Advanced options:

Option	What it does
Waiting room	People wait until the host lets them in.
Join before host	Students can enter before the teacher arrives.
Mute upon entry	Everyone joins with their microphone off.
Meeting authentication	Only people signed in to Zoom can join.

The free meeting service has none of these, so with it the Advanced options section simply doesn't appear.

Option 3 — Use a link from any other service

You are not limited to the two services above. If your center already uses Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, Skype, or anything else, you can keep using it.

There's nothing to set up here. You start the meeting in that service as you normally would, copy its join link, and paste it in when you create the meeting in QraOnline:

1. Create the meeting in Google Meet, Teams, or whichever service you use.
2. Copy its join link.
3. In QraOnline, create a meeting and switch on Use an external meeting link.
4. Paste your link into the External link field.

Everything else works exactly the same — the meeting appears on the calendar, students and teachers see it in their portals, and reminders still go out. QraOnline just sends everyone to your link instead of creating one.

Full steps are in Running Online Meetings.

This works even with nothing connected

The external link option is always available, whether or not you've set up a provider on the Meetings settings page. It's handy for a one-off guest session hosted somewhere else.

What QraOnline can't do with an external link

Because the meeting lives in another service, QraOnline can't create it, cancel it, or apply any host controls. Cancelling in QraOnline removes it from your calendar but leaves the real meeting untouched — close it in that service too.

Which should I choose?

Choose QraOnline Free Meetings if:

• You don't want another bill.
• Your classes are small and not sensitive.
• You want to be running today.

Choose Zoom if:

• You already pay for Zoom.
• You need a waiting room, a locked room, or muted entry.
• You want cancelled meetings to actually close on Zoom's side.

Use your own link if:

• Your school is already standardised on Google Meet or Teams.
• You only need it occasionally, for a guest speaker or a one-off session.

You can switch at any time. Switching doesn't break meetings that already exist — each one keeps working with the service it was created on.

If something goes wrong

"Meetings are not configured or are disabled for your center." Either no provider is selected, or the Enabled switch is off. Go to My workspace → Operations → Meetings and check both. You can still create a meeting with an external link in the meantime.

Zoom meetings fail to start. One of the three Zoom values is wrong, or the app was deactivated on Zoom's site. Go back to the App Credentials tab in the Zoom Marketplace and re-copy all three. An extra space from copy-and-paste is the most common cause.

The Server-to-Server OAuth option isn't in Zoom's list. Your Zoom plan doesn't include it. Upgrade Zoom, or use QraOnline Free Meetings.

I don't see the Meetings section at all. Your role doesn't include viewing meeting settings. Ask a center admin — see Roles & Permissions.

Next step

Now that you've picked how meetings are hosted, go and create your first one: Running Online Meetings.