1:1 Video Calls
Video Calls lets school staff hold 1:1 video conversations with anyone — a colleague, a student, a parent, or an outside guest. The person you’re calling doesn’t need a Premeena account: they open the call link in any browser, check their camera on the pre-join screen, and they’re in. Mute, camera toggle, screen share, and an in-call text chat are all included.
How it works in one minute
Section titled “How it works in one minute”-
Go to Sidebar → Communication → Video Calls and click New call.
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Pick who you’re calling: Staff, Student, Parent (searchable by name, email, or ID), or Other to invite anyone by name.
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Review the invite. Optionally send an email invite with the call link and/or an in-app notification — or send nothing and just copy the link yourself.
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Click Create call. You get a shareable link that works in any browser, needs no account, and expires in 24 hours. Hit Join the call now to enter first.
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Your invitee opens the link, sees a camera preview and “Video call with you”, and clicks Join call. You’re face to face.
Where to find it
Section titled “Where to find it”| Who | Where | What’s there |
|---|---|---|
| Owner / Manager / Teacher | Sidebar → Communication → Video Calls | Your call sessions with status badges (created / active / ended / expired), copy-link, Join, and end-call actions, plus the New call button |
| Staff, in a DM | Messages → any direct message → video icon in the thread header | One click starts a call with that person and posts a join card into the chat |
| The person you call | The call link (from email, notification, or shared by you) | Pre-join screen with camera preview → Join call. No login, no install. |
In-call controls
Section titled “In-call controls”| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Mute microphone | Toggle your mic on/off |
| Turn camera off | Toggle your video on/off |
| Share screen | Present your screen to the other participant (desktop browsers) |
| Show chat | Open the in-call text chat — a red dot marks unread messages |
| End call for everyone / Leave call | The creator ends the call for both sides; a guest just leaves (and can Rejoin while the call is still open) |
Starting a call from Messages
Section titled “Starting a call from Messages”Inside any 1:1 direct message, staff who can manage video calls see a video icon in the thread header (“Start a video call”). Clicking it:
- opens the call room for you in a new tab, and
- drops a card into the conversation — the other person sees “Incoming video call” with a Join button, and their conversation list previews it as ”📹 Video call”.
When the call finishes, the card flips to “Video call ended”. The invitee also gets an in-app notification, so they’ll see it even if the chat isn’t open. Read more about DMs in Messages & Group Chats.
Privacy & limits
Section titled “Privacy & limits”- Two participants, exactly. A third person opening the link is turned away (“This call already has two participants”).
- Links expire after 24 hours, and the creator can end a call for everyone at any time. Ended and expired links show a clear message instead of a dead page.
- Calls are live only — nothing is recorded, and the in-call chat exists only for the duration of the session.
- Video and audio travel directly between the two browsers (WebRTC); guests are identified only by the name on the invite.
- Your Video Calls page lists only sessions you created — there is no school-wide call directory.
Roles & permissions
Section titled “Roles & permissions”| Permission | Who has it | Grants |
|---|---|---|
video-calls:manage | Owner, manager, partner, teacher, platform admin | The Video Calls page, creating calls, the DM video button, ending calls |
| (none needed) | Anyone with a call link | Joining as a guest — students, parents, and outside guests join via the link without an account |
Common questions
Section titled “Common questions”My camera preview says it’s unavailable — can I still join?
Section titled “My camera preview says it’s unavailable — can I still join?”Yes. That message means the browser blocked camera access; you can still join and fix permissions afterwards (look for the camera icon in your browser’s address bar).
The person I invited has no email on record. Now what?
Section titled “The person I invited has no email on record. Now what?”The invite modal warns you about this — either add an email on the review step, or create the call anyway and share the link by any channel you like (it’s just a URL).
Can I do a group call with three or more people?
Section titled “Can I do a group call with three or more people?”Not yet — calls are strictly 1:1 today. The link stops accepting participants once two people are in.
The link says it’s expired. Did something break?
Section titled “The link says it’s expired. Did something break?”No — call links live for 24 hours from creation. Just create a fresh call and share the new link.