Delivering A Robust Jitsi Installation And Advanced Whiteboard Integration For Black’s Academy

Black’s Academy, a forward-thinking e-learning provider, approached us with a vision to transform their online teaching capabilities. The aim was to establish a high-performance video conferencing platform using Jitsi hosted on OVH Cloud coupled with a powerful, interactive whiteboard seamlessly integrated into their virtual classrooms. This initiative was designed to enrich the learning experience while ensuring security, ease of use, and functional depth tailored specifically for tutors and students.

The Challenge

Initially scoped as a support package, the project rapidly evolved to meet Black’s Academy’s expanding needs. The primary challenge was to deploy a reliable Jitsi instance on the OVH VPS server that could handle secure and fluid video meetings. Concurrently, the integration of a versatile whiteboard demanded custom UI refinements, API-based automation, and advanced session controls, all while maintaining a clean and intuitive interface that would boost collaboration without overwhelming users.

Our Approach

Our team adopted a structured, phased approach to address the complex requirements, balancing infrastructure deployment with feature-rich customization:

1. Jitsi Server Installation and Configuration: Successfully installed and optimized Jitsi on the OVH Cloud VPS, ensuring stable connectivity and scalability for the academy’s growing virtual classroom needs.
2. API-Based Meeting Creation & JWT Integration: Developed secure API endpoints for seamless meeting generation and incorporated JWT tokens to safeguard access and authentication. Disabled unnecessary landing pages to streamline user navigation.
3. Whiteboard Deployment and Interface Customization: Launched a new whiteboard instance on a dedicated subdomain, repositioned key UI elements like the Zoom button, and removed clutter by disabling redundant features in Excelidraw.
4. Enhanced Whiteboard Functionalities: Enabled sharing options with robust security layers to protect collaboration content and developed customizable parameters such as pen thickness, eraser size, color icon visibility, and shape replacements tailored to user preferences.
5. Advanced UX Improvements: Moved the Insert button for better toolset alignment, ensured color preservation across icons, and incorporated multiple font options to provide creative flexibility.
6. Lock/Unlock Controls: Built granular locking mechanisms allowing users to lock/unlock individual images or the entire canvas to maintain content integrity during sessions.
7. Database and SSO Integration: Established a database on Bluehost cPanel connected to the whiteboard server hosted on OVH, and created an SSO PHP script enabling tutors to access whiteboard features without additional logins.
8. Issue Resolution and Stability Enhancements: Fixed live update synchronization problems, extended session expiration from 15 minutes to 7 days, and simplified drawing tools by removing curve line functionality to improve user experience.

The Result

The project culminated in deploying a fully operational, secure, and user-friendly Jitsi video conferencing system infused with a highly customizable whiteboard tailored for Black’s Academy. This solution empowered tutors to efficiently manage virtual classrooms using API automation and enhanced collaboration tools, while students enjoyed a visually clean interface optimized for interactivity and prolonged session engagement. The academy now benefits from a scalable, future-ready platform that supports their mission of accessible, innovative online education.