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Forsta Discussions is an online collaboration platform that allows researchers to easily schedule and conduct online meetings (discussions) with participants (healthcare professionals, patients, consumers, and so on). Forsta Discussions is intuitive and easy-to-use, yet offers powerful tools which are custom-designed for research needs. Multiple moderators and observers are supported, along with any number of participants. Discussions is launched directly from within SmartHub.
Once participants join a session, they’re able to converse with the moderator using their device’s microphone and speakers. The participant(s) are also able to easily share their device’s built-in or external webcam. If they’re on a mobile device, they can switch between their front-facing or rear-facing camera easily, allowing a variety of interactive exercises. Video quality is automatically adjusted based on the available bandwidth.
Forsta Discussions runs without using any third party applications on a desktop PC running Chrome, Edge and Safari web browsers. Apple and Android apps exist for those participants wishing to take part in a Discussions meeting using dedicated apps available on their respective app stores. Tabs within the browser, windows and screens can also all be shared without any additional helper applications.
The steps to host a Discussions meeting is as follows:
A Moderator or meeting creator logs into the Forsta SmartHub and creates a new Discussions project (see Creating a new Discussions project)
At least one Moderator, and optionally, Observers, are added to the Discussions project (see Changing a Moderator or Observer's Role)
Sessionss are created offering the option of multiple scheduled times and dates for participants to select from (see Creating Open Sessions)
Participants who are invited to the Discussions meeting are defined and invited (emailed through Discussions, or manually invited via some other means) (see Managing Participants)
Participants select which session they wish to attend (See Choosing a Session)
The Discussions meetings starts when one of the Moderators logs in and starts the meeting (see Starting a Meeting)
Participants who have signed up for the specific session are able to log in and take part in the Discussions meeting (see Joining a Meeting Using a Browser or Joining a Meeting Using a Mobile Device)
Once a meeting finishes, a meeting transcript is automatically generated and available for viewing online or downloading (see Viewing a Recorded Meeting)