Challenged by the Masses: Using Microsoft Teams Live Event to Moderate Large-Scale

Meetings

Alexander L. Lee, DMD, Hubert K. Chan, DDS

Dr. Lee is Associate Professor and Coordinator of Dental Informatics; Dr. Chan is Associate
Professor and Associate Dean for Integration of Technology, Curriculum, and Learning
Environments; both authors are in the Western University of Health Sciences College of
Dental Medicine. Direct correspondence to Dr. Alexander Lee, College of Dental Medicine,
Western University of Health Sciences, 309 E. Second Street, Pomona, CA 91766-1854; 909-
469-8652 phone; 909-469-8650 fax; allee@westernu.edu.

PROBLEM

Due to Western University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine’s

(WUCDM) pandemic response, web conferencing has become the new normal. With an
exponential usage increase, conferencing applications are being pushed to, and beyond, their
limits.1 WUCDM’s Zoom deployment accommodates 300 participants, but with 283 students
and subsequent personnel to support their education, WUCDM could not use Zoom to host a
college-wide Town Hall directly after the university shut down. A solution was required that
managed a massive number of participants, offloaded the technology burden to a few
specialists, and allowed for customization of meeting settings like recordings, attendee
access, and chat.

SOLUTION

WUCDM evaluated two web conferencing alternatives to moderate its Town Hall:
live streaming applications and webinar technology. Live streaming applications like
Facebook Live, YouTube Live, and Twitch can broadcast to an unlimited number of viewers
who interact through a limited public text chat. Though they allow for professional
production tools to customize the broadcast, the process is highly technique sensitive for all
non-attendee users like presenters. Webinar technology, like Zoom Video Webinars (Zoom
Webinar), Microsoft Teams Live Event (Live Event), and Citrix GoToWebinars, is typically
a separately licensed add-on feature that is accessed through the parent application. Webinars
broadcast to thousands of viewers and maintain lines of communication to presenters with
public and private text chats, polls, and question & answer (Q&A) forums. Webinar
technology is optimized to streamline presenter experiences while shifting technical and
event moderation concerns to power-users called producers. Because of its communication
features and presenter ease of use, WUCDM chose to further explore webinar technology.
WUCDM has licenses for Zoom Webinar and Live Event. Both support 10,000
viewers, define presenter and producer roles, record meetings, and report on attendee metrics.
Zoom Webinar has superior attendee engagement experiences (e.g., chat breakout groups,
private messaging with presenters) and seamless mobile compatibility, but suffers from many
longstanding and publicized security shortfalls.2 Live Event boasts integration with Microsoft
365 products and superior security features at all levels from encryption to meeting access,
This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review but has not been
through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to
differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as
doi: 10.1002/jdd.12256.

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Advancing Through Innovation

though its mobile compatibility is unpredictable. Because of WUCDM’s extensive use of

Microsoft products and Zoom’s security concerns, Live Event was chosen to run the Town
Hall.
After initial testing, WUCDM developed a set of best practices for Live Events: two
producers would be assigned, meeting agendas would be required, a “dress rehearsal” would
be scheduled prior to the event, attendee representatives would be chosen to speak on behalf
of their groups, presenters would be required to attend the rehearsal, and attendees would be
advised to use their desktops or laptops.

RESULTS

WUCDM invited over 350 individuals to its Town Hall; 262 attended. Feedback from
students, faculty, administration, staff, and presenters were positive, with noted praise to the
reduction of disruptive sidebar discussions and noise, straightforward user experience, and
immediate access to recordings. Furthermore, Live Event’s mobile compatibility is
improving, and at least in the iOS ecosystem, performs admirably on modern devices.

References
1. FBI. FBI Warns of Teleconferencing and Online Classroom Hijacking During COVID-19
Pandemic. 2020. At: https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/boston/news/press-
releases/fbi-warns-of-teleconferencing-and-online-classroom-hijacking-during-covid-19-
pandemic. Accessed: May 12, 2020.
2. Electronic Privacy Information Center. 2019. Complaint, Request for Investigation,
Injunction, and Other Relief Submitted by The Electronic Privacy Information Center
Before the Federal Trade Comission. At: https://epic.org/privacy/zoom/EPIC-FTC-
Complaint-In-re-Zoom-7-19.pdf. Accessed: May 12, 2020.

This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.