Chat:Students

From CLEW Wiki

Contents 1 Using the Chat tool 1.1 Getting Started 1.2 View Chat Messages 1.3 Post a Chat Message:

Using the Chat tool

Getting Started

The "Chat" tool allows you to engage in real-time, unstructured text conversations among other students or site participants who are logged into the site at the same time. "Chat" may also be used for an instructor’s online office hours. Students can collaborate online, post and answer simple questions or have conversations across distances.

Once you enter a Chat room, your name is listed as present on the screen, notifying others that you are in the room. Chat messages are not anonymous; your name appears beside each message you post. Chat messages are not private; by default, all messages are visible to all participants.

CLEW saves Chat messages indefinitely, but a professor may choose to limit the time period for which chat messages are displayed and may delete individual messages from the site.

To get started, select Chat in the site left-hand menu. If you don’t see Chat in the menu, your professor has not activated the "Chat" tool in this course.

View Chat Messages

Chat messages appear on the Chat home page. To view the most recent message, scroll to the bottom of the messages. To see earlier messages, use the scroll bar to scroll up.

• Beside each message, the time of posting is recorded. To change the display of the time and date on each message, use the drop-down menu in the leftmost View options box. Select the option you want: time only, date and time, date only, neither date or time, or ID only.
• To change the time period for which messages display, use the drop-down menu in the second View messages from... options box (if visible). Select the option you want. Professors may decide whether or not to provide students with this second option.
• If your professor has created more than one Chat room in Chat, you will see Change Room in the grey menu bar near the top. To change which Chat room you see, select Change Room and select the room you want to enter.

Post a Chat Message:

1. On the Chat home page, enter the message text in the large white box at the bottom of the screen labeled Enter Chat Message.
   NOTE: Do not press the "Enter" or "Return" key to start a new line. Pressing "Enter" or "Return" will post your message. (Shift + Enter will create a forced line break).
2. Select Add message (or press the "Enter" key) to post your message or select Clear to erase your message without sending it.

Your added message will appear directly above the text box beneath all earlier posted messages. Your name appears beside it. The names of other users display in other colours. As the number of colours is limited, colours may be assigned to multiple users but your name will always appear in the same colour every time you post a message.

Note: Keep in mind that chat rooms are viewable by anyone that is a member of the site; any comment you post will be viewable by all students, the instructor, TA, and any other site participants.