The Chat tool is a real-time, text-based collaboration tool. You can use the Chat tool to brainstorm ideas, hold a question and answer period, have a debate or discussion, or organize a remote study group. As opposed to other collaboration tools, such as Discussions, Chat conversations occur in real-time.
There are two types of chats:
- Personal chats: Personal chats are private and visible only to users who you have added to the chat’s participants list. Personal chats are ideal for keeping in touch with friends and colleagues or for clubs and other groups whose members do not share a single org unit. Anyone with the proper permissions can create personal chat rooms.
- General (course) chats: General chats are public chats visible to everyone enrolled in the org unit where they are created. Instructors can create general chat rooms to incorporate chat discussions into the teaching of a course since they are automatically open to all users enrolled in the course.
Create a general chat
General chats exist within specific org units, and you can only access general chats from within the org unit in which they are created.
All users in the org unit have access to the general chat. You can create multiple chats for the same org unit, such as "Midterm Review" and "Final Review." It is a good idea to enter a description to help other users identify the chat, since they might have access to other chats with similar names.
To create a general chat
- Navigate to the Chat tool.
- On the Chat List page, click New Chat.
Figure: The New Chat option on the Chat List page.
- Enter a title.
- Click General Chat.
Figure: The General chat type on the New Chat creation page.
- Enter a description for the chat.
- Click Create.
You have created a general chat.
Create a personal chat
You can create personal chats to talk with peers or other friends at your organization. You can create personal chats from any org unit, and you can access them within any other org unit.
Personal chat rooms can only be accessed by users who have been added to the personal chat’s Participant List. When users are added, the chat room displays under Personal Chats in their list of chats.
- Navigate to the Chat tool.
- On the Chat List page, click New Chat.
Figure: The New Chat option on the Chat List page.
- Enter a title.
- Click Personal Chat.
Figure: The Personal chat type on the New Chat creation page.
- Enter a description of the chat. Give your chat a unique, descriptive name and provide a description for it using the Description field to help users distinguish the chat from other chats they are enrolled in.
- Click Create.
You have created a personal chat.