Live Chat

Here are the icons that are used for Live Chat:

Below the Join Live Class icon, you'll see who the leader is, if one is present, and the current number of people in the room.

A live chat session is a multi-user environment. Everyone who is connected can participate as long as the WWWhiteboard™ is in read-write mode. (The tutor can toggle users between read-write and read-only modes for WWWhiteboard™ and chat access.) When a tutor is in and conducting a chat session for your class, a Join Live Class icon similar to the one above will appear in place of the Start Live Class icon. Click on Join Live Class and the WWWhiteboard™ will open automatically.

As a Student...

When you connect to the live chat session, you are placed in the current WWWhiteboard™. The tutor can control when board switches occur. If you are not ready for the board to switch, simply click on the red, count-down biscuit that appears in the upper, right hand corner of the board to cancel the switch. The chat region at the bottom of the WWWhiteboard™ will reflect that you've canceled the board switch.

Note: The tutor can disable the cancel switch option.

The tutor can also toggle users between read-only and read-write modes for both the WWWhiteboard™ and the chat region. If the WWWhiteboard™ or chat region is in read-only mode, you will only be able to view the session. If the WWWhiteboard™ or chat region is in read-write mode, you will be able to view and contribute to the session. The Users list on the WWWhiteboard™ will indicate when you are in read-only mode by placing an X in either the W (for WWWhiteboard™) or C (for chat region) column by your name. Some tutors will also be given the option of having boot capabilities. If you are booted out of a chat session, you will not be able to re-enter. However, all of the boards are archived when the chat session is finished and placed in the Archives. You can see these archives by clicking on the Chat Archive icon.

Note: If the tutor is disconnected in the middle of a chat session, they will have ten minutes to reconnect. The information on the WWWhiteboard™ will not be lost while they are logging back in, so wait for them to try to reconnect. The session will stay on the current WWWhiteboard™, so the members can continue to work on that session while the tutor logs back in.

As a student in the live chat, you have the option to click the My Hand button and send private messages. Also, there is always the option to click on the Start Live Class icon. It allows you and your classmates to collaborate in the live chat session environment without a tutor present. However, there is no option to switch boards or to toggle between read-only and read-write modes. If your tutor begins a live chat session while you are connected to the live chat board, the tutor will take control of the session and the contents of the WWWhiteboard™ will remain.

As a tutor for the group, when you click on the Start Live Class icon, you'll start the live chat as the leader, unless another tutor is already a leader for that room. When you're the leader, you have full privileges to control page navigation, toggle read-write and read-only modes, boot users, and much more.

As a Tutor...

As the leader of the chat session, you are given the options to switch boards, toggle users between read-only and read-write modes for WWWhiteboard™ and chat access, send polling questions, send private messages, select and unselect student's hand's in the user list, and boot users.

At the bottom of the WWWhiteboard™, there will be a Next button. Click on Next to move on to the next WWWhiteboard™. (Be sure to indicate to your students that you are about to switch.) If no one cancels the board switch, a clean WWWhiteboard™ will appear along with a Back button. Click on the Back button to move back to the previous WWWhiteboard™. Throughout the chat session, you can move to the next board, to the previous board, or to a specific board by clicking on the board number between the Back and Next buttons. If you have more than fifteen boards, you can slide the bar between Back and Next to find the board you want to jump to and then click on that number to go there. All of the users are moved with you when you switch boards. When the session is over and you've exited, all of the boards are archived automatically and placed in the Archive Center under the "Live Chat" column for that class.

As a tutor, via the User list, you also have the ability to toggle users between read-only and read-write modes for WWWhiteboard™ and chat access, as well as boot disruptive users. Simply click in the W (for WWWhiteboard™) or C (for chat) column of the user that you want to toggle between read-only and read-write. When a user is in read-only, there will be an X in the W or C column for that user. If boot is enabled, you can boot a user by holding the shift key down and clicking on that user's name in the user list. Once a user has been booted, that user cannot rejoin the session.