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Sakai Help Document

Chat Room

Includes

Description
Examples of use
Using chat
Customizing the screen

Chat is a tool for real-time, unstructured conversations with users who are signed on to the site at the same time.

By default, Chat messages are saved and visible to all users so that all site participants can benefit from clarifying conversations and questions and answers.

The Chat tool allows for more than one "Chat Room" which an instructor or site owner can create for specific kinds of Chats. These additional chat rooms can be created using the Options feature.


The Chat tool alerts users on the Chat page to the other participants who are also viewing that page. This way, users know who is available to talk in Chat.

Instructors can easily create an "Online Office Hours" Chat room for student questions and answers.

Dispersed collaboration groups can use Chat as a space to have conversations across distances or catch up with conversations they may have missed.

1. To see who is presently online with whom you can chat, check the "Users in Chat" box on the right side of the screen.

2.. Click Chat on the menubar.

3. Type your comment or response in the text box.

4. No one will be able to see your message until you click the Send button.  Once you click Send, only an instructor or a participant who has been given special permission can delete your message.   

If you would like to discard a chat message that you have not yet sent, click the Clear button.

Changes that an instructors makes to the Chat display also apply to how the Chat features appears to students.

Hide Date button: Click the Hide Date button to hide the date next to each respondants name. Click again to reverse.

Hide Time button: Click the Hide Time button to hide the time. Click again to reverse.

Options button: Includes Options to choose how many messages will be displayed.