Faculty Tools

Lightweight Chat

The Lightweight Chat tool lets you communicate in real time with your class. You can call on students, control what parts of the chat they have access to, record archives, bookmark important parts of the chat, and remove students from the session.

Click to learn more about FERPA: Student Privacy and this tool.

Entering a Lightweight Chat Session

From the Control Panel:

1. Click on the Collaboration link in the Course Tools section.
2. Click on the Join button to the right of the Lightweight Chat session you wish to join.
   Note: You will see a page that says “Chat Loading.” Depending on your connection speed, it may take a few minutes for the chat to download.

Sending Short Messages

From the Lightweight Chat tool:

1. Type your message in the text field to the right of the Compose button.
2. Click on the Send button or press the Return key on your keyboard.

Sending Long Messages

From the Lightweight Chat tool:

1. Click on the Compose button.
   
2. Type your message in the text field of the Compose Message window that appears.
3. Click on the Send button.

Sending Private Messages

From the Lightweight Chat tool:

1. Click on a name in the Participants List.
   
2. Click on the Private Message button.
3. Type your message in the text field of the Compose Private Message window that appears.
4. Click on the Send button.
   Note: Private messages will not show up in the archives for the chat.

Recording an Archive

From the Lightweight Chat tool:

1. Click on the Record (light blue circle) button in the upper right corner of the chat window.
2. Type the name of the archive in the text field.
   Note: The default name is the current date and time.
3. Click on the OK button.
   Note: While recording is in progress, you can click on the Pause button to stop recording without having to start a new archive. When you have finished recording your archive, click on the Stop button. You can leave the virtual classroom without stopping the archive, and it will continue recording.

Inserting a Bookmark while Recording an Archive

From the Lightweight Chat tool:

1. Click on the Insert Bookmark button.
2. Type the name for the bookmark in the text field.
3. Click on the OK button.

Calling on Passive Users

From the Lightweight Chat tool:

1. Double-click on the Hand icon next to the user’s name.
   
   Note: This tool is only useful if you have disallowed passive users from using the Lightweight Chat. Doing this lets you control who gets to speak. See the Changing Control Options procedure for more information on restricting passive users from chatting. To change the user’s status back to passive once they have finished talking or asking their question, follow the Changing a User’s Status procedure.

Expelling a User

From the Lightweight Chat tool:

1. Click on the name of the participant you want to kick out.
   
2. Click on the User Info button.
3. Click on the Expel User button in the User Information window that appears.
4. Click on the OK button in the Expel User window that appears.

Sorting the Participant List

From the Lightweight Chat tool:

1. Click on the desired column name in the Participants list (Participants, Role, Hand Icon).
   
   Note: Clicking again on the same column reverses the order of the sort.

Sort Options:

• Participants – Use this option to sort users in alphabetical order by last name. (Blackboard uses participants’ usernames to sort the list if they chose not to display their real names.)
• Role – Use this option to sort users by their roles (Moderator, Active, Passive).
• Hand – Use this option to sort users in the order they raised their hands.

Viewing User Info

From the Lightweight Chat tool:

1. Click on the name of the participant whose information you want to view.
   
   Note: The user’s name, role, and status will be highlighted in purple.


2. Click on the User Info button.

Changing a User’s Status

From the Lightweight Chat tool:

1. Click on the name of the participant whose status you want to change in the Participants list.
   Note: The user’s name, role, and status will be highlighted in purple. You can select multiple users by holding the Shift or Control key on your keyboard.


2. Click on the Active User button (the colored face icon) or the Passive User button (the grayed out face icon).
   Note: You can also change a single user’s status by double-clicking on the Role icon next to their name.

Status Options:

• Active User (colored face icon) – Use this option to change the user’s status to active. This will allow your student to access all the tools that you have made available to active users in your Control options.
• Passive User (grayed out face icon) – Use this option to change the user’s status to passive. This will allow your student to access all the tools that you have made available to passive users in your Control options.

Modifying View Options

From the Lightweight Chat tool:

1. Click on the View button on the top of the Lightweight Chat tool.
2. Click on the desired radio button.

View Options:

• Show in-line – Use this option to display private messages in the main chat window.
• Show in separate frame – Use this option to display private message in a frame separate from the main chat window.

Modifying Control Options

From the Lightweight Chat tool:

1. Click on the Controls button on the top of the Lightweight Chat tool.
2. Click on the check boxes corresponding to the options you want to change.

Controls Options:

• Active Users – Enable this option to let active users access the corresponding tool.
• Passive Users – Enable this option to let passive users access the corresponding tool.

Clearing the Chat Display

1. Click on the Clear button.
2. Click on the check box corresponding to the option you want to use.

Clear Options:

• Clear local display only – Use this option to clear only your chat window.
• Clear all users’ displays – Use this option to clear everyone’s chat window.

More Information

Q: Why can’t my students see an archive that I have recorded?
A: Archives are created as unavailable by default. See the section on Managing Archives for more information.

Q: How can I permanently block a student from entering a Lightweight Chat session?
A: There is no way to block a student in your course from entering a collaboration session. You will have to remove the student from your course.

Q: Why should I send private messages?
A: Private messaging lets you send messages that only the recipient can see. Students can receive private messages even if they cannot send them.

Q: What are those icons to the right of the names in the participant list?
A: The icons represent each user’s role. Moderators of the chat have a globe icon. Active users have a face icon. Passive users have the same face icon, but it is grayed out.

Q: Why does my full name appear during the chat session?
A: Your name is publicly available in your privacy settings. If you disable this option, the chat session will only display your username.

Q: Why does that raised-hand icon appear next to some of my students’ names?
A: The raised-hand icon appears when passive users have a question to ask. To let them speak, you must call on them. See the Calling on Passive Users procedure for more information.