The Chat module allows participants to have a real-time synchronous discussion via the web. Chats can be scheduled for paticular times, either recurring or one time only. Chat logs can be saved and made viewable for students.

For more information, watch this video for help creating a chat.

Creating a Chat Session:

From the Course Menu

1. Click on Turn editing on link in the Course Menu section.
2. Click on the dropdown box labeled Add an activity.. next to the area you want to add a Chat to. Select the Chat option.
3. Give the chat a name in the Name of this chat room text box.
4. In the Introduction text section write a description of what the chat will be about.
5. Enter the date and time for the next chat session in the Next chat time section. Choose how many seesion you wish in the Repeat sessions by using the drop down box and choosing the appropriate choice.
6. You can choose whether or not to save chat sessions and for how long in the Save past sessions section by using the drop down box and choosing the appropriate choice. You can also choose if everyone is privy to these saved chats by using the drop box next to the Everyone can view past sessions section and using the drop box to either select "yes" or "no".
7. The Group Mode section can control the interaction between the chat session and the users chatting. The group mode can be one of three levels: No groups - there are no sub groups, everyone is part of one big community. Separate groups - each group can only see their own group, others are invisible. Visible groups - each group works in their own group, but can also see other groups. The group mode can be defined at two levels: 1) Course level - The group mode defined at the course level is the default mode for all activities defined within that course. 2) Activity level - Each activity that supports groups can also define its own grouping mode. If the course is set to "force group mode" then the setting for each activity is ignored.
8. Lastly, you can choose if the chat will be visible to everyone in the Visible to users section and either selecting "yes" or "no".
9. Don't forget to select Save changes!

Using Chat :

The chat module contains some features to make chatting a little nicer.

Smilies

Any smiley faces (emoticons) that you can type elsewhere in Moodle can also be typed in here and they will be displayed correctly. For example, :-) =

Links

Internet addresses will be turned into links automatically.

Emoting

You can start a line with "/me" or ":" to emote. For example, if your name is Kim and you type ":laughs!" or "/me laughs!" then everyone will see "Kim laughs!"

Beeps

You can send a sound to other people by hitting the "beep" link next to their name. A useful shortcut to beep all the people in the chat at once is to type "beep all".

HTML

If you know some HTML code, you can use it in your text to do things like insert images, play sounds or create different coloured and sized text.

Viewing User Info:

In a chat session..

1. Click on the picture of the participant or the sideways triangle next to the participant whose info you wish to view.
2. A new window will appear with all information from the user's profile that is publicly available (this depends on the user's privacy settings, but may include name, email, address, job title, and phone numbers).