About the Discussion Chat
The Chat offers a convenient place for all participants in a debate to talk about the discussion. The Chat is a good place for:
- Planning the discussion with your group, such as when you are considering adding new branches and are unsure where they would be best located.
- Considering structural changes to your discussion, which can sometimes be necessary as a discussion develops.
- Coordinating workload, such as what sections of the discussion individual users would prefer to work on.
- Sharing useful resources which you think may benefit others collaborating in the discussion.
- Asking questions about the assignment and goal of the discussion.
- General chat about the discussion – sharing interesting links you’ve found about the topic, talking about what interests you about it, or thanking others for their efforts!
Using the Discussion Chat
The Chat can be opened and closed by clicking the ‘two speech bubbles’ icon at the top-right of a discussion, located to the left of your profile avatar.
Sending Messages
Note: You must have the Writer role or higher to send messages in the Chat. The Chat can be seen by all participants in a discussion.
To send a message:
- Type your message in the text box located at the bottom of the Chat window.
- To send your message, press ‘Enter’ on your keyboard or click the blue arrow in the text box.
As with commenting on claims, you can drag a claim into the text box to link to it in your message; or mention another participant by typing ‘@’, followed by their username.
Editing or Deleting Messages
Note: You must have the Writer role or higher to edit or delete your own messages, or the Admin role to delete another user’s messages.
If you want to edit or delete a chat message after sending it:
- Open the Chat and click the three vertical dots to the bottom-right of your message.
- Choose to either edit the chat message by clicking the ‘pencil’ icon, or delete it by clicking the ‘bin’ icon.
Viewing Online Participants
The Chat can also show you which participants are currently viewing a discussion. Near the top of the Chat window, you will find the avatars of all users currently active in the discussion – clicking on this will open an ‘Online Participants’ window where usernames will appear next to their avatars.
