This link becomes active 15 minutes prior to a scheduled Chat.
IMPORTANT: Read instructions on how to enter and participate in the Chat session (located on the ECAP Web site) prior to entering the chat.

NOTE: You may need to wait a minute or two (after clicking on the button above) for the logon box onto appear.

Welcome to a Chat Session for the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL).

In a live chat session, participants can ask questions of the chat guest via the Chat page on the Web and receive "real time" answers. The process is simple: Come to this page at the scheduled date and time and log in! Then join the discussion.

Web Browser.
To participate in the Chat, you must be running a java-enabled browser, for example, Microsoft Internet Explorer version 3.0 or higher, or Netscape Navigator version 4.0 or higher.

AOL users must be running a recent version of the AOL browser. AOL users may also minimize their AOL browser and use Internet Explorer or Navigator.

• Entering the Chat Session
  
• Participating in the Chat
  
• Notes on Users/Rooms Window in Chat Screen
  
• Procedure for posting messages in the Chat

Entering the Chat Session.

In the box above, select the link labeled "Log on to the Chat session."

A Security Warning box MAY appear (depending on your browser and whether you have already downloaded the java applet), asking whether you want to install and run the particular Java Applet that operates the Chat session. If the Security Warning box appears, you must select "Yes" to enter the chat session.

After you select "Yes," please wait a minute or so for the logon box to appear.

The logon box looks like Figure 1 (without the surrounding lines):

Type a "Nickname" in the logon box. You may use any name you like. This is the name you'll be seen by in the Chat Room. Thus, your own real name would be a good choice!

Note that the colors and format of the box may vary somewhat depending on the format of the Chat session.

When you enter the Chat, you are in the Chat Foyer. Please enter the appropriate Chat Room by clicking on the "Rooms" tag at the right of the window, and then double-clicking on the name of the Room you want to enter. (For the CSEFEL Chat sessions, the Room is "CSEFEL.")

Participating in the Chat

To send a message to the Chat session, type your message in the white box at the bottom left of the Chat window. This is highlighted in Figure 2 with the note "Type your text here."

When you've finished typing, hit the ENTER key or click on the "Send" button.

Note that in a Moderated Chat, any message you send will be first sent only to the Chat moderator, who will then forward the message (based on factors such as appropriateness, available time, duplication, etc.) to all Chat participants.

NOTE: The CSEFEL Chat sessions are moderated chats.

Messages from participants appear in the box at the top left of the Chat Window. This is visible in Figure 2, where you see the text "Jane Doe (This user has entered CSEFEL.)"

During the Chat sessions, if a message appears with a hytpertext link, you will be able to follow that link to the Web site indicated.

In following links, you may be opening new browser windows. You may close or minimize browser windows during the Chat session, but please note that you must keep at least one browser window open (to allow java to run) or you may be disconnected from the Chat session. (But don't worry if this happens—you can just log on again!)

Notes on the Users/Rooms Window at the right of the Chat screen. (See Figures 3 and 4.)

As noted above, if you click on the "Rooms" tab, you can view the rooms in the Chat. CSEFEL chats are held—not surprisingly!—in the CSEFEL room.

If you click on the "Users" tab, you can see the list of participants (by "nickname") in the current Chat session.

The "Settings" button on the right allows you to change various personal settings, such as your identifying icon, during the Chat session.

To send messages during the Chat session: After typing your message in the message box (see Figure 2), click on the "Send" button.

To leave the Chat session: Click on the "Logout" button near the bottom right of the window.

Procedure for posting messages in the Chat

The procedure for the live Chat session is as follows. Participants can send questions to the chat guest at any time. When you send your question, please note that it will not be visible to all chat participants. The CSEFEL Moderator receives the question first and will post it to the whole chat group. If there's a long queue of questions, the Moderator will notify the questioner that the question was received. Then, at the next break in the discussion, the question will be posted for all to see and for our guest to answer.

Note that there will be a pause after a question is posted while the Chat guest speaker composes a response to the question. So please be patient! During these pauses, the Moderator will post occasional information about the CSEFEL Web site. Because some Chat participants enter the Chat in the middle of the session, some of these messages may be posted more than once.

Questions will be posted in the order they're received, unless there's some obvious reason to group similar questions together. Participants may send follow-up questions. If you do send a follow-up question, please remind the Guest and other participants of the earlier question (something like "In my earlier question about the third-grader's reading difficulty…") because it's easy to forget earlier questions in the long list of questions that occur during the Chat session.

If your question is not answered by the time the Chat session ends at 8 pm, the question and its answer will be included in the Chat transcript that will be made available online approximately 3 weeks from today.