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Entering
the Chat Session.
To enter the Chat session, follow these steps:
- 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:
Figure 1.
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!
-
After
you log on, the DigiChat window will appear. This window looks
like Figure 2:
Figure 2.
.
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 IEL Chat sessions, the Room is
"IEL.")
When
you first log in, the tabs section of the window
looks like Figure 3:
Figure 3.
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After
you click on the "Rooms" tab, the tabs
section of the window looks like Figure
4:
Figure 4.
In the "Rooms" window, click on the "IEL"
room. You will then be in the IEL Room, ready to
participate in the chat. |
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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. You can see the Send button in
Figure 3.
- 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 IEL 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
IEL.)"
- 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. IEL chats are held—not surprisingly!—in
the IEL 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 IEL
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 IEL 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.
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