WebCT Chat Tool
The Chat Tool allows you to engage in synchronous ("real-time") communication with your WebCT classmates and instructor. Conversations between chat participants occur in a Chat Room, or a browser window that displays the type-written messages from chat participants. Four separate chat rooms exist for your WebCT course, plus one general chat room for the course and one general chat room for all WebCT users at UNR. Conversations will be recorded in the first four chat rooms. Only your instructor has access to any chat room recordings.
With the Chat Tool you can:
Enter a Chat Room
On the home page for your WebCT course, click on the Chat icon to bring up the WebCT Chat page with the list of Chat Rooms. Chat room icons, colors, and format may vary for every course, and your instructor may rename any of the first four chat rooms. Despite the variations, however, you will always have links to six separate chat rooms:
Click the room that you would like to enter. The Chat window for that chat room appears.
Three main areas are available to you in the Chat window:
- The Output Interaction Box
, which displays all messages which have been sent and received.
- The Users Logged In box
, displaying all users currently logged in to that chat room.
- The Enter your message below textbox
, where you may type your messages.
You may close the window by either clicking [Quit] or clicking the red box in the upper right corner of the window.
Send a Message to Everyone in a Chat Room
The vast majority of communication within a Chat Room usually involves sending messages to everyone in the chat room. To send a message to everyone in a chat room, type your message in the text box entitled Enter your message below.
When you are finished typing, press [Enter] or [Return] on your keyboard. The message appears in the Output Interaction Box for all logged-on users to view.
Tip: if you have a longer message, you may want to post it in smaller chunks, separating each portion with an ellipse ( . . . )
Send a Private Message to One or More People in a Chat Room
You may also post chat messages that only selected users may view. Private messages are not recorded in the instructor's records. To send a private message, select the users name from the Users Logged In list.
To select multiple names, hold the [CTRL] key while selecting multiple names. (If you are using a Macintosh computer, hold the Command ("Apple") key instead of the [CTRL] key). Type your message in the Enter your message below text box and press the [Enter] key on your keyboard.
Activate the entry chime
If a Chat Room is open, you may activate an entry chime which will alert you whenever a new person enters the chat room. To activate the chime, select 
. The chime will sound whether you are in Chat or working elsewhere in your course.