When people join an iLinc session, they each are presented with two tabs in their Chat panel:
Public and Private. The Public Chat tab allows anyone to monitor and chat through text messages with any other person in your session. The Private Chat tab provides a list of any current groups of people (Leader & Assistants) as well as all individual people in the session.
Each new tab opens and is named for the person, or group, with which you are chatting.
If you have a large session, the Leader may have an Assistant answer private text messages from attendees so that the session can continue while the attendee's individual needs are addressed. Anyone may wish to undock the Chat panel, by clicking the undock button , in order to manage more Chat tabs. To make this change for all attendees in session, click the Menu button on the panel and select Undock for All. Additionally, the application menu provides access to the same functionality by selecting Sessions, Chat and then Undock for All. The undocked Chat panel opens below the Content area.
Chat Panel
To use Public Chat
1. In the Public tab, begin typing your message into the text area. Click the send button or press the Enter key when you are ready to send your message to every person in your session.
2. You can then read and respond to any message that is sent on the Public tab by any other attendee in session.
To use Private Chat
1. Click the Private tab
2. From the list of names, double-click the name of the person, or group, with which you would like to start a private conversation.
3. A new tab opens for you, in which you can type your message into the tab’s text area.
Click the send button or press the Enter key when you are ready to send your message.
4. When sent to the other person, or group, a tab then opens within their Chat panel informing them a new message has been received. They can then respond to your message.
5. When finished, you can close the private chat tabs by clicking the button in the right corner of the tab.
Message Indicators
On open Private Chat tabs, recipients will see indicators when someone is typing in the window or when a new message has arrived.
When another person is typing to you, you will see the Attendee Writing alert . When another person has sent their message to you, you will see the New Message alert .
As a leader, you can also perform the following advanced Chat tasks:
Clear Chat for All: On the iLinc Tool Panel menu bar, select Session > Chat > Clear Textfor All Participants. The contents of everyone’s chat window are erased.
Chat Restriction: In some sessions, you may wish to restrict attendees from chatting publicly or private with other participants. There are two chat restrictions that can be set when creating or editing your session, or changed on-the-fly while in a session.
o Allow Public Chat for Participants: This setting, when checked, allows Participants to chat using the Public tab with anyone else in the session.
o Allow Private Chat between Participants: This setting, when checked, allows Participants to chat privately with other Participants. If this setting is unchecked, a Participant may still privately chat with the Leader or Assistants, but not with other Participants.
To change the chat restriction settings on-the-fly while in session, from the Chat panel menu click the setting you wish to change. Additionally, these settings are available from the application, select Session > Chat > Restrict Chat for All Participants from the Tool Panel menu bar.
Responding to Private Chat Messages
In any type of session held in iLinc you may want to be able to manage and monitor private chat conversations more easily. The Chat panel, as part of the Tool panel of the iLinc application, you can now start and communicate with individuals or groups of people in private Chat Tabs.
Feedback
Feedback is a quick Polling application that you can use to solicit feedback from other users during a session. You can ask a question verbally or in Chat and have users respond using the currently displayed Feedback answer set.
Feedback Panel
Use feedback to encourage interaction in the session, let users indicate their satisfaction with the pace of the session, gauge student progress on an assignment, or poll users for yes/no and true/false responses.
Note: Try to use Feedback every 10 minutes or so to ensure that all of your participants are paying attention.
Where Is Feedback?
Feedback is located just below the Attendee window on the iLinc Tool Panel. You can use feedback at any time during a session, and change or reset the answers throughout the session.
As users select their answers your counters, which are highlighted with the corresponding colors in the summary pie chart or bar graph, are automatically updated. When you ask users to respond to a question via feedback, you see their answers in two formats:
The summary results are continuously updated in the pie chart that is displayed in the feedback area. You can share the pie chart with all users if you choose.
Users’ answers are indicated by color-coded squares next to their names in the attendees list.
Both the graph and attendees list are continuously updated as users select or change their answers.
While anyone can ask attendees to answer a question with feedback, only the leader can change the answer set and clear the answers. These options are available in the Session menu, and by clicking the Menu button to see the feedback shortcut menu.
Feedback Answer Sets
You can choose an answer set from the following:
Pace (Faster, Perfect, Slower, Please Review)
Agreement (Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree)
Assignment status (Not much progress, Still working, Almost finished, Completed) True / False
Yes/No A,B,C,D
If you need to select a different answer set, click the Menu button from the Feedback panel and select the desired answer set. Your feedback area and each participant are updated with the new answer set. You can also change the answer by clicking Session > Feedback from the application menu.
To Ask a Feedback Question
1. Locate and select the Answer Set in Feedback you want to use.
2. Ask a question verbally or in Chat and ask your attendees to select an answer from the Feedback answer set. As each attendee selects an answer, your pie chart and Attendee
list are updated.
3. When you are ready to ask another question, click the Menu button and choose the Clear
option from the menu list. Then select the new Answer Set and ask your question.
4. There are three ways you can change the answer set of the Feedback area:
a. Click the Menu button in the Feedback panel. From the menu list, select the answer set you need to display. It will automatically display to users.
b. Use the keyboard shortcuts for each answer set (see menu list).
c. Select Session > Feedback from the iLinc menu bar and select the desired answer set. The feedback panel for you and all participants is updated with the new answer set.
d.
Change Feedback Menu
If you prefer to see the answers in a bar graph instead of a pie chart, you can change the display element in the Feedback Menu (click the Menu button or choose Session > Feedback from the application’s menu).
If you wish to remove a set of answers from participants, from the Feedback panel menu, choose the Withdraw option. This will remove the set of answers and automatically collapse the Feedback panel for the participants. At any time you wish to request feedback again by
selecting an answer set from the panel menu, the Feedback panel will expand automatically for participants.
Feedback Bar Graph
The Participant View
The participant's feedback area is located just below the Attendee window on the iLinc Tool Panel. Participants see the current answer set with radio selection buttons next to each answer.
Participants do not see individual responses in the Attendee list in LearnLinc or ConferenceLinc.