Summary
Conversations on Orah are of two types Direct and Group Chat. This article talks about Group Conversations, a tool for staff users to chat with multiple students in real time. This secure communication tool built just for schools will give more control over entire school communications, unlike third-party apps like WhatsApp, FB's Messenger, Instagram, and others.
Below is a snapshot of what Group chat looks like :
☝🏽 Note : A staff user will require permission to access Direct Conversations. Read more on how to gain access to group conversations.
Start a New Group Conversation
Similar to direct conversation, a staff can initiate a group conversation from the same button. Once you have permission to access My Conversations, you can see a new product called Communications (Connect) on the left-hand menu.
🧭 Navigate : From Homeboard select the sub-tab > My Conversations
My Schedule is another feature for taking roll calls.
Click on the + New Conversation button at the bottom left
A window will open that will display
All the assigned students along with houses, SIS groups, and tags
Search for any student, house, SIS group, tag from the list
Select multiple students
Selecting a house, SIS group or tag will display and select all students associated with that house, group, or tag
You can also select multiple houses, SIS groups, or tags in one go
i.e. if you want to create group conversation for all sports students select all the tags and SIS groups associated with sports
If this list is empty, or not showing results of the search, talk to your admin to provide you access to those students
Once selection is made click Start Conversation to begin chatting
Managing Group Conversation
Initiated group conversations would appear under All Conversations list on the left
Any new message sent or received will appear on top of the list
Any unread conversation will be circled with the count in red
The list is scrollable in case there are numerous conversations
Note - you will be able to view a group conversation even if you have one student assigned with your permission, but you will not be able to send messages or add/remove members
Members List
Access all members list by clicking on the top right number corner of the panel
All the students of the group conversation would be displayed on a collapsable list
You (staff user) who is also the initiator will be listed on top with the owner tag
Orah doesn't support staff-to-staff conversations yet
Students will be listed below - grouped as active and inactive students
A student can be added or removed from the conversation via this list
Inactive Students
Inactive students are those who have not yet logged into Orah and will shown in the member's list as 'Students Without Orah Account' at the bottom
All the messages of the group conversation will be received by the inactive students once they sign up on Orah.
Once active, inactive students will move to the active student list above
Inactive students will be distinguished by a grey color student icon, active in green
If you are also an admin then you will be able to manage inactive student's accounts by using the Manage Students link provided below the notice '⚠️ Students without Orah account won't receive messages until they have been given access.'
Remove a student
A student can be removed from the group conversation anytime by you (initiator)
To remove a student simply open the members list
Hover over the student you want to remove
A delete icon will appear, click on it
A new dialog box will open to confirm the removal
Click on 'Confirm' will remove the student
Students who are removed, any messages posted by them will be greyed out
With respect to the student side :As soon as the student is removed, they will not be able to send any message
Whole group conversation will also be removed once the student app is refreshed
Adding a student
Add a student by clicking on the + Add button on the member's list
A window will open, search and select for students you want to add
You can also select houses, tags, or SIS groups to add multiple students at once
Already added students will show 'Added' on the list
Once selected, click on 'Add', members selected will be added to the list
With respect to the student side :
As soon as the student is added, they will be able to see all historical messages
Message Window Panel
Messages are grouped by date like Whatsapp or Slack
Name of the student along with time tag will be displayed just above the message
Staff messages are on the right in purple; student messages are on the left in white
Messages sent and received are updated in real-time
In case of any error or network issues, the message which was not sent will display - 'Message not sent. Send again' - clicking on which will retry sending the message
Compose and Send :Type your message at the bottom and click on the paper plane icon to send it
Pressing enter moves the cursor to the next line
(🗣️ let us know your feedback if you want to send a message by pressing enter)Blank messages cannot be sent or received
No rich text formatting is available as of now
Student User Guide
Accessing Conversations
A New Icon - Communications icon is now available on the home page
A student cannot initiate the conversation, they can only reply to any message received from the staff
Clicking the icon opens the conversation list
Any new message by staff or students will also be listed as a notification
Conversation List
A graphic is displayed if there are no conversations yet
Each conversation shows a staff profile photo, name, timestamp, and a snippet of the last message
Unread messages are bold with a red count
Conversations are sorted by the most recent
The list updates instantly with new messages
Clicking on a conversation tab opens the message panel
A student who is removed from the conversation will not be able to see that conversation
Viewing and Sending Messages
The layout is similar to the staff view
Staff names and date stamps are displayed
A plane icon sends the message
Messages cannot be sent blank
Conversations are updated in real-time
A student who is removed from the conversation will not be able to send a message
Receiving Notifications
Notifications for new messages appear under the Notifications tab
Each notification includes the staff name, timestamp, and a snippet of the last message
Push notifications are sent to iOS/Android notification centers
Clicking on the notification opens the conversation directly.
A student who is removed from the conversation will not be notified
Hope this was helpful. If you have any further questions, just click the blue chat icon at the bottom right corner of this page or email us at Support email - support@orah.com, we will help you navigate through it. Cheers :)