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Group Chat/Conversations
Pratyush Chowdhary avatar
Written by Pratyush Chowdhary
Updated over 4 months ago

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 :)


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