Summary
Conversations on Orah are of two types Direct and Group Chat. This article talks about Direct Conversation a tool for staff users to chat with one student directly.
Direct chats offer a one-on-one communication channel that is highly personalized. Ideal for discussing detailed or sensitive matters and allows for tailored conversations specific to the individual's needs. 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 Direct chat looks like.
☝🏽 Note : A staff user will require permission to access Direct Conversations. Read more on how to gain access to group conversations.
Initiating a Direct Conversation
Click on the + New Conversation button at the bottom left
A window will open where you can :
See all assigned students
Input a student’s name to search within the list
Choose a student from the list
If this list is empty, talk to your admin to provide student access as stated above
Click Start Conversation to begin chatting
Inactive students will be marked with a "No Account" tag
(you can still send messages that will be received when the student logins 1st time)Inactive students’ tags are removed once they become active
Searching an existing name redirects to the ongoing conversation
Managing Conversations
Direct Conversation List
All the initiated conversations would appear under the Direct Conversations list
Any new message sent or received will appear on top of the list
Any unread messages will be highlighted in bold and circled with count in red
The list is scrollable in case there are numerous conversations
Revoking access of the student removes the student and conversation from the list
Inactive Students
Inactive students’ tags are removed once they become active
Inactive students will be distinguished by grey color and a 'No Account' tag
You can still send messages that will be received when the student logins 1st time
Inactive students’ tags are removed once they become active
Message Window Panel
Selected students’ conversations appear in the right panel
Messages are grouped by date like Whatsapp, Slack
A 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)You will not be able to send a blank message
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 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
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
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.
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 :)