CE 6 Resources
Educational Technology Services

Who's Online

Description:
  • The Who's Online tool is an instant message tool that allows you to see the other users that are online at the same time and invite users for a spontaneous chat.
  • The Who's Online tool differs from the Chat Tool in that it enables you to initiate a real time chat before you enter a course from the My Blackboard area. The Chat Tool can only be used once you are in a course. The Chat Tool also has more functionality than the Who's Online tool.
  • You can be part of a maximum of 5 chat sessions at the same time. If you send invitations to more than one person, you may chat to each person privately. The invited participants will see your and their own responses only. In this tool you have individual one-on-one chats rather than group chats as is available in the Chat Tool..
Who can do what?
  • Designers can access Who's Online tool.
  • Instructors can access Who's Online tool.
  • Students can access Who's Online tool.
Tip:

Who's Online Tools works per PantherID. If you have access to multiple courses, once you change your status in one course, the status change will automatically be reflected in all courses.
How To's:

 

How to Change your Status

  1. Changing your Online Status

  1. Click on the Who's Online link from the Course Tools menu. The table in the Who's Online screen will list the name of the user, the role of the user and whether they are available or not. It also lists the time and date the user has been online since, the amount of time
    the user has been busy and the amount of time the user has been idle.

  2. Click on the My Status drop-down menu and select the status you prefer from the options that display.
     

    • Visible: Available
      While you are online your name displays in the Who's Online tool and other users may invite you to chat.

    • Visible: Unavailable
      While you are online your name displays in the Who's Online tool but other users cannot invite you to chat.

    • Invisible
      Your name does not display in the Who's Online tool at all.
       

  3. Click on the Update button. The screen refreshes and the status changes. If you select an Invisible status your name will no longer display in the name of the users online.

 

How to Use Who's Online Tool

  1. Click on the Who's Online link from the Course Tools menu.

  2. Click on the check box to the left of the name that you would like to send a chat invitation to. A tick appears in the check box.

  3. Click on the Send Chat Invitation button. The Who's Online screen appears.

  4. Type your invitation into the message box in the Who's Online window.

  5. Click on the Send Invitation button.

  6. Once your invitation has been accepted the window refreshes and a chat window displays.
    Click on the text box at the bottom of the screen and type in your response.

  7. Click on the Send button. Your message is sent and the screen refreshes displaying the new message.

  8. Click on X to the right of the name of the person you are chatting to in order to close the channel.

  9. Click on the OK button to close the channel and finish chatting. The Who's Online window closes or click on the Cancel button to continue chatting and not close the channel.
    The Message window closes.