We are very excited to introduce our totally new Evidence Me Chat module. This feature has the power to revolutionise how you communicate with parents and stakeholders.
You can access Chat from the main tab bar at the bottom of the mobile app (circled in yellow):
Activating the Chat Feature
Once you have upgraded to the latest mobile app version (in the Apple and Android store), you will see the chat icon in the app toolbar. (If you can’t see the chat icon, then please contact support@evidence.me , so we can make sure the chat is available for your setting)
Each class can have chat active or not
You may only want to activate chat for certain classes or groups. This can be a useful way to test out the chat features without activating the chat right across the school.
By default, chat will not be active for any classes. You can easily switch it on for a class by tapping the class name and then tapping “Activate Chat”
Parents will not be able to see any chat feature in their apps, until you have activated chat for a class containing one of their children.
Parents will be notified by email when they have received their first chat message. They can then visit the app to view the message.
How does chat work?
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- Each learner has a chat channel. The chat channel permanently holds all chat about each learner. (Imagine this as a teacher setting up a “Whatsapp chat” for a learner, then inviting the learner’s parents and any other teachers who teach that learner. )
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- PARENTS have access to a “chat channel” for each learner they have. The parent view will look like this.
- PARENTS have access to a “chat channel” for each learner they have. The parent view will look like this.
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- All teachers and all parents with access to a learner’s chat channel can chat on that channel.
Group Broadcast Channel
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- TEACHERS can broadcast a message to an entire class using the broadcast feature.
- The teacher will write the message once and it will be sent to every chat channel in the class.
- Parents will then reply individually on the learner’s chat channel
- TEACHERS can broadcast a message to an entire class using the broadcast feature.
Email Notification
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- Users will be notified by email when there are new chats. Users will just get one notification, until they visit the chat area.
Chat Admin Centre in the Web Suite
For managing a number of chats, school managers may prefer to use the web suite on a PC.
The chat module is available as a new module in the module selector:
That’s all there is to it!
Please let us know how you get on with this new feature. We would love to hear how you are using the chat feature so we can keep developing it to exceed your expectations!
The Evidence Me Team