Educators today continuously use online venues and live chat as virtual classrooms. However, simply having an online platform is not enough to give the best learning experience for your students.

A live chat fills in the missing piece. It parallels face-to-face discussions in a good way. For example, students who are usually shy can now ask the facilitator without the pressure of too much attention. This encourages everyone to speak up and be heard.

However, without the structure of traditional classrooms, your audience is more exposed to distractions. This includes social media, internet problems, and family, which can pull their attention away.

Here are actionable tips to create a more collaborative learning space in an online environment.

Set some ground rules.

Setting up a community guideline on your landing page, or before the lecture begins is a good way to start the class. Include instructions on how to use the live chat in your virtual classroom. Ask your students to keep the side conversations and internet browsing to a minimum.

Designate a moderator to monitor the chat.

Using the Moderated Chat, you can assign an assistant as the administrator of the group chat. He or she can manage the platform and perform functions such as screening inbound messages before it goes live, limit the number of users, share files, filter profanity, and more.

Thes best part? Your moderator can mute everyone using the admin mode. This minimizes the noise distraction and keeps the focus on your presentation.

Along these same lines of building healthier communities, the live chat admin can also serve as the eye of the presenter. He or she watches out for questions and clarifications from the audience.  

Motivate sharing of ideas using these powerful engagement tools.

Keep your audience engaged and their questions answered with the following features:

• Polls – Let your students weigh in on the topic by getting their opinion through live polls
• Question and Answer – Collect valuable insights through a Q&A session
• Multimedia Sharing – Share files, images, videos, or links
• Export Transcript – Download your chat history to organize your notes
• Send audio and video messages

Schedule a time for questions during your presentation.

This not only gives your participants a chance to interact with you and their colleagues. It also gives you the space to take a breather after your presentation.

Improve student-instructor communication through a one-on-one chat.

Using the Expert’s Chat, you can now focus on private conversations during online learning. Do this without having to take much time away from other participants. In fact, most people appreciate having a platform to reach out to you conveniently and efficiently. You can transfer between a one-on-one chat, while simultaneously interacting with another group.

Use multiple chat rooms as breakout rooms.

One of the best things about Rumbletalk is that it allows you to use multiple chat rooms at once. This gives your students a space for small group discussions. With a flexible plan, you can customize the number of rooms depending on your need.

A live chat for education.

Using a live chat may not be a perfect substitute for in-person learning. But, with the right tools, it can be a powerful way to create a collaborative online space.

With RumbleTalk chat, you can explore many ways to invite student interaction. It fits perfectly for online classes since it works as a one-stop solution for all your audience engagement needs.

The role of technology has increased since the world came to a halt. Businesses are now using innovative ways, such as a moderated chat, to welcome engagement on their digital platforms.

It’s crucial that these virtual gatherings remain organized. This is where the role of chat moderation comes in handy. Moderated chats ensure that a healthy and safe online platform is provided, discussions are on topic, and the rise of conflicts is prevented.

For this purpose, chat administrators are appointed to moderate the chat room. They play an important role in maintaining safety in the communities. They also have the right to approve or reject messages, ban users, limit chat room access, or simply provide quick solutions as needed.

Here’s a rundown of how moderated chats can benefit your business and make your online community a safe and vibrant space.

What can administrators do in a moderated chat?

1. Screen Messages – Accept or reject messages before it goes public
2. Mute Users by Turning on Admin Mode – Manage the background noise to keep the focus on your presentation
3. Remove Problematic Chatters – Remove a user to limit spam and avoid conflicts
4. Go Interactive – Shape engagement in your group chat by using the Q&A or poll feature
5. Appoint an Administrator – Designate a new admin to moderate the chat room
6. Change the Chat Type – Change your chat to a private one-on-one, social group chat, or paid chat depending on what you need
7. Export Transcripts – View your chat history by exporting them in 2 ways
8. Block or Filter Words –  Ban specific words from your chat to prevent profanity and offensive messages

Learn how to perform these chat moderation tools HERE.

Host events easily

Running an online community at scale can be less challenging and more efficient when you plow in the right tools. That’s why we continuously roll out better features for podcasts, websites, and live events.

RumbleTalk has so much more in store to help you run your online community even better. Check out the latest updates on our social media pages (Facebook and Twitter). You can also create your account to try our group chat for free!

Virtual events have quickly become the norm. Not only does a virtual event help you save money, but it can also gather potential customers, build brand trust, increase audience engagement, and help you establish your name. Out of everything, you can also host it from anywhere in the world.

A virtual event is any event that you can hold online. For instance, discussions, Q&As, panels, conferences, and the likes, all of these fall under virtual events.

These kind of events are popular because they let the audience gain access to the speakers. This helps the audience to know the company, the product, and the individual more by building trust.

How can the audience connect with the speakers, you ask? It’s through a chat that’s next to your event. Chat platforms help your event with engaging your audience. But before that, let’s talk about managing your virtual event.

Choose your platform wisely

There are many virtual event platforms out there. Now, you can even host events on social media platforms. But, platforms dedicated to events or live streaming are still the best options.

Choose what fits your budget, the platform’s features (a plus if it has a chat plugin), how many attendees can join the event, etc.

For example, you chose Dacast or Vimeo as your platform. Then, the next step is to set up the live chat. You can use RumbleTalk with both platforms. Find the integration instructions here for Dacast and Vimeo, respectively.

After setting it up, try it out. Check if the stream is working and if the chat was embedded well. Try all login options. If you find it all functional, then you know you’ve found the right platform.

Make the virtual event accessible for all devices

Fortunately, video and chat platforms are now accessible for both mobile and web browsers. By making sure that your event is optimized for most devices, you can gather more participants. Since everyone is usually on their phones, then events that support this have increased audience engagement and interaction.

Use all features to the fullest

a) File sharing

Before the event starts, you can give your participants some materials they can use while watching the event. For instance, you can share a PPT of the topic, a spreadsheet containing important data, or maybe share a video that they can watch as an introduction.

Features like this can help you create a memorable event and experience for your participants. They can save these materials so they can use them in the future if they need to.

b) Exporting the chat transcript

Another feature would be exporting the chat transcript for documentation. If your attendees sent some comments that you’ve found useful, you can export the chat transcript to use it as a reference. Your participants can also export the chat transcript so they can look back on the event.

c) Exporting the user list

If you want a copy of your attendees’ information, then you can export the user list. This allows you to see the data of all the participants of your event.

After that, you can send them follow-ups through their emails or social media (whichever they used to log in). Just make sure to disable the guest login option. When you enable this, anyone can enter the chat without registering their information.

Ready for your next virtual event?

Hosting virtual events is never easy. But when you choose the right platform to go with it, it will be easier for you to manage and administer. It’s a fun and effective way to reach people all over the world. Remember that, when it comes to virtual events, it’s all about making that first impression and audience interaction. This will create traction and your attendees will be back for more. 

Now, with these tips, you’re ready for your next virtual event. It’s time to start using a platform that goes perfectly with it.