If Canvas Chat is enabled, can students have private conversations amongst themselves?

[kevinmadden]

Does enabling the chat feature on canvas allow students to initiate their own private chat conversations amongst themselves that cannot be seen by the teacher? I am an instructor and don't have a way of checking myself to get an answer to this question.

There have been major issues in the past at my school with students on a different chatting platform. They were able to initiate their own chat groups composed of only students. At one point, there was an extremely large group of students engaged in highly inappropriate conversation. The school discovered this was happening when a staff member accidentally got added to the group. So I'm trying to figure out if this scenario would even be possible with canvas chat?

[KristinL · Accepted solution]

Hi @kevinmadden -

As included in What is Chat? :

Chats cannot be limited to specific students.

Instructors can use the chat tool to allow students to contact them when online, create virtual office hours, conduct group discussions or study sessions.

All users in the course can also access the chat history.

With that, anyone who happens to be online can chat. However, the history will be available to all people. As the instructor, you'd be the only one able to delete a message. I hope this helps!

[kevinmadden · Accepted solution]

Can a student in one class chat with a student in a completely different class?

[KristinL · Accepted solution]

Hi @kevinmadden -

As included in What is Chat? :

Chats cannot be limited to specific students.

Instructors can use the chat tool to allow students to contact them when online, create virtual office hours, conduct group discussions or study sessions.

All users in the course can also access the chat history.

With that, anyone who happens to be online can chat. However, the history will be available to all people. As the instructor, you'd be the only one able to delete a message. I hope this helps!

[kevinmadden · Accepted solution]

Can a student in one class chat with a student in a completely different class?

[Chris_Hofer · Accepted solution]

Hello @kevinmadden ...

No.  If Sally is in class "A" and Billy is in class "B", they cannot chat with one another.  They would need to be enrolled in the same course together in order to chat and/or message each other via the Canvas Inbox.

Hope this helps.

[JaydenMadrid]

your right but i have found a way to do just that you can click course and click counselor you can type up any name from your grade level most of the time you do have a course that says counselor. counselor is not specificallly a course but it may be one of your options when messaging

[JaydenMadrid]

yes when you click what course there may be an option that says counselour and then you type in a name as long as they are in your grade and probably even just your school they can message you privately.