Zoho+Chat

__Zoho Chat __- a web-based chat system

[|Zoho Chat]
 * Resources **


 * Strengths **
 * No installation or downloaded software required, only Internet and a web browser
 * Can participate in multiple chats simultaneously
 * Chat history
 * Offers a transcripts of all chats and is searchable
 * Records date and timestamp of all entries and who enters/exits the chat room
 * Is displayed when you enter a room so you can see what was being discussed before you arrived
 * Can chat with non-Zoho members, just send an email with a link that the recipient can click to open a chat box
 * Chat can be embedded into a website and formatted/resized
 * Zoho Chat users to be signed into multiple chat accounts at the same time: Zoho, Zoho Groups, Google, Facebook, Yahoo! Messenger, MSN Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, ICQ, and Jabber
 * Two options for chat (actually, there's also a third one that is more customer-service oriented for businesses called "//Live Support//")
 * Group chat (“//Shoutbox//”)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Lets your website/blog visitors chat with you and among themselves i.e., whatever messages sent by the visitor is also visible to other visitors.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Can upload files that can then be downloaded by anyone in the chat
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">One-on-one chat (“//Live Support//”)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">lets your website/blog visitors chat with you personally i.e., any visitors for your website can chat with you which will not be shown to other visitors.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Can create Chat Groups for a specified group of people (for security purposes)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Weaknesses **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Embedding the chat feature in a website appeared to be tricky for a few users who left comments on the wiki (this is not a very legitimate weakness, but honestly there appear to be very few drawbacks to this tool)


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Opportunities **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Offers another mode of communication with parents and students
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Can share files with people in chat room
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Can track participation easily using Chat History


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Threats **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Shoutbox (group chat) on a public website or blog can be viewed by anyone, and anyone can join the conversation- you would need to restrict the chat members to just students in class to control the content or only embed the chat feature on a private blog


 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Classroom Ideas **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Teacher “office hours”- absent students can still contact you or join a group chat from home
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Homework help- teacher could be available for an hour in the evenings for students (or parents!) to ask questions on an assignment
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Group work- assign a project and create a chat room for each group. They can share files in the chat room, work independently on their research yet still communicate with others in group quickly and quietly.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Assign a topic to each group of students to be discussed in a chat room- track participation by reviewing the Chat History
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Open a group chat room while the teacher is teaching or an educational video is being watched- students can ask questions to each other or clarify points. Teacher’s ability to monitor the Chat History later for chat etiquette should minimize inappropriate comments.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Chat embedded in class blogs can be utilized by parents or other viewers and monitored by the students during the day- talk about instant feedback! Students can chat back to blog visitors (this would be safest if the blog was restricted to an approved audience).
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 20.8px;">Conduct group chats with other classes in your school or even in a different school/state. Teachers can join in with discussion prompts when necessary and let the students control the conversation.