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Overview of Talk channels

Facilitators can use Talk channels to engage learners in real time chat.

Michele de Bes avatar
Written by Michele de Bes
Updated over 3 months ago

Talk channels are a great way for facilitators to engage with learners, and for learners to engage with each other.

Learn more: For ideas on how to use talk channels, check out Creating a facilitation plan and template.

How to set up Talk channels for a class activation

Talk channels can't be changed by class facilitators.

Types of Talk channels

Talk channels can be Private (facilitator support) or Public.

And, public channels can be Broadcast, Full access, or Group.

Screenshot showing how to find the Private talk channel in your course for Facilitator support


Private channels

Private channels (facilitator support) let learners privately message their facilitator(s).

Public channels

Broadcast channels let only facilitators post. Learners can reply, but not start new posts of their own. For more information see the article here.

Full access channels are used to encourage general discussion and let anyone start a new post and anyone reply.

Group channels lets only learners and facilitators in that group view and contribute. This is often used for group work within a larger class. For more information on how to set up group access, see this article.
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How to use Talk - Channels, posts, and threads

As well as a text response, you can also make lists, add links to websites, and attach images, documents and videos to your posts.

Talk channels support threaded discussions (replies within the initial post) which will allow sub-conversations to branch off without breaking the flow of the main conversation.

Within each channel, posts can be sorted by User (A-Z), or by time posted (with the most recent posts first).

Screenshot showing how to make a post in the Facilitator support channel in a course.

Learn more: For more detailed instructions, see How to use Talk (including moderation) for facilitators.

How find new posts

If there are any unread talk channel posts, you'll see a green indicator on Talk. Channels with unread posts will also be bolded so that you and your learners can find the new posts easily.

Screenshot showing how an in-app notification as a green dot to the right of the Talk icon in the left navigation menu.


How to get email updates for new posts to a Talk channel

As a default, when people respond to a post you've made (or replied to), you'll get an in-app notification (found in the Bell in the top right). And if you've set your preferences to allow email or text, you'll get an email/text too.

Screenshot showing example talk notification when a person selects the bell in the top right (next to their avatar).

As with public Talk channels, you can also choose to Get email updates for new posts in private channels.

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