Toddle Connect is our AI-powered messaging module that helps streamline communication within your school community. As a school administrator, you're equipped not just to engage in one-on-one and group conversations with staff, students, and families, but also to utilize robust features providing an overview of all school conversations. This includes flagged conversations requiring attention, and analytics on messaging module usage by the school community. Read this article to learn in detail about these features!
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You can access the Messaging feature directly from the admin portal by clicking on the 'Messaging' card or using the platform-wide messaging tray

Here is a sneak peek of the features within the messaging module:

Let’s explore each feature in detail.

Using the 'Chats' tab in the left pane, you can initiate one-on-one conversations with staff, students, or family members. All your previous conversations are also listed here for easy access. Use the search bar to easily find specific chats. You also have the option to sort by specific user types using the filter icon located at the top. Additionally, notification badges will alert you of any new messages. And, the mute icon indicates any chats that you have muted.

To start a new chat, click on the '+' icon.

In the modal that pops up, select the individual you wish to message - be it a staff member, student, or family member. For faster access, you can also type their name into the search bar. Once you have selected the individual you want to chat with, a new chat gets created between the two of you.

Within the chat window, you can engage in a conversation using text messages, attachments, emojis, and audio messages. Additionally, you can leverage Toddle AI for various tasks ranging from translating text to summarizing the entire conversation, as well as customizing messages with specific prompts.

You can reply to any message in the thread and even add reactions with emojis. Simply hover over a message to access these options. Use the three-dot menu to edit or delete sent messages. You will also notice blue ticks appearing next to messages, indicating that they have been read by the recipient.

The bell icon in the top right corner lets you mute notifications for specific individuals.

If you wish to engage in group conversations with students, staff members and family members, navigate to the ‘Channels’ tab from the sidebar on the left. Under the channels tab, you will find all your existing group conversations. Use the search bar to easily find specific channels or the filter icon to view conversations in a specific channel type.

There are three types of channels that you can use for group conversations - Class channels, Custom channels, and Family channels. Let’s explore each one in detail.

Class channels are designed to streamline communication between the teachers and students of a specific class. When you create a new class in Toddle, a corresponding class channel is automatically generated. Any updates to the class membership, like adding or removing teachers or students, are immediately reflected in the channel. In the left pane, you will find channels for each class you are assigned to as a teacher. Simply click on a class channel to join the conversation.

You can click on the member count displayed at the top right corner of the chat window to open a modal that provides a detailed list of all the group members.

For additional control, use the three-dot menu to mute the channel or to adjust student messaging permissions through ‘Channel settings’.

💡Please note that when you archive a class, the corresponding class channel also gets archived.

Custom channels can be used for group conversations with any users, including students, staff members, and family members across the school. To create a new custom channel, click on the '+' icon.

💡 Teachers can also create custom channels if you have enabled the corresponding setting.

Assign a suitable image, name, and description for the channel, then proceed to select the desired group members. Just type in their names in the search bar. You have the flexibility to include students, staff, or family members from across the school, irrespective of their curriculum.

Once you have made your selection, click on ‘Create’, and you are ready to start conversations within the channel.

Furthermore, utilize the three-dot menu to perform the following actions:

Family channels are aimed at facilitating communication between teachers and family members of a specific child. To create a family channel, go to the ‘Class settings’ of a specific class and hover over the student's name.

💡 Teachers can also create family channels if you have enabled the corresponding setting.

Click on the message icon. In the dropdown menu that appears, select the ‘Send message to family’ option to create a family channel.

Consequently, a family channel will be created including all family members of that student. All members of the channel will have the ability to use the three-dot menu to mute channel notifications.

💡Please note that students are not a part of the family channel.

Sending messages in channels works exactly like chats. You can engage in a conversation using text messages, attachments, emojis, and audio messages. Additionally, you can leverage Toddle AI for various tasks ranging from translating text to summarizing the entire conversation, as well as customizing messages with specific prompts. You can also tag people in group chats using the “@” option.

You can reply to any message in the thread and even add reactions with emojis. Simply hover over a message to access these options. You can also edit or delete sent messages, and use the 'Read receipts' option under the three-dot menu to track message recipients.

💡Please note that Toddle AI is not available to students and family members.

Using the ‘Overview’ tab on the left sidebar, you can review all conversations taking place within your school community. This includes both one-on-one chats and group conversations. Additionally, any conversation that needs your attention is highlighted as a flagged message. Toddle AI flags messages every six hours, and you can easily check the last flagged status at the top. Click on the arrow under the 'Actions' column to dive deeper into a conversation or generate its summary.

Under the ‘Flagged conversations’ tab you can review all the messages that have been flagged in the existing conversations. Here you can examine each flagged message or quickly generate a summary of the conversation. To see the full conversation click on the ‘View conversation’ option.

Use the options at the top to filter flagged messages based on a specific time period or conversation type.

Navigate to the 'Analytics' tab from the sidebar on the left to gain insights into the usage of messaging feature by your school community. Here you can track the number of messages sent in a chosen time frame and view message distribution by user and conversation type.

As you scroll down, you also get a quick overview of how the conversations are spread across the selected time-frame. Further refine this overview by filtering according to 'Type of users' or 'Type of conversations’.

Additionally, assess user engagement through metrics like the number of messages sent and flagged messages, with the ability to filter by user type for targeted analysis.

Finally, you can view these analytics for specific time periods and grades using the filter options at the top.

As a school administrator, you can configure the Messaging module features based on your school’s needs. Remember, the settings done here will apply to all curriculums within your school. To begin, click on the gear icon in the left pane.

In the 'Module settings' section, you can toggle the visibility of the Messaging module for educators, students, and family members. By default, it is turned on for all three user types.

Under the ‘Teacher settings’ section, you can enable or disable teachers to create and manage custom and family channels. Furthermore, choose if teachers can adjust settings for custom channels they're part of. By default, both these settings are turned off. Additionally, decide if they have the ability to edit or delete their messages in any chat. This setting is turned on by default.

Under ‘Student settings’, you have the option to let students start conversations with teachers linked through subject classes or homeroom. Additionally, you can control whether students can edit or delete their sent messages. Both these settings are turned off by default.

Under ‘Family settings' section, you can determine if family members are allowed to initiate conversations with teachers associated with their child. Additionally, you can decide if family members can edit or delete their sent messages. Both these settings are turned off by default.

The search functionality within the Messaging module is designed to provide you with quick and efficient access to specific chats. By utilizing the search bar located at the top, you can perform keyword searches across chat and channels.

To make it easier to refer back to previous search queries or results, you can view your recent searches in the search bar. Use filters such as ‘Members’ or ‘Channels’ to narrow down your search.

For further refinement of search results, Toddle offers various search operators such as ‘in’, ‘from’, ‘to’, etc. enabling you to target your keyword searches across all chats or within specific ones.

When conducting a search, a preview of the search results is provided. The results are categorised based on member names, channels, messages, and files. The preview under messages includes snippets of messages that contain the searched keywords, enabling you to quickly assess the relevance of the results. You can also use the ‘From’ and ’To’ filters to further narrow down your search.

Toddle offers a platform-wide convenience messaging tray that grants you quick access to your chats and channels from anywhere on the platform. In addition, you will also notice numbered badges on the tray, notifying you of any unread messages.

To access your message, simply click on the message icon highlighted on the screen below. This will open up the 'Chat' and 'Channels' tabs which you can use to create and manage all the conversations. You can also use the arrows on the top right corner to expand the tray to a full-screen view. Additionally, you can use the search bar to search for specific chats and channels.

In addition to accessing Toddle Connect from the homepage or through the messaging tray, you can initiate a chat with any member of your school community across various modules, such as Announcements, Attendance Dashboard, Insights, and more—anywhere you can see a profile icon for students, teachers, or family members.

Let’s take the ‘Announcements’ module as an example to understand this in detail.

💡Please note that this feature works the same way across all modules on the Toddle platform.

Navigate to the ‘Announcements’ module. As you enter this module, access the recipient list under the ‘Read on Toddle’ option for any announcement to view the list of staff members, students, and family members who have received the announcement.

In the modal that pops up, you can access recipients by staff members, students, and family members from the tabs at the top.

The messaging options vary slightly across these three user groups. Let’s explore each one of these in detail.

To message any of the staff members simply hover over their profile icon and click on the messaging icon in the top right corner of the profile preview card.

💡Please note that this profile preview card appears only when you hover over the profile icon and not when you hover over their name.

The messaging window will open on your screen, allowing you to start or continue a chat with the selected staff member.

Go back to the recipients modal and switch to the ‘Students’ tab.

When you hover over a student’s profile icon, their profile preview card will appear. Click on the messaging icon to open a dropdown menu with options to send a direct message to the student, message their associated family member(s), or message on the family channel for the selected student.

Simply select your preferred option.

The messaging window will open on your screen with the chosen chat or channel, allowing you to start or continue your chat with the selected student or family members associated with them.

Go back to the recipients modal and switch to the ‘Family members’ tab.

When you hover over a family member's profile icon, their profile preview card will appear. Click on the messaging icon to open a dropdown menu with options to send a direct message to the family member, message the student(s) associated with them, or message on the family channel for the associated student(s). Simply select your preferred option.

The messaging window will open on your screen with the selected chat or channel, allowing you to start or continue your chat with the selected family member or student(s) associated with them.

With Toddle Connect, experience a whole new level of communication and collaboration with your school community.

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