Chat for teachers: Get started with Finalsite Chat

Misty Flowers

July 08, 2024 17:15

With Finalsite’s new chat feature, communication can take place in real-time between school staff and families in their community.

This is a Chat for Teachers article helping teachers with everything they need to communicate via chat with parents and guardians. Teachers are at the Chat Manager Level.

Not a teacher? Check out Chat for Parents & Guardians or Chat for School Leaders for more personalized help!

Step 1: Chat via App or Web Browser

There are different ways to stay connected to your student's district or school community.

Download your school or district's new mobile app

Refer to the instructions below to add the app to your device

iOS/Apple download instructions

To download the new mobile app on your iOS/Apple device, start by opening the Apple App Store.
Search for the app using your school or district name. Your school can instruct you on how to search for your app if you have trouble finding it.
Select and download your app by tapping the Get button next to your app and clicking Install if needed. You may need to enter your Apple ID password to authorize the download.
Open up the app on your device.

If these instructions have changed or are not what you see on your end, click "Download apps and games on your iPhone or iPad" to see more current instructions.

Android/Google Play download instructions

To download the new mobile app on an Android device, open the Google Play Store.
Search for the app using your school or district name. Your school can instruct you on how to search for your app if you have trouble finding it.
Select the app from the search results and tap to download. Click Install to start the download and install process.
Review the Permissions and click Accept to proceed.
Once app is installed on your Android device, open it directly from the Play Store by tapping the Open button or find the app icon on your home screen.

If these instructions have changed or are not what you see on your end, click "Get Android apps & digital content from the Google Play Store" to see more current instructions.

Chat via URL/Web Browser

Prefer to use a computer browser to access chat? Your district or school will provide you with a URL that you can paste into a browser and join in on the conversation! Here's how it works:

Enter your district or school's chat URL into a browser.
Now you can move to Step 2: Get logged in.

Step 2: Get logged in

Enter your Username and then Password.

username with box.png password on mobile app .png

Don't know your login credentials?

Select Forgot password to have a reset password link sent to the email address associated with your account. You'll be directed to a Login page where you can Create a new Password.
Does your district or school use a third-party to authenticate logins? You may be instructed to enter these credentials instead.

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You may be prompted to Select your language to the preferred language you'd like the app to display. Your language may already be preset, if your SIS language is one of our languages in the list of 30 supported languages. If your SIS and device language are not yet supported, English will be preselected.

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Choose schools: Subscribe to view the content of one or multiple schools if you are on a district app. Toggle on to agree to view the content on your mobile app for a particular school.

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Get notified: Decide the level of Notifications you'd like to receive on your mobile app. Select Allow notifications to opt in to notifications, another window will pop up where you can give permission to allow notifications. Select Not now to decline receiving notifications.

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Subscribe to mailing lists: Select the mailing lists to get only what you want.

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Step 3: (App Only) Navigate to Chats icon in bottom toolbar

Once you are logged in to your mobile app, find the Chats icon in the bottom toolbar. Click to open and start chatting!

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Don't have a bottom toolbar with a Chats icon?

No worries! Upon login, you will land straight on the Chat dashboard, whether in the app or browser.

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Step 4: Tour the chat home screen

The chat home screen is where it all begins!

Chat rooms you have been assigned to are in the top half of the screen.
Direct Messages are in the bottom half.

chat home screen.png

Now that you have downloaded the app, gotten logged in, and know your way around, you can start chatting!

Next: Start chatting and direct messaging!

You are now ready to check out the article, "Connect and collaborate with school staff" to learn how the chat works and how to communicate through direct messaging.