Get started with Finalsite Chat

Misty Flowers

July 10, 2024 14:08

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 Parents + Guardians article providing help with chatting with your students' teachers. Parents and guardians are at the Chat Participant Level.

Not a parent or guardian of a student? Check out Chat for Teachers 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 Password.

username with box.png password on mobile app .png

Don't know your login credentials

Enter what you think your username is.
The Forgot password path will begin on the second screen once you enter an attempted Username.
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.

forgot password path.png

You may be prompted to Select your language and choose 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: At any point in your mobile app / chat experience, you can add or remove schools that you've subscribed to in this section to view the content pushed out by those particular schools.

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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 toggle next to each mailing list, and toggle off to ensure that you do not receive emails as a part of certain mailing lists. Click Subscribe to confirm your choices.

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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! Web chat will bring you directly to the Chat home screen.

chats on mobile app home screen.png

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.

chat standalone home screen.png web chat window.png

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.