Online Learning Center

The NALS Online Learning Center is a chat room on the NALS web site where any member can join the NALS President (along with members of the NALS Board and Committees) on one evening per week for various topic discussions and Q&A sessions. There is also a link to the Chat Coordinator to send e-mails suggesting a chat topic, to schedule a weekly chat (as a committee chair), reserve a national or other level committee chat (whether monthly or a one-time usage), or request a log of any of the weekly posted chats. The schedule appears on the Online Learning Center page and is also included in the regular mailings to state and local chapter leaders and in E-News. The current weekly sessions are held on Wednesday evenings at 8:00 p.m. Central Time as posted on the web site and in various NALS publications.

Things to remember regarding the On-Line Learning Center:

• Upon entering the Online Learning Center you will now be taken to a Lobby. Once there you will have a chat window and to your left you will see a users list. At the top of this list there will be a button that says "Show Rooms". Click on this button.
• Now you will see a listing of all the available rooms in the Online Learning Center. There will be some with a key by them to indicate they are password protected rooms. These are used for offical NALS business. You will also see a room titled "OnlineLearningCenter" which will be used for all OLC session other than the Online Study Group which will take place in the room titled "StudyGroup". These rooms are not password protected and are open to the public.
• To go to a room simply double click on the name in the "ShowRooms" window and you will be taken to the desired room. You will see a welcome message and a statement to tell you which room you have entered.
• Once in the room you will see 9 icons along the bottom of the chat window. These are many of the new added features to the room. You may try them out or just leave them alone and enjoy the session. One that we recommend you use is the icon with 4 outward arrows. This will expand the chat window and give you more screen room to enjoy the session. Also when you click this icon, this page will remain on the screen so you can continue to view these instructions.
• Those attending an Online Learning Center education session or an Online Study Group session will still need to enter their email address into the chat window so that a transcript of the session can be sent to you.

Instructions for entering / joining the NALS chat room:

• Go to the chat page (via the NALS Home Page and selecting Online Learning Center).
• This page will have a short schedule of some upcoming sessions as well as having a link to go directly to the session.
• Once you click on the "go directly to the session" you will be taken to a page with the chat room console.

To log in:

• Enter your name in the box that says “User Name ” – this can be any name you wish. The others in the Chat Room will see this name to identify you. This does not have to be your e-mail name.
• Press the CONNECT button and the window will change to show that you are now in the chat room. A list of all persons in the chat room will be displayed in the black window on the right. You will enter the Lobby of the Online Learning Center.
• You will see a button on the left hand side of this window. Click on this to select the desired room for your session. Double click on the desired room and you will be taken to the session.

To type (participate) in the chat:

• When you first enter the Chat Room, you will be in the Lobby.
• You will see a Show Rooms button on the left hand side of the window. Click on this and you will see a listing of all the rooms available. Double click on the room and you will be taken to the session.
• Once you enter your session you will be able to participate by typing in the Yellow box at the bottom of the window. Once you click on Send or hit enter your message will be posted for all to see.
• There are several buttons above the Yellow message box. These buttons allow you to add text formatting, play sound effects, add emoticons and also float the window. You do this by clicking the button with four arrows on it.
• Enjoy the session! Remember to participate because the applet can boot people out of sessions for not participating in the session.

To exit the chat, Close the Browser Window.

Note that the information you type while in the Online Learning Center may not be secure. Remember the rule-of-thumb – never type anything in an e-mail message or chat room that you would not want to see printed on the front page of a newspaper!

If you have any problems, complaints, or praise for a session topic, moderator, procedures, or scheduling of the On-Line Learning Center sessions, be sure to send an e-mail to info@nals.org with “Regarding Chatting” as the Subject. You may not receive a response, but all messages will be documented.