# Monitor
## Summary
The monitoring chat summary shows you all the students involved in the chatdiscussion. It shows the active engagement of each student such as their number of messages.
As a teacher, you a view of the chat where you can moderate and edit chat messages.
### Interact with students while they are chatting
If you want to interact and chat with the students, click on the `Open chat` button.
The chat room will open and you will be able to chat with your students.
### Send private messages
If at any stage you need to send an email to a single student privately, **select the student** you want to send a private message to and type a message. The **message will only be seen by the selected student**.
### Edit or hide a chat message
At times, you might need to modify or hide a chat message that you might deemed controversial. If you need to do so, use the `Edit messages` button.
### Advanced settings
The advanced settings shows the selected settings for the chat.
### Restrict access
The **Deadline** setting allows you to **define a specific date and time after which students can no longer access the activity**.
Once the deadline is reached, the activity becomes unavailable to all students, ensuring that activity are completed within the intended timeframe. This is particularly useful for timed activities where fairness and consistency in access are important.
**How it works:**
* You select a date and time using the calendar and time picker
* The system enforces this as a **hard cut-off point**
* After this moment, **students cannot enter or continue** the activity
**Why use a Deadline:**
* Ensures all students complete the activity within the same timeframe
* Supports fair and controlled conditions
* Helps manage pacing in both synchronous and asynchronous lessons
* Reduces the need for manual intervention to close access
This feature gives you precise control over activity availability, helping you maintain structure and integrity it.
This option enables the teachers to set the **deadline** for students after which they will not be allowed to submit the activity.
## Edit Activity
{% hint style="info" %} **Be aware!**\
\
If you are editing an activity that is already been used by students, then students might be slightly confused as they might be viewing older information. So when editing content that is live, make sure that your students know about this.
{% endhint %}
The **Edit** feature allows you to modify an chat title and instructions while it is already in progress and accessible to students.
This **capability is designed for exceptional situations**, such as correcting a critical error or clarifying the instructions. However, **it should be used with caution**, as changes can directly impact student activity flow.
**Key behaviours and implications:**
* **Temporary student lockout**
While you are editing the activity, students will be unable to access it. This ensures consistency while changes are being made.
* :warning: **Save or cancel is critical** :warning:
After entering live editing mode, you **must either Save or Cancel** your changes.
If you do not complete this action, students will remain blocked from accessing the assessment.
**When should you use this**:
* To fix a clear error that would otherwise disadvantage students
* To make *urgent* corrections during a live session
**Best practice**
It is **always preferable to fully review and test your activity before making it available to students**, to avoid unintended consequences. You can always **Preview** a lesson in [LAMS Author](/lams/getting-started/authoring-designs.md) to test the lesson integrity and cohesion.
## Analytics
Analytics tab displays the total number of messages and a breakdown of messages per student.
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