Moderation Handbook

SchoolSpace comes with tools specifically designed for moderating your virtual campus. 

Keep reading to learn how to:

Equip Students with Safety Actions

Open or Close a World

Manage Communication

Make Announcements, Record, or Share your Screen

Find and Manage Students

Use Moderation Tools to Manage Student Access, Reports, and Message History

 

 

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What Can Students Do to Protect Themselves?

Students in SchoolSpace have a set of safety tools to support positive interactions. Encourage students to use these tools responsibly and to report any issues they encounter.

• Walk Away - Students can move away from others to disconnect video/audio.
• Block - Students can block a peer; this removes video/audio and DMs between them.

• Report - Students can report another student. Reports are sent to the platform’s internal messaging system (like Slack, Google Chat, Zoom, MS Teams, email, etc)
• Find a Moderator - Students can easily find a moderator in the world and ask for assistance. Admins of the world will have a star  next to their name. This is the Admin Identifier.
• Ask a Moderator for Help - If a student has a question they can raise their hand to alert Moderators, ask for help in the chat, or teleport to a Moderator from the Current Users list.

 

To make the Admin Identifier Visible: 

1. In the left sidebar, click World Settings  → Admins 
2. In the Settings section under Show Admin Identifier:
   • Toggle on to make the Admin Identifier  visible
   • Toggle off to hide the Admin Identifier

 

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Open or Close a World

When a world is open, students with access to that world can enter. When a world is closed, students will not be able to enter.

Moderators and World Admins will always be able to enter the world. If a world is closed when a Moderator or World Admin enters, they will see a prompt allowing them to open the world.

 

To manually Open or Close a World:

1. In the left sidebar, click World Settings  → Open/Close World
2. In the Settings section under Close World:
   • Toggle on to close the world
   • Toggle off to open the world
3. You will see a popup asking you to confirm if you want to close or open the world.
   • Click the Close World or Open World button to confirm your choice.
   • Click the Cancel button to return to the previous page and leave the world in its current closed or opened state.

 

Worlds can also be set to open and close on a schedule. Open / close schedules are recurring and will automatically open and close the world based on the set schedule of days and times. The world will be closed outside of these times but you can still open it manually by following the Open or Close World steps above.

To set an Open / Close Schedule:

1. In the left sidebar, click World Settings → Open/Close World
2. Under Scheduler, click  Add Time
3. Choose an open time, close time, and the days of the week

 

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Manage Communication

Moderators can control student access to video, audio, and text chat by using:

Silent Mode

Camera Controls

Microphone Controls

Messaging Controls

 

Silent Mode

When no Moderator is present in the world, Silent Mode automatically activates and turns off all communication between students including video/audio chat and messaging in chat channels or direct message. This prevents unsupervised student interactions if the only Moderator loses internet connection or accidentally leaves the world.

When Silent Mode is on in a world and a Moderator joins, they will see a prompt allowing them to turn Silent Mode off.

 

Silent Mode can also be manually turned on while Moderators are present in the world to instantly stop all student to student communication.

To manually turn Silent Mode On or Off:

1. In the left sidebar, click World Settings → General User Controls (you may need to scroll to the bottom of the list)
2. Under Silent Mode:
   • Toggle on to stop all student to student communication
   • Toggle off to allow student to student communication

 

Camera Controls

Moderators can control student cameras individually or turn video off for all students. Turning off individual student cameras comes in handy when a student might unknowingly have something in their background that they don't want others to see.

To update Camera Access for All Students in the World: 

1. Click World Settings → General User Controls
2. Under Camera Access:
   • Toggle on to allow users to freely turn their camera on or off
   • Toggle off to prevent users from turning their camera on unless turned on by an admin

 

When Camera Access is toggled on, Moderators can disable access for individual students to prevent them from using their camera. If Camera Access is toggled off, Moderators can enable access for individual students to allow those students to use their camera freely.

To Enable or Disable an Individual Student's Camera Access:

1. Hover over the student's video tile
2. Click the Camera icon
3. In the dropdown menu:
   • Select Disable Camera to prevent the student from turning their camera on
   • Select Enable Camera to allow the student to freely turn their camera on or off

 

Moderators can also manually turn an individual student's camera off. 

To manually turn an Individual Student's Camera Off:

1. Hover over the student's video tile
2. Click the Camera icon
3. Select Turn off camera

 

Microphone Controls

Moderators can disable the use of microphones for all users (excluding Moderators) in a world by updating the “Microphone Access” world setting. 

To Update Microphone Access for all Students: 

1. In the left sidebar, click World Settings  → General User Controls (you may need to scroll to the bottom of the list)
2. Under Microphone Access:
   • Toggle on to allow students to mute or unmute themselves
   • Toggle off to keep students muted unless unmuted by a Moderator or World Admin

 

When Microphone Access is toggled on, Moderators can disable access for individual students to prevent them from using their mic. If Microphone Access is toggled off, Moderators can enable access for individual students to allow those students to use their mic freely.

To Enable or or Disable an Individual Student's Microphone Access:

1. Click the Speaker icon in the upper right corner of the student's video tile
2. In the dropdown menu:
   • Select Disable Microphone to prevent the student from using their mic
   • Select Enable Microphone to allow the student to freely use their mic

 

To Manually Mute an Individual Student's Microphone:

1. Click the Speaker icon in the upper right corner of the student's video tile
2. In the dropdown menu:
   • Select Mute for all to mute the student for everyone
   • Select Mute for me to mute the student from only your perspective

 

Messaging Controls 

Messaging in SchoolSpace is available through chat channels or direct messaging. World Managers can adjust the messaging options available inside of a world. 

• 'Everyone in World' Channel - Accessible by all users in a world regardless of where they are in the world. 

• 'People Connected to Me' Channel - Automatically creates a chat channel with everyone you are currently connected to over video chat. 
• 'Private Zones' Channel - Automatically creates a channel that can only be seen by users within a Private Zone.
• Direct Messaging - 1:1 and group text chats with friends. Only students who are a part of a chat will see these messages.

 

To Update Messaging Access for Everyone in the World:

1. In the left sidebar, click World Settings  → Messaging
2. Under Direct Messaging or the chat channel (e.g. 'Everyone in World' Channel):
   
   • Toggle on to make available
   • Toggle off to prevent access

 

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Make Announcements, Record, or Share your Screen

Moderators can use these tools to be seen and heard by everyone, capture a recording to share with others, or screenshare:

Broadcast

Record and Broadcast

Screenshare

 

Broadcast

Broadcast allows your video and audio to be heard by more than nine people. The broadcaster will still only see and hear the nine people closest to them even though the broadcaster can be seen and heard by more people. All users with Moderator permission and above can also record while on broadcast in the world. 

There are two ways to broadcast:

• Broadcast All - Speak to everyone in the world at once. Great for announcements that need to be heard by everyone in the world. 
• Broadcast Near - Speak to everyone nearby (proximity-based) or everyone in a private zone. 

 

To Start a Broadcast:

1. Hover over your video tile
2. Click the Broadcast icon
3. Choose Turn on Broadcast - All or Turn on Broadcast - Near
4. If you are successfully broadcasting, you will receive a notification and a Broadcast icon will appear in the upper left corner of your video tile.

 

To Stop a Broadcast:

1. In the upper left corner of your video tile, click the Broadcast icon
2. If you have successfully turned off broadcasting, the Broadcast icon in the upper left corner of your video tile will disappear.

 

Record and Broadcast

When a Moderator clicks the Broadcast icon on their video tile, they will also see an option to Record and Broadcast. When you Record and Broadcast, the recording will show your perspective. Meaning if you move, the recording will follow you and playback will show what you see. However, only users also on Broadcast will have their video tile recorded. This means student video tiles will only be captured if the student(s) are Broadcasting.

To Record while Broadcasting:

1. Hover over your video tile
2. Click the Broadcast icon
3. Choose Record and Broadcast - All or  Record and Broadcast - Near
4. If you are successfully broadcasting, you will receive a notification and a Record and Broadcast icon will appear in the upper left corner of your video tile.
5. To stop the recording, click the Record and Broadcast icon in the upper left corner of your video tile.
6. If you have successfully turned off broadcasting, the Record and Broadcast  icon in the upper left corner of your video tile will disappear.

 

 

Screensharing

Screenshare makes your screen visible to people you are connected to over video chat. If you screenshare while broadcasting, your screen will be visible to everyone who can see your broadcast. You can share a tab, window, or your entire screen. 

To Share your Screen:

1. Hover over your own video tile
2. Click the Share Screen icon
   
   
3. Choose tab, window, or share your entire screen. If you want to share your audio, you must choose a tab and toggle 'Share tab audio' on.

 

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Find and Manage Students

Moderators can view all students currently in the world or manage these students by using:

The Current Users List

The Raised Hands Queue

 

Current Users List

The Current Users list shows everyone currently in the world. If there are landmark zones in the world, anyone in a landmark zone will also have the name of the landmark zone visible.

To Access the Current Users List:

1. In the left sidebar, click Social Hub → Current Users
2. You can scroll, search for someone by name, or filter by landmark zones to see everyone in that landmark zone
3. From the Current Users list, Moderators can:
   • Teleport to another person
   • Teleport a person to you
   • Send a message
   • Take safety actions (ban from chat or the world)

Raised Hands Queue

When students hover over their own video tile, they will see an option to Raise Hand , which triggers a red dot indicator on the Social Hub icon and a sound alert for all users in the world.  

A row with the student’s name will be added to the raise hands queue (also visible to all users) in Social Hub . 

To Access the Raised Hands Queue:

1. In the left sidebar, click Social Hub
2. If someone has a hand raised, you will see the Raised Hands Queue above the Current Users list
3. From the Raised Hands Queue, Moderators can:
   • Put the student's video on Broadcast
   • Teleport  to the student's location
   • Lower the student's hand to remove them from the Raised Hands Queue
   • Lower All hands to clear the Raised Hands Queue
     
     

 

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Moderation Tools to Manage Student Access, Reports, and Message History

If inappropriate behavior has occurred or you need to manage a student's access, Moderators can use these tools to remove or ban a student, review student reports, and view chat message history:

Remove a Student from the World

Ban a Student

Access Reports

Access Message History

 

Remove a Student 

Removing a student will instantly kick them out of the world. The student will be able to rejoin the world if the world is still open. You can think of this as a time out or a way to stop inappropriate behavior so you can reset with the student when they rejoin. 

To Remove a Student from the World: 

1. Click Safety Actions in any of the following places: 
   • The student's video tile
   • The Current Users list in Social Hub
2. Choose Remove From World
3. The student will:
   • Be immediately removed from the world
   • See a prompt telling them "Something Unexpected Happened" and giving them the option to reload

Ban a Student

There are a few types of bans Moderators can use.

 

All types of bans can be:

• Temporary meaning the ban is automatically lifted on a set date
• Indefinite meaning the ban remains in place until it is manually lifted

All banned students and the date they were banned appear on the World Bans, Channel Bans, or Platform Bans lists in the Dashboard. Admins can remove a ban at any time. 

 

Temporary Bans

When the ban end date is reached, the user will be automatically unbanned at midnight UTC (e.g. set the Temporary Ban date as July 1, 2025 and the student will regain access on June 30, 2025 at 5pm PDT).

 

To Ban a Student from a Single World:

1. If the student is currently in the world:
   • Click Safety Actions in any of the following places: 
     • The student's video tile
     • The Current Users list in Social Hub
   If the student is not currently in the world:
   
   • In the left sidebar, click World Settings → User Sessions (this will open Dashboard in a new tab)
   • Find the student in the list (adjust date range if needed)
2. Click Ban User from World
3. Select a Reason for the ban (e.g. threats, hate speech, inappropriate behavior)
4. Add Additional Information notes for future reference (every admin will be able to view these comments)
5. Decide if it’s a temporary ban (select an end date) or an indefinite ban (leave date blank)
6. Click Ban User to confirm the ban

 

To Unban a Student and Allow them to Enter the World:

1. In the left sidebar, click World Settings  → World Bans (opens Dashboard in a new tab)
2. Click the Unban User from World icon next to the student’s name
3. Once the ban is removed, the student will be able to rejoin the world

 

To Ban a Student from all SchoolSpace Worlds:

1. In the left sidebar, click World Settings → User Sessions (this will open Dashboard in a new tab)
2. On the left side of your screen, click Users
3. Search by SchoolSpace username or email (exact match required) to find the student you would like to ban from all worlds
4. Click View Details
5. Under the student's information, click Ban User from Worlds and Dashboard
6. Select a Reason for the ban (e.g. threats, hate speech, inappropriate behavior)
7. Add Additional Information notes for future reference (every admin will be able to view these comments)
8. Decide if it’s a temporary ban (select an end date) or an indefinite ban (leave date blank)
9. Click Ban User to confirm the ban

 

To Unban the Student so they regain access to their SchoolSpace Worlds:

1. Follow steps 1 - 4 above
2. Under the student's information, click Unban User from Platform

 

To Ban a Student from Chat Channels in a Single World:

1. If the student is currently in the world:
   • Click Safety Actions in any of the following places: 
     • The student's video tile
     • The Current Users list in Social Hub
   If the student is not currently in the world:
   
   • In the left sidebar, click World Settings → User Sessions (this will open Dashboard in a new tab)
   • Find the student in the list (adjust date range if needed)
2. Click Ban User from Chat Channels
3. Select a Reason for the ban (e.g. threats, hate speech, inappropriate behavior)
4. Add Additional Information notes for future reference (every admin will be able to view these comments)
5. Decide if it’s a temporary ban (select an end date) or an indefinite ban (leave date blank)
6. Click Ban User to prevent the student from using Chat Channels in the world

 

To Unban a Student and Allow them to use Chat Channels:

1. In the left sidebar, click World Settings  → Channel Bans (opens Dashboard in a new tab)
2. Click the  Unban User from Chat Channels icon next to the student’s name
3. Once the ban is removed, the student will be able to use chat channels

 

To Ban a Student from Direct Messaging in all worlds:

1. In the left sidebar, click World Settings in the left sidebar and select any option that will open dashboard in a new tab (e.g. User Sessions) 
2. Click  Users on the left side of your screen
3. Enter the email address or SchoolSpace username (exact match required) of the student
4. Click View Details
5. Under the student's information, click Ban User from Direct Messages
6. Select a Reason for the ban (e.g. threats, hate speech, inappropriate behavior)
7. Add Additional Information notes for future reference (every admin will be able to view these comments)
8. Decide if it’s a temporary ban (select an end date) or an indefinite ban (leave date blank)
9. Click Ban User to prevent the student from using Direct Messaging in any world

 

To Unban and allow the Student to regain access to Direct Messaging:

1. Follow steps 1 - 4 above
2. Under the student's information, click Unban User from Direct Messages

 

To View a list of current World or Channel Bans:

1. In the left sidebar, click World Settings
   • Click World Bans to view all students currently banned from the world
   • Click Channel Bans to view all students current banned from using chat channels in the world
2. Dashboard will open in a new tab.
3. You will see:
   • A List of all students currently banned
   • Ban Start Date
   • Ban End Date (if the ban is temporary)
   • Reason for the ban
   • Additional Information shared when banned
   • The Moderator who banned the student
   • Actions Moderators can take
4. From here Moderators can:
   • Filter results by email
   • Export the World or Channel Bans list

 

To View a list of current Platform Bans:

1. In the left sidebar, click World Settings in the left sidebar and select any option that will open dashboard in a new tab (e.g. User Sessions) 
2. Click  Users on the left side of your screen
3. At the top of the page, click the Platform Bans tab
4. From here Moderators can:
   • Filter results by email
   • Export the Platform Bans list 

 

Student Reports

Students can report other students for any inappropriate behavior. Alerts for student reports are automatically routed to the platform your organization has connected (e.g., Slack, MS Teams, email).

Reports include:

• Time of incident
• Name of student being reported
• Name of reporter (student who filed the report)
• Reason for the report (selected from a dropdown, e.g., bullying, threats, illegal activity)
• Comments added by the reporter
• World name where the incident occurred

Reported messages will appear as "Dashboard" if not tied to a specific location.

 

View Message History

Admins of the world can view the messages of any student at their school, as well as channel messages. 

To Access Student Direct or Group Message History:

1. In the left sidebar, click World Settings in the left sidebar and select any option that will open dashboard in a new tab (e.g. User Sessions) 
2. Click  Message History on the left side of your screen
3. Enter the email address or SchoolSpace username (exact match required) of the student or students to see their messages
4. You will see:
   • User you searched for
   • Chat Participant(s)
   • When the Most Recent Message was sent
   • The Message Type
   • Actions Moderators can take
5. In the Actions column, click View Details to view the message history
6. From here Moderators can:
   • Filter results by email
   • Change the date and time range
   • Export the Message History

 

To Access Chat Channel Message History:

1. In the left sidebar, click World Settings in the left sidebar and select any option that will open dashboard in a new tab (e.g. User Sessions) 
2. Click  Message History on the left side of your screen
3. Near the top of your screen, click the Channels tab
4. Find the world by scrolling or typing the URL slug in the Filter results field (e.g. schoolspace.io/my-school, type my-school)
5. You will see:
   • The World Name
   • The World URL slug
   • The Date the World was Created
   • Actions Moderators can take
6. In the Actions column, click View Details to open the Chat Channel message history
7. From here Moderators can:
   • Filter results by email
   • Select a specific Chat Channel
   • Change the date and time range
   • Export the Message History

 

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Keep Learning!

SchoolSpace Roles and Permissions

Understanding the SchoolSpace Sidebar

Video Chat

Inside SchoolSpace