Engageli 3.1.52 Transition Guide: What You Need to Know

Engageli 3.1.52 introduces several new features, enhancements, and usability improvements to optimize your virtual classroom experience. This guide outlines key updates and provides step-by-step instructions to help instructors, teaching assistants (TAs), and administrators transition smoothly to the latest version.

Key Feature Updates and How to Use Them

Breakout Tables – Focused Small-Group Discussions

Breakout tables allow learners to communicate only with their tablemates, isolating them from the instructor and podium speakers unless they move to a non-breakout table.

How to Enable Breakout Tables

1. Switch to Table mode by going to the audio settings in the bottom left corner of the screen, and then selecting Table mode.
2. The Tables tab will open to display all the tables.
3. Click the diamond icon in the upper left corner of each table you want to designate as a breakout table.
4. Click Cancel breakouts at the top of the screen to stop Breakout mode.

  Tip: Use breakout tables for small-group activities, private discussions, or confidential assessments. 

  Learn more about breakout tables.

Instructor Tools - File Share Enhancement 

Pointer Tool – Guide Attention in Shared Files

The pointer tool allows instructors and TAs to highlight specific areas while presenting PDF or PPTX files. This helps direct student focus during lessons.

  Requires Admin Activation: The pointer tool must be enabled in the Admin Portal > Site Settings > Miscellaneous by a Super Admin.

Block Engagement Tools – Manage Disruptions & Support IEP Plans

Instructors and TAs can now restrict engagement tools for specific learners, limiting their ability to use screen sharing, reactions, and Q&A. When enabled, chat access is also restricted to instructor and staff channels only.

 Indicators for Staff:

• The learner's video will display an "Engagement Tools Blocked" label.
• Hand-raise and microphone functions are disabled.
  

How to Block/Unblock Engagement Tools:

1. Click the three-dot menu on the learner’s video.

2. Select Block engagement tools.

3. Follow the same steps to unblock the learner's engagement tool.

For the learner:

• Screen sharing, reactions, and Q&A are removed from the bottom toolbar. 
• They can only send chat messages to the instructor and Staff channels. 
• Staff see the “Engagement Tools Blocked” label on their video. 
• The hand raise button is disabled.
• The user’s microphone is blocked.
• The tools are removed from the whiteboard (class and table).
• The user’s active screen share (class or table) is stopped.

Use Cases: This feature supports structured intervention for learners requiring additional focus, including those with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).

  Learn more about blocking engagement tools. 

Enhancements and UI Updates

Live Classroom Improvements

Present Button – Simplified Navigation

• Distributed documents and whiteboards are now grouped into dropdown menus for easier access.
• Renamed "Widgets" to "Actions" for better clarity.

Improved UI for Blocking Participants and Microphones: Updates in the More Actions (three-dot menu) for clearer control.

Quick Polls – AI-Powered Enhancements

• A new History tab displays recently used polls.

• AI-generated polls can be created from shared files and captions

  Requires the "Allow third party content generation" setting to be ON in the Admin Portal. 

Improved Waiting Room Controls

TAs can now manage the Waiting Room, approving or denying entry and revoking access when needed.

  Important Note: The Waiting Room feature is different from Staff-Only Mode, which is part of Interaction Controls. In Staff-Only Mode, TAs cannot manage learner access to the classroom. Click here to learn more about whether the Waiting Room or Staff-Only Mode is the right solution for you.

Class Invite Links – Updated UI

• Improved user interface for guest access links.

• Ability to toggle guest link access on/off.

Playback Room

• Now opens to a Welcome tab instead of the Playback Player for improved navigation.

• “Learning Path” replaces “Recordings” in the bottom toolbar, providing easier access to all recordings and modules.

Admin Portal Enhancements

• The left-side menu has been streamlined for easier navigation.

• Async Polls section has been removed.

Interaction Controls

New settings include:

• Avatar Image Control: Prevents learners from uploading custom profile images.

• Anonymous Q&A Toggle: Blocks anonymous posts.

• Chat & Q&A Download Restriction: Prevents learners from downloading entire chat logs.

• Anonymized PII in Recordings: Podium participants’ display names will only show their first name and last initial.

Analytics

Admins and instructors now have access to additional engagement data, including:

• Notes Tracking – Monitor student note-taking activity.

• Reactions Monitoring – Track how learners are engaging with reactions.

• Camera Usage Data – View participation trends based on video usage.

Getting Started with Engageli 3.1.52

To take full advantage of these new features and enhancements:

  Review the updated interface – Explore changes to the live classroom, Playback room, and Admin Portal.

  Utilize Breakout Tables – Try setting up small-group discussions in breakout table mode for focused, structured collaboration without disruptions.

 Experiment with Quick Polls – Leverage AI-powered polling to enhance real-time engagement.

 Update your LMS integration – If using an LTI-integrated LMS, explore the new deep linking capabilities.

 Need more help? Contact Support.