Assessing Communication for Social Change

1. I don't have a username or password.
2. How do I create a blog entry?
3. How do I create a wiki entry?
4. How do I create a new forum?
5. How do I upload an audio file or podcast to the site?
6. How do I update my personal information?
7. How do I update my profile with a picture?
8. How do I set my time zone?
9. How do I send a private message to another member?
10. How do I receive a private message from another member?
11. How do I upload an attachment (word, pdf etc..)?
12. How do I upload an attachment greater than 2mb in size?
13. How do I format my blog or wiki article?
14. What are RSS feeds?
15. I want to receive an email whenever someone makes a comment or reply to my blog?
16. I want to receive a weekly email of all the new changes to the website?
17. What are tags?
18. Why do we use a wiki?
19. Instructions for adding new hyperlinks to ‘Project Documents’ page on AC4SC website
20. Adding Comments to the Website

  How do I get a username and password?

This website is a closed network. If you believe you qualify as a user of the site, please use the contact form above to request a password. Please indicate your personal details and affiliation with any organisations related to the project.

  How to create a new blog.

Click on the Blog entry under the Create Content heading on the navigation menu. Type the title and body of your blog entry then add any appropriate tags or keywords that describe your blog post in the space provided. If you'd like to insert an image into the blog entry click the image icon below the textbox. If you'd like to attach a file such as a PDF or DOC file use the 'file attachments' option at the bottom of the screen. When you are complete, click the 'Submit' button. 

  How to create a new wiki page.

Click on the Wiki Page under the Create content heading on the left hand navigation menu. Type the title and body of your wiki entry. If you'd like to insert an image into the blog entry click the image icon below the textbox. If you'd like to attach a file such as a PDF or DOC file use the 'file attachments' option at the bottom of the screen. To format the wiki text you need to use the mediawiki syntax, a description of which can be found here http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cheatsheet If you require further assistance formatting your wiki entry please use the contact form above. Detailed step by step instructions for creating hyperlinks are provided later in this Help page. When you're complete, click the 'Submit' button.

  How to create a new forum topic.

Click on the Forum menu item on the navigation menu. Navigate to the forum topic of interest and click the 'Post new forum topic'. Add a subject heading and your message then click 'Submit'. Alternatively you can respond to existing forums by clicking on the 'Add new comment' button. When you're complete, click the 'Post Comment' button.

Notes: Remember not to click on the main Forum heading in the blue box as this is just a container for the forum and will not allow you to create a new fourm topic. If you'd like to suggest a new forum area, please contact June or Jo and they will add it to the site. 

How to upload an audio file or podcast.

  How to update your personal information.

After logging in, click on the My account item in the navigation menu. Proceed by clicking on the 'Edit' tab and then the 'Personal Information' option. Fill out the appropriate fields and click 'Submit'.

  How to update your profile with a picture or photograph.

After logging in, click on the My account item in the navigation menu. Proceed by clicking on the 'Edit' tab. Scroll down to the 'Upload picture' option and click the 'Browse' button. Locate a picture on your computer and click the 'Open' button. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click 'Submit'. Please note that images must be 85x85 pixels to work correctly so you might need to edit your photo in a photo editing package such as Photoshop.

How to set your local time zone.

After logging in, click on the My account item in the navigation menu. Proceed by clicking on the 'Edit' tab. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and choose your timezone from the dropdown list. Click the 'Submit' button to save.

How to send a private message to another member.

After logging in, click on the 'My inbox' item in the navigation menu and then click the 'Write a new message' button. Enter the username of the person you want to send a message to in the To field and complete your message. Then click the 'Send private message' button.

How to receive a private message from another member.

If someone has sent you a private message you will get a notification at the top of your screen the next time you navigate to a new page or login to the ac4sc.org website. Alternatively click on the 'My Inbox' link in the navigation menu. If you would like to receive email notifications of private messages you can enable this feature by navigating to the 'My Account' page and clicking the 'Edit' tab. Underneath the 'Private Message Settings' you can select to have your messages delivered on arrival or on a daily basis.

How to add attachments such as PDF or DOC to my post, wiki or forum?

Navigate to the bottom of the page and click the 'File Attachments' option. Click on the 'Browse' (Windows) or 'Choose File' (Mac) button and finally click on the 'Attach' button once you have selected your file

How to place in-line images to my blog posts?

Click the small icon below the main text area, this will open a new window, to choose an existing picture that you have already uploaded, select it from the list displayed. If no images are displayed or you would like to upload a new image, click on the 'Upload' button. Follow the instructions on your screen, adding the image name, tags and description, click the 'Choose file' button to select your image. Finally click the 'Submit' button.

File sizes are now limited to 50mb. If you are having troubles uploading due to a slow or intermittent internet connection you might want to try an online file uploading utility such as http://transferbigfiles.com. Please forward any larger files to ben AT ac4sc DOT org or use the contact form above detailing your problem.

What is an RSS Feed?

RSSfeeds provide a way for you to be easily alerted to new and updatedmaterial on the Assessing Communication for Social Change website viasubscription. RSS feeds exist for individual blogs and forum topics.For an overview of RSS and web feeds visit the wikipedia website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_feed

It is possible to subscribe to individual posts or blogs so that you receive an email whenever an update or comment is made. Simply click the 'Subscribe blog' or 'Subscribe post' link displayed next to eachpost. Manage your subscriptions from the My account >> My subscriptions section of the site.

It is possible to customise and subscribe to the site changes and updates via a daily email. Navigate to 'My Account' section and choose the 'My notifications settings' tab. Customise your subscription via the options available. Ensure that your email is configured correctly in your 'My Account' section.

Tags are specific keywords that you can use for classifying content (in this case, project resources, materials and discussions). Once you associate tags with a certain piece of information, this information can be organized accordingly, and easily found by using the same tag or tags. Tags have become a staple of web 2.0 sites, and especially social bookmarking sites, as they allow a user to sift through large amounts of information and locate exactly what the user is looking for, very efficiently. For a further explanation please visit the following site http://themulife.com/?p=155

Wikis are a great way to highlight and organisation from across the site. Whenever you find something useful or insightful feel free to add it to the project wiki. For a more detailed explanation of the use of wikis try the following:http://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/advice-for-students-use-a-wiki-for-better-note-taking.html

1. Ensure that the name of the file contains no spaces (for example: Notes_from_stakeholder_meeting.doc). This is very important as your hyperlinks won’t come out correctly if there are any spaces in the name. Tip -  if you find a space in the name of your file add '%20' (without the inverted commas) in the space and the hyperlink will come out OK.
2. Click on the Edit button at the top of the page. It’s useful to look at how others have set out the formatting and then copy this.
3. Click on the Browse button near the very bottom of the page next to the box ‘Attach new file’. Locate the file you want to add then click ‘Submit’ to upload the file (Note that the file size is limited to 50MB). (Note to moderators: If you don't want an automatic message to go out about the change to the page click 'Publishing options' at the bottom of the page then untick the box 'Create new revison' before you press 'Submit').
4. Click on the Edit button then scroll down the edit box until you locate the area where you want to add the link. If you want to create a new sub-heading it needs to look like this for a level one heading: ==Reports on workshops==  or like this for a level two heading: ===Reports on 2007 workshops=== (see the Wikipedia Cheatsheet for more wiki editing formatting commands by clicking on the ‘Mediawiki syntax’ link located just below the edit box).
5. Scroll down the web page to the list of attachments at the bottom of the page. Find the the link to your document (in the box beginning ‘http://www... below the box with the name of your document) and copy this link.
6. Paste the address in the area where you want the hyperlink (ie the text in blue) to appear. Add a square bracket before the address you’ve pasted. Add any text you want to appear in the hyperlink (such as 'Download') then add a square bracket. Add any other text you want to appear before or after the hyperlink (this will appear in black).
7. Scroll to the very bottom of the webpage. You can either press the Preview button to check on your edit and whether the link looks OK or just press ‘Submit’ then check your edits.

1. Click 'Forum' on the left hand navigation panel.
2. Find the Forum for the topic you want to comment on.
3. Click the relevant topic under the Forum heading (Note: if no suitable topic has been created, click 'Post new forum topic' then add the subject details to the relevant Forum area on the drop down menu called 'Forums'. If no appropriate Forum for your topic has been created, contact June or Jo and they will add it.)
4. To reply to the topic, click on the blue hyperlink for the topic.
5. Scroll down the comments that have been added then click the 'reply' button at the bottom of the comment you want to respond to.
6. Scroll down until you find the 'Comment' box. Add your comment then select 'Post comment' (Note: you can also preview your comment first and then select 'Post comment').