OLiVER Help
Contents
Introduction
The OLiVER Project wiki was created using software from MediaWiki, and is affiliated with WikiEducator. Therefore, much of the help that is relelvant for WikiEducator, is also relevant for the OLiVER Project. Below there is a FAQ section for the OLiVER Project specifically, and also several links to WikiEducator, Wikipedia and MediaWiki help pages that will assist new and old wiki users alike who have questions about navigating or editing the OLiVER Project site.
Online Help from WikiEducator, Wikipedia and MediaWiki
You will want to start by looking at WikiEducator Help - you can also click the Help link on the left at anytime...
Or visit Wikipedia Help including...
You may also find the Wikipedia Tutorial helpful to learn how to edit OLiVER Project pages.
If you want to experiment with sytax, links, and editing, use the Wikipedia Sandbox. Please do not experiment directly on OLiVER Project pages.
Feel free to consult the User's Guide for information on using the wiki software.
If you are intimidated or unsure about using the syntax necessary to create and edit OLiVER and/or WikiEducator pages...you can use open office to create pages (just like Word) and then convert them to the format that is needed! See this link: Wikieducator_tutorial/Editing_using_open_office
OLiVER Project FAQ
1) What is this wiki supposed to be used for?
The uses of this wiki are only limited by the imaginations of the users. It was started to help educators with relatively new access to the internet to find helpful resources on the web that are aligned with their national curricula. It can also be used by educators and students anywhere to share resources, collaboratively create new resources, or collaboratively create curricula. How would you like to use it?
2) What makes this site special?
There are many great websites that organize educational resources and allow educational collaboration, but OLiVER is the only one that explicitly ties the resources to a topic within a specified national curriculum, making it more readily useful to new internet users in those countries. And it also has the capability to do much more...
3) How do I know where I should add new content?
If you have a specific area of expertise or knowledge, you look for subject areas within specific countries' national curricula to add resources. If you work with a national curriculum and you don't have firsthand knowledge of that particular curriculum, just be careful that the resources you add are directly applicable to the skills specified in that country's curriculum, and are easily navigable for someone who may not be an experienced internet user.
4) I would like to help, but I'm not an educator or a librarian. What can I do to help?
There is lots to do! You can proofread, fix grammar and typographical errors, test and fix broken links, or improve the formatting in existing pages if you are familiar with wiki editing. You can also spread the word to other education communities that might find the OLiVER Project useful. See our OLiVER Project: Community Portal task list.
5) I want to start a section for my country's national curriculum. How can I do this?
If you have a copy of the national curriculum and the desire to include it in the OLiVER Project, then you can do it. Begin by reading some of the WikiEducator help about creating new pages. You can then study existing country portals to see how they are organized and to examine the formatting that is used on those pages. Then...start creating the necessary pages. Ask other OLiVER users for help. And don't worry if it isn't perfect the first time. You can do your best to get it started, and then let others with more editing and formatting experience help you to improve it.
Helpful tips from OLiVER users
- I find the Cheat Sheet to be especially helpful if you're new at this like me, and are trying to learn how to create pages with the required syntax (Ryan W.)
- (add more comments here...)
