Learning4Content/Workshops/eL4C52/Announcements

Instructions: Day 1
Getting started We recommend that you view the short screencast video to assist with navigating the course materials in the wiki.

If you're like me an prefer to get started immediately - please pass begin and go directly to day 1 :-)

Instructions

Day 1 is pretty relaxed, and you will find the instructions and assignment for the first day of the workshop from the course homepage in the wiki. Wikis are a forgiving technology and they encourage experimentation.

Be bold try an edit. See intructions: http://wikieducator.org/Learning4Content/Workshops/eL4C52/Home (see under the course materials box) Alternatively you can go directly to the course schedule page in the wiki. You have one easy assignment today -- that is to introduce yourself in the wiki (instructions provided under the course materials for Day 1)

If you get stuck -- don't worry. Our WikiEducator motto is: Just try it, our community will support you!

Wiki's come with a health warning -- they can be addictive, but we're going to have lots of fun. Let's make OER futures happen for the world!

Instructions: Day 2
Kia ora, Bula, Hallo everyone :-)

Welcome to Day 2 of our wiki workshop. These instructions are for your Thursday. If you have just joined us, you will find the instructions for Day 1 posted in the wiki.

This email provides a copy of the instructions for Day 2 (your Thursday) of our workshop in your inbox. Note that all instructions are linked from our workshop home page. (Bookmark this page in your browser)

I see folk are making great progress with the activities for Day 1 and ahead of time in many parts of the world. Keep experimenting :-). Well done!

Instructions for Day 2

Day 2 is also pretty relaxed -- you will learn more about the amazing world of wikis. Watch our short video introduction and follow the instructions posted in the wiki.

Your assignment for Day 2 is to post ideas and thoughts in the wiki discussion on quality in open authoring systems. You'll find step-by-step instructions for Day 2 listed on the course schedule page.

Get to know your fellow participants and read the introductions posted so far. Wiki's are about experimentation -- be bold and have a bash at posting your own intro. Don't worry - - you can't break anything, if you do, WE can fix it (we promise). Wiki's keep a record of every edit -- so its easy to fix mistakes.

An early heads up -- there will be a community Kudos awards for the participants with the highest number of edits during the workshop -- so get started!

Remember, you can also access the course materials directly from the home page for this workshop:

http://wikieducator.org/Learning4Content/Workshops/eL4C52/Home

WE'll c u in the wiki :-)

Instructions: Day 3
''Welcome to Day 3 of our wiki workshop. These instructions are for your Thursday. If you have just joined us, you will find the instructions for previous Days in the wiki (in the announcement box)''.

Friday's activities are purposefully designed to "create" a gap for those who may need a little time to catch up on the first two days work :-). If you've fallen a little behind, we have the advantage of the weekend to catch up. All you will need is about an hour to work through the activities for the first three days.

It's great to see folk experimenting with wiki skills by introducing themselves in the wiki :-) -- Do take a look.

I see that that our introduction page has recorded + 1,000 page views. Clearly participants are reading our introductions in the the wiki. Don't be shy -- join in and get your feet wet -- post your into. Don't be missed by your absence ;-)

If you get stuck -- just post your question in the general wiki forum.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR DAY 3

Today we will show you how to edit your user preferences and ask you to complete our WikiEducator survey for new users -- shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes.

Instructions for Day 3

As a wiki workshp, remember the best page to keep track and keep up to date with the workshop is the course homepage: http://wikieducator.org/Learning4Content/Workshops/eL4C52/Home

We'll see you in the wiki!

Instructions: Day 4
''These instructions are for your Monday. If you have just joined us, you will find the instructions for previous Days in the wiki (in the announcement box).''

Kia ora everyone!

We trust that you had a good weekend. I see that a number of participants used the opportunity to catch up after a busy week.

Today we'll start experimenting with basic wiki editing on your user page. You will learn how to format text using using bold, italics, lists, headings and subheadings.

You must demonstrate these skills on your user page or sandbox so you can qualify for your first community certification in WikiEducator :-).

Editing is easy using the rich text editor (but I encourage participants to look at how wiki formating works by clicking on the "Wikitext" icon in the toolbar of the rich editor). After today's session you will have covered the skills for your first wiki certification.

You will find a link to the instructions for Day 4 in the course material box of our home page or you can go directly to Day 4 on the workshop schedule page.

The best way to practice your wiki skills is to find a task or wiki project relating to your real working life. We've posted a few ideas for you to think about and encourage you to sign the optional learning contract (on your user page). We look forward to hearing your thoughts about prospective project ideas in the wiki discussion!

Do take a look at the participant introductions to meet your fellow participants and if you haven't had a chance to post your introduction -- there is no better time than now!

Start working on increasing your edit count in WikiEducator -- we have a community kudos prize for the participant (and facilitator) with the highest edit count during the workshop. (Note: You can view your edit count in the list of participants and compare your progress with others in the group.)

Have a great day!

Instructions: Day 5
''These instructions are for your Tuesday. If you have just joined us, you will find the instructions for previous Days in the wiki (in the announcement box)''.

Congratulations to those participants who have demonstrated the required skills for a Level 1 WikiApprentice :-) Have you achieved the requirements for your first wiki certification? -- (There may be a short time lag depending on your time zone for the facilitation team to complete the  review of the certifications -- we're a large group, and we'll commence work on the certifications over the next 24 hour). Visit our participant list to see who is leading the edit count for this workshop ;-)  What is your edit count so far? Are you on track for being a contender in the community Kudos award for the most edits during the workshop? You should use the skills you learn each day to add information to your user pages. Visit the participant list page and click on the user page links to see what your classmates are doing.

Instructions for Day 5

Day 5 of our workshop will help you to create internal and external links and show you how to create a new page in the wiki. You'll find a link to the instructions for Day 5 on our course home page or you can go directly to the course schedule page for Day 5.

We all have busy schedules, and if you've fallen a little behind - don't worry. It's pretty easy to catch up and Day 5 (Tues) is not as onerous as Day 4 (Mon) - so ample time to catch up. If you have any questions feel free to post these in the wiki. WE are here to help.

CU in the wiki

Instructions: Day 6
''These instructions are for your Wednesday. If you have just joined us, you will find the instructions for previous Days in the wiki (in the announcement box).''

Today you will learn how to upload and manipulate images in WikiEducator. After completing today's activities you can qualify for your 2nd community wiki certification.

(Please note -- due to time zone difference to accommodate colleagues in America, I will complete the evaluations for the first wiki certification tomorrow morning New Zealand time. Sound's complicated but it will all work out :-))

Please refer to the course contents box from your home page for Day 6 or you can go directly to the workshop schedule.

If you have missed out on a day or two's activities -- not too worry. This is a flexible workshop and all the activities and course materials are accessible from the course page. If you can find an hour or two, you should quite easily be able to catch up and join the leader's board for the highest number of edits during the workshop :-)

As you know, WikiEducator is a free content project - - therefore we can only use images which use open content licenses. You can read more about free content here:

http://wikieducator.org/Wikieducator_tutorial/What_is_free_content.

I recommend that when you are practising to upload of images -- choose a photograph which you took. This means you can legally license the content under an open content license. You will asked to choose a license and select a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) or Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike license (CC-BY-SA). We don't have enough time in the workshop to cover all the detail on licensing -- that's for an intermediate level course. However, if you are interested we have a tutorial on Creative Commons licenses.

In the beginning images may be a little confusing -- remember when uploading images, in most cases the image resides on your local machine and there is a process required to upload this to the WikiEducator servers before they can be viewed by other Internet users. It will make sense when you give this a try -- If you get stuck just ask us in the wiki discussion area -- we are here to help.

Have fun and we look forward to awarding your next WikiEducator certification! (In a day or three depending on where you reside ;-) )

Instructions: Day 7
''These instructions are for your Thursday. If you joined us recently, you will find the instructions for previous Days in the wiki (in the announcement box).

Today, New Zealand time, I reviewed progress and awarded certifications for WikiEducator Apprentice Level 1. Congratulations to all our participants who achieved this certification and I see that many participants are well on their way to achieving their 2nd wiki certification.

Many educators have questions relating to open editing in wikis -- particularly if someone else makes a change on your page. Today we will learn how you can monitor edits and how to revert edits.

A side note for anyone who may have fallen a little behind, don't give up, the finishing line is in sight! Besides, today is a little more relaxed so use this time to catch up on images. To be fair, images are perhaps the most complicated aspect in the wiki because it involves uploading files to the WikiEducator server. Once you have mastered images you are well on your way to achieving success on your way to achieving the status of a WikiBuddy in our community!

You'll find a link to the instructions for Day 7 from our course homepage or you can go directly to the course schedule.

Do take a look at the growing number of collaborative project ideas --- jump in an help where you can.

Working together we achieve far more than working alone.

Instructions: Day 8
''These instructions are for your Friday. If you joined us recently, you will find the instructions for previous Days in the wiki (in the announcement box)''.

Wow -- its Friday already (for some of us reading this email in the Pacific region. If not -- the future will happen for you soon -- that's a promise!)

We see quite a few User pages taking shape in the wiki -- We're impressed. Some participants still need to practice their images :-)

Over the weekend I will be reviewing your user pages to see who has achieved their 2nd wiki certification -- celebrate your achievements.

Today we'll have a look at how you can leave a message on the talk page in the wiki (that is discussion page associated with every wiki page). Have a bash and leave a message for one or more of the course participants. You will find the instructions under the course contents box on our homepage or you can go directly to the workshop schedule.

Next week we'll take things easy and we will show you a cool feature to convert existing lesson plans or resources in standard word processing format into wiki syntax for sharing among educators around the world. OERu anchor partner participants will be encouraged to experiment with pedagogical templates.

Have a great weekend. If you can find an hour or so to catch up over the weekend -- that would be great. We're very flexible and do our best to live out our motto: Just try it, our community will support you.