User talk:Teachers Network/FLOSS4EduIndia Teachers Network/Planing

What is the purpose of creating /my sandbox/ link?
The purpose of the /my sandbox/ link from a User Page is to create a dedicated place for users to practice their wiki skills. The "/" in front and behind the words "my sandbox" instructs the wiki to create a new page that is a sub-page of the User Page. (If you don't use the backslashes ("/") - the page sandbox will be a single page that is not a sub-page of the user page.

How do you address design issues related to content upload and subsequent editing?
Learning design and development of distance education materials is a recursive process. Typically the development of DE resource will go through multiple iterations and improvements. Therefore the wiki environment is particularly well suited to the recursive design processes. In the wiki environment we try to achieve the following:


 * Encourage participation from a wide range of professionals working on the same content pages (e.g. subject matter experts, learning designers, people with specific skills in layout and visual design, language editors.)
 * Start off with a content outline page where you plan the structure of the content you are planning to develop - that is the subsections and structure of your project. At this stage, you don't need to create the actual sub-pages (new page links).
 * Invite feedback and discussion on your proposed content outline from colleagues at different institutions. We use the associate talk page for this purpose.
 * Once you have achieved relevant consensus on the content structure - you can then proceed with identifying the learning objectives for each sub-section.
 * Once you've established the learning objectives - you can then create sub-pages for each subsection of your content development (see for example our [Wikieducator_tutorial|Newbie Tutorials]).
 * Proceed with the development of content inviting wide participation from colleagues and friends
 * Make sure you include meaningful and engaging activities using the Pedagogical Templates.

Is WikiSyntax still being updated?
Yes - the Mediawiki software is a live and dynamic development. Improved features and corresponding syntax to support these features are added as the project grows. Most users will not need to worry about learning all the new features and syntax - unless you want to add complex layout to your content. WikiEducator will continue to develop tutorials to support more advanced use of the wiki in developing free content.

How to look for other users’ page names not visible on “recent changes” page?
You can go to Special pages > User Lists (Special:Listusers) and search for a User name. To protect anonymity - only the Username entered by the user is displayed - so its import to complete your personal details on your own user page. You decided what information and details to provide on your user page.

Why does the user page result in a message saying “page does not exist” even after actual log in etc.?
The message "page does not exist" is displayed because the page does not exist in the database. Common errors made by new users include:


 * Forgetting to click on the Save page button before exiting the page. If you do not click on the save page link - you will lose your recent edits.
 * Page names are case sensitive - so you must use the exact upper- and lower-case letters when referencing wiki pages.

You can check your history of edits by going to your "my contributions" link, displayed after your username at the top of the screen. You must be logged in to use this feature. The wiki keeps track of every edit you make - so there will be a record of all your contributions.

Why do users visiting own pages after some days, cannot access matter posted earlier by them?
The reason is that they are looking in the wrong place. See the previous question. Perhaps the users forgot to save their page ..:-(. The bright side of this mistake is that you do this a few times - its not a good experience to loose your work!

How does the content upload relate to “Wiki-template” and eXe design?
Wiki-templates are a special feature of the Wiki software that enables you to manage the layout and display of content on the page. We are working on finding ways to facilitate easy import and export between WikiEducator and the eXe software. This will be dependent on raising the funding necessary to pay for the development. However, the use of these templates in the wiki will make the transformation easier once we have this functionality completed.

Where and at what stage do we include local communication medium/scripts like Hindi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Gurmukhi, Bangla and so on?
You can begin right now with Hindi (see http://hi.wikieducator.org/) and Tamil (see http://ta.wikieducator.org/ ) as COL has already set up Wikieducator installations for these languages. I will search to see if there are Mediawiki localisations available for the languages you have suggested - if so we will be happy to install these localisations. The challenge is to have enough users to begin development in the different languages. I would encourage users in this group to begin translating the English [Wikieducator_tutorial|Newbie Tutorials] Tutorials on how to use the wiki into Hindi for the Hindi version of WikiEducator.