Detailed Instructions

Creating an account is quite easy. As you work through the detailed steps provided here, remember to read the instructions provided on-screen. These are a great help for Newbies to WikiEducator. However, if you feel you would benefit from a little more guidance, carry on reading!

Step 1: Getting to the "Create account" page

Your first activity is to get to the right page where you can create a new account. This is accessed from WikiEducator's home page.

Activity
Enter http://www.wikieducator.org as your url and click on the "log in /create account" link highlighted above An Internet connection is required for this activity. Open your browser (e.g. Firefox, Mozilla, Safari, Internet explorer). Direct your browser to the WikiEducator home page: http://wikieducator.org by typing in the following website address: http://www.wikieducator.org Remember to press your <enter> key. On the top right hand corner of your screen, you will see a link called "log in / create account" Click on this link which will take you to the "Create account" page. Follow the instructions provided on screen, or read further. Visit the Show me how video for a practical demonstration. (Not advised for low bandwidth connections.)

Step 2: Click on the "Create an account" link

WikiEducator distinguishes between two types of users:

1. Users who already have a log in account
2. New users who don't yet have an account. (As you are working through this tutorial we expect that you fall into this category).

The next activity demonstrates how new users can get to the correct screen for creating a new account.

Activity
Click on the "Create an account" link shown above An Internet connection is required for this activity. Click on the blue link called "Create account" Tip: Remember that you must have an account with WikiEducator before entering details into the Username and Password text fields. In training workshops we have noticed that some participants enter a Username and Password at this time before creating an account on WikiEducator. This won't work because WikiEducator will not have access to your login details that you use on other systems. Once you have created an account on WikiEducator you can fill in your Username and Password on this screen to log in. If you make a mistake, don't worry - just follow the steps again and click on the blue "Create an account" link. Visit the Show me how video for a practical demonstration. (Not advised for low bandwidth connections.) Web sites that accept postings from the public, like this wiki, are often abused by spammers who use automated tools to post their unwanted links to many sites. As a mechanism to deal with this problem, WikiEducator uses a Captcha feature to prevent automated spam on the site. When you create an account for the first time on WikiEducator, you will see a graphic displaying distorted text characters (see screenshot image below). Computers cannot "read" the letters displayed in the graphic, so they must be entered by a human. In this way we can manage the electronic spam problem where computers search the Internet hoping, for example to publish unwanted advertising on different sites. Dealing with the Captcha In the next part of this activity we will show you how to enter the letters from the Captcha feature before completing your registration particulars. The first step is to decipher the letters displayed in the graphic, and to enter these in the text box provided below the distorted characters. Note that these are case sensitive which means that you cannot use capital letters when the graphic uses lower case letters. Check to see that your <Caps Lock> key is off. In the example below, the letters wintmund are displayed in the graphic. The user must type the same letter combination in the text box provided below. When you create your account, you will inevitably be given a different combination of letters, so don't use the same letters provided in this example. Tip: Sometimes the letters are hard to decipher. There are two things you can do: Try changing the distance between your eyes and the computer screen. This will help to improve your focus in order to decipher the letters. If you find the letters are too difficult to decipher, press the "Refresh" button of your browser so that WikiEducator generates a new combination of letters, which may be easier to read. Choose a Username After typing in these letters, choose a Username for yourself. Many people like to use a shortened version of their name or alternatively a combination of initials and surname. For example Wendy Green may choose the Username: wgreen. Remember that most systems are case sensitive, so you will need to remember whether you have used capital or small letters. This is the Username you will used every time you log in to WikiEducator, so choose something that you can remember easily. Choose a Password You will now need to choose your own password for WikiEducator. Enter this in the space provided. To avoid typing errors with your password, you are required to re-enter your password immediately after the first password box. Remember that passwords are also case sensitive. Email address Type in your email address. This is optional, however it is useful to enter your email address because in the event that you forget your password, the system will be able to email this back to you on request. Type in your real name. This field is also optional, and is used for attribution purposes when people want to cite or use content you have created on WikiEducator. Don't worry if make a mistake with deciphering the letters. If you get this wrong the system will automatically provide you with a new combination of letters you can try. If you get stuck, ask someone to help you or read the instructions provided on screen. Visit the Show me how video for a practical demonstration. (Not advised for low bandwidth connections.)

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