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 "Log in/ create account" page or go directly 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 second 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 an 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 log-in 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 ReCaptcha 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 to the right, the letters Roosevelt mapping are displayed in the graphic. The user must type the same letter combination in the text field provided below. (Note: When you create your account, you will inevitably be given a different combination of letters.) Tip: Sometimes the letters are hard to decipher. There are three 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. Use the audio clip button to listen to an audio cue which you must then type into the text field. This will generally be a short sentence. 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. Choosing 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". The WikiEducator log-in is case sensitive, so you will need to remember whether you have used capital or lower case letters. This is the username you will use every time you log in to WikiEducator, so choose something that you can remember easily. Choosing 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. Entering optional information 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. Visit the Show me how video for a practical demonstration. (Not advised for low bandwidth connections.)

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