mackzoore sb
(Santa Barbara - United States)I currently teach middle school science and math at the Laguna Blanca school in scenic Santa Barbara. I previously taught at the American Nicaraguan School in Managua, where I developed curriculum and taught physics, conceptual physics and earth ...
Curriki Samplers:
More Info: About the Resource Repository
Tip: Join Curriki so you can edit, build up, organize, copy, comment on, rate, flag, and nominate resources.
-
- Contributed By: Curriki Team
Creating a group on Curriki is a great way to develop a small community within the larger global education and learning community. Your group can be based on shared interests, organizational affiliation, a specific curriculum development project, or whatever activity you feel will benefit from a shared space for a group of Curriki members.
What can Curriki groups do?
When you create a group on Curriki you create a space for the work of a project group, including the following pages, which are organized for your group in a tabbed display:
Navigate through each area by clicking on the appropriate tab. For more information about each tab, continue reading the Groups section of the Help Collection. You may also want to watch the Groups Overview video tutorial.
What can Curriki groups do?
- Share a group space for accessing group tools and resources
- Collaborate on building and editing curricula
- Use a message board to communicate about the group in general, or about specific group projects or events
- Grow to include new members
- Highlight group curricula and activities for use or participation by the rest of the Curriki community
When you create a group on Curriki you create a space for the work of a project group, including the following pages, which are organized for your group in a tabbed display:
- Home
- Messages
- Curriculum
- Members
- Documentation
Navigate through each area by clicking on the appropriate tab. For more information about each tab, continue reading the Groups section of the Help Collection. You may also want to watch the Groups Overview video tutorial.
A group leader chooses a membership policy for the group they create when they complete the Create a New Group form. The type of membership policy for a group determines what non-members can see and do when they visit a group's space on Curriki.
Currently, there are two types of group membership policies:
1. Open Membership - Any Curriki member can join without approval or nomination.
2. Closed Membership - Curriki members must be invited and accepted to join.
Groups with an open membership policy are generally referred to as "open groups," while those with a closed membership policy are referred to as "closed groups."
Why would a group have a membership policy of open versus closed? Curriki offers the capability of creating a closed group in case the group's collaboration and communications are intended for a specific set of participants. For example, a group that is associated through an organization or school and wants to focus on a specific project without the input of people outside of their organization or school may decide to keep their group closed.
Currently, there are two types of group membership policies:
1. Open Membership - Any Curriki member can join without approval or nomination.
2. Closed Membership - Curriki members must be invited and accepted to join.
Groups with an open membership policy are generally referred to as "open groups," while those with a closed membership policy are referred to as "closed groups."
Why would a group have a membership policy of open versus closed? Curriki offers the capability of creating a closed group in case the group's collaboration and communications are intended for a specific set of participants. For example, a group that is associated through an organization or school and wants to focus on a specific project without the input of people outside of their organization or school may decide to keep their group closed.
Being a member of a group gives you special access to the features and content on your group's pages. As a group member, you will be able to:
Anyone who is a Curriki member is eligible to become a member of a group. You may want to watch the How to Join a Group video tutorial to get a visual presentation of these methods.
There are several ways to start participating in a group, depending on what type of membership policy that group has (open or closed) and can be summarized as follows:
1) Join an Open Group
2) Be Invited to Join an Open or Closed Group
3) Request Membership in a Closed Group
- Access the group from My Groups in My Curriki
- Send messages to the group using the Messages tab
- Create curriculum collections for this group
- See any curriculum resources that are only viewable by group members
- For closed groups, see other members of the group
- Invite other Curriki members to join the group
- Edit personal settings for the group from the Members list on the Members tab
- And more!
Anyone who is a Curriki member is eligible to become a member of a group. You may want to watch the How to Join a Group video tutorial to get a visual presentation of these methods.
There are several ways to start participating in a group, depending on what type of membership policy that group has (open or closed) and can be summarized as follows:
1) Join an Open Group
- Any Curriki member or non-member can join an open group.
- If a group is open, you will see the "Join This Group" button on the Home and Members tabs for that group.
- Click the button. You'll be asked to complete and submit a short form (see details below). Once you click "Join," you are a member of the group.
2) Be Invited to Join an Open or Closed Group
- Any Curriki member or non-member can be invited to join a group by another member or the leader of that group. Group leaders are able to view any pending invitations on the Members tab.
- Invitations are currently sent as emails to the invited member's registered email address for their Curriki account. Inside the email is a link to click in order to proceed in joining the group.
- If you receive an invitation, the link in the email will take you to the form on Curriki that will enable you to become a member of the group (see details below). Once you complete and submit that form, you are a member.
3) Request Membership in a Closed Group
- If a group is closed, a Curriki member must complete a membership request, and can only join after they have been accepted into the group by one of the group leaders.
- The "Request Membership" button on the Home tab for a closed group will bring the potential group member to a form where s/he can enter biographical information and describe why s/he would make a good contributor/participant in this closed group (see details below).
- Group leaders can review and react to pending membership requests on the Members tab.
- You will receive an email notification once the group leader has accepted your request, then you can visit and participate in the group at any time.
- Fill in a short bio that will appear on the member’s tab.
- Select the role(s) you plan to fill for the group. For more information, see the Group Roles section of the Help Collection.
- Check your group notification settings.
A group role helps you define how active you plan to be in the group. When you create a group, by default new members have the choice of being either an "Affiliate" of the group or a "Contributor/Participant."
Being an Affiliate means you want to keep track of the group and be connected to it, but don't expect to contribute or participate actively in the work of the group. An Affiliate member is more like an observer.
Being a Contributor/Participant means you want to play an active role in the group.
Some group leaders may choose to create custom roles for their groups. If a group was working on collaboratively developing a curriculum, for instance, they may want to have roles like Author, Editor, Fact-Checker, Graphic Designer, Subject Matter Expert, and Proofreader.
In addition, groups can use Roles on the Messages tab to better communicate with certain sub-sets of members performing certain functions within the group. You can send custom messages to a particular role rather than sending out blanket updates that may not apply to the entire group. You can also filter messages based on any roles you have chosen for yourself. See the Messages tab section of the Help Collection for more details.
Being an Affiliate means you want to keep track of the group and be connected to it, but don't expect to contribute or participate actively in the work of the group. An Affiliate member is more like an observer.
Being a Contributor/Participant means you want to play an active role in the group.
Some group leaders may choose to create custom roles for their groups. If a group was working on collaboratively developing a curriculum, for instance, they may want to have roles like Author, Editor, Fact-Checker, Graphic Designer, Subject Matter Expert, and Proofreader.
In addition, groups can use Roles on the Messages tab to better communicate with certain sub-sets of members performing certain functions within the group. You can send custom messages to a particular role rather than sending out blanket updates that may not apply to the entire group. You can also filter messages based on any roles you have chosen for yourself. See the Messages tab section of the Help Collection for more details.
If you would like to collaborate with other Curriki members but cannot find a group that addresses the area you are looking for, you can create a new group! To get started,
When completing the Create a New Group form, you will fill in several empty fields and make a series of selections for various types of group settings. Following is some useful information to note when creating a new group, editing the information for a group, or trying to understand the various group settings.
Group Name
This appears throughout the Curriki site whenever your group's masthead appears. It is also used in the real URL for your group. If at some point you change the name, the real URL will not change, but the name displayed for the group will change everywhere it is displayed on-screen. For instance, if a group is originally named "Curriki Leaders," the real URL will show this at the end: /Group_CurrikiLeadersGroup/. If renamed to "Curriki Leaders Forum," the real URL will continue to show /Group_CurrikiLeadersGroup/ even if the masthead now reflects the new name.
Group Description
This appears throughout the Curriki site whenever your group's masthead appears. Please note that you can use HTML in this field, but should be extremely careful to check your work both within your group's Home tab and on My Groups in My Curriki to ensure that it appears properly.
Group's Web Address
The form offers a space for you to create a special "redirect" URL for a group's web address. What you enter in this space sits in front of the rest of the web address ".groups.curriki.org". For instance, for Curriki Leaders, the word inserted was "leaders," so the special redirect URL for that group is: http://leaders.groups.curriki.org. When someone enters that redirect into their web browser, it will take them to the Home tab for Curriki Leaders. Once there, the real URL will be displayed in the browser. This feature enables people to create a shorter, more memorable web address for easier sharing and promotions.
Membership Policy
The membership policy determines what non-members can see and do when they visit your group's space on Curriki. To learn more, see the Group Membership Policies section of the Help Collection
Subject and Level
Here group leaders pick the subject and education level that best matches the group’s purpose. Curriki uses the subject area to display this group through the "Browse Groups by Subject" page, and uses both the subject and education level as filters when searching for groups.
Language
Selecting a language here will do two things when this and other features are enabled:
1) This will function as the default setting for any resources created as part of a group; any resource, folder, or collection that is created or added by the group would by default take this language setting. (The setting can always be changed during the add/create process.)
2) People will be able to search for a group that is associated with a language, so that they can find a group communicating in their language of choice, and creating/adding resources in this language.
Please note that currently this setting is not being applied as the default as described under (1) above; however, if your group's language is something other than English, you should still make the appropriate selection when you create a group.
Default License Policy
The license policy determines how the intellectual property your group creates/adds may be used or reused. This setting will make every resource, folder, or collection created as part of your group automatically take this default. (This setting can always be changed during the add/create process).
Default Access Privileges
The Access Privilege determines who outside of your group has access to view and/or edit the content your group contributes. This setting will make every resource, folder, or collection created as part of your group automatically take this default. (However, the setting can always be changed during the add/create process.)
For more information, you may wish to review the following sections of the Help Collection:
- Watch the How to Create a Group video tutorial
- Visit this page: http://www.curriki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Groups/AboutCreatingGroups (this link is also available from the Global Left Nav, “Create a New Group”).
- At the bottom of the page you will see the “Create a New Group” button.
- Click the button to get to the Create a New Group Form.
When completing the Create a New Group form, you will fill in several empty fields and make a series of selections for various types of group settings. Following is some useful information to note when creating a new group, editing the information for a group, or trying to understand the various group settings.
Group Name
This appears throughout the Curriki site whenever your group's masthead appears. It is also used in the real URL for your group. If at some point you change the name, the real URL will not change, but the name displayed for the group will change everywhere it is displayed on-screen. For instance, if a group is originally named "Curriki Leaders," the real URL will show this at the end: /Group_CurrikiLeadersGroup/. If renamed to "Curriki Leaders Forum," the real URL will continue to show /Group_CurrikiLeadersGroup/ even if the masthead now reflects the new name.
Group Description
This appears throughout the Curriki site whenever your group's masthead appears. Please note that you can use HTML in this field, but should be extremely careful to check your work both within your group's Home tab and on My Groups in My Curriki to ensure that it appears properly.
Group's Web Address
The form offers a space for you to create a special "redirect" URL for a group's web address. What you enter in this space sits in front of the rest of the web address ".groups.curriki.org". For instance, for Curriki Leaders, the word inserted was "leaders," so the special redirect URL for that group is: http://leaders.groups.curriki.org. When someone enters that redirect into their web browser, it will take them to the Home tab for Curriki Leaders. Once there, the real URL will be displayed in the browser. This feature enables people to create a shorter, more memorable web address for easier sharing and promotions.
Membership Policy
The membership policy determines what non-members can see and do when they visit your group's space on Curriki. To learn more, see the Group Membership Policies section of the Help Collection
Subject and Level
Here group leaders pick the subject and education level that best matches the group’s purpose. Curriki uses the subject area to display this group through the "Browse Groups by Subject" page, and uses both the subject and education level as filters when searching for groups.
Language
Selecting a language here will do two things when this and other features are enabled:
1) This will function as the default setting for any resources created as part of a group; any resource, folder, or collection that is created or added by the group would by default take this language setting. (The setting can always be changed during the add/create process.)
2) People will be able to search for a group that is associated with a language, so that they can find a group communicating in their language of choice, and creating/adding resources in this language.
Please note that currently this setting is not being applied as the default as described under (1) above; however, if your group's language is something other than English, you should still make the appropriate selection when you create a group.
Default License Policy
The license policy determines how the intellectual property your group creates/adds may be used or reused. This setting will make every resource, folder, or collection created as part of your group automatically take this default. (This setting can always be changed during the add/create process).
Default Access Privileges
The Access Privilege determines who outside of your group has access to view and/or edit the content your group contributes. This setting will make every resource, folder, or collection created as part of your group automatically take this default. (However, the setting can always be changed during the add/create process.)
For more information, you may wish to review the following sections of the Help Collection:
As the creator of a group, you are automatically assigned the status of "group leader," which provides you with a special role. When working as a group leader in a group, you see a different view of your group's tabs and pages than regular members in your group. This is because you have certain administrative rights and privileges that regular group members do not.
The main differences for group leaders are:
You will mostly define your role as a leader in the way that suits the needs and expectations of your particular group. Often group leaders help to define and document best practices for the group. Starting a group is a commitment to making a useful and active area for your group's members within the wider Curriki community.
If yours is a closed group, you must accept or deny membership requests from Curriki members who apply to join your group. Depending on your member settings, you can receive email notifications each time someone submits a membership request. You can view and react to any pending requests on the Members tab for your group.
What to do after you Create a New Group
The only required step is that you start inviting new members!
You can also edit the masthead for your group to include a custom image for your group, create the optional Welcome section for your group's Home tab, and (optionally) you can edit the "About" messages at the top of the Messages, Curriculum, and Members tabs. To do this, just click the "Edit" link at the right of the blue bar for the section you'd like to customize. You may wish to edit your own profile on the Members tab; click "Edit Settings" by your name to insert a bio.
You can also create custom "roles" for members in your group to choose from when they join your group. Use the link "Manage Roles" on the Members tab, at the top right of the Members listing. For more information, see the Group Roles section of the Help Collection.
Depending on the intended use of your group, you may wish to establish a structured list of curriculum collections on the Curriculum tab so that group members can easily add into or edit your group's curriculum offering. Read more about the Curriculum tab in the Groups section of the Help Collection.
Finally, because you created a new group, you were automatically added as a member of the Curriki Leaders group, a group to help support you as a group leader. See the About the Curriki Leaders Group section of the Help Collection to learn more about this group, or you can also visit the group at http://leaders.groups.curriki.org.
The main differences for group leaders are:
- You will see "Edit" links for the editable areas of the group such as the information settings and group description.
- You can edit and delete anything created in the group, including other members' messages and any group collections or member contributions.
- You can remove a member from the group.
- You can "Manage Roles" for your group using the Members tab.
- On the Members tab, you can see filters for the Members list. In an open group, you can see current members and outstanding invitations; in a closed group, you will see in addition any pending membership requests as well as a list of denied members. For closed groups, you will need to accept or deny membership requests from this location.
You will mostly define your role as a leader in the way that suits the needs and expectations of your particular group. Often group leaders help to define and document best practices for the group. Starting a group is a commitment to making a useful and active area for your group's members within the wider Curriki community.
If yours is a closed group, you must accept or deny membership requests from Curriki members who apply to join your group. Depending on your member settings, you can receive email notifications each time someone submits a membership request. You can view and react to any pending requests on the Members tab for your group.
What to do after you Create a New Group
The only required step is that you start inviting new members!
You can also edit the masthead for your group to include a custom image for your group, create the optional Welcome section for your group's Home tab, and (optionally) you can edit the "About" messages at the top of the Messages, Curriculum, and Members tabs. To do this, just click the "Edit" link at the right of the blue bar for the section you'd like to customize. You may wish to edit your own profile on the Members tab; click "Edit Settings" by your name to insert a bio.
You can also create custom "roles" for members in your group to choose from when they join your group. Use the link "Manage Roles" on the Members tab, at the top right of the Members listing. For more information, see the Group Roles section of the Help Collection.
Depending on the intended use of your group, you may wish to establish a structured list of curriculum collections on the Curriculum tab so that group members can easily add into or edit your group's curriculum offering. Read more about the Curriculum tab in the Groups section of the Help Collection.
Finally, because you created a new group, you were automatically added as a member of the Curriki Leaders group, a group to help support you as a group leader. See the About the Curriki Leaders Group section of the Help Collection to learn more about this group, or you can also visit the group at http://leaders.groups.curriki.org.
Curriki Leaders is a group administered and facilitated by Curriki staff to support group leaders in their use of Curriki features and tools.
When you create a new group, you become the leader for that group, and you are automatically added as a member of Curriki Leaders. You will see the masthead for Curriki Leaders appear in My Groups in My Curriki, and can access the group from there.
Curriki staff members often send out information to the Curriki Leaders group first, including:
Visit the Curriki Leaders group at http://leaders.groups.curriki.org.
When you create a new group, you become the leader for that group, and you are automatically added as a member of Curriki Leaders. You will see the masthead for Curriki Leaders appear in My Groups in My Curriki, and can access the group from there.
Curriki staff members often send out information to the Curriki Leaders group first, including:
- Important announcements about upcoming site changes.
- Calls for feedback on specific features that are being added to the site.
- Tips to help you use the site more effectively.
- Requests for suggestions to improve Curriki.
Visit the Curriki Leaders group at http://leaders.groups.curriki.org.
The Home tab is the default starting point for anyone who comes to visit or participate in your group.
It consists of the following sections:
Masthead
This displays the group name or title in the blue "header bar," the group logo, and the group description.
This same set of content displays when your group appears in a list, such as on a member's My Groups in My Curriki. In those locations, however, there is a "View This Group" link in the blue header bar that links to this Home tab.
Group leaders can see an "Edit" link when they view this section on their group's Home tab. By clicking this link, the group leader can change the group name or title, the group description, and the group logo.
Welcome
A group leader may edit this section so that it provides more details about the group’s projects, goals, membership, or plans. This section can display HTML content, but group leaders should be careful to check that the work displays correctly.
Recent Group Activity on the Home Tab
This section of a group's Home tab highlights the five most recent actions for the group, such as new messages posted, new members joined, new resources added, wiki page edited, etc. Each announcement is hyperlinked to the relevant content, so this section offers quick access to new or recently changed information.
From this area you can subscribe to the group’s RSS feed. For details, see the Using RSS Feeds with Groups section of the Help Collection.
Information Settings
A group leader selects these settings when completing the Create a New Group form. Please see the section How to Create a Group in the Curriki Help Collection for more details about this part of the Home tab.
Group Contributions
This section offers quick access to any curriculum resources that have been added or created by members of the group in the Curriki repository. (This section also appears on the group's Curriculum tab.)
By clicking "View All," you can see a table showing every individual contribution from this group, including all levels -- collections, folders, or individual resources.
You can also search the group's contributions here. If your search terms match any of the group's contributions, you will see the results displayed on the page that appears after you click "Go."
Note that if a group's resources take the "Private" setting under Access Privileges, anyone who is not a member of the group cannot view them.
Membership Information
This area of the group's Home tab differs based on whether you are a member of the group, and whether the group is open or closed. (This section also appears on the group's Members tab.)
This section changes as follows:
It consists of the following sections:Masthead
This displays the group name or title in the blue "header bar," the group logo, and the group description.
This same set of content displays when your group appears in a list, such as on a member's My Groups in My Curriki. In those locations, however, there is a "View This Group" link in the blue header bar that links to this Home tab.
Group leaders can see an "Edit" link when they view this section on their group's Home tab. By clicking this link, the group leader can change the group name or title, the group description, and the group logo.
Welcome
A group leader may edit this section so that it provides more details about the group’s projects, goals, membership, or plans. This section can display HTML content, but group leaders should be careful to check that the work displays correctly.
Recent Group Activity on the Home Tab
This section of a group's Home tab highlights the five most recent actions for the group, such as new messages posted, new members joined, new resources added, wiki page edited, etc. Each announcement is hyperlinked to the relevant content, so this section offers quick access to new or recently changed information.
From this area you can subscribe to the group’s RSS feed. For details, see the Using RSS Feeds with Groups section of the Help Collection.
Information Settings
A group leader selects these settings when completing the Create a New Group form. Please see the section How to Create a Group in the Curriki Help Collection for more details about this part of the Home tab.
Group Contributions
This section offers quick access to any curriculum resources that have been added or created by members of the group in the Curriki repository. (This section also appears on the group's Curriculum tab.)
By clicking "View All," you can see a table showing every individual contribution from this group, including all levels -- collections, folders, or individual resources.
You can also search the group's contributions here. If your search terms match any of the group's contributions, you will see the results displayed on the page that appears after you click "Go."
Note that if a group's resources take the "Private" setting under Access Privileges, anyone who is not a member of the group cannot view them.
Membership Information
This area of the group's Home tab differs based on whether you are a member of the group, and whether the group is open or closed. (This section also appears on the group's Members tab.)
This section changes as follows:
- As a member of either an open or closed group, you will see an "Invite" link, which can be used to access the Invite form.
- If the group is open, any non-member will see a "Join This Group" button, which can be used to access the Join form and become a member.
- If you are not a member of a closed group, you will see a "Request Membership" button, which can be used to access the Request Membership form to begin that process.
The Messages tab serves as the hub for communications that take place between group members. (Note that for closed groups, the Messages tab is not accessible to non-members; users will see the tab but will see alternate messaging instead of the sections that a group member would see.)
The messages tab consists of the following sections:
About Messages
This section shows a Curriki-provided explanation of the Messages tab, unless the group leader chooses to edit this explanation to show more or different information. For instance, a group leader could use this space to display best practices for messaging to the group, tips on formatting messages, prompts to review certain important messages, etc.
Create a New Message
This section offers the "Create" button that group members use to start composing a new message. Clicking the "Create" button will bring up the page where you can enter the subject or title for a message and create its contents.
When you create a new message, you have the option to send your message to the entire group, to an individual member or members within the group, or -- if your group has roles -- to a group of members based on their role. Note that you can only send role-based messages if you yourself are a member of that role group. Group leaders who wish to frequently send out messages based on the member role should edit their profile to select all roles for the group.
You can also decide if you want, along with posting the message in your group, to send email notification to recipients of the message (which will only work if the recipients have allowed email notification in their group settings).
Messages List
This list shows any existing messages for the group, with the newest messages appearing at the top. Click the message title or the "View" link to see the full contents of a message and to add a comment or attachment to the message.
Messages cannot be deleted once they are submitted, however the Group leader is able to edit a message once it is posted.
The messages tab consists of the following sections:About Messages
This section shows a Curriki-provided explanation of the Messages tab, unless the group leader chooses to edit this explanation to show more or different information. For instance, a group leader could use this space to display best practices for messaging to the group, tips on formatting messages, prompts to review certain important messages, etc.
Create a New Message
This section offers the "Create" button that group members use to start composing a new message. Clicking the "Create" button will bring up the page where you can enter the subject or title for a message and create its contents.
When you create a new message, you have the option to send your message to the entire group, to an individual member or members within the group, or -- if your group has roles -- to a group of members based on their role. Note that you can only send role-based messages if you yourself are a member of that role group. Group leaders who wish to frequently send out messages based on the member role should edit their profile to select all roles for the group.
You can also decide if you want, along with posting the message in your group, to send email notification to recipients of the message (which will only work if the recipients have allowed email notification in their group settings).
Messages List
This list shows any existing messages for the group, with the newest messages appearing at the top. Click the message title or the "View" link to see the full contents of a message and to add a comment or attachment to the message.
Messages cannot be deleted once they are submitted, however the Group leader is able to edit a message once it is posted.
The Curriculum tab serves as the main location for creating and organizing the group's curriculum collections, and for viewing or searching the group's contributions.
It consists of the following sections:
About Curriculum
This section shows a Curriki-provided explanation of the Curriculum tab, unless the group leader chooses to edit this explanation to include more or different information. For example, a group leader could use this space to describe in more detail the curriculum projects or offerings of the group, the process the group uses for contributing resources or creating collections, types of curricular material sought for the group's collections, etc.
Group Contributions
This section offers the "View All" button, which brings you to a table listing every contribution (resource, folder, or collection) that has been added or created in the Curriki repository by the group.
In that "View All Contributions" table, you can view the following information for a collection, folder, or resource: Title, Instructional Component Type, Last Updated, Access Privileges, and File Type. Under the Action heading, you will see links depending on your rights for a given resource.
The View All Contributions table is the ONLY location where a group resource or folder can be permanently deleted. Group leaders and the creator/provider of the resource are the only group members who have the rights to delete that resource.
You can also search the group contributions from this section. The search results listing will resemble the one you see when you search from the header of the Curriki site; however, if you search again from within that search results screen, using the basic or advanced search, any results that match your search criteria will be ONLY those contributions that were created or added by the group.
Group Collections
This shows a listing of any collection(s) created by the group. Group member can click the “Create Group Collection” button to add a new collection to the group’s space. To add resources into an existing collection, be sure to view that collection first, or click “Build Up” next to the collection title.
Click on the Collection Title to view the resource. Links to the right of each collection depend on the rights of the person viewing the list. Options include:
It consists of the following sections:About Curriculum
This section shows a Curriki-provided explanation of the Curriculum tab, unless the group leader chooses to edit this explanation to include more or different information. For example, a group leader could use this space to describe in more detail the curriculum projects or offerings of the group, the process the group uses for contributing resources or creating collections, types of curricular material sought for the group's collections, etc.
Group Contributions
This section offers the "View All" button, which brings you to a table listing every contribution (resource, folder, or collection) that has been added or created in the Curriki repository by the group.
In that "View All Contributions" table, you can view the following information for a collection, folder, or resource: Title, Instructional Component Type, Last Updated, Access Privileges, and File Type. Under the Action heading, you will see links depending on your rights for a given resource.
The View All Contributions table is the ONLY location where a group resource or folder can be permanently deleted. Group leaders and the creator/provider of the resource are the only group members who have the rights to delete that resource.
You can also search the group contributions from this section. The search results listing will resemble the one you see when you search from the header of the Curriki site; however, if you search again from within that search results screen, using the basic or advanced search, any results that match your search criteria will be ONLY those contributions that were created or added by the group.
Group Collections
This shows a listing of any collection(s) created by the group. Group member can click the “Create Group Collection” button to add a new collection to the group’s space. To add resources into an existing collection, be sure to view that collection first, or click “Build Up” next to the collection title.
Click on the Collection Title to view the resource. Links to the right of each collection depend on the rights of the person viewing the list. Options include:
- Add: place this collection into another collection on Curriki
- Build Up: create new resources within the collection such as new wiki blocks, new folders, etc.
- Edit Info: change the metadata or information settings for the collection
- Organize: re-order or remove resources within the collection
- Delete: permanently erase the collection (Note that collections can be deleted here or in the View All Contributions table described above.)
The Members tab serves as the main location for viewing the current list of group members, and for individual members editing their member settings for the group. (Note that for closed groups, the Members tab is not accessible to non-members; users will see the tab but will see alternate messaging instead of the sections that a group member would see.)
This tab consists of the following sections:
About Members
This section shows a Curriki-provided explanation of the Members tab, unless the group leader chooses to edit this explanation to include more or different information. For example, if a group is working on a specific curriculum development project and needs subject matter experts in a specific content area, the group leader could use this section as a "Call for Participation," soliciting members who possess the required content knowledge.
Membership Information
This section displays different content depending on whether or not you are a member of the group. If you are not a member, it will show the "Join This Group" button; if you are a member, it will show the "Invite New Member" button.
Members
This list shows current group members. Group leaders can filter this list to display different lists; see the section Notes for Group Leaders in the Curriki Help Collection for more details.
Group leaders can "Manage Roles" from this location, creating custom roles for members in their groups. See the Group Roles section for more details.
Each group member profile includes a link to that member's My Curriki profile, as well as an optional bio that is custom for the group. A member can use the "Edit Settings" link to create or update their bio for the group, select or change their role in the group, or change their notifications options.
This tab consists of the following sections:About Members
This section shows a Curriki-provided explanation of the Members tab, unless the group leader chooses to edit this explanation to include more or different information. For example, if a group is working on a specific curriculum development project and needs subject matter experts in a specific content area, the group leader could use this section as a "Call for Participation," soliciting members who possess the required content knowledge.
Membership Information
This section displays different content depending on whether or not you are a member of the group. If you are not a member, it will show the "Join This Group" button; if you are a member, it will show the "Invite New Member" button.
Members
This list shows current group members. Group leaders can filter this list to display different lists; see the section Notes for Group Leaders in the Curriki Help Collection for more details.
Group leaders can "Manage Roles" from this location, creating custom roles for members in their groups. See the Group Roles section for more details.
Each group member profile includes a link to that member's My Curriki profile, as well as an optional bio that is custom for the group. A member can use the "Edit Settings" link to create or update their bio for the group, select or change their role in the group, or change their notifications options.
The Documentation tab can serve as a central location for any supporting materials and information that your group uses to organize their work and communications.
Unlike the materials you add into curriculum collections from the Curriculum tab, the files you upload and/or the wiki pages you create on the Documentation tab are not part of the Curriki repository of educational resources, so they are not tagged with the standard information settings, and are not searchable.
Suggested documentation to share using this tab include:
On the Documentation tab, you can:
Unlike the materials you add into curriculum collections from the Curriculum tab, the files you upload and/or the wiki pages you create on the Documentation tab are not part of the Curriki repository of educational resources, so they are not tagged with the standard information settings, and are not searchable.
Suggested documentation to share using this tab include:
- a project schedule
- an agenda for a conference call
- an editorial style guide
- a presentation about your group's processes
- a plan for completing a set of tasks
On the Documentation tab, you can:
- Create a wiki page
- Upload a file
- View pages and files already added by other group members
- Depending on your rights as a member of a group, you can also edit others' wiki pages.
RSS feeds from Curriki will help you keep on top of any updates and activity on your favorite groups by sending notices to your RSS Reader (i.e. Google Reader). If you've never used an RSS feed before, you may want to watch this video first: http://www.commoncraft.com/rss_plain_english. It will help you understand how RSS feeds work and what you need to do to set up your reader.
Once you have a reader ready, you can select to receive feeds from your favorite Curriki Groups by going to your group's Home tab and clicking "RSS" next to "Recent Group Activity".
This feed will keep you informed when new members join your group, new documents are posted, messages are added, and more.
Remember, if you are part of a closed group, you will need to be logged in to read the full content of the feed. Log on to Curriki in another browser window before clicking on the contents of the feed, or select "remember me" when logging on, which will generate a cookie that automatically logs you into the site each time you return. Please note: you may need to lower the restrictions setting on cookies in order to properly view an RSS feed. Make sure that your browser is set to accept all cookies from Curriki.org in order to avoid any of these problems.
Once you have a reader ready, you can select to receive feeds from your favorite Curriki Groups by going to your group's Home tab and clicking "RSS" next to "Recent Group Activity".
This feed will keep you informed when new members join your group, new documents are posted, messages are added, and more.Remember, if you are part of a closed group, you will need to be logged in to read the full content of the feed. Log on to Curriki in another browser window before clicking on the contents of the feed, or select "remember me" when logging on, which will generate a cookie that automatically logs you into the site each time you return. Please note: you may need to lower the restrictions setting on cookies in order to properly view an RSS feed. Make sure that your browser is set to accept all cookies from Curriki.org in order to avoid any of these problems.
