Help:Frequently Asked Questions

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What is a wiki?

This site is what is know as a wiki. It is an example of Web 2.0 technology. Probably, the most well-known wiki is Wikipedia. Another example of Web 2.0 technology is Youtube. The idea is to maximize user contributions.

What makes a wiki and other Web 2.0 technology different is the ease with which you can contribute. You don't need programming expertise (as with more traditional web pages) to enter and edit text and upload videos.

Greg Monaco 16:45, 9 February 2009 (UTC)

What are some ways to use this site?

This site was developed to share and discuss information!

  • Any registered user can contribute content. Editing Guide
  • The chat tab takes you to a chat room. All chat tabs to the same room. You can leave the chat room at any time by clicking on another link or the back arrow.

Teachers are encouraged to contribute resources that they use.

Students are encouraged to contribute by

  • Answering questions in the Test Yourself section,
  • Writing their own story and putting the story on this site;
  • Conducting an interview related to a topic and posting the interview on the site;
  • Linking to videos, pictures, web pages that us learn more about a topic;
  • Creating your own pages to contribute to the understanding of a topic.

Please be creative!

How can I tell what my students have contributed?

How do I tell whether my students have logged in?

There is no way to check and see if someone has logged into the wiki. You can check for contributions, but no record is made if someone logs in and doesn't contribute content.

Why can students see answers to questions?

The purpose of this site is to share ideas, information, and perspectives on this historical event. Part of a well rounded education is seeing events from multiple perspectives. Students are building on the work of others.

How can I create a page for my school or class?

  1. Go to this page:http://collaboration.greatplains.net/k20/index.php/BvbContribute
  2. Click on the edit tab, which opens up that page for editing in a frame.
  3. At the bottom of the edit frame, add the following: 
 [[myschool|My School]]

When you click the "Show Preview" button, My School will show up as red text.

  1. Click on the Save Page button. This saves the changes.
  2. Click on the My School link. This takes you to a new page, which you and your students can edit.

How can I get help from a real person?

Email support@greatplains.net, and someone will be happy to help you.

How can I collaborate with other teachers?

Your email and account information is private. The best way to collaborate is to use the "discussion" page option.

Each page has an associated "discussion" link for that page. You can go to a page, select the discussion link and then add a discussion comment. Notice that when you are in a discussion, you can select the "+" sign next to the "edit" link and then you have a form to add a specific comment which will follow the others in sequence.

After you add a discussion comment, you select "Save Page" and return to the discussion page. Now, click on the "watch" link that is on the same line as the "edit" link. The word "watch" will turn to "unwatch". Next time a change is made to that discussion page, you will be notified by email.

How can I WATCH pages to see whether changes have been made?

  1. Make sure you are logged in.
  2. Go to the My Preferences link. At the bottom of My Preferences there is an Email section. Check on the option for "E-mail me when a page on my watchlist is changed" and "E-mail me also for minor edits of pages" if you'd like to know about those. (Minor edits happen when the person editing the page checks the minor edit box.)
  3. To watch a particular page, go to that page and click on the Watch link at the top.

Letters to Teachers

  • This is the introductory letter to teachers they will receive after they sign up for an event

There are many link in the left hand sidebar, if you are looking for something, check there first. For example, the links for how to create accounts and the frequently asked questions are located there.

How Teachers Get Accounts

Send email to support@greatplains.net and we will create an account for you. Please be sure to indicate that you are a teacher and the name of your school.

When you have an account, you may either

  1. Send us student names and email addresses and we will create accounts for them,
  2. You may upload a file with student names to create their accounts Special:ImportUsers, * NOTE: This link only works when you have a teacher account.
  3. You may create accounts one at a time for your students.
  4. You may create one account for all your students with a generic name to protect student privacy.

Please contact us by email (support@greatplains.net) if you would like phone support.

Note: You do not have to use student email addresses if you create student accounts individually (Option 3).

Check out our Frequently Asked Questions page to learn:

  • How to tell what your students have contributed.
  • How to tell whether your students have logged in.
  • Why students can see answers to questions.
  • Ways to use this site.
  • How to create a page for your school.
  • How to get help from a real person.
  • How to collaborate with other teachers.
  • How to WATCH pages to see whether changes have been made.


What are some ways to use this site?

This site was developed to share and discuss information!

  • Any registered user can contribute content. Editing Guide
  • The chat tab takes you to a chat room. All chat tabs to the same room.

You can leave the chat room at any time by clicking on another link or the back arrow.

Teachers are encouraged to contribute resources that they use.

What are some ways to use this site?

This site was developed to share and discuss information!

  • Any registered user can contribute content. Editing Guide
  • The chat tab takes you to a chat room. All chat tabs to the same room.

You can leave the chat room at any time by clicking on another link or the back arrow.

Teachers are encouraged to contribute resources that they use.

Students are encouraged to contribute by

  • Answering questions in the Test Yourself section,
  • Writing their own story and putting the story on this site;
  • Conducting an interview related to a topic and posting the interview on the site;
  • Linking to videos, pictures, web pages that us learn more about a topic;
  • Creating your own pages to contribute to the understanding of a topic.

Please be creative!



  • This is the letter to teachers that is sent out when they sign up for an account:

Hello, and thanks for requesting an account! You will shortly receive mail from support@greatplains.net with a temporary password for your new account. You may change it at any time.

You do not have to sign up all of your students if you don't want to. You can post on their behalf.

You can sign your students up for accounts, either one by one, or in a group. To add students one by one, go here and click on the create account link. Fill in the user name, email address, and real name. Do not fill in the password. Click on the "by email" button. The wiki will send out an email like the one you got when your account was created.

To sign up students in a group use the Import Users page. You will have to provide an email address for accounts created this way. Create a comma separated file with the information listed at the top of the Import Users, and load it. The wiki will NOT sent out email to the new accounts, so the new users will have to be told their passwords.

Thanks to Kate Adams for her contributions to these FAQs.

Retrieved from "http://collaboration.greatplains.net/k20/index.php/Help:Frequently_Asked_Questions"
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