Building
Learners
Project

I can’t figure out how to upload a graphic of my own. I know that you added photo, but I couldn’t figure out what to do?  please advisePS…this is fun

Copying and Pasting. We just put up two new pages about copying and pasting in the tutorial on building screens. Copying and pasting are mentioned elsewhere, but we have accidentally hidden one of the workBench’s most useful features.Any part of a screen that you are building - a colored box, a text box, an image, a shape like a triangle or arrow, etc. - can be copied and pasted, either into the same screen again or into other screens, even from one project to another.Image that you’ve made the home page of a project - perhaps a website - and that you have a box with a title at the top of the page, perhaps “Mr. Smith’s Website.” You can select and copy that box, open the next screen in the project, and paste it into the exact same location.Then change the text in the pasted box to describe that second screen, perhaps “English 10,” or “Contact Information.” It’s good design to give people cues as to what screen they are visiting, and it is good to have certain common screen elements, particularly menus and navigational buttons, that look the same throughout your project and that are in the exact same locations on the page. Visitors shouldn’t have to figure out a different scheme for getting around on every screen. (The copy and paste buttons appear on top of the Toolbox, as in the example above.)You can push copying and pasting up one level. Click twice on a screen icon in the Sitemap to open it in the Canvas, then click once on it to select it. It turns red when it is selected. Then you can click on copy at the top of the Toolbox. You can then click on paste to paste a copy of that screen into the Sitemap.Keep in mind that when you paste something into the same location as the original, it is pasted directly on top of the original, so to see it, you need to drag the pasted copy off of the top of the original.Since you can copy and paste a whole screen, you can use any partially created screen as a template, copying and pasting it as many times as you like - great for projects like portfolios that have a basic screen design and some chunk of content that keeps changing. It’s also great for creating and giving younger students partially-build screens, in which they add some simple content, such as a written response.To go to the tutorial pages on copying and pasting, click here.

I want to view the tutorial on setting up a page but when I choose it the message 404 always comes up.I started making a page several times and I think I have it and I save it but when I come back it is gone.I chose a sample page called butterfly menu, and I added my own titles to it but…. it’s gone again.Please advise me what I am doing wrong.thanks, Sue

Today we had our first cry for assistance (see this post). I would like to commend DS for diving right into the workBench and getting accounts set up for her students. She was resourceful in watching tutorials, reading the emails she received when she joined the project, and calling out for help via the blog (well, she tried) and via email. We hope each one of us can do the same when we encounter a problem to solve.You Will certainly want to glance at this blog as you “pass through.” We have tried to offer one-stop access to the handiest links: tutorials, log-in page, etc. If you have suggestions for other links you’d like to have right up front for you and your students to use, just let us know by adding a post here. Remember that ALL project members can POST and Comment here.Never used a blog before? This is a great place to try it, without fear of embarrassing yourself. NO question is “dumb,” except the one you keep to yourself. Yes, you DO have to log into the blog to post or comment, just so no “clever little urchins” enter where they do not belong. Thanks again to DS for being adventurous! Who’s next?

I am sharing this email sent to me at TeachersFirst from a new project member, so others can learn from both the question and the answer:

HELP!!! I am trying to set up groups for my class.I got the group labeled and then went in to see if a student could apply and keep getting the message that the site ID is invalid. I am putting in 155 (and have tried #155) that was assigned to that group. I went to the blog to report the problem and can’t respond because Word Press keeps giving me a message - incorrect password. I am using the one that was emailed to me when I applied for this project. What do I need to do?

So far, I have responded:You did all the right things, including sending [an email]. Here’s what I know, and I am sending this response to the project coordinator at TRintuition, as well:1. The same password should work for ALL your account log-ins (the BLP blog, TeachersFirst membership, and the workBench):  xxxx2. I assume that you watched the tutorial about making groups (from the links on the blog):http://www.trintuition.com/tutorial/groups (see How-to links at the right on the blog)Note that students who apply to join need both the site ID and the group ID.3. TRintuition has set up a separate area within the workBench strictly for this pilot project. The address for that area ishttp://tf.trintuition.com/tr/I am wondering if perhaps you are allowing students to apply in a different area of the workBench….but we will need Ron G to clarify this. I am posting this message on the blog AND emailing him directly to get you some help as quickly as possible. - CHS, TeachersFirst ED: Ron responded and solved the problem. See the comments on this post!  We hope to maintain this kind of “sharing” for all project participants so we can build learners — including ourselves–together.