Discussion Area Instructions:

• What is a "FORUM" ?
• How do I POST a message to the Discussion Area?
• How can I FIND a message?
• How can I REPLY to a message?
• Why can't I see my message in the Discussion Area?
• Why is there more than one " Forum "?
• Who MONITORS the Discussion Area?
• How can I make CHANGES to a message once I submit it?

What is a Forum? ( back to top )

1. The Discussion Area is divided into Forums, which are used to organize the messages from the participants by subject area. For example, all Letters of Introduction should be posted to the Letter of Introduction Forum .

How do I post a letter to the Discussion Area? ( back to top )

1. Select the Forum that best applies to your message (Letters of Introduction, etc.)
2. Click on “New message” which is located to the left of the screen over the first message.
3. The next screen provides an area for you to type your message. The upper fields are required for you to complete and contain Header information used to identify the school.
   1. Header:
      • In the "From:" box enter your name. You can just use your first name if you do not wish to use your full name.
      • In the "E-mail:" box enter in your full e-mail address. Check to make sure you enter in the correct address so that others can contact you directly if needed. You will NOT be allowed to post a message if you do not include an e-mail address.
      • In the "Subject:" box please enter a brief descriptive statement about the message you are posting (Example: "Letter of Introduction from Stevens Middle School, Hoboken, NJ")
   2. Main Body: After you have entered the header information, use the large box below these fields to type the content of your message.
   3. Attachment (optional) : If you would like to add an attachment to the message, such as a word document, or spreadsheet, click on the browse button to search your computer, and select the file.
4. Once you have completed your message, click the “Send” button.
5. The next screen will show your message to you. Click “Back to Forum” at the bottom of the message to return to the Forum.

How can I find a message? ( back to top )

1. Posted messages are listed in chronological order with the newest messages at the bottom. The subject of each message underlined which indicates that you can click on it.
2. Some of the postings may have plus signs [+] to the left of the subject. This indicates that someone has replied to this posting. To see the replies (or thread), simply click on the plus sign [+] and the thread will expand to show all of the replies that were made.
3. To read a message simply click on the subject line of the message.
4. NOTE: You can also use the "Search" box to locate a message from a particular school or class.

How can I reply to a message? ( back to top )

1. After reading a message you can reply to it by clicking "Reply" located to the upper left area of the screen.
2. Simply fill out the information in the same manner as when posting a message for the first time.
3. When ready, click the "Send" button.
4. Follow the same steps as when posting an original message.
5. NOTE : * Clicking on “Show whole thread”, is a nice way of viewing all the replies to a particular message.

Why can't I see my message in the Discussion Area? ( back to top )

• If you do not see your message you may need to click on the Refresh link located at the top of the screen. This will reload the page and display the new message you posted.
• The posted messages are listed in chronological order. You may need to scroll through several screens to find your message
• Some of the postings may have plus signs (+) to the left of the subject. This indicates that someone has replied to this posting. To see the replies (or thread), simply click on the plus sign (+) and the thread will expand to show all of the replies that were made.

Why is there more than one "Forum"? ( back to top ) Each "Forum" is categorized by what should by what should be posted there. There will be a total of four "Forums " present at the end of the project:

1. Letters of Introduction
2. General Discussion
3. Language Arts Activities
4. Final Reports (This "Forum" will open after the participants have submitted their data)

Who monitors the Discussion Area? ( back to top ) The Discussion Area is monitored daily by the project leader . The Project Leader also has the ability to delete letters.

How can I make changes to a message once I submit it? ( back to top ) Unfortunately, currently there is no way to make changes to a message in the Discussion Area.

Therefore, if you wish to make a change, please repost the message and e-mail the project leader so that he may delete the original message. Please include your school name, topic, as well as the corrected information in the e-mail.