Logging into the Writing Room:

• Your username is the beginning of your email as it appears under Student Profiles. For example, if your email is John.Doe001@umb.edu, then your username will be "John.Doe001".  This is case sensitive, so make sure your Caps Lock is off.
  
• Your password is the last four digits of your UMB student ID number.

• Once you have logged into the Writing Room, you will see three options:
  • Post Assignment
  • Upload your picture
  • Introduce yourself (provide some addition information)

Post Assignment

Always type and save your assignment in a word processing program first, then copy and paste it once you are inside the Writing Room. There are several reasons for this:

1. You may be timed out before you finish (see timer details below).
2. You cannot spell check or do certain other formatting options in the Writing Room. This must be done within the word processing program you are using (see formatting notes below).
3. In addition to posting to the website, you should keep a copy for your own records of the work you have done.

• You can title your assignment whatever you like unless an assignment title is given to you.

• Always choose the proper assignment number for the week (set under Assignments).  If you post your assignment as the wrong number, you will not be able to go back and correct it.  You also cannot your writing after you click "submit".  There is no way to go back and do the same web assignment over again, so proofread and double check before you click "submit".

• Remember, you are sharing this work with your fellow classmates--think about the kind of public voice you want to present within the context of our class.

Formatting the Assignment after you paste it into the text box:

• After pasting, go thorough and create an extra space in between your paragraphs. The Writing Room is not as sophisticated as a word processing program, so it won't retain all of the formatting of your original document.  If you want to bold text or use italics, or do a few other formatting techniques, you will need to have some knowledge of HTML (HyperText Markup Language). HTML is the language of web browsers and webpages. There are several sites on the internet that can provide you with more information on this topic.

Getting Timed Out from the Writing Room:

• The Writing Room has a timer for security purposes.  It will log you out if your are inactive for too long and you will not know until you go to perform the next function, such as clicking "submit", for instance. You will have to log back in if this happens. The timer is set at 15 minutes.
• If you compose your writing in the Writing Room form, you will probably get timed out when you go to click "submit", and will have to begin all over again

AOL Users:

• For some reason, the UMB server (where the website is hosted) does not communicate well with AOL. So, you will not be able to post in the Writing Room if you browse to the website while in your AOL account. What you will have to do is minimize AOL and use Explorer or Netscape (or any other web browser) to visit the website. This will bypass AOL and allow you to post your work.

Upload your picture

• The picture you upload must be no more than 30kb in size. In order to size your photo appropriately you should use photo-editing software (i.e. Photoshop) or utilize the software that comes with your digital camera, before uploading.  Once you have the correct size, save it to a disk or on your computer.
• When you are ready to post your picture, click the "Browse" button, find your photo and click "Open". You will then see the file-path to your photo in the text-box. You can now "Upload". Once you post your picture, go under Student Profiles to see if it posted correctly. If not, resize the photo so it is the right size, or try another one. The photo can be changed any time you like.

Introduce Yourself

• You can introduce yourself to your classmates on-line, so students reading your questions know who you are and what your interests are.  The introduction can be as long as you like and can be changed throughout the semester.
• As when you do when you post an assignment, you should first type your introduction into a word processing program and save it. Once you have clicked into "Additional information about yourself" you will see another text-box. Copy and paste your introduction of yourself directly into the box. Proofread and make any format changes you find necessary. Click "Submit".
• Go to Student Profiles and "view details" on yourself to see if it posted correctly. If you decide to make changes, you will have to re-post the entire introduction again. This is why it is important to save your original introduction.