Entering CFE Collaborative Suite

1) Go to www.wallacecenter.org

2) In the upper right hand corner, click “Log In”

3) Enter username and password that were emailed to you.

4) In the upper right hand corner, click “WALLACENET”

5) Click “Collaborative Projects” from the brown menu bar in the middle of the screen OR from the list on the page, where it appears at the bottom (either of these will get you to the list of Collaborative Projects).

6) Click “Community Food Enterprise”

Here you’ll see the list of tools available to us in the collaborative suite: Messages/Forums, Files, and Wiki

In addition to the shared aspects of the Collab Suite described below, WallaceNet also offers individual user areas. Just beneath the brown menu bar, click on “My Folder” to find the area where you can upload files for your own use.

Using the Messages/Forum

This section is divided into “forums” on different topics. Within each forum there may be a number of different “conversations”. Each of us can create new forums—overall areas of discussion, or new conversations—new areas of discussion within a topic, as well as get involved in existing forums or conversations. When you first click “CFE Messages” in the main CFE menu, you’ll be taken to a list of different forums. Once you choose a forum, you’ll see the conversations taking place within that forum.

            To get involved in a forum

                        1) Click “CFE messages”

                        2) Click on the name of a forum

To start a new forum

                        1) Click on “CFE messages”

                        2) In the green menu bar in the middle of the screen, click “Add Forum”

3) You’ll be prompted for a name, description, and category for your forum.

            To delete/rename a forum

                        1) Click on “CFE messages”

                        2) Click on a forum title

                        3) In the green menu bar, click “Actions”

                        4) Click on the action you’d like to take

Note: this menu bar, and the action menu, is available for use throughout the collab suite.

To start a new conversation within a forum

                        1) Click “CFE messages”

                        2) Click on the name of a forum

                        3) At the top of the list of conversations, click “Start New Conversation”

            To respond to an existing conversation

                        1) Within a forum, click on the name of a conversation

2) At the bottom of the last message, click either “Reply to this” or use the Quick Reply” box to enter a reply then click “Post Comment” at the bottom of the box.

Note: The green menu bar on this page allows editing of content via the “Action” menu, or editing of viewing options via the “Display” menu.

Using the Files

This section allows us to upload files and share them with each other.

            To upload a new file

                        1) Click on “Files”

                        2) From the green menu bar, click “Add Item”

3) Click “File”

Note: If you’d like to upload a series of related files, you can first add a folder by clicking “Folder” rather than “File in step 2, then, within the folder, follow steps 2 and 3 above.

Using the Wiki

This section allows us to work collaboratively on a document, by editing each other’s text, adding comments, etc.

            To add a new wiki

1)      Choose “CFE Wiki” from the main menu

2)      The first page will direct you to click the “Contents” tab to continue

3)      I would recommend you keep all related Wikis in a single folder, so first begin by adding a folder: click “Add Item” from the green menu bar

4)      Choose “Folder”

5)      Once you’ve returned to the list of Folders, choose your folder from the list and then again click “Add Item” from the green menu bar

6)      Choose “Wiki”

7)      The Wiki creation page allows you to not only name your Wiki, but also begin adding text to it. Once you’ve added text (note that you’re in the “Edit” tab in the green menu bar), click “Preview” or “Save” at the bottom of the box.

To edit a wiki

1)      Choose “CFE Wiki” from the main menu

2)      Click on “Contents” in the green menu bar

3)      Click on the icon of the folder or wiki you’d like to edit (You can try folder “Practice Folder” and Wiki “Practice Wiki” to play around with).

4)      There are two ways to edit a wiki: via the “Edit” tab in the green menu bar or via the “Comment” tool at the bottom of the page. You may want to try both options in the “Practice Wiki” to see how they differ in appearance. As a group we can determine whether we have a preference.

My Folder

Each of us also has a personal “My Folder” area, where you can upload documents for group or personal access. Beneath the brown menu bar click on “My Folder”. There you can use the same green menu bar tools to create folders, upload documents, etc. Note that you can also control whether others can see your folders, documents, etc, by going to the item you’d like to hide, then clicking “State” on the green menu bar and choosing “Make Private”.

That’s it folks! I warned you these would be basic. Hopefully this is enough to get you started, and help you understand what tools we have available and how they might be of use to you. Feel free to email me any questions (and let me know if something above is terribly wrong, so I can correct it for the group), or if you’d like to discuss or suggest a way for us to use a particular feature as a group, feel free to start a forum or wiki.

I’ll also post this in the Forum area in case you’d like to pose questions there, and in the Wiki in case you’d like to improve upon/add to what’s here.

Enjoy.