Getting Started Guide

Welcome to gpia.info!

After creating a username and logging on to the site, you have the options of joining discussion groups and creating a profile. There are discussion groups for some classes, each of the concentrations and various organizations in the program. You can join groups for the courses you are registered for and can start your own discussion group by emailing help.

Depending on your involvement with the program, you many need to add to the site. This guide will explain the most commonly used aspects of the site. If you still have questions please email help.

You can read about the progress of the site in these semester updates - Dec 08, Apr 09


Using groups

Once a registered user on GPIA.info, you will find groups for each of the concentrations, IFPs, PIAs, various organizations, a place to post books for sale, and most importantly, for each of your courses. Because many professors and students complained about the lack of functionality of Blackboard, we now create a discussion group for each course on GPIA.info.

When you first log on, you will see a list of groups available for you to join. You can only join a class if you are registered for that course, so please only attempt to subscribe to the courses for which you are registered. Once you request to subscribe to a group, the group’s moderator (the instructor in the case of a course discussion group) is sent a notification and they will have to approve your request. This usually takes place within 24 hours.

Course discussion groups usually have the syllabus with links to the readings which will provide you with easy access to all coursework. Some course groups are very active, with students posting articles and thoughts about readings and commenting on other posts. Others are not. Your instructor will let you know if there is any requirement for you participation in the group.

Many faculty use the discussion group to post reminders or schedule changes.  You will automatically receive an email notifying you when there has been activity in the groups for which you are a member unless you choose to disable those notifications. Many faculty use the discussion group to post reminders or schedule changes.  You will automatically receive an email notifying you when there has been activity in the groups for which you are a member unless you choose to disable those notifications.

Discussion groups on GPIA.info work just like discussion boards you are familiar with elsewhere.  To contribute to a group while logged into that group, you begin by clicking on "create group posting" ont he left hand toolbar. You can also comment on discussion posting threads that have already been created to join a conversation. (see faq's if you still have questions)

Once you are logged in to your group, you will see this section on the toolbar on the left. These are your options for interacting with the group (see below). Here you can create a group discussion post and manage subscribers.

Economics II

  • Create group discussion posting
  • Invite friend
  • 5 subscribers
  • Manager: David
  • Request subscription


Creating a Student or Alumni Profile

  • Help us work on our community by posting a profile about yourself on gpia.info.
  • Not got a gpia.info account?  Go to www.gpia.info and click Create account.
  • If you use your New School email address you will automatically be given permissions to create a profile (if you created a gpia.info account in the past with a New School email address you are already good to go!)
  • Prefer to use a non-New School email address?  No problem, create your account and drop a line to help@gpia.info and we will give you the ability to create a profile. 
  • It is *really* easy to do.  Once you’ve logged in just click Create Content then Student/Alumnus Profile and fill in the form.

 Adding text to a page

Adding text is very similar to word. After you click on the edit tab of any page you are able to edit, you will see a Body section where you can type in text, control how it looks, and add pictures and links. There are a couple of things to remember:

  • When pasting text from a word document, please click on the icon with the clipboard and Word symbol. Paste the text there first and then hit Insert. This will solve formatting issues that arise from pasting directly from Word.
  • Using the "Format" drop down box to create headings and subheadings will keep the pages and the site looking consistent.

Creating a new page

To create an entirely new page, while you are signed in, click on "Create Content" on the left hand toolbar. There you will see your choices for different types of pages. Most of these types of pages are the same as a general page, but are divided into these categories based on permissions. For instance, if you create a page for a concentration, those who are permitted to edit concentration pages will be permitted to edit it. Also, if you create a page for one of your courses, those who have permissions to be a part of that group will be permitted to see that page once it is created.

Once you have chosen the type of page you wish to create, remember that you still have to associate it with the place you want it to show up. Usually, you will name the URL at the bottom of the editing page and link that URL to another page. For instance, if you are creating a page about what research students are doing in Conflict and Security. You would

  1. Sign in
  2. Click on "Create Content" on the left hand toolbar
  3. Choose "Conflict and Security Based Page" from the list of content pages
  4. Fill out the title, description and body of the page
  5. At the bottom of that edit screen, click on URL to reveal a box where you need to create a URL address for the page. Create a logical address based on where you want the page to be on the site just to keep things neater * (For instance, a page about student research in Conflict and Security could be labeled gpia.info/cas_page/student_research)
  6. Make sure to hit submit to save all your changes and remember the address that you created
  7. To link this page to the main Conflict and Security page, first add text to the Conflict and Security page such as "Student Research" and follow the steps for linking webpages below.
editing URL address

Linking webpages and documents

If you want to create a link to either a webpage or a document, highlight the word(s) you would like to be linked and click on the chain looking icon on in the editing box on the page. There, you can put in a web address into the box that says "Link URL" or click on the red and white browse icon to upload a document from your hard drive. If you are uploading a document from your harddrive, you have to click "add" to choose the document you have just uploaded under the heading "operations" in that same box. If you are linking a document you have uploaded before, you can choose the item in you file directory and choose "add". Once you have entered the information into the field and click "insert", users will be able to click on those words you highlighted and be directed to the webpage or document.

 

Inserting Photos / Videos

While in the editing area of the page, click the icon with a tree on it in the body section top add a photo. There you can follow to same instructions as adding a document. Click the red and white browse icon to upload a photo from your hard drive. You can change the way the photo appears on the page and interacts with the text, by clicking on the "Appearance" tab in the Insert/edit image window. If you choose left or right alignment, the photo will appear on one side of the page with the text around it on the other. This is a simple way to help make your page more attractive.

To insert a video if you have the embedded code (you can find this on pages for You Tube videos and Vimeo videos):

  • Open the page or discussion group posting where you would like to post the video.
  • In the toolbar for the body of the page, click on the "html" button.  It says "html".
  • Paste the embedded code there and hit submit.

 To insert a flash video from your harddrive:

  •  Open the page or discussion grou posting where you would like to post the video.
  • In the toolbar for the body of the page, click on the button that has an "F" with a circle around it. 
  • Click the browse button to access your hardrive and select the video.
  • Once you have uploaded the file, click "add" under the operations in your browse window.
  • Click "insert"

This is the "Image Description"Adding Captions to Photos

Open the Insert/Edit Window by clicking on a picture you have already posted and choosing the insert/edit image icon of the small green tree. On the General tab, you can type in the "Image Description" and/or "Title". Each appears underneather the photo as shown to the right.

For the caption to show up, you must choose either "Captioned Image or Captioned Image float right" as one of the class choices on the Apperance tab.If you choose "Captioned Image float right" the image will stay to the right side of the page. You will still need to use the alignment option on that tab to make the words or other photos wrap around it to the left.

To put a border around the photo (looks most attractive) choose the size of the border, 1 through 5, under the Appearance tab. 

You will not see the captions until you submit the page and view it. 

Creating 'anchors' for Page Navigation

An anchor allow you to have a list of words at the top of page that are linked to different sections lower on the page. This feature allows users to navigate vertically on a page.

  1. Highlight the text you would like a person to be able to jump down to on your page.
  2. Click the anchor button next to the font choices in the Body area of the page.
  3. Type in what you would like to name the anchor (easiest to use the word you want to jump down to) and then click insert anchor. 


       4.  Highlight the text at the top that you would like people to be able to click on and be taken to your anchor.

       5.   Type in "#(name of anchor)" and then click update. For the example shown in the picture below, the link URL is "#text1". 

          6.  Click on submit at the bottom of your page to save your work.

General Upkeep

  • If there is anything ‘special' that you would like to do with a page, or a new sort of page that you would like. For instance, a special section for a series of events, please get in touch with help. The options are limitless and we would love to help you use the site however you would like to use it!
  • Keep in mind pages that you have created that are time sensitive and need to be removed from the site to keep it from looking out dated. You can do this by adding a roll off date to your page. Just email help to add the feature to your page, pick a date, and the page will be gone. This will greatly improve the look and functionality of the site.

FAQs

How do I see my course discussion group on gpia.info?

First, you have to register for a gpia.info username and password. Once you login for the first time, you will see a list of discussion groups you can join. Find your course group and ask to subscribe to it. A request will be sent to your professor and they will have to approve it, so please be patient. 

Please remember your gpia.info username! Your professor may also ask you for your gpia.info username during class so they can check it against the list of registered students.

How can I see my readings for the course?

This is a great question! Unfortunately, it doesn't have one answer. It depends on your professor's preferences. Professors have the option to use Blackboard or gpia.info or some combination of both to communicate with you. You can access Blackboard by signing into My NewSchool. If your professor decides to post the readings for the course on gpia.info, you can access them in your course's discussion group. Your professor will give you specific instructions on how to access readings for the course.

What are some of the ways that professors use course groups on gpia.info?

  • Posting the syllabus as the first discussion posting to the group. You can also access the syllabus for the course in the course booklet at gpia.info/fall09courses. The syllabus linked to the course is only a static version and will not have links to the readings.
  • Linking all readings to the course syllabus. To view these documents, which are either links to external sites or uploaded pdfs, click on the highlighted text for the reading.
  • Requesting that you post articles or begin discussion topics. As part of the requirements for the course, some professors ask students to post an article about a topic they are covering on a certain week or to lead the class in a group discussion online.
  • Emailing or posting important messages. Since professors can use gpia.info to email all the students in their classes with the click of one button and because students are able to register for gpia.info with the email address they use most often, some use the site to email students about cancellations or changes in the syllabus.

How do I participate in the course discussion group?

When you are logged in with your username and password and have entered the group either by clicking on it from the "My Account" page that first shows up when you login or by entering the URL, you will see a toolbar for the group on the left hand side of your screen. An example is below:

09 Fall Africa and the West Thurs 4pm

In order to create a new discussion thread, click on "create group discussion posting" from here. You can also contribute to a thread by commenting on a Group Posting that is already there.

To manage the email notifications you get - choose "my subscription".


Please also feel free to email help@gpia.info with any questions or visit Jen Hill, the site's administrator, in Room 612 Mon - Thurs, 11-7pm.