Creating a CI36 Event Group

The main Satellite Events page is for very brief descriptions of all the events associated with the CI36 birthday celebration. CI36 has web resources available for those conducting events to coordinate and document them, on the CI36 community site. When submitting a CI36 satellite event proposal you can include the address of a group you created on the community site for coordinating the event.  You can use other web sites, but having it on the CI36 community site makes it easier to share your event activities with other CI36 people.

The CI36 community site is a place where anyone connected with the CI36 celebration -- teachers, satellite event coordinators and participants, etc. -- can share photos and videos, participate in discussions, publish blog entries, and connect and coordinate with other community members.  A Group consists of a profile page along with a dedicated forum for discussions. Anyone enrolled and logged in can create a CI36 group, or, depending on how the group is configured, join an existing group.

Instructions

1. Sign Up on the Community Site home page at http://ci36community.ning.com. (Once you're signed up and signed in you'll be on your personal profile page - take a moment to set your profile as you wish, now and/or later.)
   
2. Click "Groups" in the top navigation links to go to the main Groups page.
3. Click the link "create a new group" at the top left.
4. Identify the group:
• Choose a Group name
• Enter a short Group description -- brief but clear, so curious visitors can easily tell what it's about
  
• Upload an icon image, if you have one
• Change the Group web address, if you want something other than the default
• Choose membership availability -- leave the setting on "Anyone" if you want to allow anyone to join
• If you already have another website for use or reference by the group, include its address in "External Website"
5. Click "Create Group". When the Group is created you'll be taken to its main profile page.
6. In the center column, under the green welcome message, is a text box where you can enter a fuller description of the Group. Click "Edit" to change the contents of this box. Text format and images can be added as well. If applicable, this would be a good place to tell members what tag they should use for photos, videos, and other content relevant to the Group.

Once you've created your group, it may be useful to start a catchall discussion in its discussion forum. Group discussions serve as a kind of bulletin board where members can see everything that has been posted before. For example, you might want an ongoing discussion about "Progress", to discuss activities as they occur and plans as they develop.

Once you've created your group you can include its address in a Satellite Event Proposal. You can also invite members to your group, to participate in your event, and you can edit the Group info, broadcast messages to all members, moderate content, and even delete the Group. Generally speaking, people will automatically see the newly created Group on the Community Site home page.