Whenever you see the Write a post box, you can participate in the conversation. The post box is collapsed to enable as many posts to show above the fold of the site as possible but automatically expands when you click into it.
These are the components of the post box:
Write A Post: Click to add an optional title to your post.
Description: This is where you’ll type the body of your post. Your post can also include a link to a project you made elsewhere on the web using free, creative tools and apps, like animations, comics, annotated images, and audio recordings. (See TeachersFirst's Creative Tools for MySciLife in the MSL Resource Library for some great tool suggestions.) DO NOT include your real name or location information in your posts.
Citation: Since MySciLife revolves around good digital citizenship, we encourage you to add citations to any material you referenced in your post and to link to the source for copyright-safe images or other materials you use or attach.
Tags: Tags, also called metadata, are labels you can attach to posts on MySciLife to make them easier to find in search—much like hashtags on other social media sites. Tagging your posts with topics, keywords, ideas, or units will help other users searching MySciLife find related information. To add a tag, type the hashtag (#) symbol followed by the word or phrase you want to include (e.g., #stagesofmatter or #cellparts). When you begin to type the tag, a list of available tags will provide autocomplete suggestions. Students must choose from the list, but teachers can add new tags by typing the desired new tag and hitting spacebar or enter if they do not see it among the autocomplete suggestions.
Add Attachment: Click this button to open a dialogue box that will allow you to attach files to your post. Remember: files must be saved locally in an accepted file format to be included. The following types of files can be attached to posts:
Post Button: Clicking this button posts the content of your post and any attachments to the Community or Main Stream (subject to teacher approval and/or Community and student moderation settings). Depending on the Community’s moderation settings, posts may be sent to a teacher’s Activity Feed for review before being posted.
Save As Draft: Click Save as draft at any time to save the post you’re working on to Drafts. You can complete post drafts at any time by clicking My Stuff and selecting Drafts.
Submit for Teacher Feedback: Clicking this button to send your post to your teacher’s Messages. This is different from posting and waiting for teacher moderation: if you are asking for feedback, MySciLife assumes you do not think your post is ready to go live yet.