Help

Welcome to Obirin English Language Program Knowledge Sharing, or OEKS for short. This website is the central place for ELP teachers to find materials for courses in the Foundation English and Extension Programs. Think of this website as a Teachers’ Resource Binder that you don’t have to wait in line for in the morning and that you can use anytime and anywhere.

All instructors in the ELP can use this site to upload, download, and discuss materials useful to us as teachers. Materials might include teacher and student notes, handouts, lesson ideas, organizers, quizzes, games, sound files, short videos—anything and everything we can use for our classes. This site is password protected, but please take care to treat this as a university resource.

One major aim of this website is to make it as easy to use as possible. You do not need to know anything about programming to search, share, and talk about our teaching materials. Feel free to click anything—you might get a little lost, but you just can’t break anything on this website. (I hope!)

The best way to get started is to click the Search Tags tab at the top of this page. You’ll see a visual index of everything on the site. Click on any keyword Tag to see everything related to that topic.

If you need help, please email me, put a note in my mailbox, or try to catch me for a chat at PFC or Tokubokan. I will be starting small group and individual tutorial sessions as soon as teachers can make some of their limited time available.

Thanks,

Ted O’Neill

Help Topics

General User Help

How can I get a password reminder?

Click Login. Click Lost Password. Check your email.

Everything just looks weird. Can you help?

First, please just don’t use Internet Explorer. Even Microsoft now recommends Mac users not use IE. More and more Windows users are avoiding the Microsoft browser as well. Do yourself a favor and try Firefox. You’ll get used to it and soon you’ll wonder how you ever used anything else. Really

Can I change my name on the website?

Sure, sort of. Login, click Profile, and change your first and last name, email address, password, and even how your name is displayed. However, you can’t change your login name- that is always your first initial and surname.

Uploading Help

OEKS allows you to upload as many files to share with others as you like. Think of Uploading as similar to attaching a file to an email message. There is one hitch: you must use some HTML. You can do this easily even if you believe HTML stands for Hot Tamale Mother Lode. The website makes the HTML for you–just point, click, and ignore the gibberish code.

What kind of files can I upload?

Basically, you can upload almost any kind of file you like: including .doc, .rtf, .pages, .txt, .pdf, .xls, .jpg, .zip, .ppt and so on. Basically, if you made the file on a Mac or PC, you can put it on the website: handouts, pictures, audio, and video. If your files are really big (like video or big pdfs) you may have trouble. Email the file to Ted for manual addition to the website.

What is a good filename?

Every file on this website must have a unique name, so be specific: lesson.doc is a terrible filename. Include any or all of the following: Level, term, type of content, and something descriptive. Adding your own initials is a good way to set the file apart from everyone elses: Add something like this, (TON) at the end of the filename e.g. L3 Writing Task 1 Brainstorming Starter (DJ).doc

I’ve lost my file!

The best advice is to just upload the same file again. Unused files are eventually deleted, so that lost file won’t clog up the works. Still want to find that file you uploaded? Look next to the Upload tab at the Browse All tab where you Uploaded: That will let you look back through past Uploads. Happy hunting! Still can’t find it and don’t have a copy on your own computer? It might still be there. Email or ask Ted to help you find it.

Posting Help

What goes in a Good Post?

Your Post will almost always have a link in it. It might be a link to another website, but probably it is a link to a file you uploaded. Did you forget to copy the HTML for the link when you did your upload? No problem, just use the Back button on your browser and go get it.

You can also write anything you like in your post. Give people a summary of the file. Maybe paste in the first paragraph of the handout so people get an idea what it is. The Search tool checks all the words in your Post, so if you describe your uploaded file well, people will find it quickly. Just type away. No special HTML needed, but if you know a little HTML go ahead and use it to make your post look better.

Definitely add some Tags. Definitely. They make all the difference in keeping this pile of stuff organized. Tags are like the keywords in an index. We all know how hard it can be to find something in a reference book with no index.

Remember: your Post will always have a link that says “Edit this” on it every time you log in. You can always update your post, fix a mistake, or add more later.

What are Post Titles?

Almost everything we read or write on this website is in something called a Post. A Post is a webpage that is like an email message with a little bit extra. So, your Posts need a Titles in the same way as your email messages need Subjects. Titles can be as long as you like. The Search tool on the website always searches the Titles. Also, your title becomes part of the Post’s web address.

In the same way that Party this Friday night at Dubliner’s is a better email Subject than Party! and much better than Hello!, Vocabulary Quiz- Elementary Unit 10, is better than Unit 10 Quiz, and much better than just plain oldQuiz.

What are Tags?

Definitely add some Tags to your Post. Definitely.

Tags make all the difference in keeping the pile of stuff on this website organized. Tags are like the keywords in an index. And, we all know how hard it can be to find something in a reference book with no index. If you don’t Tag your Post, it will be more difficult for teachers to find.

You can use as many Tags as you like and can change them later. They keep everything organized and easy to find. Consider: level, activity type, skill, and content. You can even Tag your Posts with your initials if you like. There will always be some recent example Tags for you to look at while you write your Post.

Like almost everything else on this site, you can add new Tags, edit existing Tags, or delete old Tags from Posts at anytime. So, Tag freely and creatively.

Remember: separate your Tags with commas.

Still Need Help?

Contact Ted, or other members of the Media Resources Team: Jim Sick, Richard Hawking, and Simon Hunter.