Are you an anatomy student? A teacher? Simply someone interested in learning more about the human body? Whatever your situation, we hope that you will "ask not what your wiki can do for you, but what you can do for your wiki!" To get the most out of this experience, we recommend the following:

Join the wiki and create a profile. You can browse through the site without joining, but it is only when you are logged in as a member that the magic of a wiki unfolds.

• Don't be content with just a blank profile page! Become part of the anatowiki community by telling everyone more about yourself, adding some pictures, and maybe sharing a favorite video.
  
• Remember this site is public, so don't put information that you don't want the whole world to see!
• Browse the topics on the "How To" page and you will soon be an expert wiki editor!
  • If you still don't know how to do something, just ask! Find someone with a cool profile (like Heather) and send that person a message asking for instructions.

Make some new friends! Look through the member profiles. Do you share interests with anyone in particular? Try out the "send compliment" button, or the "send a friend request."

• You can send a message to anyone on the site. He or she will then receive an email alerting them to the fact they have a message.

• Ask your friends or classmates to join. You can create your own group page if you want.

Start a conversation! At the bottom of any page is "Threads" section where you can post comments or questions.

• Maybe it's because anatomy is not very controversial, but this feature has been underused on this site.

• You can peek at all the discussions at once at the Discussion Forum.

Get involved! This is not meant to be a showcase of past talent--it is meant to be a living, growing, changing site.

• For example, if you are reading about the integumentary system and feel like something is missing, then be the one to add that information! If you are reading about the digestive system and wish there was a better picture, then find a better picture and put it in! Refer to the How To page if you need specific instructions.
  

• If there is a problem, fix it! If it is a big problem or something you need help with, "Add a To Do" item (button at top of any page).
  • Remember, you cannot break anything! Being a wiki, a record of every change is kept. So even if you mess up we can revert to a prior state. [One quick warning: if you decide to vandalize the site you will be banned from future participation]
    
• If you want to see what others are working on, then browse the To-Dos or look at "What's New" and see if there is a good place to jump in and help.
• You can create your own projects. This site was created as a class project, with each "chapter" created by a different group of students. Those students have moved on to other things (but many still maintain an interest in the site). It may be up to you or your class to take on a major revision, or to add a case study, or to do whatever big project you think would really improve the site.
  • The site moderators are people who have really worked hard on this site and have an interest in its continued growth. Feel free to check in with them if you have a radical big idea but are a little hesitant to proceed.
• Help organize or add to the Online Resources
• Organize or add to the news files in Microbes in the Media

Promote the site! Start by inviting friends and colleagues to join, then go to where like-minded people gather and tell them about your site.

• We are already getting thousands of visitors monthly, but most leave quickly. How can we make them feel more welcome?
• Many more people will find this site if we use these site promotion tips.
• If you are looking for an easy way to participate, you can add keyword tags on any page. For best results, try to limit your tagging to 2-5 keyword tags per page

If you're in the class, track your contributions. Here is what I want you to keep track of (your contributions are tracked on your profile page, but a document summarizing your results would be nice)

• Which chapters you have worked on, with a summary of your contributions to each
• How much time this project has taken compared to doing the homework assignments
• What has and has not been useful about this project--has it helped you learn the material, or has it detracted from your learning?
• How many discussion items have you posted? How many have you responded to?
  
• What changes you would like to see, if any, to the structure of this site or to the structure of the class
• What percentage you would give yourself for your wiki contributions so far (round it to the nearest 5%)