Getting Started
Step 1: Create a TAPAS account
With a free TAPAS account, you can upload TEI files and experiment with TAPAS, so that you're familiar with the process and can guide your students through it. With a paid TAPAS account (which comes with any level of TEI-C membership), you can create projects and collections, and invite your students to work collaboratively on them. Contact us if you'd like to talk through some options, or if you'd like to arrange for help during your class sessions.
Step 2: Create a TAPAS project for your course
The easiest way to use TAPAS in the classroom is to set up a TAPAS project so that you can keep all of your students' materials together. You can set up a new project from your My TAPAS space.
Step 3: Upload curricular materials
To get your students started, you might want to provide some sample files to emulate, or templates for them to work with. You can find samples and templates at the TAPAS site which you're free to use directly or modify for your own class. You can also add a course description or other information to your TAPAS Project.
Step 4: Set up student accounts and add your students as project members
Ask your students to sign up for their TAPAS accounts a few days in advance; because of problems with spam, all TAPAS accounts need to be approved by the TAPAS administrator. If you send us a class roster we can make sure to approve all student account requests promptly. If your institution is a TEI-C member, you can contact your institutional TEI contact to have the student accounts linked to the TEI-C membership. This will enable students to create their own TAPAS projects. Otherwise, you can simply invite them as members to your project. To add students as project members, go to your project page, select the Group tab, and then choose "Add People." The user name is the email address the student used to sign up for their TAPAS account.
If you need more assistance or information, please contact the TAPAS Team: info@tapasproject.org or visit our community forums.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to have an active TEI-C membership to use TAPAS in the classroom?
Some TAPAS features do require a paid TAPAS account and membership in the TEI-C. In particular, if you want to create your own TAPAS project for your class to contribute to, you will need a paid account. This will also allow your students to have their own collections within your project, and enable you to upload associated files like personographies. But even without an active TEI-C membership, you can use the sample curricular materials and learning documents via the TAPAS Classroom project. You can also have your students create free TAPAS accounts and upload TEI files for display.
Learn more about TEI-C membership and TAPAS accounts here.
Do My Students Need TEI-C Accounts?
No, they can create a free TAPAS account using their institution email. If you have a paid account, you can then invite them to your project as collaborators. If you wish them to build stand-alone projects, they, or your institution, will need to register memberships with the TEI-C. If your institution has a membership with the TEI-C, you can allocate accounts to each student for the term. Simply associate their student emails to your institutional memberships and their TAPAS accounts will be automatically upgraded. See our Getting Started page for more information on accounts and membership.
What happens to my projects after the course is finished?
That's entirely up to you: You can keep, reuse, or repurpose your projects as you see fit. We won't delete any data associated with your projects or your students' files as long as your account remains active.
Can my students keep their accounts and TEI data after the course is finished?
Absolutely! We would love students to see TAPAS as a continued resource for any future work in the TEI. They can maintain their free accounts to continue to upload, view, and share their tei. If they want to build their own projects, they will need to upgrade to a TEI-C membership (the TEI-C has reasonable pricing for individual memberships). Students are also free to disable their accounts at any time.
Can I build more than one project?
Yes, all account holders with project building access can build as many projects as they wish.
Are my projects and data public?
You control whether your projects, collections, or data are public or private. If your students are working with personal documents, we recommend making your projects private. Note, all account holders as well as TEI records are publicly discoverable from the TAPAS interface. In other words, we do not hide users or TEI data. All project level forums are set to private and can only be viewed by project members.
If you have questions about student privacy, please contact us.
If I have more questions can I speak with someone on your team?
Of course! We would love to hear about your interest in using TAPAS Classroom and offer any support in getting your and your students started. Send us a note to schedule a virtual hangout