Create & Manage Projects

Create a Project

Only teachers can create projects (students cannot create projects). The teacher who creates a project acts as the primary facilitator and is known as the Coach.

To create a project:

1. Click the New Project button (available on the left side of the My Home, My School, and World pages).

2. Choose a template. There are three ways you can create your new project. If choosing to copy a project, student or teacher content or interactive contributions to the selected project will not be copied; only the template content (e.g., page banner, titles, instructions and uploaded documents) will be copied.
• Create a New Project: Selecting allows the teacher to define an entirely new project.
• Copy One of My Projects: Selecting displays a list of projects previously defined by the teacher. If the teacher is a member to other projects, those project will display, too. The teacher can choose the project they'd like to copy. Copy One of My Projects will not display if a teacher has no previous projects created, or is not a member to other projects.
• Copy a Showcase Project: Selecting displays a list of ThinkQuest approved exemplary projects. Each project can be previewed by clicking the Preview link. Copy a Showcase Project will only display for those schools enrolled in the World Community.

3. Enter a project title. If a project has been copied, the title can be edited.
4. Enter the project's essential problem, question or issue. This should be a clear definition of what the whole project is trying to accomplish.
5. Select a project timeline. Specifying a fixed timeline will restrict student participation to dates that fall within the timeline. Teachers can participate outside of the timeline, allowing them to set up content in advance and edit content afterwards.
6. Select a category that aligns with the topic of your project (for example, Arts & Entertainment, Books & Literature, and so on). If a project has been copied, the category can be edited.
7. Write a summary that tells visitors what your project is about. Please note that the summary is public and can be viewed by any ThinkQuest Projects member. If a project has been copied, the summary can be edited.
8. Select the membership type for your project. Select "Open" to allow anyone in the ThinkQuest Projects community to request to join your project (write a brief message that describes what you are looking for in project members). Select "Closed" to limit membership to students that you assign and teachers that you invite.
9. Set the age range, which will restrict participation in your project. For example, if you select "3rd Grade" to "4th Grade," only students in 3rd and 4th grades can be members and contribute to project pages. If a project has been copied, the age range can be edited.
10. Select options for publishing and editing. All project members can create content, but the Coach sets publishing and editing privileges.
    • Publishing: Selecting "Yes" allows students to publish their work, making it visible to all ThinkQuest Projects members. Selecting "No" places the responsibility of publishing on teacher members.
    • Student Editing: Selecting "Yes" allows students to edit and delete other students' content. Selecting "No" limits students to editing and deleting only their own content.
    • Teacher Editing: Selecting "Yes" allows teachers to edit and delete other teachers' content. Selecting "No" limits teachers to editing and deleting only their own content.
11. Click the Next button.

12. Optional step: Define or edit your project's pages and instructions. If you're ready to create project pages and corresponding instructions, enter text into the "Page 1 Title" and "Page 1 Instructions" fields. Copied projects will pre-populate and can be edited. Click the Create Project button to skip this step; after your project is created you can use the page tools to edit the page title and create additional project pages.
    • Documents can be uploaded to the page by clicking the Browse button.
    • Additional pages can be added by clicking the Add Another Page button (a maximum of 25 pages can be defined).
    • If multiple pages are defined, the page order can be edited by clicking the Move Up or Move Down buttons.
    • Click the Create Project button after all pages have been defined.

13. Click the Assign Students Now button to assign students to the project.

14. If you did not define your pages in the previous steps, the first page of your project is automatically created and named Page 1. You can use the page tools to edit the page title and create additional project pages. Each project includes space for a maximum of 25 pages.

15. Use the content tools to add content items to each page. Each page can hold a maximum of 10 content items.

Edit Project Settings

Only the Coach can edit project settings (title, timeline, membership type, and so on).

To edit project settings:

1. Go to any page of the project.
2. Click Settings in the menu on the left.
3. Make edits.
4. Click the Save button at the bottom of the page.

Delete a Project

Only the Coach can delete a project.

To permanently delete a project, including all of its members and content:

1. Go to any page of the project.
2. Click Settings in the menu on the left.

3. Click the Delete Project button at the bottom of the page.
   Warning! Please use caution, as a deleted project cannot be recovered under any circumstances.

4. Click the Delete button in the pop-up window to confirm permanent deletion of the project.

Change the Order of Projects

The My Projects list displays all of the projects of which you are a member; it can be viewed on the My Home, My School, and World pages. The projects are listed in the order that you created or joined them, with the most recent project at the top.

If you are a member of more than 10 projects, only the 10 most recent projects will be displayed in the My Projects list. The remainder of your projects can be viewed by clicking the "More..." link at the bottom of the list. However, you can also change the order of projects, so that the list displays the 10 projects of your choosing in the order of your choosing.

To change the order of projects (if you are a member of more than 10 projects):

1. Under the My Projects list, click the "More..." link.
2. In the pop-up window, click the Sort button.
3. Click the project you want to move and use the arrow buttons to move the project up or down within the list of projects.
4. Click the Save button.

Download a Project

Any project member can download a zip file containing the static HTML, image, and other files that make up a project. The project can then be stored offline on a local computer or hosted on another web server.

To preview what a downloaded project will look like:

1. Go to any page of the project.
2. Click Download Project in the menu on the left.
3. Click the Preview button.
4. A static version of the project will open in a separate browser tab or window.

To download a project:

1. Go to any page of the project.
2. Click Download Project in the menu on the left.
3. Click the Download button.
4. A pop-up window will appear while your project is downloading. Due to browser security requirements, users of Internet Explorer version 7.0 or higher may need to click the "click here" link in the pop-up window to continue the download.
5. Save the zip file to your local computer.