In order to most effectively contribute, GLFi Board Members should be familiar with the following general principles and procedures to use the GLF website and collaboration tools.

General Principles and Usage:

• We use an open source CMSi called Drupal. It's a tremendously powerful tool used to build community, manage donations and disseminate the GLF mission.
• Simplicity is paramount. In the face of all this power, we strive to simplify and follow the structure suggested by the site categories. Information should never get lost or 'orphaned'.
• Clear separation of public and private activities. As the GLF primary information and collaboration tool, some areas of this site are public and some are private. Drupal has a powerful user management system.
• Marketing & fundraising activites are coordinated using our CRMi. Those with permission (Board Members) can view and explore after login by clicking the 'CRM' link in the main navigation menu on the right sidbar.
• As much as possible we endeavor to keep everything in one place. Transparency is important to any organization and especially so for those,  like GLF, with a 'Distributed' structure. When discussing Board matters, please use the mailing list provided. This way everyone can easily be on the same page using familiar tools. As appropriate, and as topics merit, we will move discussion to the website Forum to better capture all significant GLF activities.

Messaging & Collaboration

• The primary communication tool for GLF Board members is our Board mailing list. Login to your GLF email account and send an email to board [at] globalliteracy [dot] org to contact all Board Members and GLF Officers. (Instructions below)

Getting started:

• This website requires a login to make postings or view private content. Logging in is easy. Click on the 'Login/Register link on the top of the right sidebar.
• You should have received an email with your username, official GLF email address and password. Your username is the first part of your official globalliteracy.org email.
• Enter your username and password and remember to solve the math question at the bottom of the content 'block'. This is to foil the automated spam bots that prey on login screens and mailforms everywhere. These CAPTCHAi elements will pop up from time to time on the site, but you should only have to answer once per 'session'.
• After your login, you are directed to your 'Account' page. Click the 'Edit' tab to change your password or other settings. Of note are the 'Notification settings'. You can turn these on to receive email notifications when new content is posted to the GLF website. You can always get back to this page by clicking on your username link displayed in the 'Who's online' block on the right 'sidebar'. You can also get to it using the 'My account' link under the main 'Navigation' block.

Collaboration tools:

• Besides the website, GLF has standardized on 'Google apps' for document collaboration and calendering. You can reach our Google apps area by logging in to your globalliteracy.org email account at mail.globalliteracy.org.
• Login by entering the first part of your email address - e.g. literacy.now@globalliteracy.org. The bold part before the @ sign is what to enter. Your password is the same as the one for your website login.
• After login you will see several links above the GLF logo on the upper left of the screen. Click on 'Documents' to view GLF documents.
• Each document can be viewed and worked on simultaneously in a collaborative manner.
• To share the document with others using email or work offline,  there is an 'Export' feature. All offline edits shoud be merged back into the online original. For ease and simplicity, try to work online as much as possible
• To share a document with others instead of email, invite them as collaborators or viewers. Click on the share tab on the right to get started.

Contact us with any further questions or additions to this document.