WEB SITE TOUR

A Guided Tour of Our Website

http://www.tachetexas.org

 

 

We’d like to introduce you to our web site on the Internet, http://www.tachetexas.org   There are two main parts to the website, a public section and a members-only section.  Anyone can browse the public pages, so feel free to give our web address to friends or family members who’d like to learn more about our association or homeschooling in general.

 

PUBLIC HOME PAGE & FEATURES

 

The following links are available to the public:

 

About TACHE:  Here you will find a list of member benefits, information on how to join TACHE and our Bylaws. 

 

Contact Us:  Here you’ll find our association mailing address, phone number, and e-mail addresses.

 

Homeschool Research:  Many who visit us online will not yet have made a decision about homeschooling, so we have provided a number of resources, including the results of several national studies, to demonstrate its benefits.  (Yes, there’s even an article on socialization!)  If you’re looking for information to convince a doubter, you’ll find ample material here.  We’ll update these links as new studies become available.

 

Links:  Here we list some of our favorite homeschool websites, publications, and organizations, along with other useful links.  Each link includes a brief description.  More will be added later.

 

New User / Member:  You’ll need to use this link to request access to the members-only areas.  The site is fully password protected so that features such as the member directory, and calendar are available only to TACHE members.  Current members’ request for access will be approved quickly, usually within 24 hours or less.

 

Login:  When you receive your welcome email, you’ll click on this link from the home page to log in with your user ID and password.  Once you’ve logged in, you’ll be taken to the private side of the website where you’ll have a lot more choices available to you.

 

MEMBERS-ONLY HOME PAGE & FEATURES

 

Home:  On the right side of the page you’ll find upcoming events from the calendar.  If you click on an event, the details will show in a new window.  Clicking on the Home link returns you to the members-only home page.  (To return to the public home page, simply log out.)

 

Calendar:  If you select the Calendar from the main menu and click on an event, you’ll see complete details, including a map to the location, contact information, and more.  Events marked with an “S” will allow you to sign up online and even tell you how many spots are left.  (The “S” stands for “signup.”)  You can choose the traditional calendar view, or you may choose a printable “list view” that shows details for every event for any month.

 

Contact Information:  This section lists our general e-mail addresses.

 

Questions:  This section only has a few items in it right now, but we’d be happy to have your suggestions.

 

Forum:  We know this will get a lot of use as members ask questions and toss around ideas on a wide range of topics (called “threads” in forum lingo).  An online forum is similar to an email loop, but it has some advantages:

                                                                                    Loop                 Forum

Post a message by email without being online                  YES                 NO

Start a new topic at any time                                          YES                 YES

Option to receive individual emails                                   YES                 YES

Option to receive daily digest email                                  YES                 YES

Option to receive daily digest email                                  YES                 YES

Option to receive no forum emails (view all online)             YES                 YES

Option to assign threads to a category                             NO                   YES

Go directly to the online thread from the email                  NO                   YES

Entire thread shown in each email                                   NO                   YES

Browse threads by category                                            NO                   YES

Search threads by keyword                                             NO                   YES

Search in only one category                                            NO                   YES

Sort results by date posted or alphabetically                    NO                   YES

Free of advertisements                                                   NO                   YES

 

As you can see, the Forum offers a lot of flexibility for easy, subject-specific communication among our members.  Come to the Forum, and let’s talk!

 

Links:  Categorized links with detailed descriptions make this section particularly useful.  You can view all links or only those in a particular category (Field Trip Ideas, Curriculum, Organizations, etc.)  Your suggestions for links or new categories are welcome.

 

Member Families:  Now, we have an online member directory. You’ll be able to see a list of all families that have chosen to make their information available.  (This option was presented to you when you filled out the online form for site access.  You may change this setting at any time by Editing My Profile.)  Remember, our site is password protected; no one but our members will have access to this information.

 

Family Website:  Each family in the member directory can create its own website!  You start with a home page, a photo gallery page, and a links page.  You can make these very simple, or you can add HTML code for fancy programming if you know how.  You can also add custom pages for anything you’d like.  For example, you could give each child a special page for photos, artwork, creative writing, etc.  BONUS:  You can create a special user ID and password to give to your friends and relatives that will allow them to view your family web pages without having access to the other areas of the site.  (To create this special user ID, just Edit My Profile.)  Don’t give out your main user ID and password to anyone else, out of respect for your fellow members.

 

How to Create Your Own Website:  Click the Member Families link from the menu on the left side of any page.  Find your family in the list and click “Edit Web Site” next to your name.  (You may also choose the Edit My Profile link and choose the “Edit Family Web Site” link near the top of the page.)

 

Suggestion:  Turn your kids loose on your family website.  You might be surprised what they can accomplish!  The Help Manual near the bottom of the menu has instructions to get you started.

 

Publications / Articles:  Newsletters and other articles will be posted here.  No more hunting for those old newsletters!

 

Public Pages:  These are the same pages that are available on the public side in case you need them.

 

Edit My Profile:  Go here to edit your family website.  You may also change your personal information, forum email settings, user name or password, and privacy setting for the directory.  This is also the place to go to set up a user name and password for “outside users” (friends or family).

 

Log Out:  This will end your session on the members’ side and return you to the public home page.

 

Help Manual:  There are detailed instructions for most areas of the site. You can view or print these from this link.

 

FINAL NOTES

 

Weekly Email:  If you checked the “weekly email” option when you filled out the online form for site access, you’ll receive a weekly email each weekend detailing ALL new additions to the website in the previous week.  This will be a great way to learn about new events posted on the calendar, new forum topics, new classified ads, and other website changes.  We highly recommend that you say “YES” to the weekly email option!  The alternative would be for you to check back often.

 

Typing or editing text:  You will often have the choice of two different “editors” when typing on the website, such as when posting a message in the forum.  Editor #1 is a “text only” editor that allows bold, italics, and the insertion of LINKS.  Editor #3 has more options but is harder to use.  Experiment with the editors to find the one you like best.  If you’re a beginner at this sort of thing, start with Editor #1.

 

How to get started:  Go to http://www.tachetexas.org and click on the “New User / Member” link on the home page.  If you are a paid member of TACHE, we will authorize your access quickly by email.   Then LOG IN to the members’ section of the site.

 

Thanks for taking the website tour!  We look forward to seeing you online soon, and we welcome your comments and suggestions.