Yeah, the Community Website is Online!

This morning the Community Website was released as a new part of the MCM web portal. As an output of our Erasmus+ project MoMaTrE, the community website aims to connect MathCityMap users all over the world. MathCityMap now has its own small social network.

With the launch of the MCM community website, it is now possible to follow other users and write posts. In addition, you can celebrate your own successes in the MCM portal by winning awards and show them to others. The first changes are already noticeable when you enter the MCM web portal: at the top of the toolbar there is now a small letter, which may already be marked with a red number to announce the existence of new notifications. These notifications inform about new followers, news, contact requests and of course about new awards.

The feed is waiting under the main menu on the start page of the MCM web portal. The first time you log in to the MCM web portal since the community website was published, this feed is empty. However, it will fill up quickly as soon as you follow other MCM users. From then on, the feed informs about the latest activities of the users you are following. Who last published a new trail or task and who is collecting awards? In the feed you can find all this information bundled together.

The Community Website offers much more than that which is visible on the start page. The menu item “Profile” takes you to your own personal page, which is still quite empty at the start of the Community Website and which needs to be filled in. In addition to uploading a profile picture, you can enter information about your activity and job here, as well as link to your own website, if available. The timeline, located directly below the profile, provides an overview of your own activities.

One of the most interesting innovations is certainly the numerous awards that can be received. At the launch of the community website there are awards for achievements in six different areas: Number of published MCM tasks, number of published MCM trails, number of reviews completed, number of digital classrooms completed (with a minimum of four participants and a minimum duration of 45 minutes), number of followers and total number of downloads of own trails in the MCM app. For each of these awards there are six levels to achieve. Those who can adorn themselves with a silver award (level 3) have already gained a lot of experience in using MathCityMap. To reach the last level, a golden award, decorated with a wreath, even professionals have to make an effort. A click on the award symbol in the toolbar of your profile gives information about the required numbers for the different awards.

In your own short profile, which from now on can also be seen in the self-created tasks and trails, up to three awards can be displayed and thus made visible to everyone at first glance. The selection of the awards that are displayed can be made in the profile’s edit mode.

There are several ways to interact with other users. For example, you can use the small magnifying glass in the toolbar at the top of the portal to search for a user whose name you know. On the profile of another user you now have various possibilities for interaction, some of which are only activated when you follow the person. For example, you can write a message to others or request their contact information if you want to exchange information outside the portal.

We hope you enjoy exploring the community website and following each other, writing messages and of course collecting awards!