Gateway to 21st Century Skills

Joining GEM as a General Member

In order to enjoy the additional benefits of the Gateway including the right to provide useful comments on educational resources that assist teachers in their use, you need to join GEM as a General Member.  GEM Member comments are reviewed and published on the Gateway under the commentor's name.  Select members may be designated as "Gemologists" and granted rights to create quality ratings for resources.  Additional functionality for GEM Members will be provided in the coming months.

Note:  It is not necessary to join in order to use the Gateway to search for useful educational resources.

Steps in Joining

1. Click on the "join" link on the right-hand side of the function bar directly under the folder tabs.

2. The registration form will open.  While only the fields noted with small red boxes are required (e.g., Email), the more information provided, the greater the customization services the Gateway can provide.

3. User Name  Provide a  User (login) Name.  For example "JSmith."  Please note that the User Name is case sensitive.  The User Name should not include any spaces or special characters.  When you create comments on educational resources in the Gateway, the comments will display your User Name and provide a link to a personal profile page containing information about you--your Full Name, Biography, Affiliation, and the Subjects of interest to you.
   
4. Full Name Provide your full name--for example "Jane B. Smith." 
   
5. Email  Please provide your email address.  Note:  Your email address is suppressed in all public displays.
   
6. Biography Provide a short, precise description of your background.  Background information (as well as your Affiliation (below)) are useful in establishing your credibility for other users of the Gateway. 
   
7. Password  Provide a unique password.  The Gateway requires your User Name and Password each time you log into the Gateway.
   
8. Confirm Password The Gateway askes you to repeat four password in order to guarantee correct entry.
   
9. Send a Mail with Password  If you want to have the Gateway send you an email containing your password, check the box.
   

9. Subjects  From the list of subjects in the scroll box, pick one or more subjects of interest to you.  The subjects you select are displayed in your personal profile.  In the future, they will also provide GEM with the mean of customizing personal updates when new educational resources in your area of interest are added to the Gateway.  More than one subject may be selected by using your computers mechanism for picking multiple entries (e.g., holding down the control (Ctrl) key in Windows while selecting).  Subjects may be de-selected in the exact same way.
   
10. Telephone  Please provide a telephone number where we can contact you if necessary.  Note:  Your telephone number is suppressed in all public displays.
11. Affiliation  Provide the name of your most significant affiliation--usually a place of employments (e.g., a K-12 school) or a professional organization.  Identifying your affiliation is important in establishing your credibility when you author public comments on resources or rate the quality of a resource.
    

9. Jurisdiction  From the selection box, select the state of your residence or employment.  Note: Designation of one's state is required for NEA members wishing to view the gateway through their state's custom view.
   
10. NEA Member  If you are an NEA member and want to view the Gateway through your state's custom view, check the box.
11. When you are satisfied with your data, click the Register button at the bottom of the page.  Your membership application is submitted to the GEM Directorate for review.  You will receive an email confirming your membership.  Confirmation may take from 24 to 36 hours.