The Internet2 K20 Initiative and MAGPI are thrilled to announce the beta-launch of the new global K20 social networking site called Muse.

WHAT IS MUSE?

muse: (verb) to ponder, wonder, think aloud (noun) any inspiration.
 
Muse is a new social networking tool (similar to Facebook or mySpace) that makes it much easier for the variety of K20 community groups both in the United States and internationally – K12 teachers, museum curators, librarians, higher education faculty, etc. – to discover and connect with each other around the use of advanced network-enabled teaching and learning resources and applications.

We hope that through this new tool, you are able to quickly discover collaborators and projects, easily communicate with other community members, and to find your inspiration to develop new and exciting projects using Internet2. Get inspired – find your muse.

HOW DO I USE MUSE?

It's easy! Step 1. Just go to http://k20.internet2.edu to create your account (upload your picture, add your contact information, tag your interest, link to websites, etc.). Step 2. Check your email to verify the creation of your new account. That's it - you're done!

Once you have an account, you can search for people, projects and organizations in Muse as well as post new projects, opportunities, news and resources. You can also add people to your friends list, message them, and track their interests, projects, and resources.

DON'T KEEP THIS TO YOURSELF...

Don't just create your own account in Muse, start sharing the inspiration with others. Send this announcement to your mailing lists and user groups and help us promote use of this new global social networking tool for all!

And, we look forward to hearing from you with feedback. You can submit your feedback through Muse or feel free to get in touch with us directly at James Werle jwerle@u.washington.edu or Jennifer Oxenford jmacdoug@magpi.net. Please let us know what you think!

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
 
Have you ever been interested in creating an online community for your NREN or other regional community audience but haven’t had the time or energy to build and maintain it? You can now easily create your own local online space within the global Muse community!  For example, check out  the MAGPI regional community:
http://k20dev.internet2.edu/drupal/regions/1

Regional communities provide the ability to have a micro-community within the Muse global community. Regional site members can post projects and opportunities and search only within their regional community in addition to the global community. It's easy to switch back and forth between your regional community and the Muse global community. If you are interested in creating a Muse regional community, just let us know and we will set it up for you to share with your members. Contact James Werle jwerle@u.washington.edu or Jennifer Oxenford jmacdoug@magpi.net if you are interested in creating a regional community.