Step 1: Step 2: Open in your browser. Select SIGN UP on the upper right of the screen.

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1 This document will walk you through the steps of setting up an educator profile and making an in-person request for STEM professionals to volunteer and connect into classrooms, out of school time events, and more. Videos and support throughout the system can help and feature the process for making virtual volunteer requests. Note that Nepris, the technology solution behind Texas STEM Connections, does not include inperson volunteer requests and connections so help support throughout the system may not be comprehensive. for additional help. Step 1: Open in your browser. Select SIGN UP on the upper right of the screen. Step 2: Sign up for a new account. Enter your name, address, unique username for your profile, and password. Select I am an Educator with a School, College, University, Community/Non-Profit, or Out of School Youth for the How would you describe yourself? dropdown question. Click the check-box at the bottom once you ve read through and agreed to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Click the Sign Up box in the lower right of the screen. You will receive a Welcome to Texas STEM Connections once your account is set up.

2 Step 3: Select the type of educator role that best describes you and click the Next button. Complete the remaining questions on the next page about your organization. Be sure to look carefully to find your organization before adding it in as a new one check all variations and spellings to avoid duplicate organization entries. STEM@txgcp.org with discrepancies, misspellings, duplicate entry information, etc. Note that administrative s from Texas STEM Connections will come from STEM@txgcp.org. Add this address to your address book so you don t miss any s or lose them in a SPAM filter. YOUR NAME HERE Step 4: Click the person icon on the menu and select Account Settings to add additional information to your profile. Be sure to add in any affiliations such as Central Texas Discover Engineering, ISEA, or other organizations. View your public profile by clicking the green button to the lower left. Set communications preferences by clicking the Preferences link on the left sidebar menu.

3 Step 5: Your profile has been entered and your dashboard is the screen where you may make requests, manage opportunities, share updates with or ask questions to others in the community, and more. 1. You can return to this screen by clicking the Dashboard menu item. 2. Select Create In-Person Session Request from Session dropdown menu to create an in-person volunteer request. An explanation of all options in Session dropdown can be found on the next page. YOUR NAME HERE Session Descriptions: Virtual Live Sessions or Industry Chats: These sessions are live sessions conducted virtually between the volunteer and the educator/classroom. The three types of live virtual sessions that can be requested are described in detail at 1) Topic Presentation; 2) Project Mentoring; 3) Evaluation Session. You can browse or keyword/topic search previously recorded sessions or upcoming sessions that may be of interest. You may also check out the Session Calendar to see upcoming live virtual sessions. In-Person Volunteer Events/Services/Opportunities: In-person requests fall within 6 different types (see image to right). The descriptions below provide typical examples for each of the categories: 1. In-school volunteer/mentor requests are for opportunities during the school day, typically for a particular class or grade. 2. Out-of-school volunteer/mentor requests are for clubs, non-profits, museums, camps and other out-of-school volunteer opportunities. 3. Field trip and company visit requests are requests for a group of students to visit a company/organization, take a tour of a facility, etc. 4. Job shadowing / externship requests are requests for one student or a small group of students to have a more indepth experience to experience aspects of a person s job. These experiences are typically one day or less in length. 5. Internship requests are for a student to have a work experience over a period of time with a company or organization. 6. STEM camp and workshop requests are requests for companies or organizations to provide camp or workshop experiences for a group of students. Choose the request type that best fits your needs and use the open-ended description boxes to describe your request in detail and clarify your needs/wants for the experience.

4 Step 6: To Create In-Person Session Request, you ll need to describe the request in as much detail as possible. The more complete the request, the easier it will be for a STEM volunteer to sign up and help. Follow the instructions on the next page to walk through all steps for creating the In-Person Session Request: 1. Describe Request (screenshot below) 2. Location & Preferences 3. Attach Documents 4. Publish YOUR NAME HERE

5 1. Describe Request: a. Request Category Select the Request Category that best fits your volunteer opportunity and need: i. In-School Volunteer/Mentor ii. Out-of-School Volunteer/Mentor iii. Field Trip / Company Visit iv. Job Shadowing/Externship v. Internship vi. STEM Camps/Workshops b. Title Enter a title for your request. A title that clearly describes your opportunity is best to engage volunteers. If volunteers have to guess at what your title means, they are less likely to sign up. c. Class Enter the subject area, concept, theme, topic, etc. to help the volunteer understand the focus of the volunteer opportunity. d. Grade Level Enter the grade(s) involved in the volunteer opportunity. e. Activities you need help with Enter additional details on what you would like the volunteers to help with. You can select from the dropdown menu of previously entered activities or enter your own description. Examples could include leading a hands-on activity, speaking, sharing experiences, serving on a panel, providing a job shadowing experiences, etc. f. Description Enter as much detail as you can on what you are requesting. If your dates/times are flexible, this is the place to indicate that. The more descriptive you can be about what you are looking for, the more likely a volunteer will be to connect with you and help with the request. 2. Location & Preferences: a. Street Address Enter your street address. b. City Enter your city. c. State Texas is already pre-populated. d. Zip Enter your zip code. e. Company Preference If you have a company preference, you may enter the company name here. To keep your options for volunteers open, leave this field blank. f. Industry Preference If you have an industry preference, you may enter the industry sector here. To keep your options for volunteers open, leave this field blank. g. Specialties/Skill Preference If you have a preference for specific specialties or skills, you may enter them here. To keep your options for volunteers open, leave this field blank. h. Career Pathways If your volunteer request matches to any career pathways, you may enter them here. You may select from the dropdown menu and may enter more than one. 3. Attach Documents: If you have any fliers, handouts, descriptions of your camp/school/event, volunteer forms, etc., you may attach them here. The more complete your request, the more likely a volunteer will sign up to help. 4. Publish: a. Event Date Enter your event date and time. Check the box if your event is multiple consecutive days and enter an end date. b. Number of Volunteers Desired Enter the number of volunteers you would like to have for this opportunity. c. Publish This Request Until Enter the date you want this request to be published through. This is your deadline for volunteers to sign up. The request will not be visible after this date. d. Additional Notes Enter any additional instructions or details that may not have been covered. This can be a place where you describe in more detail about the number of volunteers you need, for example, if you have a minimum and/or maximum number for your event. You can also describe here if you are open to other dates/times and not limited to the date listed. e. Click the checkbox once you ve agreed to the terms and conditions. f. Hit the Save button to save your request. g. Hit the Publish button to publish your request to the site and to start finding volunteers.

6 Step 7: Once the In-Person Session Request is published: You ll receive an stating that your request has been received. The next screen in the process will include as summary of your request and recommend volunteers who might match up well with your request. o View Profile to check out recommended volunteer experiences and backgrounds. o Send Message to recommended volunteers to ask them to consider your request or to ask them questions. Note the Send Message To All button below the event location map on the right. o Invite to invite a recommended volunteer to accept the In- Person Session Request. You can search for more volunteers by clicking the Search More Volunteers button towards the bottom or by clicking the little arrow > button below the recommended volunteers. received once request is published

7 Step 8: Once a volunteer has expressed interest in your request, you will receive an as well as a notification within Texas STEM Connections. Click on the Title link of your request in the to open the Dashboard page with the volunteer information. Click on the volunteer name to check out her/his profile and experience. If the volunteer meets your needs, click Approve. If not, click Deny. Title / Title Volunteer Name Volunteer Company From your Dashboard, you can get to your events by clicking on In-Person Sessions tab to the right. The boxes show how many sessions you have in each stage of the process under that tab (either Virtual Sessions or In-Person Sessions ). Clicking on the box will take you to the events in that stage.

8 Step 9: Once a volunteer has confirmed you will receive an with their name, and your event request summary. From your dashboard, you can also see your confirmed in-person requests and manage your request, confirmed visits, completed visits and expired visits. See the bottom image in Step 7 of the previous page for navigating to your in-person requests from the dashboard. See the example of confirmed in-person visits in the image below. Feel free to contact the volunteer directly to confirm any final details or to send your own reminders. Your Name Request Name Step 10: Once your volunteer event has finished, mark the request as completed (see image above). On the completed screen, click on Details to rate your experience and give feedback. Additional Help: Be sure to check out the help videos and information embedded throughout the site by Nepris, the technology behind Texas STEM Connections. Note that Texas STEM Connections is customized to include in-person requests in addition to virtual requests, so some of the help information and videos do not show this information. You can also STEM@txgcp.org for assistance.