Frequently Asked Questions

 

How do I register?

You can register using your Facebook, Twitter or Google account, alternatively you can register through the site (without using social media) – we just ask a few quick questions and you’ll be able to login immediately.

How do I log in?

If you have already registered with an access code you can just log in at www.iasuk.ddev.site using the username and password you picked when you registered. If you have forgotten your password then click on the ‘forgotten password’ link.

Scientists do not need to register at all as we’ll already do that for you. Just enter your username (usually ‘firstnamelastname’ all in lowercase please) and the password we sent you.

I’ve forgotten my password, what do I do?

Don’t worry, there’s various things to try:-

1. If you’ve registered through the site (not social media) then we’ve emailed a copy of your username and password when you registered. So, go back and check that email.

3. If you’ve’ve deleted that email, or you can’t check it at the moment, then click on the forgotten password link and we can email it to you again.

3. If you didn’t give us an email address) then you can email us at admin@iasuk.ddev.site telling us your name and username. And we’ll email you a new password.

How secure is it?

We strictly moderate all live chats and questions to make sure that student identity and information is protected. If you’ve got any questions about security, please contact admin@iasuk.ddev.site.

How do I give feedback?

All feedback (good and bad) is greatly appreciated. We take everything you tell us on board and this helps us to improve our next events.

If you have any comments please email Josh at josh@gallomanor.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

What is this site about?

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! is an online event where the public get to meet and interact with real scientists. It’s an X Factor-style competition between the scientists, where the public are the judges.

You can submit questions which the scientists will try to answer as soon as they can. We’ll then have live online text-based chats with the scientists, where you ask questions, and hear personal answers from a variety of scientists working in that area.

You can only talk on the site if you are registered (either via Facebook, Twitter, Google or through the site).

I’m a Scientist brings people together, gives young people a voice and teaches them about science and scientists in a fun, memorable and engaging way.

I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! is produced by Gallomanor, specialists in helping organisations engage their communities.

What can I do on the site?

Public can:

    • ‘Meet’ the scientists
    • ASK them questions
    • Let scientists know their opinions
    • Find out what real scientists are like and what they do all day
    • Engage in live discussion about real-life science
    • CHAT live with scientists and ask them questions

  • Find links to science information, and study help, on the web

 

Scientists can:

    • Engage with students
    • Contribute to science education
    • Hear what the public have to say about science
    • Hear about the work other scientists are doing

Teachers can:

  • Show their classes how science works in the real world
  • Make science lessons fun!

We hope everyone will find I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here! useful, engaging, and enjoyable. Explore the site, check out the scientists’ profiles, the live chats and all the questions that have been asked before, and… have fun!

Will all my questions get answered?

Nearly all questions will be answered.

If you ask a really rude question, moderators will take it out. Sometimes scientists get asked the same question many times: moderators will take out repeat questions and add your name to the first one.

If you ask a question that has already been asked it won’t be put up. You’ll be invited to leave a comment. We understand that you might have a slightly different nuance or that you feel the original question was answered in a different way to what you want. If so, then please do leave a comment on that page. The experts will be notified of all comments looking for their input.

If you’ve asked a question in an aggressive manner, if you’ve verbally attacked one of the experts, if we feel that you’re trolling, then your questions won’t be published. The same goes for comments. They may just be in the queue.

Actually answering questions, of course, is up to the scientists.

Why hasn’t my question been answered yet?

Firstly check that it hasn’t been answered yet. Your answered questions should appear on your profile page. We will also email you to let you know if we have your email address, but sometimes our emails go into the spam folder. Questions don’t get published until the first expert answers it. So you may just be waiting for an answer.

Secondly, give it some time. Scientists are real people with jobs, they’re volunteering their own free time to answer questions. Scientists will answer all the questions they can, as quickly as they can, but it might take until the next day.

If two students ask the same question then we’ll dupe one, adding the student’s name to the original question. So your name may be there but not your exact words. The scientists may also have answered your question in their profile.

If you think your question hasn’t been answered because of a technical problem, please email Emily at emily@gallomanor.com for help.

Chat seems to be blocked, what can I do? (Cookies and iPads)

Lots of problems can be caused by cookies not working on your machine. Make sure your browser (Safari, Firefox etc.) has cookies turned on, so you are accepting them. This tends to be the main problem when using iPads.

With an iPad, go to Settings / Safari / Accept cookies – From visited (or Always)
Apple’s advice for using Safari on iPad

There are a few things that are most likely stopping the chat system from working. They are quite techy so you may want to refer your IT support technician to this page:

1. The chat system uses Javascript. You need to have Javascript enabled and this is normal.

2. Many schools use net filters based on keywords such as chat. Please ask for www.iasuk.ddev.site to be whitelisted.

I’m having problems with the website. What should I do?

Lots of problems can be caused by cookies not working on your machine. Make sure cookies are turned on.

You may occasionally not be able to see the latest pages or answers. Usually clicking refresh will sort it out. If not, try clearing the cache (Tools – Options – Clear cache or clear/delete private data, in most browsers).

If you’re still having problems please email Emily at emily@iasuk.ddev.site.

Why are the scientists in the Gallery in that order?

The scientists appear in the Gallery in reverse alphabetical order (we mean, people called Z first and people called A last). This is because research has shown that people whose names begin with letters near the start of the alphabet tend to be more successful in life (http://www.quirkology.com/UK/Experiment_surname.shtml). Maybe because they are always first in lists!

Here at I’m a Scientist we think life should be more fair, and we try to do our bit to make it fairer. So we are putting the people from the end of the alphabet first for once.

One Response to Frequently Asked Questions

  1. anitahall says:

    Hello

    Apologies – while gathering a Youtube link, I accidently closed my chat window and now can’t get back in – doh! I was really enjoying the questions too and will happily answer any that were left hanging.

    Thanks

    Anita Hall

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