The MERLOT website supports a worldwide community of users who have many and disparate teaching and learning needs. We frequently receive many requests for information and clarification that enable us to continue to improve our website. We have compiled a list of some of the more frequent requests for information into a Frequently Asked Question section included her. We have categorized those questions to make it easier for you to get answers to your questions. If you cannot find what you are looking for, please visit the Contact MERLOT Help section to determine who might be the best person to answer your questions.
The following is a categorized list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding various matters related to MERLOT. If the information you require is not included in this list, please send an email enquiry with the subject field containing the term "FAQ" to webmaster@merlot.org.
I forgot my password; how do I retrieve it so I can log in to MERLOT?
At the top right of the web site is a Log In link. If you click ‘Log In,’ under the password field is a link for Forgot Password. From the Forgot Password page, enter your email address and your password will be sent. You will be sent a temporary password that you can change once you log in again to MERLOT. Reset your password to something you will remember.
If your email address has changed, you can send an email to webmaster@merlot.org and have a temporary password sent.
I tried to log in to MERLOT too many times and forgot my password and got locked out. What do I do?
After too many false attempts at logging in to MERLOT, you will be locked out. IF this happens, you will be presented with a page asking for your username, so you can reset your password. Enter your username into the field and click Send. Follow the instructions in the email.
My email has changed and now I can't log in to MERLOT? What should I do?
Even though your email has changed, you can still log in to MERLOT with that address and then update your profile information to reflect those changed. MERLOT doesn't know that your email has changed so you can still access your account and make the necessary changes. If you have any questions or need help with the update, contact the MERLOT Webmaster at webmaster@merlot.org.
Some of my profile information has changed. How do I change my password, email address or other information?
To change your profile information after you are logged in to MERLOT, do the following:
How can I add my picture to my profile?
You can add your picture to your MERLOT profile if you have it on a server and/or can provide a URL. To do this, log in to MERLOT and go to your profile by clicking your name in the top right corner and select My Profile from the drop down.
From your profile page, click the pencil icon next to your name. Once on the MERLOT Account Details page, enter the photo URL in the Photo URL field and click Save Changes. If you don't have a URL for your photo, send your picture to webmaster@merlot.org and it will get posted to your profile. Please provide a link to your profile in MERLOT.
Who can see my profile information?
Members and users of MERLOT can only see the information you have entered into your profile. This is different than what you see (when logged in) on your profile page which is every field that information can be entered. For example, if you do not include your Education history, that heading will not be visible on your profile for others to see.
Can I export my profile information from MERLOT?
There is a feature in MERLOT which allows you to export your profile to a text file. After you have entered all the details in your MERLOT profile, there is a link on your profile page on the right side, "Jumpstart your CV". When you click that link, a file download dialog box appears asking if you want to Open or Save the .rtf file. Depending on how your downloads are set up on your computer, the file may automatically download. This downloads all the information you have entered into your MERLOT profile saving you time in re-entering it elsewhere.
Is my email address shared with others or do you keep it private?
By default your email address is hidden and cannot be seen by other users (both MERLOT and non-MERLOT members). If you check the option to "Display your email to other MERLOT Members," then other members who are logged in will be able to see your email address on your profile page. It will still be hidden from any users not logged in and non-MERLOT members.
I don't use my account any more (or I have retired). How do I delete it from MERLOT?
If you no longer use your account and wish to have it removed, please email the MERLOT Webmaster and we will take it off the site.
Is there a list of MERLOT Partners? I'd like to determine if my institution is a MERLOT partner?
MERLOT provides a variety of tools and services to improve the quality of online materials, learning and pedagogy. If your institution is a partner, you can locate them in the complete list of MERLOT Partners. If you are interested in becoming a partner and help increase the number of high quality online teaching and learning materials for faculty to use in their courses, email your enquiry to partnerships@merlot.org.
What is the process for becoming a Partner?
There are different categories to become a partner with MERLOT. Collaborating with MERLOT as a Partner allows you to develop and promote services and resources that benefit our constituents; pursue and acquire grants to achieve shared goals, among other items outlined at our Partner page.
Faculty members at our university have been talking about MERLOT and are interested in a partnership. Who do I contact for more information?
You can find information on becoming a Partner here.
We are a corporation looking to partner with a digital library/repository such as MERLOT. Who should I contact for more information?
There are different categories to become a partner with MERLOT. Collaborating with MERLOT as a Partner allows you to develop and promote services and resources that benefit our constituents; pursue and acquire grants to achieve shared goals, among other items outlined at our Partner page.
Is there a way to find out who from my institution is a Member of MERLOT?
The fastest way to see who from your institution is a Member of MERLOT or has contributed materials to MERLOT is to do an advanced search of Members at merlot.org/merlot/advSearchMembers.htm Some of the fields to narrow the search include name, email address, organization or association. You can also search materials for a Member's name, email address or organization at merlot.org/merlot/advSearchMaterials.htm.
Does MERLOT share their members email addresses?
MERLOT does not share members' email addresses or sell the list to other organizations. Member email addresses are available only to MERLOT members when the member is logged in. Further, MERLOT members are free to hide their email address so it isn't visible to other members, if they want additional privacy.
How often does MERLOT send emails to its Members?
MERLOT does its best not to flood members with emails. As part of your membership, if you opt in, you automatically receive our educational newsletter that is sent out a few times a year. If at any time you want to unsubscribe from the newsletter, there is a link at the bottom of the email. From time to time, MERLOT does sends information to its Members about our conference or website updates. MERLOT never sells or distributes its membership list.
What is MERLOT’s involvement with Learning Management Systems (LMS)?
The MERLOT collection and services can be exposed to hundreds of thousands of higher education instructors and their students, worldwide through a variety of Learning Management Systems (LMS). This exposure can lead to increased partnership possibilities, an increase in the number of individual MERLOT Members, and the potential for significant growth of our collection. MERLOT has signed Partnership MOU's with a number of vendors - without conferring specific MERLOT "approval" on any one of them. Our strategy was and continues to be to work with vendors such as these so that MERLOT will be exposed to an increasingly large number of higher education faculty who will see the MERLOT website as they use one of these LMS's. For more information, go to the LMS page. If your university has a LMS system and you wish to see what MERLOT has to offer in the way of content, please visit our Technology page.
I found your website and see that it’s very complimentary to ours. I would like to suggest a link sharing relationship or allow us to advertise on www.merlot.org. What is your procedure to have this reciprocal relationship?
MERLOT does not allow advertising on website. If you have a site that would be beneficial to MERLOT Members, please join MERLOT and feel free to add the site. Membership is free. If you have a digital library that we could have a reciprocal searching relationship, contact our Director of Partnerships.
The MERLOT RSS functionality has been created to allow controlled, distributed access to MERLOT data for display on websites beyond MERLOT. The format is designed to make it easy to incorporate MERLOT content into a large number of websites, portals, and applications that otherwise would not be able to display MERLOT content (or would have a much more difficult time doing so). RSS feed content is displayed using the RSS format (a standards-based XML format that has been widely accepted for the syndication of frequently changing content such as news). For more information, go to the MERLOT RSS page.
I see an RSS icon on the Search page. What RSS feeds can I get from the MERLOT site?
In addition to the over 100 "canned" RSS feeds MERLOT has, any search you perform in MERLOT can be saved as an RSS feed. Once a search has been conducted, from the search results page, click the RSS button at the bottom. You will be taken to a page that lists the XML file. You can cut and paste the file into a RSS reader of your choice. For more information on readers, go to the MERLOT RSS page.
I heard that MERLOT has Web Services that I can incorporate into my website or portal. What do I need to use those services?
For information about our Web services, go to our Technologies page.
How do materials 'get into' the MERLOT collection?
Materials can be 'contributed' or added to the MERLOT collection by registered Members of MERLOT. When a member contributes a material to MERLOT, they are either the creator (author) of the material, or have discovered it and want to share it with the community. For more information on the process to contribute to MERLOT, see the Add a Material page.
Where is the collection stored?
MERLOT stores all metadata for materials and membership and learning materials created in Content Builder. The databases are maintained by the Information Technology Services division of the California State University Chancellors Office.
Can I use materials from the collection in my course?
You can use materials discovered in MERLOT in a course however, having said that, it is important to review and abide by the Creative Commons or copyright stated on the material detail view page. This license is declared by the author. If you require more information about those rules, you must contact the author/owner and/or submitter of the material. MERLOT does not interfere with author/owner' rules for reuse of their materials.
How many discipline communities are in MERLOT? Are new ones being formed?
There are currently over 25 discipline communities in MERLOT that have an Editorial board, each with its own community portal, full of information specific to that discipline. For more information, go to our Communities page.
What do I do if a link to a material doesn’t work?
MERLOT regularly runs a link checker but since we only store metadata (not the actual materials), some links change quicker than we can find them. If you come across a bad link, click the Report Broken Link link to send an email to the Webmaster. If you know the new URL, please include in the Report form before clicking Send. Every effort will made to locate the correct URL and update the detail page as quickly as possible.
I found a material perfect for a colleague's course; how can I let them know about MERLOT?
From any material detail view page, you will find a variety of social networking links on the top of the material detail view page to share with friends or colleagues.
What does it mean if a material has a classic or editors' choice award icon on its detail page?
The MERLOT Awards Program for Exemplary Online Learning Resources recognizes and promotes outstanding online resources designed to enhance teaching and learning. The awards honor the authors and developers of these resources for their contributions to the academic community by conferring the MERLOT Classics and Editors' Choice Awards. Each MERLOT Editorial Board selects an outstanding, peer-reviewed resource in its discipline to receive its annual MERLOT Classics award according to program criteria. The MERLOT Editors' Council reviews the designated Classics award winner from each discipline and selects, from among them, those resources considered to be exemplary models for all disciplines. The Council then confers upon these exemplary resources its highest honor, the MERLOT Editors' Choice Award.
As I browse the list of MERLOT members, I wonder what are the designations for gold, silver and bronze levels. The key I found said each level corresponds to a particular number of points, but I didn't see an explanation for how a user gets points. What do these points and levels signify?
MERLOT tracks member participation in the services offered on this website and automatically presents contributors with awards commensurate with their participation. A member earns a point for each material they submit as well as a comment, assignment, a bookmark collection, course eportfolio, or as a member of the Virtual Speakers Bureau. A goal of MERLOT is to increase the number of faculty who successfully use academic technology in higher education.
How do I become a peer reviewer?
The peer review process for evaluating the teaching and learning resources in MERLOT follows the model of the peer review of scholarship. Faculty members are selected in accordance with MERLOT guidelines. The peer review process is led by Editors and an editorial board. For more information, email beareviewer@merlot.org.
Can I start an editorial board or get involved to participate in MERLOT activities?
If you are interested in starting an editorial board or want more information on existing boards, contact the Director of Editorial and Professional Development Services.