How do I login?
Visit the My Account page.
I’m a student, how do I get an account?
Visit the Registration page then check your email.
I registered for an account but can’t enter data. What’s wrong?
Contact your Instructor. After you register for an account, your Instructor must invite you to an active Classroom before you can enter data.
Can I edit someone else’s Sample or Isolate?
Yes. Have the owner of the sample or isolate add you as a co-author so you can enter your results.
When can I create an Entry?
You may create an Entry after an Instructor adds you to a Classroom. After you are removed from a Classroom, you will not be able to add or edit Entries.
When can I edit my Entries?
You may edit your data Entries while you are in a Classroom and before the Instructor publishes it to the Public Database. After you are removed from a Classroom or the Instructor has published your Entries, you will no longer be able to edit your Entry.
Can I add a Test to a published Entry?
Yes. You may not edit a published Entry, but you may add new Tests. After a Sample, Isolate, Extract, or Test is published, you may still use it to create new Entries. You may also add a Test to an Entry published in another classroom.
What happens to my Entry?
Instructors decide whether individual Entries are of high-enough quality to be published on the Public Database. Published Entries will be uploaded to the Public Database, and the data on those Entries will be retained. Unpublished Entries will expire after four years. See the
Privacy Policy section on Data Use for more information.
How long will I have access to my data?
You will have access to your data entries during the Term in which you are enrolled in a Tiny Earth course. Data will be removed from this website one year after the course is completed, unless it has been published to the Public Database or otherwise requested by your Instructor and approved by the Administrators.
Can I edit my data entries after the Term ends?
No. The system automatically removes your editing access when the Term ends or after the data is published to the Tiny Earth Public Database, whichever comes first. If you need that feature overridden, ask your Instructor to submit a request by contacting the Tiny Earth Discovery Database Administrators.
How long will my account be active?
Student Users are active during the Term of a Classroom.
Student Users will be removed from a Classroom at the end of the Term, but the User account will remain active. Instructors may add Students to any active Classroom during this time.
Student User accounts will become inactive one year after the Term ends. Instructors cannot add Students to Classrooms during this time but can request the Student account be unlocked by contacting Tiny Earth.
Student User accounts will be deleted after 4 years and cannot be reinstated after that point.
Instructor User accounts are active indefinitely. Contact Tiny Earth to request an account be deleted manually.
My account is locked. How do I unlock it?
Instructors can request any Student account be unlocked (unless it has been deleted) by contacting Tiny Earth.
My account was deleted. How do I get access to the Tiny Earth Discovery Database?
You will need to set up an account as if you are a new Student User, then be invited to a Classroom by your Instructor. Follow the instructions on the home page.
Will the location where I collected my environmental Sample remain private?
No. The exact GPS coordinates of your environmental Sample (e.g., our soil) will be included in the data. If that Sample is published to the Tiny Earth Public Database, those coordinates will be included. If you wish not to have a personal location included (such as your home), you should acquire your Sample from another location.
What permission do I need to collect my soil Sample?
Complete the Soil Sample Collection Form with the land owner [URL] prior to or at the time of collecting the Sample.
Can I change my username?
No.
Can I change my display name (nickname)?
Yes. View your profile via the “My Account” link in the menu. Navigate to the “Edit Profile” tab and change your Display Name. Remember to save your changes.
How do I request a new data field?
Submit the request using this form.
How do I access Tiny Earth public data?
The Tiny Earth Public Database can be found at https://data.tinyearth.wisc.edu/.
Where can I learn more about Tiny Earth?
Visit the Tiny Earth website.
Who belongs to the Tiny Earth network?
Tiny Earth is a network of Students discovering new antibiotics from soil bacteria. This website comprises data entries from Tiny Earth Students, Instructors, and Researchers around the world. During the semester that Students are enrolled in a Tiny Earth course, this website serves as the Tiny Earth Discovery Database for Students to enter their research findings. Once the entries are complete, Students can publish their results to the Tiny Earth Public Database, where anyone can view and download the data for further research.
Definitions
Websites
“Tiny Earth Discovery Database” (also referred to as “the Discovery Database” or “this website”) comprises this website and its contents.
“Tiny Earth Public Database” (also referred to as “Public Database”) is the public-facing website derived from research data on this site that have been actively published by Instructors.
Data and information
“Personal Information” refers to any demographic information collected on Users, including but not limited to: IP address and personal demographics (such as name and email).
“Research Data” refers to any scientific data entered into the Discovery Database (such as but not limited to Samples and Isolates).
“Published Data” (also known as “Public Data”) refers to any Entries from the Tiny Earth Discovery Database that have been promoted by an Instructor and approved by the Administrators to be posted (i.e., published) on the Tiny Earth Public Database. Data includes research data, Display Name, Institution, and Classroom.
“Unpublished Information” includes all information (such as demographic information, account information, and research data) entered into the Tiny Earth Discovery Database.
“Display Name” serves as a nickname for each User that will be displayed on the Public Database if the Research Data are published.
Account holders
“Discovery Database Administrators” include the Tiny Earth staff at the University of Wisconsin–Madison who manage this website.
“User” encompasses anyone with an account on the Tiny Earth Discovery Database.
“Instructor” is a teacher of record for the Tiny Earth Classroom.
“Student” is a person enrolled in the Tiny Earth course and a member of the corresponding Classroom.
“Researcher” is any person adding data to this website who is not enrolled in a formal Tiny Earth Classroom.
Data categories
“Classroom” is the group of Students enrolled in a Tiny Earth course during a Term.
“Term” is the academic duration of a course, such as a semester, quarter, trimester, or summer session. Instructors establish the duration of a Term when setting up a Classroom.
“Entry” is any data entered into the Discovery Database. Entries include but are not limited to:
- “Sample” is the environment Sample (eg soil).
- “Isolate” is the microorganism isolated from a Sample.
- “Test” includes any action done to an Isolate that generates experimental results.
- “Extract” is a chemical extracted from a living organism.