<aside> 🧑🏻‍🏫 This page is designed to guide students who are using DocumentCloud in the classroom.

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<aside> <img src="/icons/book-closed_blue.svg" alt="/icons/book-closed_blue.svg" width="40px" /> MuckRock’s User Guide gives you everything to make the most out of MuckRock’s suite of tools. If this has helped you, consider donating to support our work!

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We’re using MuckRock’s DocumentCloud this semester. You have to be part of a verified newsroom to upload to DocumentCloud, so it is important to follow these directions carefully!

Everyone in the class will be receiving an invitation to our class “Organization” on MuckRock. You will need to create a MuckRock account and accept this invitation before you can complete your assignments.

You will not need to apply for verification in order to use DocumentCloud this semester. If you find yourself at a form that is asking you to “request verification” that likely means that you skipped a step and did not actually join the class “Organization”on MuckRock.

Step-By-Step

Accept an Invitation Email

When an organization admin invites you by email, you’ll receive an emailed invitation from MuckRock:

This screenshot shows an invitation to a MuckRock organization called “David McKie’s Research Methods” — your invitation will name a different MuckRock organization (unless you’re enrolled in Prof. McKie’s class).

When you click the link in that invitation, you will be taken to a dedicated page for the invitation.

• If you’re viewing this page while signed out, follow the links to Sign Up (if you need to create an account) or Log In (if you already have an account). After you follow either of these links, you’ll return to this invitation page.
• If you’re already signed in when viewing this page, you’ll immediately see buttons to accept or reject the invitation.

When signed out, you’ll see prompts to sign up or sign in. Click the image to enlarge.

When signed in, you’ll see actions to accept or reject your invitation. Click the image to enlarge.

When you’re creating an account, you’ll also be prompted to act on any pending invitations through our signup process.

You can always see your open invitations on your MuckRock Accounts account page, in the Organizations section, under the “Open Invitations” subsection. From there, you can accept or reject the invitation.

Stuck?

If you get stuck, you can reach out to your instructor for help, or contact [email protected]. To ensure that the MuckRock team has enough information to help you, make sure you are thorough in explaining what is happening. Include the URL you were visiting, what you expected to see, and what you actually saw.

It often helps to see a screenshot as well.

Especially when you’re on deadline, the more information you give the MuckRock support team, the faster they can get you sorted out.