# FOR INSTRUCTORS - setting up accounts and chatroom for a new polyphase course

when starting a new polyphase portal course we want to create a chatroom where all members of the course can communicate.

this guide will walk through the steps to set this up.

#### 1. collecting information from students

first step is to collect the information from the students needed to set up this up. here is the info required:

- the students __email__ - you should already have this from when they signed up for the course
- _optional:_ their preferred __matrix user_id__ - your _display name_ in the chatroom can be changed at any time, however your _user_id_ (for example `@cyberboy666:polyphaseportal.xyz`) is fixed on creation - therefore it could be nice to ask if people have a preference for this - the fallback if none is given is to use the username of the email provided (eg `tim` if the email was `tim@cyberboy666.com`)

#### 2. prepare info and run onboarding helper script

the next step is to run the _onboarding helper script_ that we use to create new accounts and add them to a new chatroom - you will need admin access to the polyphase servers to do this step - ask for help on this step if you do not have these permissions:

- prepare the class info (email address + optional account handle name) into a python readable nested list like this:
```python
["a@mail.com", "a_name"], [“b@mail.com”, “”], …
```
(where empty string in handle name will default to start of email address)

- Grab your matrix access token from the settings in element -> all settings -> help & about -> access token

![](https://wiki.polyphaseportal.xyz/uploads/images/gallery/2023-07/scaled-1680-/bVyZ4pYOTxJLQW2t-image-1690167750102.png)

- grab the _polyphase-rooms_ server ip-address and password from admin shared password store
- ssh onto the rooms server: from terminal type in `ssh root@<ip-address>` and then give server password when prompted - if your terminal now says `root@polyphase-rooms:~#` you are in the right place!
- run the helper script by typing: `python3 polyphase_onboarding_helper.py` and follow the prompts 

[![](https://wiki.polyphaseportal.xyz/uploads/images/gallery/2023-07/u0FmPuCYRsmtldRl-image-1690168920071.gif)](https://wiki.polyphaseportal.xyz/uploads/images/gallery/2023-07/u0FmPuCYRsmtldRl-image-1690168920071.gif)

#### 3. sharing login info with students

now that the accounts have been created you can let the students know and ask them to try and login. _their temperary password is the same as their email address_ - they will be forced to set a new password on first login.

you can also link them to this wiki page with some more info about logging in and setting up chatroom on mobile through the element app - [FOR STUDENTS - accessing the polyphase chatroom](https://wiki.polyphaseportal.xyz/books/polyphase-class-onboarding/page/for-students-accessing-the-polyphase-chatroom)