Links
Adding links to your posts is really simple, and it’s also a wonderful way to share other resources with our community and to engage in dialogue with other authors/sources. To add a link into your post:

1. copy the URL of the webpage you want to link to
2. highlight the text in your post that you want to become hyperlinked
3. click the “insert/edit link” button (looks like a paperclip above the post screen)
4. paste the URL into the “URL” space
5. type in the name of the link into the “Title” space (“title”)
6. click “Add Link”

And you’re done. It’s that simple! And you can always edit or remove the link later on, if you need to do so.

Images
Here’s a quick tutorial about how to do add images:

1.  When you decide you want to add an image to a post, click either on the button with the camera/music notes and the words “Add Media” that is on the top left of the editing box (you can also. Remember that your image will show up within the post wherever your cursor is when you click “Add Image.” So if you want to insert the image in the middle of your post, make sure to put it there.

2.  If you are choosing a file from your computer, you can then browse for it (the same you would if you were uploading an attachment to an e-mail) by clicking “Upload Files” (if you add to the Media Library first, you can also select your image from there).

3.  Once you find the image you want, click “Select.”

4.  You can then edit the image (e.g., to rotate it) … make sure to click “save” after editing it.

5. You should re-title the image to make it easier to manage/find later on (ex: Jill Belli, Introduction Photo). If you wish, you can also add a “description” and “caption.”

5.  At the bottom of the screen you can change the “alignment” and “size” of the image.

6.  Don’t forget to click “Insert into Post” (NOT “Save Changes”) at the bottom.  If you don’t click “Insert into Post,” the image won’t show up in your post when you publish it (it will just be added to our site’s “Media Library” … more on that later in the semester).

7.  You can always click “Preview” before you click “Publish” to see what the post will like like after the images are added. Make sure, however, once you are satisfied with your post, to click “Publish” (you can also click “Save Draft” to continue to work on the post later, but no one else will be able to view the post–and I won’t be able to give you credit for it–until you hit “Publish”).

Videos
Adding a video to your post from YouTube is about as simple as it gets. Simply copy the URL of the video into your post, and click “Publish” (as with links and images, don’t forget to contextualize the video a bit, and tell us whose it is and why you’re including it in your post). It will automatically appear (and can be played) right from your post. Woohoo!

*Remember, if you don’t like something (either the post or the image), even after it is published, you can go back and change it (just click “Edit” and work away).  That’s the nice thing about blogs … you can keep revising 🙂

If you’re unsure how to get started posting (blogging) on our OpenLab course site, here’s a quick overview:

Once you’re logged into OpenLab and on our course site, you can easily make a post. Simply click the plus sign (+) on the grey menubar (the admin bar) at the top of the screen, and from the dropdown menu that appears, choose “Post.”  You can also go to your “Dashboard” from the same grey menubar, and this will take you to the “back end” (the control panel) of the site.  From there, you can post (in the lefthand menu, click “Posts” and then “Add new”) and do a number of other things.

Don’t forget to “Categorize” your post before submitting it (see below for more details on that), and then to “Publish” your post (if you only click “save” or “preview” it won’t be public).  Happy blogging 🙂

*A quick note about categorizing blog posts:

Just a friendly reminder to “Categorize” your posts so that it will be easier to navigate our site later on.  To do this, after you finish typing your post up, choose the appropriate “Category” from the right side of the screen.  For example, after you type up your “Introduction” blog, you should make sure to check off “Introductions.”  Otherwise the post will simply show up as “Uncategorized” (we don’t want that because it will just dump eveyone’s posts into one general place and our course site will become very disorganized/chaotic as we produce a lot of content throughout the semester).  You may have to uncheck the “Uncategorized” category (which is the default).

Oh yeah … and you should chat one another up!  How do you do this? By commenting on your classmates’ posts:

One of the great things about the blog is its interactive, networked nature … people post, others read and make comments, and then conversations happen and ideas get exchanged!  Please read through everyone’s posts and drop comments if you feel so inspired (you can comment in reply to another comment also).  To do this, simply type in a short comment in the “leave a reply” box at the bottom of the post.

Please note that you can respond either to the original post or a specific commenter!

To sign-up for an OpenLab account, create your profile, and become familiar with the system:

• Sign in to your City Tech email account via the City Tech website link or Live.com
• Sign up for an OpenLab account ASAP (no later than Friday, 1/30)
• If you have trouble clicking the confirmation link in the email from the OpenLab, try cutting and pasting it into the address bar of Firefox or Chrome
• Log in to the OpenLab
• Join our course, ENG 2420: Science Fiction, by clicking on its Course Profile
• Browse through the OpenLab, noticing how people use it and what kind of materials they include
• Click on People & browse through a few pages of OpenLab members, looking at the avatars and reading about the members in their profile sections
• Now create your own profile, uploading an avatar and including a bio/profile (remember, this info. is available to the public!).

Questions? If you need technical support, you should check out the (very detailed/helpful!) Help section of OpenLab, &, if you still have questions, contact the wonderful OpenLab Community Team.