What You're Doing, Where We're Going
On October 15, we released version 1.7.36 of the OpenLab.
It was a small release, that included a few minor theme and plugin updates, as well as a change to the way group email subscription options are described, to help clarify the different options (e.g. All email, Daily digest, etc.).
We also retired the theme Twenty Fourteen because of accessibility issues.
As always, please contact us with any questions!
On September 17, we released version 1.7.35 of the OpenLab. It included some new features, as well as few minor plugin updates and bug fixes.
There were three new features or changes to current functionality included this release:
We fixed four small bugs in this release:
As always, please contact us with any questions!
On August 14, we released version 1.7.34 of the OpenLab. It included new features, new themes, updates to all themes and plugins, and updates to WordPress and BuddyPress, the software that powers the OpenLab.
There were a number of new features and themes included this release:
A new portfolio features allows any OpenLab member with a portfolio to turn on an “Add to My Portfolio” button, which appears on any post or comment they have created on an OpenLab site. This makes it easier to add work from courses, projects, or clubs to a portfolio. You can see step-by-step instructions for this new feature in OpenLab Help.
Another new feature created for portfolios is the ability to export the contents of a portfolio site, which can be imported into another site. This makes portfolios much more portable, and means they can be moved from one OpenLab community to another (for example, from BMCC’s OpenLab to City Tech’s OpenLab).
We added two new portfolio themes, which work especially well for the display of a visual portfolio.
We also added a theme designed for Open Educational Resource (OER) sites on the OpenLab, although it can be used for any type of site. Built using the theme Education Pro, we’ve customized it to improve the design, to ensure accessibility, and to include styles that would be useful for an OER.
We made an improvement to the WP Grade Comments plugin, which allows instructors to assign grades without comments. Previously, grades had to be accompanied by a comment.
A number of enhancements were made to the OpenLab Gradebook plugin, including:
We made a few improvements and additions to the Print this Page functionality that was introduced in the June release. We changed its appearance on pages and posts from a text link to a button. The button is now turned off by default. In addition to the ability to turn it on within each individual page and post, there is now a site-wide control, which will enable or disable it for the whole site.
We also improved the print formatting for two additional themes. Twenty Nineteen and Hemingway are now better formatted for printing.
One of the potential privacy settings available to OpenLab members is to have a hidden group with an open site. While this is not a common setting, if someone was viewing the site but was not a member of the group, they would get a “Page not Found” error if they clicked on the group profile link in the site’s navigation menu. Now, this link won’t appear, except for members of the group who are logged into the OpenLab.
We made a few improvements to the layout and design of the Related Links List settings in a group’s profile settings, making them easier to understand and manage.
We improved the accessibility of the create/edit screen for a group’s Docs, including fixing some missing form labels and improving the color contrast for some of the links and other text.
As always, please contact us with any questions!
On June 24, we released version 1.7.33 of the OpenLab. It included a number of new features, as well as a new theme, and a few bug fixes.
There were five new features included this release.
We fixed three bugs in this release:
As always, please contact us with any questions!
On May 15, we released version 1.7.32 of the OpenLab. It was a small release, and included two new features, minor plugin updates, and bug fixes.
There were two new functionality updates in this release.
We fixed two small issues in this release:
As always, please contact us with any questions!
On April 18, we released version 1.7.31 of the OpenLab. It was a small release, including a few new features as well as few minor plugin updates and some bug fixes.
We made two additions related to features added in the March release:
In addition, on all directory pages (People, Courses, Projects, etc.) we changed the text for group and member counts so it no longer breaks onto two lines. For example, instead of “1 to 12 (of 2,516 Projects)” it now reads “1 to 12 (of 2,516).”
In the footer text describing the OpenLab, we made a small edit to better align with City Tech branding guidelines.
We fixed one bug in this release, which was causing the upload date for all files uploaded to a group’s “Files” section of the profile, to display as the current day.
As always, please contact us with any questions!
On March 19, we release version 1.7.30 of the OpenLab. It included a number of new features as well as few minor plugin updates and some bug fixes.
On the OpenLab Courses directory page, we added “Cloneable” as an option 
under the “Type” dropdown, so you can now search for courses that allow other OpenLab faculty to clone them.
In another cloning-related update, we made a change to the widget on sites with shared cloning enabled. Anyone who is not faculty, or faculty who are not logged in will now see the text, “Logged-in faculty members can clone this course.” Faculty who are logged in will continue to see a link to “Clone this Course.”
We also added a checkbox allowing site admins to control on a more fine-grained level what actions will send email notifications for 
Discussion, Docs, Files, and Calendar. Now, any time you add new or edit existing content, you can choose whether or not you want to send an email notification to all members of your group.
WP Broken Link Status Checker is a new plugin that allows you to run scans on your site to check for any links that no longer work. This could be helpful especially for evergreen sites that include links to many external resources, such as OERs.
We fixed five bugs in this release. One caused “Library” to stop appearing as a department choice under the School of Arts and Sciences, meaning there was no way to categorize Library courses. Now, all projects, clubs, portfolios, and people can choose Library as an option under Arts and Sciences and/or Academic Affairs, and courses can choose Library under Arts and Sciences. If you teach a Library course this semester, and weren’t able to properly categorize it, you can correct this by going into Profile > Settings, and then choose School: Arts and Sciences > Department: Library.
Another bug was causing the time reported for activity of different kinds in a group (e.g. blog post, comment, discussion post, new doc, etc) as five hours ahead of the correct time in daily and weekly digest email notifications.
There were two bugs fixed in the OpenLab Gradebook plugin. One caused an issue for people who had cloned a course with Gradebook active on the source course. The plugin on the new course didn’t allow them to save new gradebooks or add students to a new gradebook. This issue is fixed for all newly cloned sites, but if you cloned a site prior to March 19 and are experiencing this issue, you can fix it by deactivating the Gradebook plugin and reactivating it. The second issue was a conflict with the “Page Links To” plugin, which has been fixed.
We also fixed an accessibility issue with the Hemingway theme by adding labels for screen readers for two buttons that were missing the labels that identify the element as a button so users with screen readers are aware of its function.
As always, please contact us with any questions!
In Profs. Karen Goodlad and Robert Dagorn’s course, students are learning about the art and science of wine making, blending, and tasting. They have recently made two visits to Red Hook Winery, where they were able to take part in the wine-making process and create their own blends to pair with a particular meal. You can view photos and read their reflections on this visit and the excellent hands-on experience they gained. If you’re lucky enough to visit the Janet Lefler Dining Room at the right time, you’ll be able to taste their blends!
This site, developed as a collaboration between the Library and the Biological Sciences Department and maintained by Prof. Jeremy Seto, contains many wonderfully rich Open Educational Resources (OERs) for students of biology at City Tech (and beyond!). OERs are materials for teaching and learning that are not licensed under copyright and thus able to be freely accessed and shared. (For more information, see the library’s great guide to OERs). The Biology OER contains textual and multimedia resources organized by topic, including descriptions, images, and videos of different biological processes, research tools, and class activities. Take a look and enjoy this excellent resource!
Students in Prof. Jill Belli’s Writing with New Media course are considering the ways in which writing practices have been affected by digital spaces. The course site is very active, with lots of great discussion. Students have been posting and commenting on Prezi presentations they created about different types of social media. Coming up next, they’ll be posting internet memes, and reflecting on a recent visit to the Museum of the Moving Image to see the exhibit “How Cats Took Over the Internet.” They also recently had a visit from some of The Buzz bloggers, including a great follow-up virtual discussion. Check out their work!
The OpenLab is an open-source, digital platform designed to support teaching and learning at City Tech (New York City College of Technology), and to promote student and faculty engagement in the intellectual and social life of the college community.
