This course uses OpenLab, City Tech’s open-source digital platform where students, faculty, and staff learn, work, and share their ideas. This course is visible to members of the City Tech community and beyond. Your work and your classmates’ work can be found in the Student Posts section of this site.

The site is not visible to search engines, but if you do not feel comfortable posting publicly, you are always free to use a pseudonym. To change your display name go to Edit Profile.

Creating a Post

  1. In the Dashboard, click on the tab Posts > Add New to create a new post.
  2. Add a title in the title box at the top. Each of the Assignment instructions will provide a suggested title, category, and tags.
  3. Add the suggested Category and Tags from the existing list. See OpenLab Help > Categories & Tags
  4. To add a link, see Add a Link below.
  5. All linked or embedded media MUST contain a caption indicating the original creator. See Add Media below.
  6. All sources should be attributed using the “Add Attribution” tool. See Add Attribution below.
  7. Click “Save Draft” to publish later or click “Publish” to publish immediately.
  8. For more information, visit OpenLab Help> Writing a Post
  1. You can add a link to your post by selecting a word or words and clicking the link icon in the toolbar.
  2. Enter or paste the URL address into the link box and press return.
  3. For more information, visit OpenLab Help> Adding a link to a post

Adding Media to a Post

  1. To add images or other media to a post, click the + Add Block button and search for the media type: Image, Image Gallery, Slider, YouTube, Vimeo, File, Google Drive, etc.
  2. You can select files saved to your computer by clicking Upload. Then, click Select Files.  You can also select images or other files from your media library by clicking the Media Library tab or Insert from URL.
  3. You can make adjustments to the media file by selecting the media block and using the settings on the right-hand side of the screen (toggle the gear icon).  Here you can you can adjust the Style, Size, Dimensions, and Alt Text to an image.
  4. You can also make adjustments using the tool bar. Here you can change the Alignment, Link, Crop, Add Text, or Duo tone of an image.
  5. Remember to add a caption or link underneath the media and a credit, if the media is not yours.
  6. For more information, visit OpenLab Help> Adding image and other media
  7. To add an image gallery, visit OpenLab Help > Adding an image gallery

Adding Attribution to a Post

All sources referenced in a post should be attributed to the original author using the Attribution Tool.

  1. Insert your cursor at the end of a sentance or phrase that needs attribution.
  2. Click the “Add Attribution” icon in the tool bar. Find it next to the link icon.
  3. Fill in the required information in the dialog box. Your attributions will be listed at the bottom of the page after publishing your post.
  4. For more information, visit OpenLab Help > Add Attributions

Adding a Comment

  1. Make sure you are logged into OpenLab and click on the link found below or above a post. Sometimes it’s called “Comment”, “Reply”, or similar.
  2. For more information, visit OpenLab Help> Commenting on a Site

Commenting Tips

  1. When critiquing your classmate’s work, your job is to help them to improve and to achieve the assignment goals.
  2. Review the assignment guidelines before commenting.
  3. Start by sharing what your feel is successful (positive feedback) and what is unsuccessful (constructive feedback) about the work presented.
  4. Comments such as “I like it.” or “Needs improvement” are not helpful unless they are expanded to clarify WHY you like it or WHAT needs improvement.

Approving Comments

  1. When someone comments on your post, you or your professor may need to approve the comment before it is visible to others.
  2. OpenLab will notify you via email when someone comments on your post. You can click the link to approve the comment in your Dashboard.