Tutorials
Writing a Post
From your home (admin) screen…
1) Click “write,” located underneath your name.
2) Enter a title for your post.
3) Enter desired text in the Post box.
4) To change the font color, underline text, or paste from a word document, click on the image furthest to the right on the control panel (when you scroll over it, a text box will pop-up saying “show/hide
kitchen sink”). This will display more options you can use to edit the text.
5) After you’re finished editing your post, click on the “publish” button, in the box on the right-hand part
of the screen. If you’re not ready to publish the post, click “save” and you can return to the post later.
Creating a Page
Creating a page is similar to writing a post, but a page will show up on your blog as a separate link. A page is used for text that you want to be easily accessible and current at all times. My tutorial page that you’re viewing is an example of a page. Default pages are generally “home” (which shows your postings) and “about” (which displays information about you/your blog). A good reason to use a page is, for instance, posting class rules, a school schedule, a syllabus (if applicable), links to helpful websites (like an online Spanish dictionary), or any other information that you want to be easily accessible to your students. Creating a page is very similar to writing a post:
From the home (admin) screen…
1) Click “write”
2) Underneath “write,” click “Pages.”
3) The rest is the same as writing a post.
4) If you ever want to update the information on a page, you won’t need to publish it again. Just click “save” and it will automatically update. To update a page, click “manage” on your admin screen, then click “pages.” Then, click on the name of the page you want to edit.
Posting an Image
Posting an image in a post or a page is a little tricky to figure out, but once you see how it works, the process is pretty simple.
To post an image from the internet
*Posting an image straight from the internet is not recommended, because it will only create a link to the image inside your blog; it will not display the actual image. If all you want is a link, here’s how to do it:
1) Copy the image’s URL (the text located in your browser’s address bar at the top of the screen, for example: http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1051/1088998538_c07635dcab.jpg)
2) In the write post or page screen, click on the sunburst shape next to “Add Media,” located just under the title bar on the right side of the screen.
3) A box will pop-up on your screen. Paste the image’s URL into the line labeled “URL.” Then, give the image a title.
4) Click “insert into post.” All you will see is a link. Once published, visitors can click on the link and their browser will redirect them to the image.
To post an image from your computer
*If you want an actual picture shown in your post, this is the better option. If you need to use an object from the internet, find the picture you want, right click on it and select “Save image as…” and select a location on your computer that you can easily find again, like My Pictures, or your Desktop.
1) In the write post or page screen, click on the sunburst shape next to “Add Media,” located just under the title bar on the right side of the screen.
2) A box will pop-up on your screen. Underneath the heading “From Computer,” click on the link called Browser Uploader. (Ignore the button that says “choose files to upload.” I can’t get it to work personally, so I’m not sure how to use it.)
3) Now you’ll see an empty line with a button called “Browse” next to it. Click “Browse” and find the picture you want on your computer. Click “open.”
4) This will bring you back to the previous screen. Click “upload.” Now, you can give the picture a title, a caption, a description, and you can change its size and alignment (you can also change its size and alignment in the actual edit window, so you don’t have to worry about this yet).
5) Click “insert into post” and the image will appear in the text edit window. To edit its size, click on it, and drag a corner until its the appropriate size.
Creating a Link
There are two places in your blog you can create links. First, you can insert a link into a post or page that is pertinent to the post’s or page’s specific content. Secondly, you can create a link in your Blogroll, which is a link to a general website or other blogs, and will be viewed all the time in your blog’s side bar.
To create a link in a post or page
1) In the write post or page window, type in a title for your link. Mine will be “Versailles.”
2) Highlight the title with your mouse & click the icon that looks like a chain link (6th from the right), in the control panel underneath the title.
3) A box will pop-up. Paste the site’s URL into the first box. (Example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Versailles).
4) Click the “insert link” and the title will appear as a link in your post. (Example: Versailles)
To create a link in your blogroll
*In my blogroll, for example, I have links to CUIP staff members’ blogs, Fiske teachers’ blogs, and to the UChicago Academic Calendar.
1) From the home (admin) screen, click “Manage.” Then, click “add new.”
2) Give the link a name that will be displayed in your blogroll.
3) Paste the destination’s URL into the box titled “Web Address.” You can also add a description or choose a category if you’d like, but it’s not necessary.
4) Click the “save” button in the box on the right side of the screen.