OpenLab Course Site/WordPress tasks

Complete the tasks below in your own OpenLab course site (in order, for the highest chances of success!):

• 1. Promote one (or more) of us to admin (this will help us see the back-end of your site, in case you need help! And, you can demote us any time):
  • Course profile > membership > promote to admin
  • If you have no members to promote, then first add one of us by clicking “Invite New Members.” After we accept the invitation, you can promote us.
• 2. Add an outside-the-site link to a page or post on your course site, and set it to open in a new tab:
  • When you add a link to another page within your own website, the best practice is for it to open in the same browser tab. However, when you add a link for your site visitors that exits your site, it’s a better practice to set the link to open in a new tab, so that your students don’t lose your site when they visit your links.
  • Add a link to any outside web-page that is a good resource for your students (a link to a textbook, a site that provides helpful tutorials for the course you teach, etc.):
    • First, find the website, and copy the address.
    • Course site > dashboard > [choose a page or a post and open the classic editor] > type the words you want to link (e.g., IPA Character Picker) > select the words you typed > click the chain link symbol above the text box > paste the url > click the gear icon > check the box “open link in a new tab” > click update > update the page or post > visit course site and reload the browser.
• 3. Add an image to a post or page:
  • Course site > dashboard > [choose a page or a post to edit] > add media > upload files > select files > choose the photo from your computer > insert into page > update > visit course site and reload the browser.
• 4. Add and embed pdf (of your syllabus, if possible) to a post or page:
  • Step 1: Course site > dashboard > pages > hover your mouse over “syllabus” > classic editor > add media > upload files > select files > [choose the pdf from your computer] > insert into page > [you’ll see some bracketed code there, but don’t worry] > update > visit course site and reload the browser.
    
  • Step 2: The embedded pdf looks fabulous, but a best practice is to provide a link to the pdf as well, so your students can download a copy. Return to the page editor, and above the bracketed code (you can push it down with the enter key), type “Download syllabus here” > insert media > this time, don’t upload anything new; instead, click on the pdf of your syllabus, and on the right, click inside the box that says “url” and copy the entire address > x out of the “insert media” pop-up (upper-right side) > select the word “here” > click the chain link symbol above the text box > paste the link to your pdf > gear icon > check the box “open link in a new tab” > update > update > visit course site and reload the browser.
• 5. Embed a YouTube video:
  • Inside the editor of a page or post, paste the link (url) to a YouTube video. Make sure the url is not inside a bullet, or a numbered line, and is not linked to the internet–just paste it on its own. The video should play right in the page or post!
• 6. (OPTIONAL) Embed a Google doc, sheet, or form into a page or post:
  • Course site > dashboard > [locate the page or post you want to edit] > paste this, and put square brackets around it:
    gdoc link=”THE LINK YOU COPIED” height=”800″
    > in between the first pair of quotes, delete THE LINK YOU COPIED, and then paste in the address to a Google doc, form, or sheet that you own (make sure it is set to be visible to people who are not logged in to your Google account) > update > visit course site and reload the browser.
  • Video tutorial for task 6
• 7. (OPTIONAL): Change theme:
  • Course site > dashboard > appearance > theme > choose one > click activate > visit course site and reload the browser.
• 8. (OPTIONAL): Remove something from the menu:
  • Let’s say you don’t want a syllabus page separate from a course schedule page:
    • Course site > dashboard > appearance > menus > click the arrow next to the schedule page > remove > save menu > visit course site and reload the browser.