Posting to WordPress

Content

  • Be engaging: Use short paragraphs and lots of pictures and links.
  • Take care in your writing: Don’t forget to proofread and spellcheck!

Images

  • Embed images: Make sure to include images to illustrate your post. Download an image that you want to use, and make a note of where you got it. Place the cursor where you want to put the image in the edit window for your post, then click the “Add Media” button near the top of the screen. Select the “Upload Files” tab and upload your image. In the text of your post, sure to refer to and provide credit/source links for each image.
  • Full width: Images within your document should be at full size, that is, at the same size as the text width when you view/preview your post. You may have to click on the image, then on the “pencil” edit button, then select full size from the menu. Note that you can also make your image have a link while you are in this edit window.
  • Screenshots:  To take a screenshot of part of your screen on a Mac, press Command-Shift-4 and then drag a window around what you want to capture. To take a partial screenshot on a Windows computer, use the Snipping tool (you can search for this tool in the Start menu).
  • Editing images: GraphicConverter 9 is one free and easy option for resizing and cropping images.
  • Add a Featured Image: use the “Featured Image” widget in the right sidebar near the edit window, and upload a landscape-oriented image (wider than it is tall). The image won’t automatically appear in your post, but it will appear in the Excerpt for your post on the main category page. The featured image should also be embedded somewhere in your post, as per the next bullet point.

Formatting and Logistics

  • Create links: Select the text that you want to turn into a link and then click on the link/chain icon in the top menu bar and paste in your desired link. Links that point to external websites should be set to open in a new tab.
  • Check your content: Remember to look at the formatting of your post on the Preview or live site, not just within the editing window. It can look different on the live site than it does in the edit environment.
  • Select category: From the Category widget in the right hand sidebar, activate the Hello checkbox, and un-check the Uncategorized checkbox. If you miss this step then I will not be able to see your post when I search by Category to assign grades, so make sure to do this step.

Attribution

  • Articles, videos, and software: If you use 3D software or tools, like Tinkercad or Fusion 360, be sure to mention it in your blog writeup and link to the site for that software. Obviously if you quote an article, embed a video, or use content from an article or blog post online, you should cite that source and include a link.
  • Internet images: If you use a photo or image you found on the internet, either in a blog post or in a 3D design, be sure to credit the source, including a link.
  • Thingiverse designers: If you use a 3D design from Thingiverse or some other source in your work, be sure to give credit in your blog writeup, including a link. Also, when you post your work to Thingiverse, make sure to mark your design as a “Remix” to the original(s).
  • Classmates and other people: If you get consultation from actual people, include their names and link to their website or home page somewhere in your blog writeup, if possible.

Sharing

  • Everything you make in this class should be shared with the outside world under public domain or a Creative Commons license. In this class, our textbook is the internet. We use content that other people kindly provide online for free, so we have an obligation to give back to the community by sharing our own work freely with others.
  • If you use Tinkercad to create designs, please make them public. You’ll have to change each design to “Public” in the settings. Make sure you do that before copy-pasting any links to your objects, or else people won’t be able to access them.
  • Every 3D design you create should be shared on Thingiverse, including the tag “JMU3SPACE”. Be sure to include a good photo of your work, and link back to your class blog posts.