One of the things I like best about blogging is how easy it is to include images in posts. So, for this assignment, you will learn how to include images in your blog posts, and you will also learn about how to find images that are free to use without any copyright restrictions. I hope the instructions below will answer any questions you have but don’t hesitate to contact me if you get stuck and can’t figure something out. Week 1 (Orientation Week) is all about learning to do new things, and I hope you enjoy this first blog posting assignment!
So, for this assignment, you will create a blog post with links(s) and image(s) about your Favorite Game (or games). This will probably take around 30-45 minutes, depending on how much time you spend looking for nice image(s) to use.
STEP 1: Choose a game. So, first of all, start thinking about what favourite game (or games) you might want to put in a blog post.
STEP 2: Learn about image search. Next, read through these guidelines and tips for finding images you can re-use online: FINDING AND USING IMAGES ONLINE. It will take you about 5 minutes to read through that information, and you should also bookmark that page so you can access it again later.
STEP 3: Learn about image citations. You should provide a caption for any image you use in a class assignment, along with information about the image source. If you find the image online, you can link to the source (i.e. link to the webpage where the image appears). If the image is one you uploaded, you can explain that it is a personal image. Take a few minutes to read more about that here: IMAGE INFORMATION. Because you will be using images in most of your blogs posts, you should bookmark that page for future reference.
STEP 4: Find your image(s). So, with those thoughts in mind, you are ready to find the image(s) you want to use and then create your blog post. Keep the webpage(s) with the image(s) you want to use open in your browser, and then create a new blog post in a separate tab.
STEP 5: Create a new blog post. Go to Blogger.com and click the orange button next to your blog title to create a new post.
IMPORTANT: You need to create a new blog post… do not create a whole new blog! You have just ONE BLOG (you sent me the address of that blog in the previous assignment), and you will be publishing new posts in that blog for each assignment.
STEP 6: Title and label your post. Before you start typing the actual post, you need to give you post a TITLE. Make sure you the phrase “Favorite Game” (or “Favorite Games”) in the title, plus whatever else you want to say.
IMPORTANT: You also need to LABEL the post. Using the Labels option in the right-hand sidebar, add the label “Week 1” for this post. Every post you do for this class will have a Week label like that, and some posts will have additional labels.
As you will see later, labels are one of the most powerful features of blog software, instantly creating navigation links that will help visitors to your blog find the posts they are looking for.
STEP 7: Write your post and UPLOAD your image. Type whatever text you want to use and then position the cursor where you want to place the image; it’s usually a good idea to centre images in a post. Then, when you have the cursor in the position where you want to insert the image, click on the image icon. By default, the “UPLOAD” option is selected on the left, and that is definitely the option you want to use. Do not just copy-and-paste images; you need to upload them. Here is how that works:
1. Go to the tab with the webpage that has the image you want to use. Right-mouse click on the image to download it to your desktop.
2. Go to the tab with your blog post and click on the Upload: Choose files option. Choose the file you saved to your computer.
3. Click Add Selected to insert the uploaded file into your blog post.
You should see the image displayed in your post now, along with various editing options. As a general rule, you can and should choose LARGE for the display option.
STEP 8: Add Image Information. Now that you have added the image, you need to type a CAPTION that identifies the image. I would recommend against using the “caption” option in Blogger; instead, just type the caption where you want it to be — it does not have to be right next to the image. For example, if you want to put the image information down at the very bottom of the post, that works fine — and that way it does not interfere with the impact of the image!
Then, in addition to the caption, you need to include a LINK to your web source. You do not need a link to a web source for any personal photos or other images that you created, but when you use an image that you found online, you need to link to the webpage where the image originally appeared.
HOW TO CREATE A LINK. Do not just copy-and-paste the address. To create a useful link, you need to follow these steps:
1. Type the text that people will see to click on.
2. Highlight that chunk of text.
3. Click on the Link option in the editing bar (or use the shortcut Control-K).
4. Paste in the URL in the space provided.
5. Click OK at the bottom of the dialogue box.
You should see our link text underlined, indicating that there is an active link.
STEP 9: Check your work. You are almost ready to publish, but first you need to take a couple of minutes to proofread your post by reading it out loud. You should also use the spellcheck feature, which is on the Blogger editing bar at the right-hand end (the ABC icon).
STEP 10: Now you are ready to publish. Just click on the PUBLISH button next to the title box. Then click “view” to see the post you created. If you want to edit or change something, no problem — you can edit a blog post until you get it just right!
When you are finished editing, you can do the Declaration for the assignment. You are really blogging now!
You don’t need to send me an email this time: when I subscribe to your blog, I will be able to see all your new posts automatically.
Here is the Declaration you will find at Moodle… and you are ready to move on to the next assignment.
 DECLARATION: PLEASE READ CAREFULLY:I have published a blog post about one or more of my favourite places. TITLE: The words “Favorite Game” or “Favorite Games” appear in the title. LABEL: I have used “Week 2” to label the post. IMAGE: The post contains at least one image that I found online with a descriptive CAPTION, plus a LINK to the online source. PROOFREADING. I have proofread my post by reading it out loud, and I also used a spellchecker. |
