Wow, this semester is just flying by! I’m graduating at the end of December, so I’m both excited and sad to be finished with college.
I remember being so nervous at the start of this semester because this class would be completely new territory for me. I had no previous experience in website creation or web design, or even blogging.
However, Prof. Seslow was very patient with making sure that we understood everything, and I think that the class moves at a comfortable pace for beginners.
One of the highlights of this class for me has been working on the DS 106 projects. It was so much fun doing some of the creative projects there and adding my own twist to some of them too. I think it’s a good way to get out of an artistic slump because there’s so many different things to do!
I had so much fun working on the very first project I did with typography. It really helped me to expand my knowledge with Photoshop. Another highlight for me has been finding and embedding GIFs into my posts. I feel that it really adds some personality to the text!
So far, I really enjoyed learning about new things in CT 101, and can’t wait to see what’s next 🙂
After following the instructions to install WordPress, I chose the Twenty Seventeen theme because I loved the layout of the homepage.
I started to customize my website by working out the visual aspects first. I didn’t really find any stock images that I wanted to use, so I created a simple header background for my website using Clip Studio Paint. I also changed the color of the header text and added a tagline.
I also created and tested a few other versions of this image, and I liked how some of these looked as well, so I chose the “Randomize Uploaded Headers” option.
I think that I’d like to make another background that’s more tailored to my website sometime in the future.
The next thing I’d like to work on is the menu layout and changing the default content on some of the pages.
I decided to go with strawberriesandcream.net as my domain name! I’m hoping to post both art and baking related content here 🙂
My signup process was a little complicated because after creating my account on Reclaim Hosting, I couldn’t access my cPanel tab! I tried restarting my laptop and clearing my cache, but this didn’t work (although my computer got like 50% faster).
After this, I submitted a ticket to Reclaim Hosting. Their support team was really fast in responding to my situation, and they quickly applied the necessary changes to my account so I could access my cPanel and website!
I can’t wait to start editing and posting content to my website!
Its not that hard! I promise – We had a great time in today’s live zoom session! Its time to talk about the impact of social media and the many roles it can play in our storytelling and blogging practice.
Here is the Zoom recording from class on 11/5/20 – the same video will be used for class on 11/10 – lets go!
The recording above will walk you through the process of embedding the content and media that you see in the video’s post. Please add these tips and tricks into YOUR websites posts, pages or sidebar widgets!
The story of Aaron Swartz is truly inspirational! It is astounding how his mind was able to decipher and comprehend such intricate information.
It is sad to know such a brilliant mind was lost in the digital world. The world would not be where it is if it wasn’t for the help of such intellectuals and their passions.
Aaron’s bravery to expose the private corporations and their secrete ways has taken a toll on his life and the digital world as a whole. His discoveries of conspiracy and ‘vanity research’ frighten the scheme side of our digital world. Â But if there weren’t people like Aaron to help bring to light such dirty secrets, the rest of the world would be at a blind spot to this day.
Aaron’s story reminded me of the following picture:
It represents the constant deception happening behind closed doors. This image reminded me of when Aaron wrote about the power private corporations sustain through information power. The need to keep scientific and cultural heritage under a lock cannot stop those who wish to bring such knowledge to light. That is what Aaron Swartz has done, and his legacy continues to do.
This young adult inspired others by spreading civic awareness and online activism in the concealed digital planet. Without shining souls like Aaron, our knowledge of the shrewd individuals in the digital world would be scarce, and private sectors and conspiracy would blind our approach.
Ah yes.. we have finally reached mid semester. It truly feels like yesterday I joined this class and look at how time flew. I learned so many great things like making memes, gifs, creating various forms of photo editing from https://assignments.ds106.us/
The photo above is my proudest CT 101 meme assignment I made lol.
The photo above is a paranormal encounter happening in a hotel. Your wondering why am I showing you this? Well I created my own domain name which is http://slimshakey.com/
This domain that I created talks about creepy conspiracy theories and horror content that I wish to make more in the future for my website.
The biggest thing I knew was that the internet is a creative platform to express yourself and your talent. However I always wanted to know how to make a website, now that I found out how to do it I can use it in the future.
The assignments as a communicator made me express my creative inputs on the topic. Each blog posts I was able to give insight and knowledge and try to make it fun in my own way. I really enjoy this class because it takes away from all the other stressful classes I have and I also learn some valuable tools I can use for my job career.
My biggest skills I can say is that if you give me a task I can be very creative and think outside the box which I hope to showcase in my website
My weakness would typing and coming up with what to say because I have so many thoughts formulated in my head but I can’t type everything I want to express. I believe I have earned a B+ or an A for the Class because I do all the assignments on time and I try my best to be creative and engaging.
Mid-Semester Assessments & WordPress Customizing Part 2!
And just like that, here we are at the mid-point of the semester! Time really does move fast, or does it? Either way, we are learning a lot and growing together!
**Please scroll down to screen the full recording from this week’s class with WordPress customizations Part 2!**
The Assignment for this Week:
In a new blog post that will be published to here to CT-101, I would like for you to reflect upon our current semester. Lets tell a compelling story about what we have learned thus far. What have been some of the main skills that have been discovered, learned and applied? What do you know now that you did not know before the class began? What are your strengths so far? What do you need to work on and make improvements on? To date, we have had the opportunity to publish a series of blog posts that allow us to speak creatively in our own authentic voices, how have the assignments helped you as a communicator? It would be a good idea to review and reference your existing posts and even quote to hyperlink back to a few of them. What grade do you feel you have earned so far in our class? Self assessment is important, it helps us become aware and take action from that perspective and energy. We took a big step last week by registering a new domain name, setting up a web hosting account and even began customizing our personal websites! Please include in this reflection post your domain name and “how” you plan to use your website as we go forward. Make sure to include the hyperlink to your websites URL – for example, here is mine: https://ryanseslow.com
Have Fun with This!
PART II – More WordPress customizing, tricks, tips and techniques!
Last week in class we covered an introduction to the customizing of the Twenty Seventeen WordPress theme for our new websites!
During the zoom sessions this week I will be continuing another series of customizing tips, tricks, and techniques for working with wordpress. We will remove all default theme content, create new pages, set up a contact me form, embed or add social media posts into your website and more!
**Here is the full recording from this week’s class with WordPress customizations Part 2!
This process in registration goes my domain was soooooo easy. It was so effortless and user friendly, that I was able to register from my IPhone! It took me about 2 minutes to read over the instructions and another 2 to complete the process! Lol
I wish I would’ve did it the day of when we got the assignment. I know, It’s the procrastinator in me!
Here are come screenshot of evidence that I’m registered:
1st Pic: I got an email welcoming me. How sweet?!
2nd Pic:This was the last in which you had to do, which is to verify my email.
3nd Pic: I just clicked the link reclaim provided & my email was verified in less than a minute.
Overall, this was one of the easiest assignments to complete. You just had to follow instructions & your good to go. For the future assignments, I think it’s going to get more difficult because I’ll have to make the final decisions about everything for my website. And boy am I my best believe biggest critique! But I have high expectations/hopes to create phenomenal content!
The gist of the assignment was basically to create a caption for these romance novel covers that would best suit the image. However, I thought it would be more fun to meme them instead. I’ve always found these covers to be ridiculously dramatic in terms of composition, content and lighting, which is why I chose to make them a little more fun to look at.
The link included in the assignment description to the Flickr album with all of the templates was broken, so I just looked for related images through Google Search.
After I chose my images, I used Adobe Illustrator to place fonts of different sizes and colors on the covers. Even though these were basically gag covers, I wanted them to look as if they were real, so I tried my best to not make the fonts look out of place.
I have decided that since I already have this username for my youtube channel why not make this into a full brand.
I plan on putting content of videos and skits etc showcasing my passion for acting. The process itself was very smooth and I am very excited to finally say I have my own website!
Besides my youtube content, i want to make it scary themed talking about paranormal stuff, conspiracy theories and stuff that people are afraid to discuss. I find the paranormal itself very fascinating because people get a huge adrenaline rush and so I want to create horror themed content!
GIF IT UP is an annual gif-making competition for the most creative reuse of digitised cultural heritage material. It is run by Europeana in close cooperation with Digital Public Library of America, Digital NZ and Trove. This year two new content partners are joining the fun – Japan Search, a platform giving access to digitised material from cultural institutions across Japan, and DAG Museums in Kolkata.
From 1 – 31, 2020 – October, all gif-Âmakers, cultural heritage enthusiasts and lovers of the internet are invited to create brand new gifs by remixing copyright-free and openly licensed material.
Registering a domain name was a lot easier than I thought. With the help of the zoom recording from class, the instructions were pretty straight forward.
After careful consideration, I concluded that I should pick a simple domain name, so I went with… claudiabakes.com!
It may not be the most brilliant domain name, but simplicity is the key!
Once Reclaim Hosting notified my domain name was available, I went ahead to the next step and made sure I checked off the box that said ID Protection. The keyword is FREE.
Moving forward, I double-checked all my credentials and made sure that the coupon code went thru.
It sure did, ladies and gentlemen!
Anyway, the next few steps were simple enough since I had them fresh on my mind.
After pressing the cpanel button, I was brought to the next page.
Then, I pressed the WordPress icon, which leads me to another page, where I proceeded to install the application.
Don’t forget to change your username and password on the page that followed after the installation began. And so I waited again…
The next page that popped up looked like this:
I then proceeded to change your theme completely and chose this theme:
AND…
That’s as far as I got!
I was happy to have gotten through the process a lot faster than I thought. It was simple and accessible without complications. My next step is to get some ideas flowing and picture what I would like my site to look like.
Domain Name Registration, Hosting Set Up & WordPress Installation!
“The Journey Begins!”
**Please read through this post carefully as it contains a lot of important information**
Two LIVE ZOOM tutorials of this process will be screen recorded and placed at the bottom of this blog post starting today 10/15. The first recording will be on 10/15 @ 10am
Last week we began talking about Domain Names and what role they play in creating a digital identity on the web (and as a part of this class.) If you missed last week’s post on that, please review it here first as it has context and will help make this next step a bit smoother.
This week we are going to get started! We are going to register a domain name and also set up web hosting, which will allow you to put files up online and will be discoverable through your new domain name! We are going to use a form of ‘shared hosting’ where you get a portion of a server – think of it as having an apartment in a building. With this shared hosting you will be able to do a lot of things including installing your own instance of WordPress (remember, this is NOT wordpress.com) so you can start building your website for your domain name.
We use a company called Reclaim Hosting, with which we have a contract with so you will enter a coupon code and start your account for free.
*The coupon code will be e-emailed to everyone via blackboard on the morning that your class meets during week #7 – so please check your York College e-mail address to get the coupon code. (the code can only be used one time)
We chose this hosting company because they have a lot of experience working with students just like you, that are likely getting their first domain name and web hosting account. You will be creating an account just like you would with any online vendor with which you want to purchase something. So it’s not a ‘CUNY’ account, we’re just giving you the coupon code to pay for the year’s service.
You do not need to pay for anything, so please reach out if you have questions – [email protected]
Again, 2 LIVE ZOOM tutorials of this process will be screen recorded and placed at the bottom of this blog post. The first recording will be on 10/15 @ 10am.
With that said, you will need to provide a name, address, and phone number. Lets go tothis sign-up page<— to get started.
1. First you will need to pick your domain name, make sure that it is available and make your selection to proceed.
2. On the next page, check the ‘add ID protection.’
3. On the next page you should see two items in your cart and a price of $32 with ID protection, you will then enter the needed information for your account and provided coupon code and validate it. (you will NOT be charged for this, its already included in the course.)
4. Your total should now be $0. If it is not then check the items and your cart and adjust.
5. You should now fill in your personal information, and select the payment by mail option. (again, you will not be charged anything.)
6. Complete the order and check your email for your account information and a verification of your e-mail. With your new account information, log-on to Reclaiming Hosting.
7. YOU ARE NOW ALL SET AND READY TO START WORKING WITH YOUR NEW DOMAIN NAME AND WEB HOSTING ACCOUNT!
9. Its now TIME TO INSTALL WORDPRESS.
***Here is the NEW Tutorial below that Ryan made in class during last semesters class on 10/15/20 – the process is the same so please follow along and pause the video as you go!
*Here is the Tutorial that Ryan made in class during last semester’s class on 3/26/20 – the process is the same as above so please follow along and pause the video as you go!
So this the assignment I was waiting for all along, the starting up of my very own website. It seems like I would have it together seeing that I’ve been waiting all this time. But in reality, it seems that I have some writer’s block! It took me a whole week to complete this post. In all honesty, I don’t have a clue as to what I want my website to be about. I have so many ideas and I’m not sure if it’ll all flow together.
My current mood is this Giphy! Lol
I’ve decided to just write down all the ideas I’m currently thing about.
My first idea is to create a self journal where I document my daily activities. I want to incorporate daily inspirational quotes/bible verses to start off my blog post. It would be like my very own journal but digitally, I’ll discuss daily struggles, my wins, and any changes in my life. My purpose behind this is to inspire someone who may identify themselves with me.
Another idea is to document all the fun and exciting things to do in NYC. I would document my experience with pictures, videos and a brief summary/rating of the place was. I’ll be like a self-made critic. With this idea, I intend to also give my audience some quarantine safe activities to do, due to COVID-19.
The last idea would be to create a website where I can share my fashion, hair care, and skincare tips. It’ll be all about self-care for women, its good to always take some time for yourself. We all have busy lives but treating yourself once a week at least can release some stress and help you unwind from a world that’s always on the go.
But, honestly, I love them each in their own unique way because…
Baking just makes you feel warm and cozy. The aroma it brings to your home, the softness of the goods you produce, the comfort it brings to your family, what isn’t there to enjoy about baking!
Ooh the wonderful things baking does to one’s soul…
And the right domain name will help transpire everything I hope to accomplish in my new website!
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