In developing the above website for this task, a mock website using sticky notes on paper was used to determine placement for the elements to include on the site. This allows the repeated movement until an optimal layout is reached. In order to design the actual site, WordPress.org (Word Press, 2015) was utilized. This site offers many templates for the creation of a site; however, each template is customizable in order to suit the needs of the developer. The following steps were utilized in order to prepare, customize, and publish this site.
The first step was to choose a template. The template used is “Twenty-Eleven”, and it was chosen because it allows for a header image to be inserted. Going to the dashboard for the site offers a side bar to the left of the page with various options. Clicking on “appearance” and then “customize” allowed for these options, working from top to bottom:
• Add the site title (Cursive in the Classroom) and tagline (State Standards, School Requirements, and Cursive? – Yes!)
• Change the color palette to the blue default with gray background
• Select a left side layout
• Change the font styles for the headers and the text on the site, including the size of the font for each feature
• Add the header image cropping it to fit
• Add widgets to the sidebar which included a graphic (uploaded from my photos), a search box for my site, and links for meta data
• Choose the information to be displayed on the front, or home, page
Navigating back to the dashboard, pages were added to the site. Clicking on “add new” allows the option for adding an additional page with a title and content. The following pages were added, each including a link designated with an orange colored font:
• Instruction, including the use of bold, colored, and underlined fonts
• Research Based, including the use of special characters
• What’s New?, including a graphic pasted into the text area and left aligned with the text
Since the home page was set up for blog posts, navigating back to the dashboard allowed for the first post to be added. Clicking on “posts” and then “add new” allows for a new post with a title if desired. No title was used for the post, since the site title will be the working title for this post. Various options are available in the toolbar for text manipulation, including a text style drop down box. “Heading 2” was used for this post in order to make it stand out for the reader.
Once the website has been customized to suit the designer’s needs, clicking “publish” allows it to be made public. The site was visited to ensure that all links were working and pages were active.
Resources
Word Press. (2015). Retrieved from Word Press Free: http://www.wordpress.org
Cursive in the Classroom
State Standards, School Requirements, and Cursive? – Yes!
Cursive in the Classroom 