Categories
Tutorial

Getting Started with KLOW

I am working on a series of Introductory screencast videos for folks new to KLOW and WordPress.  This post will be updated as new videos are ready for publication.  If you have questions or have feedback, please share in the comments!  Think of me as the Old Spice Guy – ask for a topic to be covered, and I will deliver a screencast video!

Outline for covering WordPress Basics for new libraries:

  • First Steps – Update password and information for “librarian” user | Managing additional users | Updating default Settings for the site
  • Basic Content – Overviews of Categories, link categories, tags, posts and pages
  • Customizing the Site – Overview of themes | Finding and installing new themes | Widgets and Sidebars
  • All about Images – Overview of Media Library | Web image tips and tricks | Creative Commons | Inserting images | Themes using ‘featured images’
  • Intermediate WordPress – Upgrading | Overview of plugins | Finding and installing plugins | Creative posts and pages using the Kitchen Sink, ordered and unordered lists, blockquotes, indents, justification | Embedding videos and slideshows from 3rd party sites (Flickr, Slideshare, etc.)
  • Web site Policies – Do you archive or delete old posts? Do you allow online registration? Do you have a photo release form? Do you post Board minutes and agendas? Do you post all of your policies on the site? Who is allowed to add, edit and delete content?

Quick and Dirty Videos (made with Jing! or Screencast-o-matic):

This just in from Liz’s blog reader: 10 WordPress Tutorial Sites to Brush Up Your Blogging Skills

Useful Instructions from the WordPress Codex:

Categories
Library News

Upgrade Overview

At the beginning of the year, all KLOW sites were updated to version 2.9 (overview from WordPress) and now version 3.0 is available (overview).

We hope you see this as an opportunity to update the look, feel and content of your library’s Web site using a more powerful version of WordPress that has enhanced functionality and security.

As administrators, we took the unplanned update in January as a learning opportunity and encourage all of the KLOW participating libraries to update more frequently.

When you see a prompt on the Dashboard to Update, feel free to do so!

So, what can you expect with versions 2.9 and 3.0?

Do you want to update your Theme?
Themes are easy to change and maybe this would be a good time to find a new and better one from the WordPress Theme Directory.

Do you need to restore images and documents lost in January?
Your posts may look strange and links to documents and forms may need to be recreated after the image file or document is added back to the Media Library. The Media Library is a newer feature that lets you to upload Media (pictures, documents, sound clips, videos, etc.) that you can later use in a post or page.  You can also use software like Jing! to create and store screenshots on the Web, then use the “Add an Image > From URL” feature of WordPress to reference an image from the Web, rather than adding the image file to your Media Library.

What’s with the New (and Improved) Dashboard in 2.9 and 3.0?
The old version looked something like this:

The new 2.9 version looks like the 2.7 version that some of you were using.
Either way, the new Dashboard looks more like this:

Changes to the Dashboard to be aware of:

  • From the great writers of the WordPress Codex explanation on the Administration Panel: “On the left side of the screen is the main navigation menu detailing each of the administrative functions you can perform. Within each major function, such as Posts, a pull-down arrow is presented when the mouse hovers over the title area. A click of that arrow expands the menu to display each of the sub-menu choices. Clicking that arrow again collapses the sub-menu.”
  • To Add or Edit a Post or Page, instead of going to “Write” or “Manage,” you open the Posts or Pages menu and select the ‘Edit’ or ‘Add New’ link.
  • “Design” has been renamed “Appearance” and moved to the lower left area, after the “Comments” menu.
  • “Media Library” has been shortened to “Media” and you can now add new items to it.
  • “Settings,” “Plugins” and “Users” are now grouped together under “Appearance” and “Tools” appears to be new.

Useful Instructions from the WordPress Site: