The instructions below will help you start your blog for EMPR.

Please note: this platform is free. If you are prompted to pay for any type of WordPress service, please return to the previous page and review these instructions again.


Creating Your Blog (Week 1)

The steps below cover creating your WordPress account and configuring it so peers can comment on your blog. All of the steps need to be completed in order for your blog to function properly.

The video below covers the steps below. Please note that the steps on launching the site might vary slightly. Please follow the written instructions for this step. 


  1. Navigate to WordPress.com and choose Get Started
  2. Create a Wordpress account. It is recommended you use your Queen's email and NetID as the username.
  3. Follow the prompts in the next steps. Choose Blog and Blogging respectively. Choose the defaults when you are prompted to input what your blog is about.
  4. Choose a title for your blog. To assist the teaching team in grading, it is recommended that your name be used.

  5. Type in the name of your URL. This address will be used for all course work in Employment Relations. For this reason, we recommend using your NetID. Select Free in the middle of the page. If this option isn’t available, try using a different URL address.

    Please make note of this address as this is how the class will be accessing your blog! Also, we encourage you to keep up this blog after the course is complete and use it as a way to explore your ideas, and perhaps even use it professionally to network (via LinkedIn, e.g.). So you may want to consider a blog address that will be appropriate to share professionally. In this example, a NetID is used.


  6. Choose Start with a free site at the top of the page.
  7. It might take a couple of minutes for your blog to be created. Once it has been created please move on to the next section.

Now that your site has been created, you need to follow the Site Setup List in order launch your site and make it available.

  1. Update your homepage. Making a simple change such as changing the title of your homepage will check this off the list, but feel free to customize it a bit more if you like. Select Update in the upper-right when finished.

  2. Confirm your email address. If you haven't received it, try checking your junk or clutter folders. If needed you can choose Resend email from the setup list. 

  3. Choose Launch Site

  4. On the Give your site an address page, choose Skip Purchase to keep your free URL.

  5. Choose Continue with your free site at the top of the page.

    The step for installing the app is completely optional and can be skipped. This will not affect how your site is launched.

Your site is now available! But wait... there's another step!

There are a couple of default settings that need to be changed in WordPress that need to be updated in order for your classmates to properly comment on your blog.

  1. While still logged in to Wordpress navigate back to My Home by choosing My Site in the upper-left
  2. Expand Manage on the left, choose Settings, select the General tab, choose Toronto from the Site Timezone drop-down, and choose Save Settings.
  3. While still in settings, select the Discussion tab, turn off Comment author must have a previously approved comment and change the number of links to 10. Save the settings.



Congratulations! Your site is now ready for EMPR! If you completed all of the above steps you will never need to repeat these again.

Before you submit your blog link (from the first section) to onQ, it's recommended that you test it to make sure it's working. You can send it to a friend, try it on a different device or simply open it up in a different browser. You should be able to see your homepage with two sample blog posts on the front page.

Now that your blog has been set up, all that's left is to write your Introductory Blog Post. The steps below are also applicable for any additional blog posts you will need to create.

The following video covers the steps below

Since technology is sometimes unreliable, it is highly recommended that you write your blog post in Microsoft Word and save it locally on your computer. When you are satisfied with what you have written, cut and paste your post over into WordPress.


  1. If you haven’t already done so, login to your WordPress site by accessing WordPress.com and choosing Log In the upper right-hand corner of the screen.
  2. Choose Write in the Upper right-hand corner of the screen
  3. Enter a Title and begin writing your blog post below the toolbar (paste your content here if you wrote it in Word).
  4. Identify the course you are writing the blog for by writing the course code in the title and using tags. Tags can be added from the Categories and Tags menu.
  5. Click Publish twice in the upper right-hand corner of the screen to finalize and publish your work!


Commenting on a Blog Post

At certain points in your course, you will be commenting on blogs made by classmates. This section covers how comment in WordPress.

The following video covers the steps outlined below:

  1. Login to WordPress. In most cases you might already be logged in if you are using the same device.

  2. Navigate to the blog you wish to comment on and choose Post Comment

    In some cases, you might be prompted to enter additional information before your comment can be posted. Usually this is because you are not logged in to your WordPress account. You can login by choosing the WordPress icon located below the comment box.

  3. Once your comment has been posted and saved, take a screenshot of copy the URL of the comment for your submission as required (see onQ for specific instructions for your course)

    If you have responded to peer's comments and need to submit the URL of your Blog post there are two ways to do this:

    -If you are viewing your blog post on your site, you can scroll to the top and copy the link from the address bar; or

    -If you are logged in to your dashboard you can copy the link by viewing your site in the upper left, selecting the relevant blog post you made, and copying the link from the window below your address bar.

    1. Open the Snipping Tool from the Start Menu of your computer and choose Rectangular Snip from the New menu

    2. Drag the crosshairs over the address bar of your browser and your comment

    3. Save the image and submit it to the submission folder in OnQ

    On a Mac, press Shift-Command-4 to pull up the cross-hairs and follow Step 4. The image will automatically be saved on your desktop.

Troubleshooting

This is because the your site hasn't been launched. Please see Launch Your Site in the steps above

You might be using a different theme which uses a static page instead of most recent blog posts

  1. When logged in to your site dashboard, expand Design and choose Customize
  2. On the Customize menu, choose Homepage Settings
  3. Select Your latest posts and choose Publish in the upper-right of the window

You site will be created with two placeholder blog posts. To help keep your blog clean these posts can be deleted. 

  1. From your site dashboard, expand Site and choose Posts
  2. Select the toggle menu (three dots) to the right of your post and choose Trash

If you accidentally delete the wrong post, it can always be restored by clicking on Trashed (under Posts), expanding the toggle menu, and choosing Restore

In most cases, blog moderation might be enabled. Please follow the steps in Enable Commenting and set Eastern Timezone section.

Once your settings have been checked, you will need to ensure there aren't any comments awaiting moderation.

  1. From your site dashboard, expand Site and choose Comments
  2. For any comments listed by your classmates, make sure you approve them
Changing the Look and Feel of your Blog (Optional)
  1. After logging in, choose My Site from the upper left-hand corner of the screen
  2. Expand Design on from the menu on the left and choose Themes
  3. On the Site menu, choose Themes (under Design), search Radcliffe 2 and select Info
  4. On the next page, choose Activate this design. When prompted, choose Customize this site

  5. Select Site Identity on the left panel, choose Select logo and upload the EMPR Logo. When prompted, choose Skip Cropping in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. Return to the Customize menu bu selecting the arrow to the left of Customizing Site Identity.

    The size of the logo can be increased or decreased by changing the slider under Logo Size. Your Site Title can be changed by updating the text in the Site Title field

  6. On the Customize menu, choose Fonts and select Open Sans from both the Headings and Base Font drop-down




 

 

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