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Browse the categories on the sidebar to find help pages on a variety of topics related to writing in digital environments.

For more info about the purpose of this site, see the About page in the top menu.

NOTE: Posts below are not shown in chronological order. The first dozen or so are sorted by popularity, and the remaining and sorted by topic.

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HOW TO – Make Preview the Default PDF Reader on a Mac

ALSO POTENTIALLY RELEVANT: How to make images web-ready (cropping and resizing in Preview) and How to annotate PDFs (in Preview). Change the Default PDF Reader to Preview Preview is a …

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HOW TO – Make Your Images Web-Ready

NOTE: Apply the steps below only to images you created from scratch or that you have a legal right to re-use, as described on: GUIDE – Finding Images You Can …

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HOW TO – Add a shortcut to a shared folder to My Drive (for easy access)

RELATED HELP PAGE: HOW TO – Put your file into a shared folder on Google Drive You can upload files to Google Drive or create them using one of Drive’s …

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HOW TO – Create a Hyperlink (Turn a Word into a Link)

SLIDE VERSION ARTICLE VERSION WRONG WAY Pasting a plain URL is the wrong way. WordPress will not automatically turn URLs into clickable links, the way Facebook and G+ does, so …

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HOW TO – Record Live Video into iMovie

I created this help page for students who will be making video blog entries or video interviews for the first time, using iMovie ’11. The steps below are very basic …

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HOW TO – Put your file into a shared folder on Google Drive

RELATED HELP PAGE: HOW TO – Add a shortcut to a shared folder to My Drive (for easy access) Everything you upload to Google Drive or create using one of …

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HOW TO – Export an mp3 out of GarageBand

If you make your audio essay in GarageBand, you will need to export it as an mp3 file before you can share it with the class (on the blog or …

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TIPS – Troubleshooting: Can't hear your recording in GarageBand?

NOTE: This help page is still under development, but I wanted to go ahead and post it to benefit current students who are working with audio. Recorded a podcast track …

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TROUBLESHOOTING – Audio problems when recording with QuickTime X

If you do a test screencast and discover it has no audio, try the steps below. CHECK YOUR QUICKTIME SETTINGS Choose “New Screen Recording” from the QuickTime Player File menu. …

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HOW TO – Put Journal Entries on a Page in Your Blog

FYI: I wrote this handout for my Fall 2015 students, to help with the specific issue of using a page for journal entries rather than posts. For general info on …

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HOW TO – Use your WordPress.com blog for class

RELATED RESOURCES: HOW TO – Set up your new WordPress.com blog (covers one-time steps in the setup process) RESOURCES – Get more help from the WordPress.com Help Center   This …

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HOW TO – Set Up & Customize Your New WordPress.com blog

RELATED RESOURCES: HOW TO – Use your WordPress.com blog for class (covers day to day uses) RESOURCES – Get more help from the WordPress.com Help Center   This help page …

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HOW TO – Create a New Blog on WordPress.com

RELATED RESOURCES: HOW TO – Set up your new blog on WordPress.com HOW TO – Use your WordPress.com blog for class RESOURCES – Get more help from the WordPress.com Help …

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MATERIALS for Sketching & Drawing on Paper

Although my classes emphasize the use of new media tools for writing and creating visuals, I also encourage students to explore the use of physical materials for sketching and drawing, …

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HOW TO – Get Started with your Pixton for Schools account

NOTE: I created this help page for my Fall 2015 students. If you follow the tips below, you’ll get the hang of Pixton far faster than if you try to …

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HOW TO – Save a Document in PDF Format

MAC USERS If you can print it from your Mac, you can save it as a PDF. This works with nearly all applications, but it’s particularly useful for saving web …

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STUDENT SAMPLE – Grown Ass Woman

Lauren reflects on the turning point moments on her journey towards becoming an adult woman. (WRTG 3090 – Spring 2015) Behind the Scenes Commentary How did the process of working …

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STUDENT SAMPLE – Breathing Canvas

Shelby’s reflections on the healing power of body art. (WRTG 3090 – Spring 2015) Breathing Canvas (a Cowbird story) Behind the Scenes Commentary The interesting thing about publishing a story …

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STUDENT SAMPLE – Life's a Dime

Rachel E. shares her story about “how death can make a child grow up, but even in death there is light.” (WRTG 3090 – Spring 2015) Rachel’s Behind the Scenes …

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STUDENT SAMPLE – You Can't Always Get What You Want

Kat’s screenplay about a turning point experience in her childhood. (WRTG 3090 – Fall 2014) You Can’t Always Get What You Want (opens in Google Drive’s PDF viewer)

STUDENT SAMPLE – Eraser

Shelby’s “turning point” story in the form of an autobio comic
Term: WRTG 3090 – Spring 2015
Tools: Hand drawn and inked in Photoshop

Shelby-Eraser-autobio-comic-preview

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STUDENT SAMPLE – Break

A “turning point” graphic memoir by Rachel N.
Term: WRTG 3090 – Spring 2015
Tools: Composed in Comic Life

rachel-nickell-breakfinal-p1

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STUDENT SAMPLE – Bolts

A “metaphorical” autobio comic by Sean
Term: WRTG 3090 – Spring 2015
Tools: Hand drawn and digitally inked in SketchBook Pro; laid out in Comic Life

sean-Bolts-final-preview

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STUDENT SAMPLE – Blessing in Disguise

Ali shares the story of how a turning point moment led her to pursue her interest in arts and crafts. (WRTG 3090 – Spring 2015) Blessing in Disguise from alichurchfield

HOW TO – Post Your Introduction to Your Blog

Follow these steps when a weekly assignment page directs you to do so. TIP ON COMPOSING BLOG POSTS:  You can compose posts directly in a new post editing box on …

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GUIDE – Finding Images & Other Media You Can Use in Public Projects

RELATED RESOURCES: The RIGHT Way to Save Images from the Web How to Make Your Images Web-Ready POP QUIZ! Of the following statements, can you spot the only one that’s …

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HOW TO – Basics of Working with iMovie ’13

When OS 10.9 (Mavericks) was released, it came with a completely redesigned version of iMovie. I’m referring to it as iMovie ’13, but some users refer to it as iMovie …

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GUIDE – Examples of Showing vs. Telling

Every writer has heard the phrase “show, don’t tell,” but figuring out exactly what that means can take a while. This guide provides a strategy for deciding what to show …

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HOW TO – Estimate Script Length for Audio Voiceover

Working on a project that will include audio voiceover? Here’s how to estimate how long the voiceover will be, based on the number of words in your script: Choose a …

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HOW TO – Add audio to a Cowbird story

If you decide to publish a Cowbird story for your portfolio, you may publish the story as text only or as text plus an audio recording of you reading the …

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STUDENT SAMPLE – Dear Daddy

A “letter never sent” comic, by Marisa
Term: WRTG 3090 Fall 2014
Tools: photos she found and modified and laid out using Comic Life

marisa-dear-daddy-comic2

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DESKTOP, MOBILE, & WEB APPS for Composing Comics

Want to try conveying a message in the form of a comic strip or comic book “short story”? Check out the options below, but also do your own Google searches …

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HOW TO – Create your own avatar or comic character

NOTE: This post is under development as of 2/16/15. My WRTG 3020 students will find the same info (minus my sample avatars) on their Class HUB. AVATAR MAKERS Cartoon Style …

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HOW TO – Make your own fake social media conversation

The demos below were experiments for students who wanted to incorporate social media conversations in their projects but didn’t want to use their “real” accounts to do so. Turns out …

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DESKTOP & WEB APPS for Creating Screencasts (aka Screen Recording)

NOTE: For related posts, browse the tag archive for: screencasting A screencast is a video recording of whatever is displayed on the forefront of your computer screen. Screencasts can be …

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DESKTOP & WEB APPS – Composing with Video

For most video projects, you will need to be able to make basic edits to videos you download or create, including cropping and trimming selections, adding title cards and transitions, …

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HOW TO – How to Download Videos from YouTube and Other Video Hosting Sites

If you’re planning to compose a remix or video commentary, or you need a video clip for some other reason, you’ll probably want to download a copy of a video …

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GUIDE – Using Narrative Strategies for Digital Storytelling

Related resource: GUIDE – Examples of Showing vs. Telling Digital storytelling falls under the larger category of creative nonfiction, which makes use of narrative strategies from fiction and filmmaking. This …

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HOW TO – Share links on our G+ community

RELATED RESOURCES: HOW TO – Find your Google+ community and set notifications You can share links on our G+ community in several ways. The two most common are directly on …

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