Using WordPress to Create an EPortfolio For the final portfolio, we’ll be using WordPress, a blog site, to create an eportfolio. A sample eportfolio is available at <sampleenglish250portfolio.wordpress.com.>

Part One: Setting Up Your EPortfolio Blog Pages 1. Go to www.wordpress.com and click on the orange “Get Started Here” button on the left side

of the screen. This will take you to a webform. Choose your blog address. When choosing your blog address, be sure to use your first and last names and other identifying information if you like, such as ENG250 (example: JackieHoermannENG250).

2. The form will give you the same username as your blog address.3. Choose a password you’ll remember.4. Enter your email address.5. Click the orange button “Create Blog” at the bottom of the screen.

6. While you’re waiting for the activation email, go ahead and fill out your profile. Be sure to use your first and last name. Click the orange “Save Profile” button.

7. Once you receive the activation email and have clicked on the appropriate link, log in to WordPress. After you log in, you’ll see a page that looks like this:

On the far left side of the screen, you’ll see a menu. This menu allows you to add and edit pages, change the appearance or settings, and other various tasks.

8. At this point, changing the privacy setting on your blog is a good idea. On the far-left menu, scroll over the bottom icon labeled “Settings” then on the pop-up menu go to Privacy. You’ll see a page like this:

You can choose the level of privacy for your blog. If you choose to keep your portfolio completely private, you’ll want to check the bottom button labeled “I would like my blog to be private, visible only to users I choose.” Click “Save Changes.”

If you choose to make your blog private, you will need to invite me so that I can see your eportfolio. Please click “invite viewers to your blog.” On the next screen, you can type my username: english250sampleportfolio. Click the button “Send Invitation.”

Part Two: Choose a Theme for Your EPortfolio 1. On the far left menu, click on “Appearance.” A page will pop up that looks like this:

Browse through the themes, and choose a free one that most suits both your personality and your purpose in creating this blog. Note, that the design you choose is a rhetorical decision. Your selection will communicate a certain message to your audience, so it’s important to make two determinations: (1) who your audience is, and (2) what it is that you would like to communicate to this audience. Once you’ve selected a theme that effectively communicates your intended purpose with this portfolio, click on “Activate” under the theme’s name to change the theme on your blog site.

Note: this page is where you can change typefaces, font colors, and other parts of your site’s appearance.

(If you choose a theme that automatically alphabetizes your blog pages, you should change the order of your pages by clicking on “Pages” on the far left menu, then “Edit.” If you move your mouse cursor over the title of a blog page, a small menu pops up below. Choose “Quick Edit”, and on the right side of the box that pops up is a box labeled “Order.” In that box, the number shown is the current order of the page you’re editing. To change the order of that page, change the number. In the above example, the Revision of the Written Piece page is second in the page order. To change it to be first, put a 1 in the box labeled “Order.”

In other words, the number in the “Order” box directly corresponds to the order of the blog page, with 1 being first, 2 being second, and so on.)

Part Three: Adding Content to Your Blog Pages 1. To begin adding pages to your blog, click on the “Pages” link on that far-left menu. A

dropdown menu will appear immediately below the link you just clicked. Choose “Add New.” You’ll be taken to a blank page that looks like this:

You’ll need blog pages for your eportfolio in this order: 1. Home 2. Introductory Reflection Letter3. Revised Written Assignment 4. Reflection Process Essay over the Written Revision 5. Examples of OVE communications6. Reflection Process Essay over OVE communications choices

It is possible to combine pages if, for instance, you want to upload your Revised Written Assignment onto the same page your Reflection Process essay over that revision appears.

Page titles go in the box under “Add New Page.” For your home page, you might title it with a statement like “Welcome to my English 150 EPortfolio” or something of that sort. The other four pages can be titled as listed above.

For pages 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6, you can post your reflection directly on the page itself. This text goes into the large blank editor in the middle of the page shown above.

For Page 5 you can add files to your blog pages, but WordPress only supports certain types of files: jpg, jpeg, png, gif, doc. docx, ppt, pptx, and odt. This means you can post graphics, Word, and PowerPoint files to your blog pages.

Ensure your pages appear in the right order by changing the numbers 1-6 in the “Order” box on the left- hand side of the webpage.

2. Although the editor automatically saves, click “Save Draft” in the “Publish” box before navigating away from your newly created page

3. Click “Add New” under the “Pages” link to the left to add the rest of your pages. Keep repeating this process until you have created all the blog pages for your portfolio.

Part Four: Testing and Publishing Your EPortfolio

1. Under the “Pages” icon, click “All Pages.” Make sure all of the pages you created are present.

2. If you’d like to preview any of your pages you can access “Preview” by rolling your cursor over the titles of any of your pages. You can also access “Preview” from the editor page.

3. When you’re ready, click the titles of each of your pages, then click the blue “Publish” button. If you have 6 pages, you will need to click the blue “Publish” button 6 times, one on each editing page!

4. To double-check your work, click “View” located underneath the page titles on the “All Pages” screen, or “View Page” located at the top of the editor screen for any of your pages.

2009-2012 Handout by Adolfo Carrillo Cabello, Ruslan Suvarov, Marcy Leasum Orwig, Susan Pagnac, Sara Parks, and Jackie Hoermann.