Welcome to netstartclass 4.0! After a few short steps, you will be on your way to editing web content with ease. Please make note of the login information you receive from your technology office. You will need this information each time you wish to edit your website. netstartclass 4.0 My username: My password: My administrator: Notes: eztask 800-921-6764 support.eztask.com Copyright 2012 eztask.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
Table of Contents Logging In... 3 Using the Project Manager... 3 Using the File Manager... 4 Creating Additional Pages... 4 Using the ezeditor...,... 5 Embedding Links... 6 Working with Images... 7 Creating Content Areas... 9 Using the Calendar...10 Adding Events...11 Working with Blogs...12 Creating Forms and Surveys...14 Creating Photo Galleries... 15 Editing Web Menus...16 Account Settings... 16 2
Logging In 1. Open your preferred Internet browser. Most major browsers are supported, including Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and others. 2. Navigate to: http://classroom.yourdistricturl (e.g., http://classroom.mygreatisd.net) 3. When the login page appears, enter your user name and password, and click Login. 4. Upon successful login, you will be directed to the Project Manager. Using the Project Manager The Project Manager is the starting place for building and editing your web pages. Here you can: Edit web pages Preview web pages Password-protect web pages Remove web pages Add additional web pages Manage your navigation menu Modify your account settings Upload files to your File Manager Edit Preview Copy Secure Publish Delete 3
Using the File Manager With the File Manager, you can upload documents and images to link to your web pages. You can highlight a folder and add new folders and sub folders; organizing files just as you would on a desktop or laptop computer. Note: It is best to keep folder names short and without spaces. Creating Additional Pages When adding a new web page, you have basic page types which may include: Content page Form page Photo gallery Calendar Blog Remember to give your pages meaningful names. 1. Click on Add Pages to My Site in the Project Manager. 2. Select the type of page you wish to add, type in a page name, and click Apply. 3. To edit a web page, click on the Edit icon, or click directly on the page name. 4
Using the ezeditor The ezeditor is the place where you can edit your content pages. Here you can: Add images Spell Check your content Add story content Fonts and font formatting Add links Indent and List Add tables Insert special characters 1. To add page content, place your mouse curser in the ezeditor box and begin typing your text. Alternatively, you may copy your text from another source or file. 2. You can highlight selected portions of your content and use the features of the ezeditor to modify your text as you would in most word processing programs. For example, highlighting text and clicking the B button will bold the selected text, just as in Microsoft Word, and paste it into the ezeditor. Undo Format Stripping SpellCheck Font Colors Fonts and Sizes Insert Horizontal Rules and Symbols Font formatting Paragraph formatting Indent and Listing SuperScript SubScript Add Links Add Tables Add Images 5
Embedding Links 1. To embed a link using the ezeditor, highlight the anchor text and click the Hyperlink icon. 2. Type a URL in the field, or click Browse to link to a file or image in the File Manager. 3. You may also select to open the content in a new window or existing window 4. To create an email link select the E-mail tab. Hyperlink Manager Click Browse to find the page to link to within your site or enter the URL of an external link. 6
Working with Images 1. To insert an image on your web page, click on the Image Manager. If your image is already in the folder, double-click on the file name and the image will be placed on your web page. 2. To upload a new file, click on Upload and browse your hard drive by clicking Select. 3. You can upload multiple images at a time by holding the shift key. 4. To resize your image, single-click the file name and click on Image Editor. Here, you can resize, crop, flip, rotate, and add text to your image. 5. When you are finished, click Save. 6. After you have added an image to your web page, you can moderate the amount of white space around the image by clicking Image Tags. Click Upload to add images to your folders. Click here for the Image Manager Note: You can also add images through the ezeditor. Select the Add Image Icon for the Image Manager 7
Working with Images (continued) Click Select to Browse for an image to Upload. After the images are Uploaded you can edit the size and orientation of the image by clicking on the Image Editor Once you have selected your images click on Upload. To Insert the image you have uploaded simply double click the image name (which should already be highlighted) or Click the Insert Button 8
Creating Content Areas You can usually manage your web page from a single Content Area, but utilizing multiple Content Areas may provide you with additional flexibility in stylizing your content. 1. From the Content Editor click on Add/Remove. 2. Select a Content Area Position and a number of Content Areas to add, then click Apply. 3. When using multiple Content Areas, you can move between them by using the Content Area dropdown, located just beneath the Layout icon in the upper left of the Content Editor. 4. Also, you can decide how much white space to have between Content Areas by using the pixel box located in the lower right of the Content Editor, just below the ezeditor. 5. When you are finished editing your content, click Save Changes and then Preview to preview the look and feel of your web page. The preview will always open in a new browser window, so when you have finished previewing, you may close the window. 6. When you are completely finished, click on Project Manager in the upper left-hand corner of the Content Editor to return to the Project Manager. Note: to give each of your pages a unique appearance, change the page layout by clicking on the layout icon. Click Add from the Main Menu Bar Change content areas by using the drop-down menu located under the layout icon. You can create up to 10 Content Areas at once. 9
Using the Calendar 1. The first time you edit your calendar, you will need to create at least one category. In the upper-right of the Event Manager, click on Calendar Setup. 2. From the Calendar Name drop-down, select This Calendar. 3. In the Display field, type in a category name. If you only plan to have one category, you may wish to choose a generic name, such as Classroom Events. 4. From the color drop-down, select a color for your events. 5. Click Apply. You are now ready to begin entering events on your calendar. Enter a name for your Calendar. This name will only appear when the user selects to create a PDF version of the calendar. The Event Selector will create an index of the color-coded events on your Calendar. Select a color for your event type by clicking on the down-arrow. Creating One Calendar with multiple Event types: You can color code the Event Types on your calendar. This will allow your users to toggle off/on the Event Types (from the Calendar Index) they are most interested in. In the above example there are three event types: Academics, Athletics, and Holidays Creating Multiple Calendars combined into One Calendar: To setup your calendar to display the content from various calendars select a Calendar Name from the drop-down menu. Next Enter a display name of the selected calendar e.g., Sporting Events. Next choose a color for your events that the selected calendar will display. 10
Adding Events 1. Use the Calendar icon to the right of today s date to change the date, enter an Event Name, and select an appropriate Event Type. 2. Selecting a start and end time is optional, as is the Event Description field, where you can enter more information about your event or even hyperlink a document or web page. 3. Recurring events are those that repeat at a predictable interval, such as certain holidays or classroom activities. 4. After you have added an event, click Save Changes and then Preview to view your calendar. Calendar Popdown for Event date selection. Enter the Event Name Select the Event Type. These are the Display Names you entered during the Calendar Setup. Enter the Event Start and End Time. Enter a description of the event. You description can include links. Use the link editor just as you would in the ezeditor. Highlight the word to be link then click on the Link Editor and select the page or enter the URL for the link. If your event is recurring select the recurrence pattern here. Select the end date for your recurring event. 11
Working with Blogs ezblog Setup Create a Blog page by clicking on Add Pages to My Site from the Project Manager main menu. Then select the new Blog page to edit. Click on Blog Settings from the ezblogger main menu. 1. Enter the new Blog name. Blog Description and Keyword fields are optional, and the RSS file path is automated. 2. You may choose to archive posts by month or opt not to archive at all. You may also designate security settings by choosing to make your blog public, private, or requiring login for commenting. 3. Checking the box for SPAM protection requires users to enter a CAPTCHA code in order to post a comment. 4. From the commenting drop-down, you may choose to moderate comments with approval, allow open commenting, or no commenting at all. You may also enter an email address to be notified when comments are made. You will be able to approve, delete, or mark a comment as SPAM without having to login to your Project Manager. 12
Working with Blogs (continued) ezblog Security and Editing You can also review, edit, and repost existing blog entries by filtering the blog posts then selecting the entry to edit. Use Database Security allows you to add users manually or you can upload a CSV file to manage logins. 1. After you return to the Blog Editor, you can click on Security Settings (upper right corner, next to Blog Settings ) to set up user accounts. You can enter a global user name and password, set up multiple users, or upload a database of user account information. 2. Use the ezeditor (just as you would in a regular content area) to edit the text of your blog posts. Click Save Changes and then Preview when you are finished. NOTE: You must enter a Post Title if you wish to archive your blog posts. 13
Creating Forms and Surveys The Form Builder is for gathering information from your website visitors (such as contact information) or for conducting surveys. 1. After adding a Form Page, you can click Add/Remove to add fields to your form. 2. Your Form page defaults to one form field, a Single-Line Text Box. To add additional fields click on Add/ Remove in the Field 1 menu then select the type of field to add. 3. Check boxes are for multiple choice questions with multiple answers. Radio Buttons and Drop-down Menus are for multiple choice questions to which you want to restrict the user to one answer. When using multiple choice fields, enter answer choices in the Options field, each separated by a semicolon. 4. When your form is complete, click on Form Setup in the upper right corner of the Form Builder, and enter an email address where you wish to receive the results. Enter a confirmation message to signify a successfully sent form, or enter a URL to which users will be directed after submission. 5. Click the SPAM Protection box if you want to add a CAPTCHA box to your form. 6. If you would like to sort data from your form submissions or generate a spreadsheet of the form results, click on Reports in the upper right of the Form Builder. 7. You can click on View Online Report to view the data in a printable table format, or you may click Export CSV File to save your data for viewing in a spreadsheet or database program, such as Microsoft Excel or Access. 14
Creating Photo Galleries You can use the Photo Gallery page type to easily post pictures in a slide show format. 1. To add a Photo Gallery page click on Add Pages to My Site from the Project Manager, select Photo Gallery Page, and give your page a name. 2. Add images to your Gallery by editing the page and then clicking on Upload an Image. Browse your hard drive for pictures. After you have selected all the photos you want (hold the shift key to select multiple files), click Upload. As the images are uploaded to the page, they are automatically compressed and resized. Image thumbnails are also created. 3. You can change the layout of the Photo Gallery by clicking on the layout icon in the upper left corner. You can select from a variety of layouts and sizes for your Photo Gallery page. Add a caption to your image. Your image can also be linked to another page. Click on the folder to the right to select from your web pages or enter a URL. 15
Editing Web Menus You can add, delete, or modify your web menus by clicking My Menus in the upper right of the Project Manager. Your options are to add a new item before or after an existing item, or to add a submenu item. You may change the order of menu items by using the up/down arrow icons, or delete menu items by clicking the X icon. When you are finished editing your menus, click Apply. Edit Add menu item after Add menu item before Add submenu item Move Down Move Up Delete Account Settings In Account Settings, you can change your password, your campus, and other settings related to your web site account. When you are finished modifying your settings, click Apply. 16