Projects

1. After logging in, click My OpenLab in the main menu. Then click My Projects on the right-hand menu. On the My Projects page, click + Create a Project at the top of the page.

Step One: Profile

1. On the first project creation page, enter the required information including the Project Name, Project Description, and School (if applicable).  You can change any of the information later.

2. Choose whether you want to set up a site, and if so choose a site URL.  The URL, or web address, is what you see in the location bar of your browser (e.g. http://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/MySite).  It cannot be changed, so take a moment to read through the guidelines below, and consider the URL carefully.

• If you have an existing OpenLab site that is not already linked to a Course, Project, Club, or Portfolio you can choose to Use an existing site for your project.  Please note: This option will not appear if you do not have a existing site that is not currently linked to a project, course, club, or portfolio.
• If you have an existing site that is not on the OpenLab, you can choose to Use an external site for your project.  If you choose this option, you can check for an RSS feed so that activity is displayed on the profile page.  To do so, type in the URL and click the Check button.  If it does not automatically find a feed you can type one in yourself.

3. When you are finished, click Create Project and Continue.

Step Two: Privacy Settings

Profile Privacy Settings

1. Choose your Profile privacy settings.  These settings control the privacy of the project profile, and are different from the project site, which you will choose next. You can change the settings at any time.

This is a public project:

• The project profile and related content and activity will be visible to the public, whether or not they are members of the OpenLab.
• The project profile will be listed in the OpenLab project directory and search results.
• Any OpenLab member may join this project.

This is a private project:

• The project profile and related content and activity will only be visible to members of the project.
• The project profile will be listed in the project directory and search results.
• Only OpenLab members who request membership and are accepted by the administrator may join this project.

This is a hidden project:

• The project profile, related content, and activity will only be visible only to members of the project.
• The project profile will NOT be listed in the project directory and search results.
• Only OpenLab members who are invited may join this project.

Site Privacy Settings

2. Next, choose the privacy settings for your project site.  These settings will not appear if you did not set up a site on the previous page.

Public

Allow search engines to index this site:

• Anyone can visit your site without needing a password.
• Search engines will index all pages and posts, meaning your site will show up in search results on Google, Bing and others.
• Choose this option for maximum public visibility.

Ask search engines not to index this site:

• Visitors do not need a password to see your site if they know the URL or are linked from elsewhere, but Google, Bing and other search engines should not index your posts and pages. (Please note: it is up to search engines to honor your request.)
• Choose this option if you want to be able to show the blog to people who are not members of the OpenLab, but you don’t want people to stumble upon it via search engines.

Private

I would like my site to be visible only to registered users of City Tech OpenLab:

• Anyone who is signed into the OpenLab can see this site.
• Choose this option if you’d only like the OpenLab community to be able to see the site.

I would like my site to be visible to registered users of this Project:

• Only members of your project will be able to visit the site.
• Choose this option if you only want project members to be able to see the site.

Hidden

I would like my site to be visible only to site administrators:

• No one except site administrators can see the site.
• You may choose this option if you are in the process of creating your project site, but it would rarely be useful during an active project.

3. When you’re done, click Next Step.

Step Three: Avatar

1. Upload an avatar that reflects the subject or topic of your project.  If you have an image file ready that you would like to use as your avatar, click Browse or Choose File.  Select the file you want to use from your computer or flash drive and then click Upload Image.  If you don’t have an image you would like to use you can always add one later–just click Next Step (if you are finished skip to the next section, “Step Four: Invite Members”).

2. Crop the image by dragging the square around the portion of the image you want to use and then click Crop Image.

3. Once your avatar is uploaded, click Next Step.

Step Four: Inviting Members

1. If you would like to invite members to your Project, start typing their display name.  When a dropdown list appears, select their name from the list.  Their name and avatar will appear under the heading Invites.  When you’re finished, or if you do not wish to invite anyone at this time (you can always do it later!), click Finish, at the bottom of the page.

2. After you click Finish you will see your new Project Profile page!  From here, you can (a) change settings such as privacy, Project description, or (b) change your avatar.  From your Project Profile you can also access your (c) Project Site and Dashboard (the admin panel, where you will edit and add content to your Project Site).

Now that your project has been created, you may want to modify settings and start building your site.

Help information on project site privacy courtesy of Blogs@Baruch at Baruch College, CUNY.