HOME - Desire2Learn - Ning - Mythology & Folklore - World Literature - Indian Epics

Course Projects: Storybook Coverpage

The Coverpage is one of the most important features of your Storybook. You can think of the Coverpage as being something like the cover of a book, providing information about the title and the author (you!), along with an intriguing image. In addition, the Coverpage should provide links to the contents of your Storybook website. In effect, your website Coverpage is like the cover of a book and the table of contents.

Over the past few weeks, you have had a chance to look at many different Storybooks from past semesters, so you probably have a good idea of some of the design options. If you want to look at some more Storybooks before you get started, here is the Storybook Archive - you can browser around there to get some ideas for your own coverpage. (Notice that there are several pages of links here - lots of coverpages to look at!)

Many people change their Storybook Coverpage several times during the semester, choosing a different image, altering the layout, etc. Since you will be updating the Coverpage each time you add a new story to your Storybook, you will have plenty of opportunities to make changes to the Coverpage throughout the semester.

Here are the steps you need to complete for this week's assignment:

STEP ONE: Find an image you want to use. Make sure you will be able to provide good Image Information, since you will need to include Image Information somewhere on Coverpage (you can do that down at the bottom of the page, where it won't distract from the impact of the image). The image should be large, but not too large. If the image is over 800 pixels in width, you probably need to reduce it in size. You can use an online photo editing program to do that very easily (and get extra credit for that, too, as a Technology Tip).

STEP TWO: Create and publish your Coverpage in Composer. You need to create a webpage with a valid filename, such a storybook.html. If you already have a webpage named storybook.html in your webspace from an earlier class, choose a different filename, such as storybook2.html or indiastorybook.html or something you will be able to easily recognize.

• Title. There should be an exciting title which is prominently displayed on the Coverpage. You might want it to have a two-part title, with a brief title and a subtitle separated by a colon. For example: "Camelot Tales: The Diary of Queen Guinevere" or "Weasels: Folktales and Legends From Around The World," etc. To make the font for the title larger, use the Heading 1 option. Here are some more notes about the use of Fonts in Composer.
• Author. The Coverpage needs to make it clear that you are the author of this website.
• Image and Image Information. Insert the image into the page (notes about Images and Composer), and include the Image Information somewhere on the page, too. If you put it in small type down at the bottom of the page it will not distract from the image. Make sure that the Image Information is complete and correct by reviewing these Image Information Guidelines, paying special attention to the items in red.
• Link FROM Coverpage TO your homepage. Make sure you provide a link to your OU Homepage (i.e., the home.html page which you created and published last week). You might want to review these notes about Linking to a Page in your Website.
• OPTIONAL: Background color. In addition to using an image, many people like to choose a background color that complements the image. If you want to use a background color or background image in the design of your Introduction page, make sure you read this Guide to Background Colors and Images. You need to make sure that you choose both a text color AND a link text color that will be visible on the background color.
• Publish your Coverpage. If you are having trouble publishing the page, please review the Publishing Settings. If you are still having trouble, contact the instructor.

STEP THREE: Update your homepage. After you have published your Coverpage, close that file, and open your home.html file. You need to add a link FROM the homepage TO your new Coverpage. After you have added that link, save the new version of the page and publish it. Now you should be able to look yourself up at search.ou.edu, go to your homepage, and from there click to your Coverpage. You will see the address of your Coverpage displayed in the browser address bar. This is the address that you need to send to the instructor in an email.

STEP FOUR: Send email to the instructor. When you have published your Coverpage, notify the instructor by email. Your Subject Line should say"MythFolklore Storybook Coverpage" or "World Lit Storybook Coverpage" or "Indian Epics Storybook Coverpage." Here is the information that you must include in the email:

• webpage address of your Coverpage (cut and paste the address from your web browser)
• short title that will be used on the list of Storybooks for the class, just three or four words in length

After you have send the email to the instructor, you can complete the Gradebook Declaration.