Purchasing Your Web Space
Summer 2014
Basic Information for purchasing your web space.
Server Space:
You will purchase web-server space to host your Digital Portfolio Website. In a nutshell, $90.00 for your domain name & server space for two years or Music students in Dr. McCoys's class may have already purchased for 3 years for $135 from DynamicsDS(https://www.dynamicsds.com/w/).
Two years should get you through graduation and into your first teaching position. You will be adding to your website through all your classes, not just in DED 318.
Music Majors will begin this website a year earlier in Dr. McCoy's class.
Purchase your Web Server Space Immediately
DynamicsDS (http://dynamicsds.com/w/) web hosting service is run by an IT guy that I know very well........Lance Gerstner (Hays, Kansas). He knows what he is doing and will provide you with great support if it is needed. My sites are all hosted through Lance! His web server is his personally and has no connection with any University. He is also giving a special deal to my students, $90 for 2 years or $135 for 3 years.
- This price includes your own domain name
- NO ads on your site
- Unlimited space
- Has all the bells & whistles that are extra pay items included in the price.
This is very unusual for this price.
Remember you do no have to purchase a textbook, so this replaces the book expense.
For example, my websites are:
- My Main Website: http://theedtechplace.info
- Technology Nits, Bytes & Nibbles Newsletter/Blog Site: http://www.technologybitsbytesnibbles.info/
- And even my daughters dance studio business site http://atbdance.com
Your first DECISION when purchasing... Choose a domain name
A little information about your choosing very own Domain Name.........................
- You must be an educational institution to use .edu. so, that is not available to you or even me.
- .info seemed the most logical to me, since I am basically just sharing information, would be a good option for you.
- I am not selling anything, so .com didn’t seem to fit my educational resources site, but .com is an acceptable choice and you may want to use it. Clearly it is the most popular.
- I am NOT a non-profit organization, so .org, is not really appropriate for you or me.
- .name is blocked by most school servers, so that is a problem for all educators. Why is it blocked? It seems to be pretty common for porn stars.......
- .net is really for internet and networking type businesses, which we are not.
You will choose your domain name and it will be registered and you will pay a fee to keep it active beyond the initial 2 year contract. In other words, you OWN your domain name. By the way, your domain name is $15.00 a year, so, $30.00 of the total $90.00 for the two year fee with DynamicsDS is for your Domain Name.
You will be prompted to create a PayPal account or Amazon Wallet or Google Checkout before you can complete your order.
Go to http://www.dynamicsds.com/ to set up your account immediately.
If you prefer to use postal snail mail, which I do not suggest (especially for summer classes), you must send a cashiers check or money order to (no personal checks please). This is a bit of a problem because you will not be able to begin your site until your cashiers check or money order arrives in Hays. KS. So, if you choose this method, do it immediately, so that you are ready to go day one of class. I guarantee this will put you behind in the class right off the bat if you do not get your webspace purchased immediately.
Postal mail is sent to:
Dynamics DS Lance Gerstner
1407 Motz Ave.
Hays, KS 67601
Keep in mind postal mail takes a little longer and will delay the set up of your account I suggest using PayPal or Google Checkout for fast setup of your webspace.
You will add projects, reflections, presentations, links, images, lesson plans and more to your website. This will be an almost daily occurrence. The first things will be added day one of class. In other words, if you do not have your space, you will be stuck and will not be able complete the assignments when they are assigned. This add unnecessary stress to your life!!
http://dynamicsds.com, Please order you webspace TODAY.
Why we are using WordPress Only!
WordPress on Your computer
You will edit online from any computer.
WordPress on your iPad
Download the Free App to work on your website from your iPad.
Postersous
Post to your website right from your email and more, but it was just purchased by Twitter and they killed it. :(
WordPress is exactly the same on all computers & mobile devices like the iPad
WordPress works great on an iPad, Mac and WindowsPC computers, and a host of other devices too.
So, WordPress gives us common ground, WordPress is EXACTLY the same on all platforms.
We will be using WordPress hosted through DynamicsDS. NOT WORDPRESS.COM.
WHY? Because we (Lance & I) have created templates with all the features, pages, sections, plugins and all the extras you will need to create a professionally organized website. These features are generally pay as you go services with Wordpress.com and other web hosting services. With DynamicsDS ,everything you need is included. No extra charges.
If you pay for features one item at a time, it ends up costing you a small fortune, at least four times the DynamicsDS fee, based on my calculations. Lance has included everything for one price and adds whatever I request when I discover something new that we need and he adds it for every one of my students, not just for me.
You will receive several emails from DynamicsDS about your account...Keep all of them
Let me say that again, Save them all!
The one with a subject line Account Details is a SUPER important email. It has..........
- The URL of your website (it will NOT say wordpress.com in the URL)
- The administrative URL of your website. This is the URL you use when you are working on your site.
- Your Username
- and your password
- Make sure to keep track of this information, you will be using it daily.
You will use the Administrative URL when working on your site. It will look like this. http://youdomainname.ino/wp-admin.
When you arrive there you will be prompted to login to your site with your username and password. The URL of you website is all the information before the /wp-admin.
watch the video that shows how to login to your WordPress site.
If you want to get a head start: Selecting the THEME for your website
If you don’t have your space purchased when you get to class the first week, you will be stuck!
We have a number of themes preloaded, but you are not limited to the pre-loaded themes, you may choose to wade through thousands & thousands of themes on the internet and select something else. Make sure you choose something that fits your content area and your personality. Your website should represent YOU!!
Just make sure you follow these instructions below when changing from a pre-installed theme:
- Go to your administrative url
- Login to the site
- Dashboard > Appearance > Themes
- Click the Install Themes Tab
- Under Feature Filter, check the box for Custom Menus (this is very important)
WARNING:
Sometimes themes with dark or black backgrounds are very difficult to read for many, many people. Maybe not you, but maybe your visitors. Be careful.
Don’t waste too much time in the beginning choosing a theme, you can always change your mind and theme later if you find one you like better.
If you select something other than one of the pre-installed themes and cannot figure out how to install a different theme, just email Lance (support@dynamicsds.com) with the exact theme name and exact link to the theme and request and ask that it be installed for you.
Make sure it is a FREE theme, there are many you have to pay extra to install. For example, my blog uses a theme that I paid for. http://www.technologybitsbytesnibbles.info/
DynamicsDS (Lance) email: support@dynamicsds.com, use this email for support. Put this email in your contacts.
A few places to find more themes
- Free WordPress Themes Directory:
http://wordpress.org/extend/themes - Most popular FREE WordPress Themes:
http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/browse/popular - WordPress Base Themes:
http://wordpressthemesbase.com - Free WordPress Themes:
http://www.freewordpressthemes.com
Ok, that should to be enough to drive you nuts making a decision on a theme. Please look through the ones we have preloaded first, you can always change your mind later.
Add this contact Information to your Contacts (Address book) on your iPad.
http://dynamicsds.com
Lance Gerstner support@dynamicsds.com
Keep tract this DynamicsDS information and the support email.