STA Blog

Keshav Thamalla

Keshav Thamalla

My First Semester as an STA

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Reflecting on my first two months as an STA this semester, I’ve had a great semester here. I’ve got to learn so much in my trainings, make friends with the coolest people, and be apart of a really positive working environment! I’ve made a lot of memories from starting with Hoa to having the funniest conversations with Valerie and Abriella. Estella has taught me a lot about the details and thinking that must go behind web development to make it accessible and visually pleasing. I never had prior experience with design, but I have gotten to work on design trainings and learn from my fellow STAs, Suloni, Valerie, etc.

I just finished completing an infographic on optimal card design layouts as my final assignment for the semester.

This is another example of me learning more about incorporating knowledge of design elements into web development, as the way your final products look is just as significant as the backend.

This summer I’m planning on interning as a software developer in New York, so I’m excited to be out of my comfort zone for the next few months. But I’m also looking forward to returning to LAITS in the fall and start working on more projects with Estella for more clients. Even though there have been mishaps along the way, getting familiarized with the job, I think I’ve learned a ton and don’t feel too new and unfamiliar here after these two months!

Thank you for a great time, I look forward to seeing everybody who is returning in the fall!

Week 4: Working With Grav

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This week I became familiarized with using Grav in my local directories and learning how to create/design a webpage using Gantry. Earlier this week, I had a few troubles with installing Gantry and then having certain features/files in my trainings not working. However, I think I finally got the hang of it today and understood how to work with Grav well.

This is the Grav website I have now (I’m hoping to finish it by the end of the day, so I’ll post my updated version.)

Although there are some troubles I have with formatting, I am able to play around to solve these problems. I also understand the web development aspect of Grav, where I know in the future, a lot of my web dev. understanding can be used.

Week #3: Design Trainings

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This week I learned about the design and visuals that are used in webpages and further marketing! I spent Thursday going over all my design basic trainings and although many of the concepts covered were very basic, it introduced me to the world of psychology used in strategies behind simple design choices, such as color schemes, typography, etc. The chart below really stood out to me because I was though it was so interesting that research like this was put behind these designs.

 

I also learned about branding and the importance of brand system that go behind choosing how to market a certain topic. I learned what a brand system was and how they were used to maintain an identity for companies/organizations using branding. Looking at several companies displayed and their brand identities in ways such as logos and colors, it is clear that most companies go through a lot of strategizing and research to form minute details about the look of their brand. Although I knew having an eye for good design was very difficult, it was cool to learn about the critical thinking that goes behind a brand.

This next week I plan on completed my Grav site and then, hopefully being done with my trainings. I am looking forward to working on substantial projects afterwards with the rest of the LAITS team!

Week 2: Web Dev Training

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Hey, this week was my second week working as an STA and I got to spend majority of my time this week working on my training assignments for web development. I’m really passionate and interested in developing a lot more in the future, so I really enjoyed getting to learn more about the more programming-based aspects of being an STA.

For the first two assignments, I used the inspect element tool on the LAITS website and got familiarized with using git/github to update my code.

 

 

Finally, I created a Google Slides presentation to recap the basics of the network communication behind websites at this link:  https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/17DDB9X6w8SLe34A-k0s3oAyGvhqJZU5f8600OadVzwc/edit?usp=sharing

One thing I learned about was that HTML, CSS, and Javascript files worked together to compose a component file. Once a server receives a request and approves it, it sends back the component files to the browser to display it to the user. I have worked with the three scripting languages I mentioned above to a limited extent, so I am excited to continue creating bigger things and expanding my knowledge in this field!

In addition, Suloni seemed to enjoy the design for my slides, so today she was kind enough to ask me to help her work on a flyer and screen ad for a COLA course. I’m excited to tap my toes into the design field, since I’ve never done too much of it before.

My First Week as an STA!

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Hello, it’s Keshav! I am a second-year Mathematics major with a large interest in web development! Today I have officially completed my first full week as an STA at LAITS. I had an exceptional time completing my orientation assignments and familiarizing myself with the workplace setting and the online tools needed to track my work. I started this week off by working on my STA banner and self-portrait. You can see my self-portrait below.

I had a lot of fun creating this avatar and even found him an outfit that I have worn before! I saw that the blog homepage banner has already been updated with my avatar and it is extremely cool to see it amongst all the other STAs.

I also worked on developing an STA handbook webpage that you can access at: https://jsfiddle.net/keshavt/kqbad3c1/147/

On my page, you can find a slideshow, including pictures and captions describing several rules regarding STA shifts. Underneath it, I included more rules and images. One cool thing I got to learn with this webpage was inheriting a new font and font effect from the Google Fonts API to enhance my headers.

I had a really positive experience doing my orientation this week and I’m excited to dive into more web development training next week!

Welcome Keshav!

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Hi Keshav!
Welcome to the STA Blog! This the page where your blog posts will published.
Toward the end of your STA Orientation, you’ll design and upload a banner to go at the top of this page.

Upload a Blog Banner

Step One: Design Your Banner in Photoshop

Use these Photoshop specs when you’re making your banner:

    • Your banner should be 780 pixels wide (the height doesn’t matter)
    • Must include your name, your major, and your expected graduation year
    • Your banner should reflect who you are (your personality, interests or major)
    • Make sure to save your banner for the web (i.e. File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy))
    • If you save your banner as a JPG, make sure sure the quality is high (i.e. at least 60)

Step Two: Save Your Banner

  • There are two places you can save your completed projects: UT Box and the LAITS server. You’ll be given a personal folder in both locations. For now, you only have to save your banner to UT Box, but you may have to access the server at some point in the future.

Accessing UT Box

Accessing the LAITS server

  • Accessing the LAITS server from off-campus is slightly more complicated.
    • You’ll need to be registered with Duo if you aren’t already (you can register here).
    • Then you’ll need to connect to the UT VPN and the LAITS server. The videos below will walk you through how to do that:
    •  Then navigate to your STA volume folder and save
      • smb://file.laits.utexas.edu/sta/Adrian Mckee
    • Save your banner both as an image and an unmerged PSD

Step Three: Upload Your Banner to the STA Blog

  • Log in the the STA Blog here. You should’ve received an email confirming your new WordPress account with your username and assigned password. If didn’t get it or you can’t log in, ask Suloni or another STA.
  • You’ll be able to change your password anytime by going to Users > Your Profile > Account Management > New Password.

Uploading media and banners in WP

  • Read these links before you upload your banner.
  • They will walk you through how to upload media to your blog.

How to Upload a Homepage Banner

Adding New Posts and Media

Make Your First Blog post

  • Reflect on the day. You blog posts will be a documented experience of your time as an STA with LAITS. They can include anything you want to share about the projects you’re working on, and the more media (screenshots, images, links, videos, gifs) you can use, the better.
  • For today, write a bit about about yourself and what you did during orientation.
  • If you haven’t already, upload your banner.

Things to Remember

Image Specs

  • You should never copy and paste images intoto your blog. Always upload images into the media section of blog first (Click on the add media button), then insert the image from the media folder to display on your blog.
  • Don’t use the thumbnail version of your images.
  • Use images that are 72 dpi
  • Screenshots are fine
  • Images that are 780 pix wide format nicely above or below text blocks

Always Categorize Your Posts

  • Always check the category “2019 Fall-Winter | Spring-Summer 2020” on the blog posts you make this summer. This is the only category you need to check.
  • Make sure your posts are categorized correctly so that all of your work is documented in the correct semesters.

Commenting on Basecamp

Notification comments: etiquette, files, questions, feedback

Let us know when you’ve completed this task by adding a link to your blog to a comment in Basecamp.
Notes for all comments in Basecamp:
  • Always address the person/people you are writing to by their names.
  • Always use complete sentences.
  • Always add links or paths to your design file in your STA folder.
  • Make it easier for your collaborators and mentors to give you feedback on a design by adding screenshots to your comment.

 

Notify people in Basecamp by adding the @ symbol before their names (no spaces), otherwise they may not see your comment.

@ your STA mentor and Suloni in your comments when you want to:

  • ask us questions about the mechanics of using the STA blog,
  • about the mechanics of photoshop,
  • to let us know that you have completed this task,
  • or that you would like a little feedback on on your banner design 🙂

Thank you & have fun!