How to Submit Your Final Project

This tutorial explains how to submit your final project to the course website. You will upload your files directly through the GitHub website — no command line or local software required.

Your submission consists of two parts:

1. A markdown file (.md) with your project text
2. Your images, uploaded to a folder named for your group

01. Get access to the repository

You will need a GitHub account to contribute to the course repository. It is probably most straightforward to delegate one person in your group to do this.

1. Create a free account at github.com if you don't already have one.
2. Send your GitHub username to me. You will be added as a collaborator on the repository.
3. Once added, you'll receive an email invitation. Accept it.

02. Download and edit the template

The template file is located in the course repository at src/projects/2026-01-01-lastname-firstname.md.

1. Go to the course repository on GitHub.
2. Navigate to src/projects/.
3. Click on 2026-01-01-lastname-firstname.md.
4. Click the download icon (or copy the raw text) to save a local copy.

Rename the file using the format 2026-01-01-lastname-firstname.md, substituting one group member's last and first name. For example: 2026-01-01-smith-jane.md.

Open the file in a plain text editor (TextEdit on Mac, Notepad on Windows, or a fancier one like VS Code for a better experience).

Edit the frontmatter

At the top of the file you will see a block like this:

---
date: 2026-01-01
image: "/projects/images/lastname-firstname/cover.jpg"
title: "Template Post: Title of Your Final Project"
author: "Names Of Everyone In Your Group"
published: true
---

Replace each field with your own information:

• date: use today's date in YYYY-MM-DD format
• image: the path to your cover image (see section 04 below)
• title: your project title
• author: all group members' names

Write your content

Below the frontmatter, replace the template text with your project content. The template includes a markdown cheat sheet — refer to it as you write.

03. Prepare your images

All images must be at least 740 pixels wide, but I recommend keeping them below 2-3mb each. If they are more than that, they will take time to load on the browser. Rename your image files clearly (e.g., 01-overview-map.jpg, 02-site-photo.jpg).

Create a folder on your computer named for your group (same as your .md filename without the date, e.g., smith-jane). Place all your images inside it. You will not actually need this folder later — you'll be uploading the images on their own — this is just to keep things organized.

One of your images should serve as the cover image for the project index. Name it cover.jpg (or cover.png).

04. Upload your images to GitHub

1. Go to the course repository on GitHub.
2. Navigate to src/projects/images/.
3. Click Add file → Upload files.
4. Before dragging in your images, you need to create a subfolder. In the upload area, you'll see a text field showing the path. Type your group folder name followed by a / to create the folder — for example, type smith-jane/ — then drag your image files into the upload area.
5. Scroll down to the Commit changes section. Add a brief message like add images for smith-jane project.
6. Click Commit changes.

Your images are now uploaded. The path to your cover image will be:

/projects/images/lastname-firstname/cover.jpg

Make sure this matches the image: field in your frontmatter.

05. Upload your markdown file to GitHub

1. In the repository, navigate to src/projects/.
2. Click Add file → Upload files.
3. Drag your .md file into the upload area.
4. Add a commit message like add smith-jane final project.
5. Click Commit changes.

06. Check your post

After uploading, GitHub Actions will rebuild the site automatically. Wait 1–2 minutes, then visit the course website and click Student Work in the navigation bar. Your project should appear in the grid.

If it does not appear, check the following:

• The published: true field is in your frontmatter
• Your file is saved with a .md extension
• The image: path matches the actual file path in the repository (case-sensitive)

To make corrections, simply re-upload your .md file with the same filename. GitHub will replace the previous version.

Markdown quick reference

#### Section heading (use level 4)

**bold text**

*italic text*

[link text](https://example.com)

![image description](/projects/images/your-group/image.jpg)

- bullet list item
- another item

1. numbered list
1. another item

For interactive maps or iframes, use this wrapper so the embed is responsive:

<div class="iframe-column">
  <iframe src="YOUR-URL-HERE" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;" frameborder="0"></iframe>
</div>

Questions?

Feel free to schedule office hours ahead of time if you run into anything.