Education and Training Discussion

Note: These discussion notes are from the team reps summit the weekend before WPCSWPCS The collection of PHP_CodeSniffer rules (sniffs) used to format and validate PHP code developed for WordPress according to the WordPress Coding Standards. May also be an acronym referring to the Accessibility, PHP, JavaScript, CSS, HTML, etc. coding standards as published in the WordPress Coding Standards Handbook..

Have made a lot of headway with CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. Handbook, internal training documentation. Codex mixes dev and user materials – needs work.

Where do we put these materials? Anybody can write to the Codex; issues like voice consistency, information accuracy. Support Handbook in progress: https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/. Someday it will be Learn WordPress (learn.wordpress).

Next steps: get it right. Get videos. Get screenshots. Get more bodies. Move from overviews to specific items/features.

Core Handbook idea: interview people who committed/contributed their first patch and review what they did or didn’t know or needed to know based on information in the handbook. To discuss more: onboarding core contributorsCore Contributors Core contributors are those who have worked on a release of WordPress, by creating the functions or finding and patching bugs. These contributions are done through Trac. https://core.trac.wordpress.org..

Better documentation

What’s changed in a cycle. Development/code comments → commit message → new developer APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. announcement/tutorial → to-user announcements → support documentation → tutorials. Better changelog tracking – plain (user-facing) English!

Official API documentation site. Special doc style for actions/filters (needs loooots of bodies to write code docs). Developer portal.

Huge part of education is the transition from being a user to getting into development.

Better incorporate high quality content from WordPress.tv. Virtual “WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Ignite” – flash talks.

Beyond Documentation

New user workshops. New developer workshops. Workshops! We’re not bad with 101 (new and non-technical users) and 401 (established developers), but not so much with 201 (power users) or 301 (beginning developers). Workshops would help, perhaps “pre-packed” materials that can be shipped out for use.

Courseware pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party (Stas) as training support on .org is a long-waiting idea. What would curriculum/syllabus be? Who would teach it and where? Libraries, meetups, etc. Example teachers/classes: Austin meetupMeetup All local/regional gatherings that are officially a part of the WordPress world but are not WordCamps are organized through https://www.meetup.com/. A meetup is typically a chance for local WordPress users to get together and share new ideas and seek help from one another. Searching for ‘WordPress’ on meetup.com will help you find options in your area., Lorelle, Boone. Would need a person to collect/collate/review exemplar syllabi, etc.

Quizzes – how well do you know WordPress? Don’t want to go down the path of certifications, but self-testing, maybe as auxiliary helpful material for vetting Happiness Bar volunteers and WordCamp speakers.

WordCamps

More standardized “Happiness Bar” (in-person at-event help). What are issues – naming (confusion about what it is), nobody goes, misinformation being given as help. Volunteers should be scheduled on skill/specialty + time – a volunteer per area per time. How do you point a user, who might know where their problem lies, to the best fit for help?

Ask speakers to volunteer at the Happiness Bar (opt-out, of course). “I’m interested” on your .org profile – WordCamp speaking, helping at a Happiness Bar, etc. Exit survey for Happiness Bar users.

Hack Days should include more than core or code contribution – also documentation and support, especially for tasks that really need bodies. How about a Happiness Day / WordPress Study Hall?

Action items

  • Learn WordPress: Call for curricula and volunteers to review curricula.
  • Move materials over from handbooks (“final resting place” –Mika). Need to find Learn.WP structure idea that already exists somewhere, or do it again.
  • Exit survey for Happiness Bar users.
  • A better default name for the Happiness Bar.