For some time now, the Training Team has been concerned with writing and publishing lesson plans. We currently have approximately 90 of them in GitHub repos (see https://github.com/wptrainingteam). However, the topics are rather random and in various states of completion and accuracy, and we’re not doing a good job of prioritizing our efforts.
What if we shifted our focus from creating individual lesson plans to committing to providing resources and focus for a core Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. set of workshops. We have always had the idea of combining lesson plans into “recipes” for workshops. This shift in focus would have us identifying 6-10 “core” workshops (maybe we need a different word than “core”?) and the lesson plans that make them up. We could then work on sprints to create and update one workshop at a time. These workshops/lesson plans would also be reviewed regularly to maintaining their accuracy as time goes on.
The goal of this shift is to help us manage our lesson plans better, complete the ones needed most, and then keep them up-to-date.
To be clear, we would continue to welcome all ideas for lesson plans. Some of those ideas might come and go over time (e.g., post formats, Gutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/, etc.). But those would be in addition to the “core” workshops and perhaps be more perishable.
We are in the process of identifying the “core” workshops that we would support. Initial suggestions were:
- Introduction to WordPress
- Introduction to Theming
- Build Your First Plugin 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
- Accessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility)
- Best Practices for Content Creators
- Set up e-Commerce
- Marketing Your Site (SEO)
- Contributing to WordPress
We would very much like to hear your ideas on these “core” workshops. You can help us by answering any or all the following questions:
- What might be a better term than “core” workshops?
- Which of these suggested workshops might not be needed?
- Do you have an idea for a workshop that isn’t represented here?
- What do you think should be covered within any of those suggested workshops? What should people be able to do when they’ve completed them?
We’d love to hear your ideas!
