Title: A Small Shift in Focus Author: Julie Kuehl Published: May 25, 2019 --- [ ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/juliekuehl/) [Julie Kuehl](https://profiles.wordpress.org/juliekuehl/) 8:54 pm _on_ May 25, 2019   # A Small Shift in Focus 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 coreCore 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, GutenbergGutenberg 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/](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: 1. Introduction to WordPress 2. Introduction to Theming 3. Build Your First 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/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. 4. AccessibilityAccessibility 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) 5. Best Practices for Content Creators 6. Set up e-Commerce 7. Marketing Your Site (SEO) 8. 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: 1. What might be a better term than “core” workshops? 2. Which of these suggested workshops might not be needed? 3. Do you have an idea for a workshop that isn’t represented here? 4. 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! ### Share this: * [ Threads ](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2019/05/25/a-small-shift-in-focus/?share=threads) * [ Mastodon ](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2019/05/25/a-small-shift-in-focus/?share=mastodon) * [ Bluesky ](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2019/05/25/a-small-shift-in-focus/?share=bluesky) * [ Facebook ](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2019/05/25/a-small-shift-in-focus/?share=facebook) * [ X ](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2019/05/25/a-small-shift-in-focus/?share=x) * [ LinkedIn ](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2019/05/25/a-small-shift-in-focus/?share=linkedin) * [Login to Reply](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmake.wordpress.org%2Ftraining%2F2019%2F05%2F25%2Fa-small-shift-in-focus%2F%23respond&locale=en_US) 1. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18c27abf9dfa127c4b453c7d7eeeafa53a63466d5d18619c20e29eab31699e3a? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 2. [rllopez66](https://profiles.wordpress.org/rllopez66/) 3:00 am _on_ May 27, 2019 3. 1) I think something like “foundation” would be a better word than “coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.”. Using Core in this context might get people confused with the WordPress Core. 2) All sound good 3) Security, speed optimization, “Wordpress- not just for blogging” show examples of all the different types of sites you can make, eg LMS, Business brochure Website, Resource type site with database tables and calculators, E-commerce, Membership, event planning, portfolio, etc. 4) Intro to WordPress should offer a more thorough view of WordPress than the Intro page in the support section. For example; an overall view of what it is, how it is used, and how it does what it does. 4. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/86cb02cfdb93144e31ca2ddd692a9619d4e72c7cdb09881f099bec972e9b8a67? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Julie Kuehl](https://profiles.wordpress.org/juliekuehl/) 9:59 pm _on_ May 28, 2019 * Totally agree with your point on the first item. “CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.” has a very specific meaning in WordPress and we should avoid confusing people by using it here. - ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ccc7963980b7bcc56ad3428720ec3f5eafb318b1f6a1bcbe459a4f5388a3a2d8? s=32&d=mm&r=g) - [Aurooba Ahmed](https://profiles.wordpress.org/aurooba/) 1:28 am _on_ May 30, 2019 - _Essential_ might be a good word instead of CoreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.. - ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18fbf8d4ea53977f5589ae54940dabdfef05c23eef8f4d01a083fb40388a2852? s=32&d=mm&r=g) - [Anthony Tilke](https://profiles.wordpress.org/iwritten/) 12:22 pm _on_ May 30, 2019 - Foundation Workshops / Foundational Workshops Supplemental Workshops / Bonus Workshops 5. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ccc7963980b7bcc56ad3428720ec3f5eafb318b1f6a1bcbe459a4f5388a3a2d8? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 6. [Aurooba Ahmed](https://profiles.wordpress.org/aurooba/) 1:27 am _on_ May 30, 2019 7. During Calgary’s first Contributor DayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of [https://make.wordpress.org/](https://make.wordpress.org/) There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. [https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/](https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/)( held as a standalone event), we brainstormed a bunch of workshops that we ([@aurooba](https://profiles.wordpress.org/aurooba/), [@amethystanswers](https://profiles.wordpress.org/amethystanswers/), [@kmhazari](https://profiles.wordpress.org/kmhazari/), [@indie403](https://profiles.wordpress.org/indie403/), [@carlsonwebtech](https://profiles.wordpress.org/carlsonwebtech/), [@djmayes19](https://profiles.wordpress.org/djmayes19/), [@thuanthai](https://profiles.wordpress.org/thuanthai/), [@michaelbourne](https://profiles.wordpress.org/michaelbourne/), [@jkmassel](https://profiles.wordpress.org/jkmassel/), [@mawaw](https://profiles.wordpress.org/mawaw/), [@trailerthree](https://profiles.wordpress.org/trailerthree/), and [@5hel2l2y](https://profiles.wordpress.org/5hel2l2y/)) as a group felt were valuable and important. 8. We narrowed it down to 8 workshops, which we fleshed out using new and existing lesson plans: 9. a. **Best practices for WordPress friendly layout** _for designers_: Items to keep in mind when planning a website design. At the end of this workshop, students would be able to: Understanding basic CSSCSS CSS is an acronym for cascading style sheets. This is what controls the design or look and feel of a site., how to include web fonts, and how to use the WordPress theme CustomizerCustomizer Tool built into WordPress core that hooks into most modern themes. You can use it to preview and modify many of your site’s appearance settings. to create custom CSS changes. b. **How to set up WordPress for Content Writers** _for content creators and content managers_: Learn how to customize the WordPress dashboard for your content team to avoid overwhelm and focus their experience on what they need to do their job. c. **How to build a Modern WordPress Theme** _for developers_: Learn how to create a modern WordPress theme using WordPress standards and understand the intricacies of what makes a theme tick. d. **WordPress Performance and Speed Optimization** _for developers and advanced users_: WordPress Speed is affected by multiple factors, from the hosting you choose, how the server is setup, what plugins and themes are doing on your backend, and how optimised your front end is. This workshop will teach you the difference between them all, and how to measure and improve each. e. **How to manage a staging/development siteDevelopment Site You can keep a copy of your live site in a separate environment. Maintaining a development site is a good practice that can let you make any changes and test them without affecting the live/production environment.** _for developers_: You will learn the difference between staging and live environments and the reason for using them in best practise. In this workshop, we will make sure there are two distinct environments at the end of the workshop and make sure all the test contents are being applied to staging and proceed to testing before publish updates to live. f. **WordPress Security and Maintenance** _for developers and advanced users_: In this workshop, you will learn about why it’s important to understand how your website works, how to backup and secure your website in case of a hack, and to properly manage it. g. **Beyond the Five-Minute Install** _for beginners_: The famous WordPress 5 minute install is an easy way for anyone to get started with a new installation of WordPress. But what do we do afterwards? This workshop will show you the best practices for getting started out of the gate with setting up your actual website and content with themes, plugins, and other common functionality needed for an effective website. h. **How to sell WordPress to clients / how to combat misinformation about WordPress** _for WordPress service providers_: In this workshop, you’ll learn how to convince your clients, stakeholders, end users, and friends that WordPress is a great solution for their next website project, and address any questions or concerns about it that they might have. 10. You can see the brainstorming process and the details fleshed out for each of these workshops in this [public Google Doc](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sd_4lp1WHKC3xHT6sxdtuVu4-DPOH8Vl69yS3SF-P_E/edit?usp=sharing). 11. Everyone was receptive to the concept of not only workshops but _these_ workshops, and a few people asked us when we would be running these workshops locally! 12. It was interesting to see what different people (based on their usage of WordPress and their role with WordPress) felt were vital and important workshops that should be at the top of the list. We ended up with a list that targets a few different audiences, and it feels like these are workshops that those audiences would find extremely valuable. 13. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18fbf8d4ea53977f5589ae54940dabdfef05c23eef8f4d01a083fb40388a2852? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 14. [Anthony Tilke](https://profiles.wordpress.org/iwritten/) 12:34 pm _on_ May 30, 2019 15. I think the 8 initial “coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress.” areas are good. I would suggest keeping the categories close to the WordPress ecosystem. For example, 7. marketing your site is a subject that would include more non-WordPress fundamentals such as social media management, content marketing, and content amplification. 16. A suggestion is to build 5. Best Practices for content creators as a focus on content creation within a WordPress site, or group of sites and marketing your site can be included in this section with a focus on using content marketing to drive traffic and create interest in your site. 17. For SEO (marketing your site) I would suggest a focus on Site Structure as applied to a WordPress site. Similar to [https://yoast.com/site-structure-the-ultimate-guide/](https://yoast.com/site-structure-the-ultimate-guide/) 18. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/ccc7963980b7bcc56ad3428720ec3f5eafb318b1f6a1bcbe459a4f5388a3a2d8? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Aurooba Ahmed](https://profiles.wordpress.org/aurooba/) 1:55 pm _on_ May 30, 2019 * I like the idea for 5! We talked about it briefly but ran out of time to expand in this direction during Contributor DayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of [https://make.wordpress.org/](https://make.wordpress.org/) There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. [https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/](https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/). 19. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/76470cbc9ae5ad0b0046b779deee8db956dbcee36cf365e612bc7b302a5e8a83? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 20. [ViitorCloud Technologies Pvt Ltd](https://profiles.wordpress.org/viitorcloudvc/) 12:46 pm _on_ May 30, 2019 21. Basic lessons should be more focused for Content Writers. 22. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/18fbf8d4ea53977f5589ae54940dabdfef05c23eef8f4d01a083fb40388a2852? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 23. [Anthony Tilke](https://profiles.wordpress.org/iwritten/) 12:49 pm _on_ May 30, 2019 24. another topic suggestion: Getting Help with WordPress workshop * wordpress.orgWordPress. org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. [https://wordpress.org/](https://wordpress.org/) resources * community resources* how to find help (designers, developers or an integrator) ### Leave a Reply 󠀁[Cancel reply](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2019/05/25/a-small-shift-in-focus/?output_format=md#respond)󠁿 You must be [logged in](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fmake.wordpress.org%2Ftraining%2F2019%2F05%2F25%2Fa-small-shift-in-focus%2F&locale=en_US) to post a comment. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. [Learn how your comment data is processed.](https://akismet.com/privacy/) # Post navigation [← Training Team Meeting Agenda 23 May 2019](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2019/05/23/training-team-meeting-agenda-23-may-2019/) [Training Team Meeting Agenda 30 May 2019 →](https://make.wordpress.org/training/2019/05/30/training-team-meeting-agenda-30-may-2019/)