Dev-squad GitHubGitHubGitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged be the repository owner. https://github.com/ triage: Biweekly on Thursdays 07:00 UTC
Welcome to another edition of the Training Team’s Contributor Spotlight! In this series, we introduce one of our many valued contributors and invite you to learn more about their journey.
Meet Wes!
Wessel Theron, or Wes, is an Instructional Designer for the WordPress open-source project sponsored by Automattic. Born and raised in the vibrant city of Cape Town, South Africa, Wes and his family moved to New Zealand around 2018.
His rich background in teaching and content creation has equipped him with a deep understanding of learning processes. “I enjoy teaching and helping other people succeed,” Wes shares. This foundation inspired him to pursue a new path in instructional design, which is essentially the art of designing and developing impactful learning experiences and resources.
Wes outside the WWW
Beyond the digital world, Wes is happiest when he’s in nature, being active or traveling to places. A people person through and through, he highly values respect and kindness in his everyday life.
“I am a family man and love the outdoors. I have been married for 14 years, and we have three wonderful boys,” he happily says. He finds joy in spending quality time with his loved ones. Whether discovering new coffee shops, embarking on family outings, or simply soaking in nature’s beauty, anywhere is nice as long as they’re together.
Wes and WordPress
Wes started his WordPress journey in 2021 when he applied for the job as an Instructional Designer to create learning experiences and materials to teach WordPress users. He got the gig, and with that, the world of WordPress opened up.
“Since then, I have learned a lot and have tried to transfer knowledge through various mediums, such as video lessons, online workshops, and courses,” he says.
It also proved that the WordPress ecosystem is not only exclusive to those from tech backgrounds – because there are many aspects involved in running the technology.
His first contribution to the WordPress community was a video tutorial on regenerating thumbnails for image attachments. “It was exciting to have it published, but also daunting to realize that anyone in the world could view it,” he reminisces.
One of the most significant challenges Wes faces in his work is the dynamic nature of WordPress. While exciting, the platform’s constant evolution demands continuous updates and adaptations to the content that Wes creates. Balancing the creation of new materials with maintaining existing resources is an ongoing process.
When asked about the resources that help him navigate this evolving landscape, Wes relies on WordPress’ own documentation and on reaching out to subject-matter experts within the WordPress community. Additionally, many YouTube tutorials have inspired him along the way.
Milestones and Reflections
One of Wes’ proudest accomplishments within the WordPress community is the publication of the Beginner and Intermediate WordPress User Learning Pathways. This milestone represents countless hours of collaboration and dedication, and he is immensely grateful for the support of his fellow contributors.
Wes and Jamie Madden, a fellow Training team contributor
Attending WordCampWordCampWordCamps 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. Europe 2022 and WordCamp Asia 2024 were the moments Wes always cherished. These events allowed him to connect with fellow WordPressers, share knowledge, and immerse himself in the vibrant WordPress community.
For those considering contributing to WordPress, Wes offers this advice: “Reach out and start small. There will always be someone to help you get the ball rolling. Once you complete your first contribution and gain confidence while better managing your time, committing to new tasks will become easier.”
Wes also emphasizes that even a contribution that seems tiny to you is always appreciated. “It’s important to remember that every form of contribution is valued and appreciated,” he concludes.
(In)Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the one thing you would like people to know about you?
I love burgers!
Which of the skills that you possess was the most valuable when contributing to the Training Team/WordPress?
Teaching various skill levels.
What have you learned from being a contributor? It can be a personal or professional takeaway.
Embracing transparency.
Release early, release often, and iterate regularly.
Don’t take yourself too seriously.
Avoid getting entangled in the numerous opinions and perspectives out there.
What’s your favorite WordPress feature (can also be a blockBlockBlock is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. or pluginPluginA 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)?
I love patterns as well as the new Grid block.
Thank you, Wes, for all your dedication and contributions to the Training Team and the WordPress Open-Source Project!
Are you interested in contributing to the Training Team? Check out our Getting Started guide or join the Guide Program for mentorship with an experienced contributor. We’d be happy to have you join us!
In the WordPress open-source project, each team has Team Representatives, abbreviated as Reps. It’s time again to nominate the next round of Training Team Reps. (For a quick refresher of Team RepTeam RepA Team Rep is a person who represents the Make WordPress team to the rest of the project, make sure issues are raised and addressed as needed, and coordinates cross-team efforts. roles across the WordPress project, see the Team Reps post on Team Updates.)
Summary: The team is looking for two more people to join @digitalchild in the Training Team Rep role next year.
The Role
Training Team Reps serve for approximately 2 consecutive years, using the first year to get familiar and the second to train the incoming reps. You can read more about the Training Team Rep’s role in the team handbook.
Details of 2025’s openings
The Training Team strives to have three team representatives at a time in order to ensure redundancy and diverse opinions in leadership. This year, @piyopiyofox and @kaitohm conclude their two year terms and will be stepping down from the role. @lada7042 is also stepping down due to personal reasons.
@digitalchild stepped in as Interim Team rep in June this year and has successfully co-led the the team during the temporary absence of other reps. For continuity’s sake, we’ve asked Jamie to continue on as team rep into 2025 and he has happily accepted! Thank you for being available to serve the team for another year, Jamie.
Therefore, the team is looking for two more people to join Jamie in the Training Team Rep role next year.
Anyone can nominate a Training Team Rep. Self-nominations are welcome, too! To nominate someone or yourself, please comment on this post. If you would like to nominate someone in private, please reach out to @kaitohm or @digitalchild.
Nomination Opens: October 4, 2024
Nomination Closes: October 25, 2024
Team reps will confirm each person nominated meets the vetting criteria at our weekly meeting on October 29th. They’ll then reach out to those nominated to confirm if they would like to accept the nomination. Only those who accept their nomination will be added to the poll, so feel free to decline a nomination if you don’t feel like this is the right fit for any reason.
Step 2: Vote for Team Reps
If there are more than 2 nominees who accept nomination, we will organize a poll to select the Team Reps.
Training team members can vote to select new Team Reps.
Voting Opens: November 5, 2024
Voting Closes: November 25, 2024
Step 3: Announce Team Reps
New Team reps will be announced on November 28, 2023.
Step 4: Onboard/Off-board Team Reps
New Team Reps will be onboarded during December, including 1-2 synchronous calls. This will allow the new team of reps to decide on new weekly meeting times before the year is out and get set up for success in 2025. Out-going Team Reps will be off-boarded during December also.
Time to Nominate!
Are you ready? It’s time to nominate folks to serve as our Training Team Reps for the new term! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments.
It’s been two months since Learn.WordPress.orgWordPress.orgThe 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/ launched on August 1, at approx. 22:00 UTC. This post compiles some information on how the site performed during August and September 2024.
Please note that in most Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), including Coursera, the average completion rate is typically low, ranging from 3% to 6%, with variation depending on course difficulty, engagement, and whether students paid for the certification.
Video retention rate
The video retention rate for Learning Pathway courses was 59.3% in September compared to 57% in August.
Learner satisfaction
After a learner finished each course, they are prompted to complete a satisfaction survey. One of the survey questions is: “How useful did you find this course/Learning Pathway?” Below is the learner satisfaction rating for Learning Pathway courses in August and September:
Note that some of these figures don’t represent a full month, if the course was published mid-way through a month.
The feedback survey also includes open-ended questions on how the course could be improved, and asking what learners got out of the course. Suggestions for improvements range from adding more quizzes and offering courses in more languages, to adding interactive projects and slowing down the demos.
Here’s a sampling of comments from learners about what they got out of the course:
Beginner WP User
“This course is a must-watch for anyone looking to truly understand the world of WordPress. It provided me with clear, actionable insights and practical skills that have significantly enhanced my ability to navigate and utilize WordPress effectively.”
Intermediate Theme Developer
“While I’ve built custom themes with WordPress for over 15 years, I’m fairly new to blockBlockBlock is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. themes. This course was a great overview that also gave links for more reading. It’s making learning much more fun, thorough, and structured, and I hope it is creating good standard habits for all of us as we build block themes well into the future.”
Intermediate WP User
“It is a very good course. Every lesson and video are going through each aspect of WordPress, and they help to learn each topic through very helpful examples.”
Beginner WP Developer
“Jonathan and Learn team! Thank you for making this course. It is useful for a beginner as well as someone who may have learned these concepts from various places in bits and pieces, but would like to do a nicely linked refresher! The course covers all the key concepts beautifully and helps the learner with some good foundational knowledge!”
Thank you to @psykro and @west7 for their contributions to this post.
As we look ahead, we are committed to developing additional Learning Pathways. @psykro has initiated outreach to the community for assistance with the Intermediate Plugin Developer Learning Pathway, and we are now eager to create a Learning Pathway for beginner, intermediate, and advanced designers.
How you can help
The outline for the Designer Learning Pathway has been finalized, and we are ready to begin content creation. Distributing the workload among multiple contributors will enhance our efficiency and enable us to develop this Learning Pathway more effectively. We are seeking contributors with diverse levels of expertise in the following areas:
Scriptwriting: Research lesson topics and write draft scripts that meet the lesson’s learning outcomes.
Voice recording: Take an existing script and record the audio portion of a video lesson.
Video editing: Merge a script with a voice recording and compile a clear and engaging video lesson.
Content creation: Take an existing script (or research and write your own) and produce an entire video lesson
Reviewing: Watch a completed video lesson and review it for technical accuracy.
If you have a strong background in design and can assist in any of these areas, please comment below or on the Beginner Designer GitHub Project Issue. You can also reach out directly to Wes Theron in the Make WordPress Slack (@westnz).
We look forward to collaborating together on the Designer Learning Pathway.
Thank you for joining the Training Team for WordCampWordCampWordCamps 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. US 2024 Contributor DayContributor DayContributor 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/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/.! We’ve prepared activities for both new and experienced contributors to join in on the day. See the schedule for WCUS Contributor Day here.
We are excited to announce that we will be hosting online events during Contributor Day, allowing those who couldn’t attend WordCamp US to participate remotely. You can join us for online contributions by following the MeetupMeetupAll 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. link below. Stay tuned for scheduled events!
Please Note: For registering for Slack, be sure to log in using yourusername@chat.wordpress.org as your email address. Not your normal email address.
Training Team Mission
The WordPress training team helps people learn to use, extend, and contribute to WordPress through courses, lessons and Online Workshops, via learn.wordpress.org.
Thanks for joining! Please walk through our brand-new Onboarding Program. This will give you an overview of the team, help you set up the accounts you need to contribute, and even walk you through your first contribution!
We expect the onboarding program above to take 30-60 minutes. Once you’ve completed onboarding, jump into these other activities to continue contributing!
Review published content and submit feedback
WordPress software continues to grow and new features get added all the time. Reviewing published content and updating content is important in keeping the Learn WordPress website current. Follow the team guide about reviewing published content to leave feedback about any content below. (Reviewing older content would be helpful!)
This ongoing project continues to need to create a large quantity of small graphics – called thumbnails – to serve as featured images for each course, lesson, and tutorial. This will create a visually appealing site that will entice learners to dive in and get started on their learning journey. Thumbnail Creation Project
I have experience working as a contributor!
Thanks for joining! Depending on your interests, there are a few ways you can get involved. For each of the tasks below, the team handbook should help you with process specifics. But if you have any questions, feel free to reach out!
Data migrationMigrationMoving the code, database and media files for a website site from one server to another. Most typically done when changing hosting companies.
Content reviews
Are you interested in editing content? If so, then reviewing content waiting to be published is our priority today.
Start by finding a piece of content to review in our content development board. This GitHub view has filtered all content waiting for reviews before it is published. Follow the team’s Guidelines for reviewing content and leave your reviews right there in GitHubGitHubGitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can easily be shared, copied and modified by other developers. Public repositories are free to host, private repositories require a paid subscription. GitHub introduced the concept of the ‘pull request’ where code changes done in branches by contributors can be reviewed and discussed before being merged be the repository owner. https://github.com/.
Start by reviewing issues “Follow these steps”. Any help you can provide regarding issues “Awaiting Fix” would be great, too. But in general, any attention you can give to any issue would be much appreciated.
If there are enough interested Developers, then we can also create a developer-focused working group so that they can focus on related issues.
We would like to set aside time (TBA) for a brainstorming session to come up with proposals for activities to draw new learners to Learn.WordPress.org, based on an upcoming p2 (blog) post.
Before you leave…
We’d love to hear what you achieved on the day. Before leaving the table, please submit the Contributor Day Attendee Feedback Form and respond to the relevant thread in Slack.
Now that the new Learn WordPress is out in the world, we want to have a steady flow of new learners discovering the site and taking advantage of the valuable resources it offers.
This post is intended to gather ideas on which recurring activities the team should prioritize first, with the goal of bringing more learners to the site. Please provide your feedback by September 10, 2024 Sept. 24, 2024.
Potential types of activities include:
Marketing initiatives
Increasing the Training Team’s presence at WordCamps
Providing learners and contributors with resources to easily promote Learn WordPress in their networks
Here are some initial ideas to get the ball rolling. Please add your thoughts on which activity you think would be good to try first, and a few words on why. If you have an idea that’s not already listed here, feel free to add it in a comment.
Workshops & events
Conduct course cohorts regularly using Learning Pathway content.
Host workshop-style events at WordCamps using Learning Pathway content.
Host Online Workshops in different locales.
Work with Community/Polyglots to enroll community members to host these.
24 hours of Online Workshops, course cohorts, and other programming.
Create a system for interacting with and supporting Learn WordPress learners. For example, create a forum or SlackSlackSlack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. channel where learners can ask course-related questions.
Other outreach/promotion
Have an active presence at flagship WordCamps, open sourceOpen SourceOpen Source denotes software for which the original source code is made freely available and may be redistributed and modified. Open Source **must be** delivered via a licensing model, see GPL. events, etc. Could include:
Presentations, workshops, booths, have organizers add Learn in flyers, etc.
Highlight the benefits of companies/organizations using Learn WordPress content in their business/activities.
Print up cards/small flyers with Learn WordPress URLURLA specific web address of a website or web page on the Internet, such as a website’s URL www.wordpress.org/blurb/QR code. Offer them to MeetupMeetupAll 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. organizers and hand them out at WordCamps, including flagships.
Paper “tents” with a QR code directing to Learn.WordPress.orgWordPress.orgThe 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/ for use at flagship WordCampWordCampWordCamps 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. Contributor Days on the Training Team table.
Connect with companies and freelancers offering WordPress services and have them promote Learn WordPress as a training resource for their clients and employees.
Connect with community colleges and schools that could benefit from incorporating Learn WordPress into their programs. See if there’s a database that tracks which colleges or schools include WordPress in their curriculum or extension programs.
Engage local Meetup organizers more to help advocate for and promote Learn WordPress within their communities.
Use Meetup’s email system to inform or update learners or members of new courses and learning pathways.
Explore how we can leverage YouTube as a funnel for promoting Learn WordPress.
Get Learn WordPress resources added to the WordPress dashboard so that all WordPress users would see the available resources in a prominent place.
Reach out to WordPress thought leaders for endorsements of our Learning Pathways to enhance credibility and adoption within the broader community.
Looking forward to hearing folks’ feedback over the next couple of weeks.
Thanks to Ben Evans, Wes Theron, and Jonathan Bossenger for their input.
Project Objective: Create and launch progressive user-friendly learning pathways tailored to different types of Learners on Learn WordPress.
Project Overview
The WordPress Training Team recognizes the need for a clear, structured, and user-friendly approach to presenting Learn WordPress content. This need has been confirmed by feedback from the individual learner survey and WordCamp EU Contributor Day attendees. As a result, this project aims to deployDeployLaunching code from a local development environment to the production web server, so that it's available to visitors. an improved Learn WordPress website experience that provides an easy-to-navigate, goal-oriented learning environment that caters to learners of different roles and skill levels.
This project will serve as a foundational start, establishing a framework and functionality that will allow for the expansion and growth of the learning system over time. To meet our objective, this project includes a website redesign that offers clear learning pathways to reach target Learners such as Developers, End Users, and Designers. We will also focus on making relevant content easier to find and the inclusion of a framework that classifies content by skill level. We believe this will enhance user engagement, improve learning outcomes, and increase user adoption of Learn WordPress resources.
Our journey will not end with the initial deployment of the new site. Rather, it is just the beginning of an iterative process of continuous improvement and expansion, leveraging feedback and data analytics to enhance the user experience continually.
We hope that this project will help us better serve the wider WordPress community by promoting knowledge transfer and ensuring a thriving community with diverse skills and abilities.
Develop a website redesign for Learn WordPress that delivers a clear, user-friendly pathway for learners of different levels, roles, and use-cases.
Enhance the discoverability and searchability of relevant Learn WordPress content through the integration of new search filters and content organization strategies.
Establish a skill level classification framework for Learn WordPress content that enables clear content filtering and search results based on learner needs.
Tasks
Planning
Tasks in this section scope out project parameters and requirements for the success of this project.
Project Management
Recruit project members
Establish cross-team collaboration points of contact
Information Architecture
Create outlines and storyboards that detail learning pathway components based on the proposed information architecture
Map out content to provide a proposed information architecture (i.e. content types, taxonomies, relationships) that integrates Pathways
Conduct targeted user research to validate content decisions such as language, information architecture, outlines/storyboards
These are tasks that Training Team Content Creators can help us accomplish
Outline specific skill levels and learning outcomes for each pathway.
Identify existing content that can be used within pathways.
Create outlines and storyboards that detail learning pathway components. (Either Miro or Google Jamboard will be used)
Develop a content creation guidelines that enable the Learning Pathways to scale, with a clear process for developing, reviewing, and updating content.
Deadline: November 2023
Develop new content where gaps exist.
Develop clear and concise learning pathways for target Learners.
Deadline: March 2024
Design
Cross-team collaboration point of contact: @fcoveram
These are tasks we will need to do in collaboration with the Make WordPress Design Team.
Develop a cohesive design concept for the Learn WordPress site.
Develop visual language for skill level classifications.
Ensure that the site design aligns with the learning pathways vision and goals.
Ensure that all visual elements are accessible and meet accessibilityAccessibilityAccessibility (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) standards, such as color contrast ratios and readable typography.
Deadline: January 2024
Development
Cross-team collaboration point of contact: @adamwood
These are tasks we will need to do in collaboration with the Make WordPress MetaMetaMeta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. team and Training Team developers.
Ensure that the Learn WordPress site redesign accommodates various learning pathways and skill levels.
Build out any new functionality required to support learning pathways and content classification.
Collaborate with content creators to ensure that the site structure and content is optimized for user experience.
Ensure that the site is optimized for searchability and discoverability of content
Implement user tracking and analytics features to capture data on user behavior and engagement with Learning Pathways.
Ensure that the site is optimized for fast page load times and is easily accessible on various devices, including desktop, mobile, and tablet.
Ensure that the Learning Pathways are integrated with any relevant third-party tools or services that may further enhance the user experience, such as social sharing, reminders and bookmarking tools.
Deadline: May 2024
Marketing
Cross-team collaboration point of contact: @sereedmedia
These are tasks we will need to do in collaboration with the Make WordPress Marketing Team..
Develop a strategic marketing plan for promoting Learn WordPress learning pathways.
Identify target audiences within the three groups of Learners and develop targeted campaigns for each group.
Develop clear messaging that speaks to each Learner group’s specific needs and pain points.
Track engagement and optimize marketing efforts over time.
Partner with the content creators and designers to create promotional materials, including blog posts, social media graphics, and email marketing campaigns, to promote the Learning Pathways effectively.
Project Objective: Create comprehensive and sustainable process for maintaining content on Learn WordPress.
Based on the feedback from Proposal: Learn WordPress Content Maintenance Process, we will align as a team on what our content maintenance priorities are for Learn, research what modern learning sites do with out of date content, utilize data to make informed decisions, and publish documentation on our content maintenance process.
As the Training Team, let’s discuss and align on the follow question: What is Learn WordPress’s north star and content commitments?
For example, we have the WordPress Codex, Documentation, and Developer handbook sites which contain plenty of out of date content for those not on the most recent versions of WordPress. Do we really feel it’s necessary to duplicate this content further on Learn WordPress?
Is Learn WordPress the site where folks come to about the most relevant and up to date content on WordPress? Is it the place where we encourage and guide folks to be at the forefront of the software?
Deadline: September 15, 2024 Completed: August 30, 2024
Outcome: Learn WordPress makes WordPress knowledge accessible to all by empowering individuals around the world to create, contribute, and grow within the WordPress ecosystem.
Research
What do other modern learning sites do with out of date / irrelevant content?
What is the current view rate for Lesson Plans and Tutorials (Document started) on Learn?
Deadline: October 31, 2024
Plan & Document
Develop the deprecation/out of date evaluation framework
Create a data-driven framework and review checklist for content deprecation inclusive of:
Reviewing the view stats of video content marked for deprecation (Ex. If we are seeing low viewership for certain out of date content, then we deem it safe to deprecate)
Have a two review process, with a third review to “tie break” as needed
Research what other modern learning websites (even for certain products) leave deprecated/out of date content up on their Learning sites and how do they maintain that content?
After discussion, the Training team has decided to go forward with retiring the Faculty Program, in order to streamline processes, help the team run more efficiently, and free up people’s time to focus on higher-impact areas.
The Faculty Program consisted of a group of Training team members who helped establish team processes, catch up on a backlog of tasks, and set up the team for future success. With the team evolving over time, it became evident that many Faculty members were no longer active on the team, many roles were under-used and difficult to recruit for, and the program required time-consuming administrative overhead. In addition, needing to apply to be part of the Faculty program could be seen by contributors as a barrier to doing certain types of work on the team. In addition, the now-established Guide Program serves as a welcoming path for people to get more involved with the team’s activities.
Process
The plan includes:
Adding a new area in the handbook, outlining the history of Learn.WordPress.org and the Training team. This section will include the names of past team reps and Faculty members, so that folks’ contributions are visible and recognized in the context of the Training team’s history.
Shifting the work done by the current Faculty Admin group to a smaller group of administrators, starting with the team reps. Additional admins will be added over time, while the current admin needs of the team are reassessed. We will likely look for Training team members who have made consistent contributions over the last 6-12 months.
Updating the handbook to remove the Faculty Program section.
Below is a detailed schedule outlining the tasks to be performed and target completion dates.
If there are any questions about this process, please feel free to drop them in the comments.
Once again, a big thank you to everyone who has been a part of the Faculty Program over the years. Your invaluable help has made the Training team stronger than ever.
Deadline
Item
Notes
2024-07-18
Access updates
– Update access as needed, including Canvas with login info – Let people know if any access has been changed
2024-08-08
Research & write new handbook page compiling a history of the Training team
– Collect names of all past & current team reps and Faculty program members – Include a general history section – Draft page – Share page with Training team for feedback – Make revisionsRevisionsThe WordPress revisions system stores a record of each saved draft or published update. The revision system allows you to see what changes were made in each revision by dragging a slider (or using the Next/Previous buttons). The display indicates what has changed in each revision. as needed – Publish page
– Determine what Slack changes are needed – Archive current Faculty channel – Review and update Slack bookmarks and pinned channel items in #training and related channels
2024-08-29
Process updates
– Go through all team processes and make a list of what will need updating, in collaboration with team reps
2024-09-12
Handbook updates
– Update old handbook pages as needed, based on discovery above. – Unpublish pages related to the Faculty Program – Keep a log of which pages were unpublished, to be included in final project update
2024-09-12
Help Scout updates
– Go through all Help Scout Saved Replies and update as needed
These two pathways were created over the past six months thanks to the work of a small collaborative team of scriptwriters, audio recorders, video editors, and reviewers. Without their efforts, we would not have these Learning Pathways ready for launch.
However, our work is not yet done. There are still two more developer-centric pathways that need to be created:
Intermediate PluginPluginA 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 Developer is the current priority and is an extensive course, spanning eight modules and 50 lessons. Splitting up the workload among several people will make creating this key Learning Pathway more manageable and faster. Can you help? We’re looking for contributors with various levels of experience:
Scriptwriting: Research lesson topics and write draft scripts that meet the lesson’s learning outcomes.
Voice recording: Taking an existing script and recording the audio portion of a video lesson.
Video editing: Merging a script with a voice recording and compiling a clear and engaging video lesson.
Content creation: Taking an existing script (or researching and writing your own) and producing an entire video lesson
Reviewing: Watching a completed video lesson and reviewing it for technical accuracy.
While the Plugin Developer pathway is the immediate focus area, the Advanced Developer pathway also needs some work. Many modules on that pathway still require further thought and additional lesson topics. If you are an experienced WordPress developer and you have thoughts and ideas about the high-level topics that should be covered in any of these modules, please leave your comments on the GitHub issue.
