The WordPress training team helps people learn to use, extend, and contribute to WordPress through synchronous and asynchronous learning as well as downloadable lesson plans for instructors to use in live environments, via learn.wordpress.org.
If you enjoy helping people learn how to use and build stuff for WordPress, immediately stop what you’re doing and join our team!
Regardless of your skillset, you can help! We need people to write, copyedit, test, audit, connect, and review our lesson plans. Find out how to get started.
As Learn grows, the need for maintaining content in step with WordPress releases also grows. We would like to implement a content audit tool. This will keep the tasks of auditing and then revising content much more manageable.
The Training Team has sought a content audit tool for a number of years. Many of the same requests are still wanted.
With the current workflow of Learn, we’ve revised the list of what would help keep content up to date.
The current workflow:
We are using Edit Flow, which may still be the solution with some enhancements or additional features. Our general content revision process has looked like this:
Many users with Editor user role permission to have login-access to content on Learn.
When WordPress has an update, and when the team has the capacity, contributors will manually review each piece of content on the site.
Users check a series of Edit Flow Custom 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. Fields to indicate what needs to be updated and another unchecks the box when it is done
Users cannot view all posts that have the same checkmark ticked (like the functionality of viewing all posts with the same tag).
Custom meta is related to the entire post, not noting specific elements such as several screenshots
Users with Editor access for auditing have created their own content, not following the lesson plan templates, and published. The team process is to use a template for the content and undergo several reviews before publishing.
Due to the complexity of this process, the team has not made much progress in staying current with feature changes.
Each screenshot, video, and article could have a taxonomyTaxonomyA taxonomy is a way to group things together. In WordPress, some common taxonomies are category, link, tag, or post format. https://codex.wordpress.org/Taxonomies#Default_Taxonomies. indicating
The version of WordPress
Option of the user interface (show all posts that have the 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. selector, or some part of the admin dashboard)
A way to note if the outdated content is preserved for historical purposes (not to be updated)
Taxonomy would be viewable like tags, allowing an editor to see a listing of all content types of that notation
Apply this taxonomy to lessons, workshops, and courses
A checklist before publishing that indicates various stages of review and can be modified by admins in an ongoing way without coding
Pending Review
Spelling/grammar review
Technical review
SEO review
Require that posts are approved by users in a specific role (editors can review updates, admins can review new content to be published)
The ability to assign a lesson plan to a “Content Owner” who is different than the author. It can help identify who is currently responsible for that lesson plan.
An expiration date. Any content that should be reviewed on a regular basis can have an expiration date that will provide automatic reminders that eyeballs are needed on that content piece. In the Content Audit 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 this can also include email reminders being sent to the Content Owner. It also displays messages on the front end for logged-in users with the proper permissions.
Columns are added to the All Posts screen that indicates the Content Owner, Content Status, Notes, and Expiration date. This makes for a very quick overview that contributors could use to identify the highest priority (or low-hanging fruit) from the list of things to be done. Use the review status in the Learn admin dashboard to show stats of lessons needing review, flagged for updates, at various stages of completion. https://make.wordpress.org/updates/2021/02/26/would-stats-dashboards-help-your-team/
Nice to have
Require featured imageFeatured imageA featured image is the main image used on your blog archive page and is pulled when the post or page is shared on social media. The image can be used to display in widget areas on your site or in a summary list of posts. (and how to set a featured image on lesson plans)
Require ALT Text descriptions
Check for any broken and external links (outside 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/)
An SEO plugin that will assist with the tone of voice and complexity of reading
Those who have done considerable content auditing, what tools or features have you used? What would make a tool like this easier to implement across several WordPress teams?
There are many ways to contribute to Learn WordPress. Folks can join via contributing lesson plans to the Training team, organizing workshop-based discussion groups through local meetups, or submitting their own video workshop or course idea.
Some of these efforts happen outside the Learn WordPress website itself – like organizing a discussion group or using a lesson plan with a local 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.. For the most part, Learn WordPress contributors share a common home in 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/
Adding a big asterisk that this is by far from a definitive list of ways to contribute, but just some common pathways!
The current set-up
Currently, when someone contributes to Learn WordPress, they’re added to the Learn WordPress site using one of the standard user roles:
Administrator
Editor
Author
Author is primarily used for workshop contributors (i.e., folks who’ve recorded a workshop) and new Training team contributors helping with a specific lesson plan. Administrators are reserved for Training team representatives and Community deputies who need to add new users to the site. Folks organizing contributors days have also been given temporary Administrator access to help with onboarding new contributors.
For everyone else – and for most folks with access to Learn WordPress – Editor permissions are the most common. This is particularly important for Training team contributors, where folks need access to multiple lesson plans to draft, review, and copy edit content
The Learn WordPress Dashboard is robust. There are many options available on the backend for setting up lesson plans, workshops, quizzes, courses, and so on. Many similarly-named things (Lessons and Lesson Plans being one!) can make starting more challenging. Likewise, the Editor role provides a lot of control over the site from the get-go, which can be problematic from a security perspective in the long term.
Proposed new user roles
With all that in mind, I would like to propose two new custom user roles to better fit Learn’s functionality and structure.
Workshop Reviewers:When reviewing Meetup and WordCamp applications, Community Deputies have a custom 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. box to share vetting notes. Sometimes this information is confidential, especially when a proposed application/applicant may not meet the program guidelines. The current workflow for evaluating workshop submissions is very similar to this process, and the Learn siteLearn siteThe Training Team publishes its completed lesson plans at https://learn.wordpress.org/ which is often referred to as the "Learn" site. would benefit from a role for workshop reviewers to have access to a confidential meta box for communicating review notes with one another.
Lesson Plan Editors: By default, lesson plans are developed with a series of checks and reviews to help ensure instructional design quality. This means that Training team contributors, including new contributors, need to access and edit multiple lesson plans. This includes folks like Subject Matter Experts, Copy Editors, and Testers. For folks volunteering to draft or review lesson plans, access to the other post types on Learn WordPress is not relevant or needed, but edit access to all lesson plans is.
Feedback needed
In the end, the proposed user roles would look like:
User role
Permissions
Author
Edit access to specific Workshops Edit access to specific Lesson Plans
Lesson Plan Editors
Edit access to all Lesson Plans
Editors
Edit access to all Lesson Plans Edit access to all Workshops Edit access to course functionality
Workshop Reviewers
Edit access to all content types, plus Deputy-level access to meta field for application vetting Ability to add new users to the site
Administrators
Full site access and permissions
It would be really helpful to get feedback on the following specifically:
How does this make contributing easier?
How does it make contributing more difficult?
Is there a simpler way to achieve the same goals?
Do we need to consider where learners/people using the Learn site might fit into these roles?
How do you learn WordPress? In what order should I learn things?
Learning WordPress is easy, there are so many resources.
Why can’t these senior ReactReactReact is a JavaScript library that makes it easy to reason about, construct, and maintain stateless and stateful user interfaces. https://reactjs.org/. front-end devs understand WordPress?
WordPress is versatile and open, as in open-source, and also as in jump in where you want and go as far as you’d like.
When we say “learn WordPress”, that can mean many things:
Learn to write a post/page?
Learn to manage a site?
Learn to create a child themeChild themeA Child Theme is a customized theme based upon a Parent Theme. It’s considered best practice to create a child theme if you want to modify the CSS of your theme. https://developer.wordpress.org/themes/advanced-topics/child-themes/.?
Learn to customize with 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 overrides or using plugins to achieve customization?
Learn to make a theme from scratch?
Learn to make a plugin?
Learn to make 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.?
Learn to use APIs for a decoupled approach?
When we think about building a website, there are skillsets around
Content
Design/UXUXUX is an acronym for User Experience - the way the user uses the UI. Think ‘what they are doing’ and less about how they do it./UIUIUI is an acronym for User Interface - the layout of the page the user interacts with. Think ‘how are they doing that’ and less about what they are doing.
Development (with code)
Quality Assurance
Front end
Back end
Full stack
DevOps
Translation
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)
At 41% of the internet and growing, there really is a lot to learn. Where you start, and what your own outcomes are can vary. We progress from being a website visitor to using the software and some of us even go on to write code that makes the software. There are so many skills to acquire in that journey.
My favorite myth to dispel is that teaching or learning is easy. Like a final release, things should be free of bugs and intuitively work well. Behind the scenes, a great deal of work happens to provide the user or student with a cohesive learning experience. Likewise, without a roadmap or guidance on what to learn next, you can get lost in a sea of resources.
I’ve had the honor of teaching WordPress in a development bootcamp environment this past year with a focus on front-end development. While getting a good look around at the bootcamp and non-WordPress (or even non-CMS) web developer ecosystem, I frequently encountered roadmaps to learning. Think of the map as a syllabus handed to students, sharing where we are starting and what our goals will include. Yet there are few maps that incorporate WordPress or PHPPHPPHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. http://php.net/manual/en/intro-whatis.php. into the web developer’s learning.
Let’s help folks get started at any point on their journey, and discover any gaps in learning, and provide suggestions on what could be learned next.
This map will hopefully help shape the content on https://Learn.WordPress.org and could be implemented in a more visually organized way of navigating lesson plans, courses, and workshops.
High Level Roadmap to learning WordPress development
I am attempting to get these details and sequences out of my head and into something presentable for others. I welcome feedback, collaboration, and input on these.
Certainly far more can be included into this roadmap that encompasses more details. However, I wanted to pause here to avoid overwhelming folks with too many specifics.
Whether you’re a first-time blogger or a seasoned developer, there’s always more to learn.
That’s how start the Learn WordPress site which encourages visitors to take a workshop and learn, or use a lesson plan to share WordPress with others. The one huge thing we’re missing on the Learn siteLearn siteThe Training Team publishes its completed lesson plans at https://learn.wordpress.org/ which is often referred to as the "Learn" site. is the documentation to help people who want to share WordPress with others create the very video workshops we’re sharing. It’s time to fix that with a brand new handbook!
Some documentation was written up as we built the workshop portion of Learn but it’s incomplete and unpublished. I’d like to change that by the end of February 2021 by publishing a handbook for contributing to Learn by creating workshops, leading discussion groups, and vetting workshop applications.
Since this is a relatively new way to contribute we’ve been making it up as we go along, but now it’s time to get these processes out of our minds and onto the screen.
I’ve put together an outline for the handbook and with the help of @evarlese and Hari Shanker we’ve fleshed out quite a bit of content. But there is still more to add and there is the whole thing to review.
This coming Monday, February 1 at 9:00am PST I’ll host a discussion in the #training channel of WordPress SlackSlackSlack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. to discuss next steps and answer questions for volunteers. If you’re interested in contributing by helping to build this handbook please join me then. If you’re not available at that time feel free to comment here to show interest or ask questions or pingPingThe act of sending a very small amount of data to an end point. Ping is used in computer science to illicit a response from a target server to test it’s connection. Ping is also a term used by Slack users to @ someone or send them a direct message (DM). Users might say something along the lines of “Ping me when the meeting starts.” me in slack where my username is camikaos.
Howdy folx! In order to get some momentum in updating the lesson plans on Learn WordPress prior to the upcoming launch we’re hosting two updating sprints!
What?
Updating and checking images in the lesson plans on Learn WordPress to ensure that the images are: all images are stored in the Learn Media Library, missing images are replaced, and all images contain alt text. (Instructions are here.)
Linking slides from GitHubGitHubGitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can 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/ into Learn Lesson Plans. (Instructions to come soon.)
If you have any questions or need guidance during the sprints, Slack will be the best place to go. If you have questions in advance, or need access to the Learn siteLearn siteThe Training Team publishes its completed lesson plans at https://learn.wordpress.org/ which is often referred to as the "Learn" site. to help with updates, please comment here.
If neither of these times work for you and you’d like to host a sprint at another time, please let me know!
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 coreCoreCore 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, GutenbergGutenbergThe 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 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
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)
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?
The makeup of the majority of team contributors has shifted to the Eastern Hemisphere and our current meeting time does not accommodate those timezones very well. Therefore it is proposed to change the weekly meeting time to 13:00 UTC.
We will discuss this at the meeting on 25 April which will still be at 19:30 UTC and if there are no objections, it will take effect on 2 May.
The Training Team proposes the following criteria for their profile badges:
Team On-boarding (Required): You have joined the #training channel in SlackSlackSlack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/., been added to the TrelloTrelloProject management system using the concepts of boards and cards to organize tasks in a sane way. This is what the make.wordpress.com/marketing team uses for example: https://trello.com/b/8UGHVBu8/wp-marketing. board and the GitHubGitHubGitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can 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/ organization. You have read through the Getting Started information (https://make.wordpress.org/training/handbook/getting-started/) and are familiar with the lesson plan template, the team’s workflow, and the teams tools (GitHub, ZenHub, and Trello). You understand the various channels of communication and know when and how they should be used.
Training Contributor:
Writing – You have developed an approved lesson plan from scratch or completely rewritten one that was out of date. Your efforts have moved a lesson plan from the “Drafts in Progress” stage to the “Instructional Review” stage in Trello.
Copyediting/Reviewing – You have contributed five (5) pull requests in GitHub. Or you have successfully moved a lesson plan from the “Copyediting in Progress” stage to the “Style Guide Review” stage OR from the “Style Guide Review” stage to the “Ready for Final Review” stage in Trello.
Testing – You have completed a testing feedback form after using a lesson plan in an event and have created GitHub issues for any suggested changes.
Auditing – You have audited three (3) lesson plans or surveyed the team’s GitHub reposreposThe Training Team uses GitHub for working copies of lesson plans. You can find them at https://github.com/wptrainingteam. and created GitHub issues for any needed changes.
Connecting – You have made three (3) workshop recommendations by combining existing lesson plans and submitting your ideas through the https://learn.wordpress.org/ site (when ready).
Other – the team may choose to award the badge for other contributions at the team’s discretion.
Training Team: You have admin rights on GitHub, Trello, ZenHub, and/or the https://make.wordpress.org/training/ site. You assist with final reviews of lesson plans. You regularly contribute to meetings or the maintenance and management of the team. You have been involved within the past twelve months.
Awarding of profile badges: There will be a monthly review of contributions, and badges will be awarded at that time. A list of the new profile badges awarded will then be posted on the https://make.wordpress.org/training/ site. If you feel that you have earned the badge but were not listed, please leave a comment on that month’s blog post and include your GitHub username and your WordPress.org username.
There has been a recent flurry of pull requests from people new to the Training Team. Most of these pull requests are fixing small issues with the lesson plans – and we have many of those! However, these contributors have not introduced themselves to the team in SlackSlackSlack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/. The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/. or participated in the team’s meetings. Their efforts are seemingly to procure the Training Team badge on their 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/ profile. That raises the issue of what the requirements are to secure those badges.
The Training Team would like to be more transparent and consistent and define the criteria for giving profile badges to people who contribute to our team.
Other WordPress.org Teams
Looking at how a few other non-code-focused teams handle their badges…
The 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
“On your profile, badges are added based on your contributions to the WordPress project. There are two kinds of badges: contributor and team. The contributor badges are generally assigned to anyone who has contributed to a particular team. Meanwhile, the team badges are given to those who are active on their team. Each team can set its own criteria for who should get each badge. When possible, the meta team will automate badge assignment.”
The Polyglots TeamPolyglots TeamPolyglots Team is a group of multilingual translators who work on translating plugins, themes, documentation, and front-facing marketing copy. https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/teams/.
The Polyglots Team requires ten string translations to earn their Contributor badge. The also have an “Editor” badge which is given when a person has Editor status on a [locale].wordpress.org site.
The Support Team
“We have official badges for Support Contributors and Support team members. For the moment being, these badges are awarded manually to active contributors. In the future, we hope to be able to automate that process, and then use the following criteria:
Support Contributor: You have contributed over 400 support replies.
Support Team: You have been promoted to Moderator.”
The documentation team is probably the team that is the closest to the Training Team in their responsibilities. They do not yet have criteria for their badges but are also working on this.
Recommendation for Discussion
One-time contributions are very welcome, but perhaps not the purpose of the badges. As a starting point for discussion, let’s consider the following:
Training Contributor:
Writing – You have developed an approved lesson plan from scratch or completely rewritten one that was out of date.
Copyediting / Reviewing – You have contributed 10 pull requests over a period of more than 30 days.
Testing – You have completed 3 testing feedback forms after using a lesson plan in an event.
Auditing – Review 3 lesson plans and create GitHubGitHubGitHub is a website that offers online implementation of git repositories that can 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/ issues for any needed changes.
Connecting – Make 3 workshop recommendations by combining existing lesson plans.
Training Team: You have admin rights on GitHub and/or the make.wordpress.org/training site.
Too easy? Too difficult? Does it deter people or encourage them? Is the “over 30 days” part a good idea? Thoughts? These criteria are up for discussion!
Work is well under way on the handbook overhaul. Unfortunately, I will not be as fully present in today’s meeting as I had hoped due to impending weather.
The About page will be revised after other child-pages are completed to determine what is unique to this page and what can be linked to for more thorough details.
On the Who We Are page, the team leadership area needs a description. Please review https://make.wordpress.org/updates/team-reps/ regarding team organization. What “roles” do we want to share here beyond the 2 team reps?
Action item: who can write a paragraph or so about our team organization?
On the Contributor Day page, a review for what information is still applicable/current would be appreciated.
In particular, the page states “Choose a card from the “Lesson Plan Backlog” list on the TrelloTrelloProject management system using the concepts of boards and cards to organize tasks in a sane way. This is what the make.wordpress.com/marketing team uses for example: https://trello.com/b/8UGHVBu8/wp-marketing. board”. It looks like that has been reworked in Trello. Can that be updated and linked to specifically?
Action item: one person to revise the page with any more recent details. Change term of Backlog to appropriate linked Trello column.
Action item: Julie will revise or offer the task for another team member to complete.
Areas not yet worked on:
What We’re Working On Now
Learn WordPress site – top level page that describes that our work is presented on the Learn siteLearn siteThe Training Team publishes its completed lesson plans at https://learn.wordpress.org/ which is often referred to as the "Learn" site. with a link to it.
