Tag Archives: introduction to wordpress

WordPress Introduction Course at Clark College Continuing Education October 16, 2012

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Starting October 16, 2012, I’m presenting the Introduction to WordPress at Clark College Corporate and Continuing Education in Vancouver, Washington.

The CTEC 280 Clark College WordPress Introduction course continues as a four credit course. This is the college level course for WordPress users wanting to learn how WordPress works and how to use it better for half the price and no degree credits or college registration required.

REGISTER:
Clark College Corporate and Continuing Education
The Introduction to WordPress
6-8PM October 16 – December 6
Columbia Tech Center in Vancouver, Washington
$299 Item # F257
Register: Online or call (360) 992-2939

The Clark College Corporate and Continuing Education program, The Introduction to WordPress, is a slightly scaled down version of the full credit course. It is a thirty hour course designed for anyone looking to learn how to use WordPress for a personal or business website. It covers the basics on how to use the WordPress platform including installation, content management, configuration, SEO, and user experience strategies. The course also covers more advanced areas including WordPress Themes, Plugins, and advanced settings. No prerequisites are required, though familiarity with web browsers and web pages in general is highly recommended.

The Clark College CTEC 280 WordPress Introduction course will be offered Winter Quarter. If you are interested in the course as part of a degree or business education course, contact Reesa McAllister, CTEC offices, at 360-992-2456 to learn how to register and/or get on the waiting list for the class announcement.

Introduction to WordPress Homework – Class 16 – Exporting, Importing, and Content Writing Tips

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In Class 16 of Introduction to WordPress, we covered:

  • Exporting from WordPress
  • Importing to WordPress
  • Writing styles tips and tricks for publishing with WordPress

Homework

  • Child Theme article due
  • This weekend is site reviews
  • Q&A for Tuesday Guests
  • Final Project: March 13 deadline

Reading

Content Writing Styles and Tips

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Introduction to WordPress Homework – Class 15 – Web Analytics

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In Class 15 of Introduction to WordPress, we covered:

  • Basic web analytics
  • The WordPress.com Stats WordPress Plugin

Homework

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Introduction to WordPress Class Featured on Blog Herald

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In Clark College Offering WordPress Development Classes on The Blog Herald, author James Johnson describes our class as possibly not necessary.

In the meantime while I applaud Clark College for realizing the importance of content management system design and implementation, the truth is the WordPress Codex is more then capable of teaching even a non-programmer how to fully work with a barebones framework to create vastly interesting WordPress pages without paying by the credit hour.

Do you think a WordPress class is a good idea or would you rather learn from the Codex?

As students of the first WordPress college course, how about you have your say. Head to the Blog Herald article and let them know if you think a WordPress class is important. Tell them why you choose to take it, and how learning in a college course is different than learning from the WordPress Codex.

Thanks!

Have WordPress on a Stick Installed

Aside

This week we are working on WordPress Themes. Make sure you have WordPress installed on a USB or portable hard drive. As the machines in the class are Windows, use Instant WordPress. For information on other alternatives for your laptop or home computer, see How to Install WordPress on Your Computer or USB.

Introduction to WordPress Homework Class 4 – Introduction to WordPress Themes

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In Class 4 of Introduction to WordPress, we cover:

  • WordPress Theme introduction
  • Introduction to the WordPress Loop
  • WordPress Pageviews
  • Post Formats
  • Changing WordPress Themes
  • Basic WordPress Theme customization

Homework Assignment

  • Using Post Formats:
    • Publish an aside post.
    • Publish a status post
    • Publish a link post
    • Publish at least one other post format post.
  • Sort through the various WordPress Themes on WordPress.com and test them.
  • Make a list or draw an “ideal” WordPress Theme for your blog.
    • Find a similar Theme on WordPress.com (as close as you can)
  • Publish a WordPress tip article using screenshots. If you need to publish code, use the sourcecode shortcode.
  • Find the first post on your blog, usually called “Hello World.” Edit the post slug to change the URL to a new title.

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Introduction to WordPress Class 1: Getting Started

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Wall clock with wood frame

A clock on the wall

In Class 1 of Introduction to WordPress, we will cover:

  • What is WordPress
  • Basic Semantics/Glossary/Terms
  • Create a WordPress.com blog
  • Categories and Tags to organize content navigation
  • Blog Title and Tagline
  • Introduction to Basic Content Formats: Posts and Pages

You will create your test blog during the class, add a Page and a Post, set up your profile, and start thinking about what you are going to publish on your blog during this course.

It is important that you choose a topic on which you have something to say in addition to the topics and assignments covered in class. We will all be reading your blog and looking for thoughtful content, so be ready.

A well designed and structured site is built around content. I call it “content with intent.” You cannot make framework or design decisions without understanding your content, audience, and specific needs that support that content. So we start with content and build from there.

Homework Assignment

  • Group brainstorm words into categories (no more than 7)
    • Title the categories
    • Write 3 blog posts minimum, one per category
  • Complete your About Page
  • Create a Contact Page
  • Complete your Profile
    • Set your Gravatar
  • Create or find 5 copyright free photographs, graphics or images and bring them to class on a thumb drive/flash stick.
  • Find 3 YouTube videos and bring the links to their pages to the class.
  • Read the material in the Reading Section.

Reading