Classes

Lorelle VanFossen on stage keynoting at a WordCampLorelle VanFossen teaches a variety of classes and workshops on WordPress, blogging, content strategies, social media, multimedia, and web publishing. Classes range from training programs for groups and small businesses for two hours to two or more days to college level courses. She is currently teaching the first full-credit course in WordPress at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington, recently featured in The Columbian newspaper.

For an updated list of classes and workshops, see Workshops and Classes on Lorelle on WordPress.

In 1993, Lorelle was one of the first testers of CompuServe and Netscape’s “home pages” which eventually became web pages as we know them today. Even before 1994, Lorelle was a leader in online communication, interaction, and content generation leading many online workshops and seminars in forums and contributing many articles on web publishing, multimedia, online communication, and community building and interaction that continue to be resources almost 20 years later.

In 1996, she and her husband went on the road full-time communicating via the Internet with friends, family, and fans around the world. Her site, , continues to be one of the oldest and longest running websites in the world sharing tips and tricks from life on the road, travel, photography, and their personal stories.

She is also author of one of the first books on blogging, “Blogging Tips: What Bloggers Won’t Tell You About Blogging” and the recently released ebook, Social Media for Crafters: Covering the Basics of the Social Web.

In 2003, Lorelle discovered and hasn’t looked back since. She is one of the lead editors of the , the online manual for WordPress Users, and contributes frequently to WordPress development. Her WordPress blog, , features thousands of articles on WordPress and blogging. As of 2012, Lorelle has presented and been the keynote speaker for dozens of WordCamps worldwide including the keynote at the first official WordCamp outside of the United States in Israel in 2007. She continues to tour around the world presenting keynotes and workshops on web publishing for a variety of business and industry conferences.

Lorelle brings her experience and expertise along with her quick wit, energy, and fun to her presentations usually selling out way in advance.

Examples of some of her popular classes, workshops, and keynotes include:

  • Kicking Ass Content Connections: Content creation and strategies and connecting your content with readers.
  • Power Blogging: Fast content generation and publishing with WordPress
  • Power Blogging: Pushing your browser to the edge with content production
  • Power Blogging: WordPress Plugins that make publishing better
  • Power Blogging: WordPress Tips and Tricks
  • 260 Ways to Break WordPress: Why you should push WordPress beyond its limits
  • Accessibility is the Law: Introduction to the new US law requiring commercial and “public access” websites to meet web accessibility standards
  • Blogging and Copyright: Protecting and Defending Your Words and Art
  • By the Numbers – Web Analytics: What counts when you count your traffic?
  • Face to Face: Understanding the power of the social web
  • Mind Blowing WordPress Plugins: Examples of WordPress Plugins that go above and beyond the call of duty
  • Telling Your Story: How to share your story or memoir online
  • Which Social Network: Choosing the ideal social network playground
  • Who are You and What Have You Done to Your Blog: Restructuring your online persona and website to reflect the “real” you
  • Why Blog: Understanding the critical definitions of what a blog is and why you and your company should be blogging
  • Your Blog is Your Business Card: Bring your audience back to your blog and you from social networks

Topics for Presentations, Workshops, and Classes

Lorelle’s training programs are customized to fit the needs of the audience. She has worked with a variety of company types and industries including government agencies, real estate and mortgage companies, computer and high tech, publishers, artists, crafters, non-profits, trainers and educators, virtual assistants, and librarians.

Here is an expanded list of some of her presentations, workshops, and classes. They are all customizable to fit the needs of the audience.

WordPress

  • Why WordPress?
  • 260 Ways to Break WordPress: Why you should push WordPress beyond its limits
  • How to Tweak a WordPress Theme
  • How WordPress Changes Lives
  • HTML and CSS and WordPress Themes: How to fit the puzzle pieces together
  • Managing Multiple Authors
  • Mind-blowing WordPress Plugins: Examples of WordPress Plugins that go above and beyond the call of duty
  • Tags and Categories for Cat Lovers
  • Tags and Categories: Adventures of the USS WordPress

Power Blogging

  • Power Blogging: Fast content generation and publishing with WordPress
  • Power Blogging: Pushing your browser to the edge with content production
  • Power Blogging: WordPress Plugins that make publishing better
  • Power Blogging: WordPress Tips and Tricks

Web Accessibility

  • Accessibility is the Law: Introduction to the new US law requiring commercial and “public access” websites to meet web accessibility standards
  • Web Accessibility Basics for Web Design
  • Web Accessibility for the Content Provider
  • Web Accessibility and Bloggers
  • Web Accessibility and Multimedia Publishers and Podcasters

Copyright and Protecting Your Online Content

  • Blogging and Copyright: Protecting and Defending Your Words and Art
  • What to Do When Someone Steals Your Content

How to Blog

  • Blogging for Companies That Shouldn’t Be Blogging
  • Blogging for Crafters
  • Blogging for REALTORS
  • Blogging for Small Business
  • Crafters and the Social Web
  • Developing an Author Blog
  • How Blogs Change Lives
  • Introduction to Podcasting
  • Telling Your Story: How to share your story or memoir online
  • The Art of Storytelling on the Web
  • Who are You and What Have You Done to Your Blog: Restructuring your online persona and website to reflect the “real” you
  • Why Blog: Understanding the critical definitions of what a blog is and why you and your company should be blogging
  • Your Blog is Your Business Card: Bring your audience back to your blog and you from social networks

Web Analytics and SEO

  • By the Numbers – Web Analytics: What counts when you count your traffic?
  • It’s a Number’s Game: Introduction to Web Analytics

Content Building and Strategies

  • Content and Community Building Strategies
  • Kicking Ass Content Connections: Content creation and strategies and connecting your content with readers.
  • Web Writing 101
  • Writing for the Web: Blog Post Formats
  • Writing for the Web: Keeping the blog well fed
  • Writing for the Web: Online personas and voices
  • Writing for the Web: The job of a web writer
  • Writing Your Memoir Online

Web Design and User Experience

  • Introduction to User Experience (UX)
  • The User Experience and the Customer’s Journey through Your Blog
  • User Experience and WordPress

Social Media and Social Networks

  • Face to Face: Understanding the power of the social web
  • Which Social Network: Choosing the ideal social network playground
  • Choosing a Social Network Playground

Long-term Classes, Training, and Workshops

The following classes, trainings, and workshops last for a day to multiple days or weeks.

  • Introduction to WordPress Overview (one to two days)
  • Exploring WordPress (two to five days)
  • WordPress I Course (6-10 weeks on Introduction, Content Management and Structure, Social Media Integration, WordPress Themes Overview)
  • WordPress II Course (6-10 weeks on Content and Author Management and Structure, WordPress Theme Design, and WordPress Plugin Overview)
  • Blog Writing (two to five days)
  • Web Writing (6-10 week course on web publishing covering web writing for personal, professional, social media, business, memoir, guest blogging, citizen journalism, and blogging for hire)
  • How to Blog (two to five days on web content types and strategies and multimedia publishing (podcasting))
  • Podcasting: Video and Audio Production (2-5 days on content strategies, lighting, equipment, video production, audio production, recording with VOIP, editing basics, publishing and syndication, and the core of what you need to start podcasting)