What Would the Curriculum of WordPress School Be?

Published

February 7, 2013

22 Comments

What if there were WordPress School? Would you take courses in there or would you like to teach in there? Or both? I know I would. John Saddington wrote an article about it and asked us to dream a little. Well, let’s go off road!

One of the first thing we need to do is curriculum of WordPress school. There are many sources where you can read (Codex, WPTuts+, Pippins Plugins, Theme Hybrid) and learn about WordPress. You can attend WordCamps, local meetups and (future) training workshops but that’s not we’re after. Our goal is to study WordPress basics and more advanced things and finally have a WordPress degree. Learning something in depth takes time and we need a plan how to structure our learning.

Let’s focus more in WordPress.org in this article but naturally there are some similarities with WordPress.com also. I’m just going to let my mind flow and list some of the courses I would like to see in WordPress School.

All courses have classroom teaching, tasks you need to do and online teaching in internet.

1. Basics I

Goals

After first course you should have basic understanding what is WordPress and how you can publish content with it.

Main contents

What is WordPress
What kind of websites WordPress is for
What is the difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org
How to install wordpress.org software
How to write content
What is the difference between post and page
What are categories and tags
What are themes and plugins
How to install theme or plugin
Media uploader
How to write some more content
- Sticky posts
- Schedule posts
- Draft posts
- Password protected

2. Basics II

Goals

In second course you get more understanding how WordPress work and how to use it in more efficient way.

Main contents

Picking up your host and domain (WordPress requirements)
How to install wordpress.org software
Setting up your site after install.
Picking up your theme. What are wordpress.org themes and commercial themes
What is a Child theme and how to use it
What are widgets
How menu system work in WordPress
What are Post Formats
Comments and spam management
User management and roles
Most common plugins

3. More Advanced I

Goals

In third course you learn firsts steps how to become WordPress developer. You already need to know basics of HTML, CSS and PHP before taking this course.

Main contents

How to translate a theme or a plugin
How to work on localhost using tools like XAMPP/MAMP
What tools to use in development
Anatomy of a WordPress theme
The loop
Template hierarchy
Hooks and Filters
Creating a simple WordPress theme
Creating a simple WordPress plugin
Taking backups
WordPress security

4. More Advanced II

Goals

In this course we continue learning more how we can extend WordPress. You already need to know basics of HTML, CSS and PHP before taking this course.

Main contents

WordPress SEO
Custom Post Types
Custom taxonomies
Create a WordPress site for customer
Troubleshooting WordPress
License issues, GPL
Contribute by helping others
Extending Live Theme Customizer
Custom backgrounds and header images
Installing and using Multisite
Internationalization a theme or a plugin

5. More advanced III

Goals

This course is for high level students who like to learn more advanced stuff and bend WordPress to its limits.

Main contents

WordPress API’s
Roles and capabilities
Coding standards
Using Metaboxes
Contributing in WordPress Core
Marketing your work
Showcase: how to run a membership site
Showcase: Advanced plugin anatomy
Debugging and testing
Using Javascript and Ajax in WordPress
Cron

6. Creating a WordPress Theme

In short this course is for making solid WordPress theme which can be accepted in WordPress.org site.

We can actually take a look at the WordPress Theme Developer Handbook.

7. Creating a WordPress Plugin

In short this course is for making solid WordPress plugin which can be accepted in WordPress.org site.

We can actually take a look at the Plugin Developer Handbook as well!

8. Graduation work

Graduation work can be setting up a customer e-commerce site, creating a plugin or theme and so on. But you need to write in depth documentation how and in what way you did it. Consult with your teacher what would the guidelines be in your work.

So, what do you think about this first-pass outline? What would you like to learn or teach in WordPress School?

There are 22 comments

February 7, 2013 #

Rudd

I think understanding GPL and knowing about WordPress SEO should be in BASIC level, instead of More Advance Level II. Others look great!

😀
- February 7, 2013 #
  
  Sami Keijonen
  
  You’re right Rudd, they could be in Basic level also. Nothing is written in stone yet. And maybe I put them in more advanced section because I really don’t understand them quite well:) And I was thinking it in more depth than just using SEO Plugin.
  - February 8, 2013 #
    
    Brent Toderash
    
    I second that. Something about the “WordPress ethos” should come near the beginning.
    
    – WordPress history (origins)
    
    – GPL & WordPress community guidelines
    
    – WordPress development principles (not so much coding standards, but more of the philosophical angle)
    
    I think you could also add something about server environments – LAMP / Nginx, some basics about working on the command line & troubleshooting basic hosting issues with domains & server configs. Maybe add why you should avoid GoDaddy and IIS… oops, did I type that out loud? 😉
    - February 8, 2013 #
      
      Evan Mullins
      
      I agree, and I also think it should cover basic open source principles and brief history to put WP GPL into context.
February 7, 2013 #

Julie

Where can I enroll? When? Someone get on this, because it’s exactly what I’ve needed, and haven’t been able to find (in one place).
- February 7, 2013 #
  
  Sami Keijonen
  
  Hi Julie. I’ve got a feeling that you’re not the only one. Maybe first we should start something like this online and then move on from there.
February 7, 2013 #

Topher

This is really excellent. I could see this as a several week bootcamp or something. A long series of videos would work, but it’s harder for the student to not be able to ask questions.
February 7, 2013 #

Morten Rand-Hendriksen

The bigger question is whether there should be an official WordPress Certification process like there is with most professional software. That way schools that already teach WordPress would be able to model their curriculums after an existing and vetted plan rather than make things up as they go along.
February 7, 2013 #

Andrea_R

One of the things we *are* eventually trying to do in the Community section is indeed have a course like this and available on Learn.wordpress.org.

Please join the make / community blog and keep tabs. 🙂 It’s on the list, it’s been discussed, but at some point we need people to implement it.
- February 7, 2013 #
  
  Morten Rand-Hendriksen
  
  One very important aspect of creating learning materials is to have people with excellent teaching skills produce the material. One of the major challenges of producing this type of content is that it’s not the same as writing documentation. Learning materials have to be written in a language the learner can understand and has to be authoritative without being condescending or flippant. One of the major challenges with teaching anything you know well is to know what the learner does not know and explain things even thought they appear obvious or implicit to you.
  - February 7, 2013 #
    
    Andrea_R
    
    Yes, and that is why for what we are doing we have volunteers at the ready who have already developed courses they have been teaching.
    
    I’ve also done that For Dummies books, which follows a certain format, and I’ve been a homeschooler (educator) for almost twenty years.
    - February 7, 2013 #
      
      Morten Rand-Hendriksen
      
      I wish I had the time to contribute to this project.
  - February 7, 2013 #
    
    Andrea_R
    
    Also I’m talking about more than just the training project we are working on right now.
- February 8, 2013 #
  
  Sami Keijonen
  
  Learn.wordpress.org seems great. Couple of follow up question.
  
  1. What kind on curriculum do you have, anything similar?
  
  2. Is it more than just online tutorials? quiz, tasks, teachers who answer questions and so on.
  
  3. Are there going to be physical lessons also?
February 7, 2013 #

Jay Collier

I’d like to suggest a section dedicated to domain recipes and configuration.

In addition to understanding the skills of each kind of WordPress user — publisher, editor, author, designer, developer — there is great value in knowing the various recipes one can choose and customize: blog, magazine site, ecommerce site, collaboration platform, and many more.

-Jay
February 7, 2013 #

christine

I’ve been teaching a WordPress course ( 30 to 36 hours) for a few years and I’ve refined both my curriculum and material quite a bit. I have it posted on wpyogi.com. Feel free to grab it, critique it, comment and use it as you wish. It’s aimed at designers, but could be of some use and inspiration.
- February 8, 2013 #
  
  Sami Keijonen
  
  That looks pretty solid. Good work. How many students do you have in one course?
February 8, 2013 #

ThatGuyKC

I feel like this is exactly what the WordPress community is missing. There are plenty of tutorials, blogs, and how-to guides, but a full blown WordPress School/University would be awesome.

As a coding/design/dev newbie who has ridiculous aspirations I’ll volunteer to be a guinea pig. 🙂
- February 8, 2013 #
  
  Sami Keijonen
  
  There are plenty of tutorials, blogs, and how-to guides, but a full blown WordPress School/University would be awesome.
  
  My thoughts are exactly the same! This article is definitely not just getting people to write online material. Learning is more than just reading those material and repeating what was in those material.
  
  And don’t get me wrong, we need online and offline material. For example Professional WordPress Plugin Development book would be one of the materials I would use in my classroom.
February 8, 2013 #

MaAnna

Good start on the outline, Sami. I teach most everything through #4 and a little of #5. Would be delighted to learn the rest. I would like to suggest splitting this into two tracks, one for users and one for developers. There can be overlap in many of the courses, but not as much as is outlined here.
February 8, 2013 #

Morten Rand-Hendriksen

We are building out a similar WordPress curriculum at lynda.com and these courses consistently rank at the top of the viewer list. You can see the beginnings of this by looking at my course list http://lynda.com/mor10
March 1, 2013 #

Warrentier

A video demonstrating how to code is really great. I learned it from Morten at lynda.com indeed.

The video format might be more effective than written documentation (speaking from my newbie experience). I dunno… Maybe it has something to do with the licensing issue…

1. Basics I

2. Basics II

3. More Advanced I

4. More Advanced II

5. More advanced III

6. Creating a WordPress Theme

7. Creating a WordPress Plugin

8. Graduation work

How do you stay on top of your WordPress game?