High School Web Design (HSWD), a creator of technology curricula for high school classes, today announced the release of their Introduction to WordPress course. The curriculum is the first of its kind and includes all the materials a high school teacher needs to teach students to create and manage a blog on the WordPress platform.
Fort Collins, CO (PRWEB) July 11, 2012
Why are high school students not learning WordPress?
That was the troubling question that led High School Web Design, a publisher of technology courses, to create the first WordPress curriculum specifically for high school students.
“As nearly one fourth of all new websites are built using the WordPress platform, we were astounded to discover that virtually no resources were available to high school teachers on the topic,†stated Michael Cheser, general editor of the curriculum. “WordPress and blogging skills no longer belong solely to the technical crowd. They have become necessary life and career skills, no matter the profession.â€
The newly released curriculum includes more than 170 slides to teach core concepts, in addition to hands-on class projects, grading rubrics, weekly quizzes, a final exam, and daily lesson plans for teachers to use as a course guideline.
“Previously, high school instructors wishing to teach WordPress to their students had to create all their course materials from scratch. Or they could cobble together various resources from the internet, many of which were outdated or inaccurate. Facing such a barrier, many teachers understandably opted out of teaching WordPress,†Cheser added.
The Introduction to WordPress curriculum focuses on the basics of creating and running a blog or website on the free WordPress.com platform. Students learn skills including:
- Â Â Â Â Creating a new website or blog
- Â Â Â Â Adding and editing posts and pages
- Â Â Â Â Inserting images and videos
- Â Â Â Â Configuring widgets and the sidebar
- Â Â Â Â Managing blog comments
- Â Â Â Â Customizing themes and graphics
- Â Â Â Â Employing good blogger etiquette
After completing the six week course, students will understand all the WordPress fundamentals and will be empowered to create and manage their own blogs and websites. “A lot of sweat went into building this curriculum. We expect that teachers will recognize this fact in the quality of the materials,†noted Cheser.
An intermediate course, tentatively scheduled for release in December 2012, will tackle some of the more complex tasks of running a self-hosted WordPress site, including custom themes, managing plugins, and tightening security.
High School Web Design, based in Fort Collins, Colorado, became well-known after publishing their popular Introduction to Web Design curriculum in 2010. After fielding requests from teachers for additional curricula, they now plan to add new course offerings on a regular basis.
To learn more about the company and its courses, visit their website at http://highschoolwebdesign.com.
For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2012/7/prweb9677016.htm
Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/business/prweb/article/First-High-School-WordPress-Curriculum-Released-3699477.php