It is not a difficult task to teach students WordPress Basics as this publishing software is actually easy to use. WordPress is a simple source where students will be able to share content, publish their works on important issues including essays, coursework. But you can also use custom coursework write to save your time and give it to other things.
The level of popularity of WordPress among Internet users is stunning. Hence, the professionals recommend using Word Press Basics as a great way to introduce students to publishing online.
The Reasons to Teach WordPress Basics to Students
There are numbers of reasons why you should teach students WordPress Basics. First of all, in the process of learning this publishing software, your students may demonstrate their great hidden coding potential. They might become interested in the deeper study of WordPress and dive into the process. For many of them, these lessons will be a great opportunity to find their sphere of development. Secondly, learning WordPress is a very interesting activity. You will see that your students will be coming glad to classes and doing their homework with real pleasure. Lastly, the awareness of WordPress will help students to become more competitive on the job market. Their future employers will undoubtedly value that fact that one has solid knowledge of WordPress Basics.
How to start?
The first question that all teachers may face is where exactly to start. There exists so much information on the Internet about WordPress that one may feel merely overwhelmed having no idea where to start. The first advice may sound obvious – start with the simplest things. It is a great idea to start with a general short overview of what WordPress is and how your students can use it later in their lives. Create a short and comprehensive presentation about WordPress and share it with your students. Include the screens of the interface of the WordPress. Also, for the first lessons, you may use the dashboard. Start clicking on different items from the menu, explaining to students what each item means.
You should explain that the item “my sites” serves to select a site and visit its public or dashboard. The item “posts” helps either to edit already existing posts or add new interesting content. The item “profile” will help students to add new biographical info or modify one’s name displayed on the site. However, you should not expect that your students will remember at least the half of the information you will introduce at the beginning. Probably, only 15% will stay in their memories during the starting period.
Hence, remember to repeat over and over again what every item means. You should make sure that your students understand what you are talking about clearly. Encourage them to ask questions in case they do not understand anything. Lastly, you may share with them hand-outs which will serve your students as a brief memo until they will learn what all the items mean.
The use of examples
The primary purpose of teaching WordPress is to motivate students to apply it to practice and create their real websites based on this publishing software. You should not demonstrate just pure theory. Nothing helps so much as watching the theory on practice. Prepare the presentation of top sites like NY Times that are powered by WordPress. Looking at the examples, students may feel inspired to try different things on the platform to create their own platforms in the future. Demonstrate students what exactly the sites can do and propose for their users. Describe in details what features the sites have. Explain in details how WordPress helps to create such powerful platforms. Lastly, tell briefly how your students may create similar ones after they master WordPress Basics.
Applying in Practice
After students grasp the main idea of WordPress Basics, it is time to start their own professional journey on this publishing software. Invite students to apply their knowledge and create their first home page. Describe in details the stages they need to master to complete the task. Encourage them to concentrate on their personal styles and recommend them playing with fonts and other style details. Pay also particular attention to shortcuts and let students play with them.
