Reflections of a Core Contributor After Teaching Self-Publishing to University Students

Slides from my talk at WordCamp US 2018
https://2018.us.wordcamp.org/session/reflections-of-a-core-contributor-after-teaching-self-publishing-to-university-students/
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In the day and age where “posting something” has become an everyday affair to many, with so many different choices in software, tools and platforms — what does it mean to choose WordPress as a publishing tool teaching material in Higher Education? How easy or difficult do students find? What can contributors learn from it?

I have been working at a university for over seven years as a staff (in-house webmaster/developer), but never thought of teaching the students. This summer, I had an opportunity to co-teach undergraduate art students about online self-publishing using WordPress.

I have been contributing to WordPress over a decade, and I would like to share my experiences and thoughts in teaching, from a contributor’s point-of-view.

Transcript

1. Reflections of a Core Contributor
   After Teaching Self-Publishing to
   University Students
   Toru Miki
   @toru @waviaei https://torumiki.com
   

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2. 1. Introduction
   

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3. Toru Miki
   • WordPress: 13+ years
   • WordCamp Tokyo 2011 lead organizer
   • WordCamps, Meetups, translations, Core
   • Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ): 7
   years
   • Junior Webmaster
   

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4. At WordCamp Tokyo 2017
   Shinya B Watanabe: 

   Art Professor at TUJ
   “Would you be interested in teaching?
   There is an art class which involves
   WordPress …”
   

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5. Art2605 - Internet Imaging
   • “This class explores the internet as a tool for artistic expression.
   Students learn how to utilize internet within the context of an
   exploration of the uses of the internet as an art medium.”
   • Learn “What” and “How” of online self-publication
   • Promotion of their art work, and beyond
   • Learn technical aspects of using digital images on the web
   

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6. 2. My Experiences and
   Findings from Teaching
   

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7. Students were…
   • Comfortable with the “Web”
   • OK with HTML/CSS, semantics, and web
   technology basics
   • But CSS layout was difficult
   • “Reasonably aware” of security risks
   • Found programming to be difficult
   

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8. Customizer is
   Great!
   • Easy to use
   • “Widgets” — self-explanatory
   • In the “community”, often
   overlooked how helpful this
   feature is
   

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9. –David Bisset. Gutenberg And Youth (“Generation Z”).

   http://davidbisset.com/gutenberg-and-youth-generation-x-and-generation-y/
   “Those especially new to WordPress (young or old) or
   those younger even with a little bit of experience with
   WordPress tend to favor Gutenberg in a positive light.
   When I say younger I am counting Generation X and Y
   (anyone younger than 30, let’s say).”
   

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10. University is
    Internationally
    Diverse
    • 7 students, 5+ languages
    • “Can I translate from Japanese to
    Taiwanese?”
    • Language classes — always looking for
    opportunities to put their language skills
    to practice
    • Tap into your local university!
    Translation contribution day
    at local WordPress Meetup
    

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11. Inspire, Inspire,
    and Inspire!
    • WordPress community has many life
    changing “personal” stories
    • Four guest lecturers
    • How self-publishing changed their life and
    career
    • How self-publishing has helped output of
    creative works
    • How self-publishing has help with self-
    branding, and leading to extra earnings
    

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12. 3. Reflections to
    Contribution
    

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13. Is it really the suitable choice of
    publishing platform,
    for teaching online self-publishing?
    

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15. Crossroads of
    web technologies & cultures
    

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16. If use of WordPress has a role in education
    — for students to be introduced, study, and to
    get inspired about self-publishing — then isn’t
    this “Democratize publishing” as well?
    *Regardless of whether students continue to use WordPress or not
    

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17. Thank You!
    Toru Miki
    @toru @waviaei https://torumiki.com
    

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