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
2. 1. Introduction
3. Toru Miki • WordPress: 13+ years • WordCamp Tokyo 2011 lead organizer • WordCamps, Meetups, translations, Core • Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ): 7 years • Junior Webmaster
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 …”
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
6. 2. My Experiences and Findings from Teaching
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
8. Customizer is Great! • Easy to use • “Widgets” — self-explanatory • In the “community”, often overlooked how helpful this feature is
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).”
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
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
12. 3. Reflections to Contribution
13. Is it really the suitable choice of publishing platform, for teaching online self-publishing?
15. Crossroads of web technologies & cultures
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
17. Thank You! Toru Miki @toru @waviaei https://torumiki.com