LinkedIn Learning – OU Create

What is LinkedIn Learning?

LinkedIn Learning, formerly Lynda.com, contains instructional videos intended to teach viewers about specific topics and can be used to learn how to work with web applications such as WordPress. LinkedIn Learning is a paid service, but the University of Oklahoma students, faculty, and staff members have FREE access to this resource at lynda.ou.edu. Therefore, OU Create users can use this tool to learn more about using different components of create.ou.edu.

Courses and playlists about using WordPress, Drupal, and many other relevant tools have been curated for OU Create users and can be found below.

WordPress

WordPress Essential Training

WordPress powers millions of blogs and websites. Learn how to create your own with this powerful publishing platform. Staff author Morten Rand-Hendriksen will help you get the most out of the self-hosted version of WordPress and create feature-rich blogs and websites. Morten explains how to create and publish posts and pages; customize your site with themes, widgets, and custom menus; and extend WordPress even further with plugins. Even more, Morten will show how to get more readers with social media sharing and comments, and adjust the settings that keep your site safe and secure.

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WordPress Workflows

If your WordPress workflow is streamlined from the start, development is simpler, more organized, and more efficient—all the way through to publication. In this course, lynda.com staff author Morten Rand Hendriksen covers three common WordPress workflows. First he’ll tackle building a simple WordPress site: from host setup to basic content management. Then he shows how to take that basic workflow a step further by customizing a theme. Last, Morten covers the professional tools and techniques you need to use when you’re developing sites for clients, including setting up a staging environment and version control.

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WordPress DIY: Setting Up WordPress

WordPress: Creating Custom Widgets and Plugins with PHP

Drew Falkman teaches PHP developers how to create custom functionality for WordPress 2.0 through 3.0 using widgets and plugins. This course starts by installing and setting up WordPress 3.0 on both Mac and Windows, then provides an in-depth look at tasks related to these WordPress add-ons: installing and administering, building and customizing, creating editable options and database tables, working with posts and pages, and utilizing jQuery and AJAX. There are also tutorials dedicated to promoting a widget or plugin, adding security, and localizing the interface. Exercise files are included with the course.

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Start With a Theme: Twenty Fifteen

All great WordPress sites start with a great theme. Twenty Fifteen is the new default: a blog-centric theme with a heavy focus on responsive web design and accessibility. This quick course takes viewers through the setup and configuration of Twenty Fifteen, as well as tips for getting the most out of its many customization options. Author Morten Rand-Hendriksen also covers a few advanced customization settings, such as adding a header background image and social media sharing menus.

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What is WordPress?

When I start using new software or a new application, I find it’s useful to start with a clean slate. Throw out all my preconceptions and ideas, and assume I know nothing about the application, and that everything is new to me. And the first question I ask is always the same, “What is this?” or in our case, “What is WordPress?” Because of the history of WordPress, this question is crucial. WordPress is often perceived as being a simple blogging application, but in reality it’s so much more.

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Drupal

Drupal 7 Essential Training

Get the most out of Drupal, the content management system (CMS) that powers over a quarter million web sites. The course demonstrates how to download and install Drupal, add content and graphics to a site, change layout and design elements, control visitor interactions, and expand the site’s capabilities beyond what’s available in Drupal core. Discussion of established best practices in each step to ensure that a site remains streamlined, secure, and up-to-date. Exercise files are included with the course.

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Drupal 7 Advanced Training

This course teaches web site designers how to take their sites to the next level with a few advanced techniques and the free and open-source Drupal software. Author Tom Geller shows how to configure the most popular add-on modules; use *nix commands and an FTP program to manage a Drupal site on a web server; change its visual appearance using the latest graphical tools; automate and speed through common tasks with Drush; integrate with social media sites; and see how “supermodules” like Panels, Context, Rules, and Features open up new worlds of code-free development.

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Responsive Design with Drupal

Other Topics

Moodle 2.6 Essential Training

Moodle is one of the most popular learning management systems for corporate and educational use. This course will help you create engaging online courses for business, K–12, and even college settings and get your students excited about learning. Aaron Quigley first gets you up to speed with the new features in Moodle 2.6, and then builds a digital classroom from the ground up, starting with a paper syllabus. Learn how to customize Moodle’s appearance and your preferences, structure a course, add content and students, create online quizzes, manage your gradebooks, and more.

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CMS Fundamentals

In CMS Fundamentals, James Williamson defines content management systems (CMSs) and explains their role in web site development. The course demonstrates the different CMS solutions available today, including WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla; reviews CMS terminology and best practices; and shows how to develop a content management strategy. Guidelines are also included for evaluating a potential CMS, whether hosted or self-hosted, open source or proprietary, and choosing a CMS based on a specific need or focus.

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Dreamweaver and WordPress: Core Concepts

In this course, author Joseph Lowery shows how to combine the utility of WordPress and the power of Adobe Dreamweaver to transition existing websites to the WordPress platform. The course demonstrates how to create new blog posts and pages, customize WordPress themes, and extend WordPress editable pages from within Dreamweaver. It also covers how to add Spry elements, add and customize plugins, and enhance WordPress-stored content with Dreamweaver’s dynamic pages. Plus, a chapter on responsive design shows how you can adapt your layouts for tablets and mobile devices.

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Managing a Hosted Web Site

Managing a Hosted Web Site shows how to set up a web site on a host’s server and perform common server tasks. Working in two web hosting utilities, cPanel and Plesk, as well as in a custom control panel, author Ray Villalobos explores purchasing a domain, setting up FTP accounts, and configuring web mail. The course also explains setting up password protection, creating a MySQL database, and working with subdomains.

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