Introduction to Drupal
Drupal is a free and open source Content Management System written in PHP. With Drupal you can create a simple personal homepage, a company website, a blog, an ecommerce site, etc. Hundreds of modules are available for use with Drupal. You can create slide shows, events calendars, a contact form, product catalogs, polls or surveys, guestbook, a forum or blog, or newsletter signup. The possibilities are endless. Basically, there are no limits with Drupal, you really can make any type of website you want.
Objectives for this class are:
Outline
Week 1 - Getting Started with Drupal
Week 2 - Administration and Site Maintenance
Week 3 - Modules
Week 4 - Content types and Views
Week 5 - Themes
Week 6 - Drupal Website
Prerequisites
Good understanding of HTML. CSS and PHP knowledge would be helpful but not required.
Requirements
You must have an UNIX/LINUX web host account that supports PHP and has a MySQL database.
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Frank Stepanski has over nine years experience in the IT field ranging from Senior Analyst, Designer and Web Developer. Frank has worked with technologies such as PHP, MySQL, ASP.NET, SQL Server as well as HTML, CSS and JavaScript. He has also taught web programming classes over five years at a local community college as well as online classes.Testimonials
Ratings
"The class provided a good, basic introduction to Drupal. By the end I felt comfortable navigating the options and I came away with a solid understanding of Drupal architecture. Frank Stepanski's lessons were clear and thorough, and he was responsive and patient. Because Drupal is a robust, multi-layered and complex CMS, however, I strongly recommend that an intermediate level class be offered to give students an opportunity to hone their skills." - Charlotte Spinner
"Intro to Drupal is over - was an intensiv 6 weeks and very complex. Nearly impossible to have such a complex framework in only six weeks - thanks to Frank I managed but Im hungry for more. So Im looking forward to the intermediate class. Thank you so much.
Dorothy" - Dorothy Wegmueller-Ngudle
"I think the course was about as good as it can be given the limitations of the medium. Certainly no complaints about the content or the instructor -- Frank does an excellent job. Screencasts might be an effective teaching tool.
I would love to see an intermediate class that gets into Drupal theming and possibly performance tuning. And maybe an advanced class that gets into writing modules.
Thanks!" - David Mintz
"I found this course very useful. It gave me the basic understanding of how drupal is put together. The final assignment in particular helped, without handing out everything on a plate, it made me work things out for myself. The instructor Frank was very helpful and responded to all queries." - Jude Shanahan
"I took the Intro to Drupal course in March 2011. Frank was always very accessible, responsive, and patient. I also appreciate his thorough handouts complete with screenshots. I received a good base of knowledge to build off of in his class and highly recommend him." - Linda Brown
"I really liked this class a lot. The materials were well-thought out and easy to follow. Frank was supportive and helpful to all of us.
I hope to continue to study Drupal with Frank, having dipped my toes in now." - Donna Jones
"I got useful information in this class that I never would have got easily on my own. It would have taken me forever to figure out how to set up blogs, forms, newsgroups and the other things covered.
I saved all the lessons for reference." - Letitia Wetterauer
"Putting together a Drupal course for remote learning is not easy. Frank did a great job in organizing the content and lectures in such a manner that made it relatively straightforward to follow and fun to learn. There is a lot more Drupal beyond this course and I look forward to hopefully a part 2 or intermediate level course soon." - MICHAEL NACHSHEN
"This course is really well organized and made learning Drupal easy - I am using it for a new site for a client already. Frank is very helpful and quick to respond to questions or problems. I would definitely be interested in an intermediate class." - Erika Maston
"Excellent Course, Frank allowed us to work at our own pace and was always encouraging and helpful.
Look forward to signing up for intermediate or advanced level courses in Drupal." - Lin Taylor
"Great class! I learned so much in it and now ready to set up my first Drupal website. Frank is an excellent teacher. His lectures are very well written and easy to follow. Frank is very knowledgeable about the material and quickly responds to students’ questions. Definitely, recommend this class to anyone interested in learning CMS. Looking forward to the Intermediate level course in Drupal!" - Yelena Williams
"This Drupal Class was very helpful in learning, using and applying this robust program. Frank was helpful and very responsive to concerns, questions and challenges that myself and others had." - Amy Dickinson
"The Intro to Drupal class was very useful. Frank is a very good teacher; he provided a lot of interesting and relevant materials, and always responded to questions or made suggestions very quickly. The course was just the right level for me - someone with experience with software but not much in the way of programming skills. I hope there will be a Drupal 2 course. Thanks Frank!" - Denise Wirth
"I was very excited to see Drupal added to the class roster.
Frank did an excellent job guiding us through installation of the software, navigating the core, adding modules that improved functionality, and giving us a glimpse of the power of Drupal.
I learned more than I thought I would in this class. My goal was to have a working knowledge of Drupal's architecture and functionality so I could work with a programmer to create the functionality of the site and then I work with the client to build the site content.
I am not a programmer and this class was understandable to me. I would like to take an intermediate class for NON programmers and learn more about themes, panels, and layout more fully.
Thanks, Frank!
-Lisa Klein, November, 2010." - Lisa Klein
"Terrific class! After using Wordpress for the past 6 months and a little of Joomla, I wanted to round out my skill set. Wasn't sure about Drupal, but in the end, really glad I took the class. Instructor Frank is right there with guidance and resources when needed.
Many of us are hungry now for an intermediate class with Frank. Highly recommend!!!
Elaine, from Oregon" - Elaine Swyt
"Absolutely top of the line! Frank has been immediately responsive to all queries, attentive to questions with specificity, and uncommonly knowledgeable about all the topics covered in class." - Robert Barrington
"Frank was a fantastic instructor. He was always happy to help students and answer questions. He shared his knowledge and made the class fun and interesting. I hope there will be an Intermediate Drupal class!" - Lynn Eades
