Drupal 7 Training from Nancy Nicoles

Some say that Drupal is difficult. There may be a few challenges, but Drupal is a wonderful tool if you know how to parse its secrets. Discover the exciting things you can do with Drupal 7, the most recent version, at your own pace, at the time and place of your choosing, with ScreenShare training.

Explore the possibilities of Drupal with a trained guide. Learn from Nancy Nicoles, who wrote/adapted the Drupal 7 module tutorial on drupal.org. In addition to her experience as site builder, Nancy is also maintainer of the 'Form API reference', and co-maintainer of 'Examples for developers' on drupal.org. Visit her portfolio site for more information and an example of a site she built in Drupal 7.

Consider starting Drupal with Drupal Gardens. Especially if you are new to web development, you will find that path much easier.

How It Works

• Sessions are sold by time. For example, the Foundation Kit lasts an hour and a half. How many topics we cover in that time will depend on how quickly you understand the basic concepts. A Foundation Kit could possibly cover everything included in the Construction Kit for someone who has some experience with Drupal. If we finish the planned topics early, we will go on to additional subjects.
• All sessions can be oriented toward site administrators and content creators as well as site builders. Knowing HTML or CSS is not necessary.
• We will talk via phone or Skype, your choice. (Skype only outside US and Canada.) Sessions delivered in English only.
• Scheduled between 10:00 am and 6:00 pm Central Time (GMT - 5:00). Exceptions may be made to schedule two hours earlier or later.
• See below for details on screen sharing and how to order.

Available Sessions

Foundation Kit

What's covered: Initial site setup and enabling modules; users, roles, permissions, blocks, theme and logo. If training goes quickly, may include topics from the Construction kit session.

Introduction to Drupal 7. We can start from the very beginning, getting the server set up and an installation of Drupal 7 going. But if you already know how to do some of this yourself, we can cover more in the session. We'll get the site name and logo in place, other basic settings configured, look into user roles and permissions, and get a theme configured. If you prefer ongoing weekly sessions to cover the same information, see A Month of Sessions below.

Construction Kit

What's covered: Includes menus, more blocks, content types, comments, taxonomy, fields and more if time allows.

In this session, you'll get more in depth instruction on Drupal 7. If you move on to this session after finishing the Foundation Kit, we recommend allowing at least a week between the two so that you can absorb what you learned in the first session. We'll install the Global Redirect module, explore menus, understand the power of permissions, and create a content type with tags and fields. If you prefer ongoing weekly sessions to cover the same information, see A Month of Sessions below.

Text and Media Handling

What's covered: Installation and configuration of the modules needed to get a WYSIWYG text editor and image/media management into your site.

Drupal famously does not come with a WYSIWYG text editor out of the box, as many popular CMSs do. In this session, you will learn how to set up a text editor (like a word processor) for content on your site and how to configure it. You will also learn how to easily manage images, video and more on your site. You'll be amazed at how easy it is to manage the content on your Drupal site once you have these configurations in place.

Webform

What's covered: Installation and configuration of the Webform module, along with Node clone for easy duplication.

In this session, you will learn how to create forms, collect data, and send response emails using the Webform module. We will create a contact form, order form, request for information, and appointment block. In the course of building these forms, you will use every component Webform has to offer. If you have a specific form(s) you want to build, we can substitute it for one of the example forms.

Organize Content (Views)

What's covered: Installation and use of the Views module.

Saying that the Views module will help organize content on your site is somewhat underwhelming. Once you know what Views can do for you, you will understand why it is an indispensible for almost any Drupal website and possibly the most popular contributed module on drupal.org. Want to list all of a certain kind of content? or make a glossary? build a calendar with appointments shown? Then you need Views. With Views, you can enter data once, then reuse it as many times as you need in different contexts. From the Views project page: "Among other things, Views can be used to generate reports, create summaries, and display collections of images and other content." In this session, we will explore the default views included with the module, create a repository of articles searchable by taxonomy term, and create a recent news block and page. See the Scheduled Sessions page for a Views example.

Display jQuery

What's covered: jQuery accordion, calendar, tabs, and dialog (overlay)

Add interactivity to your site with jQuery. Use the jQuery UI from the admin interface without writing a module. I will send you 5 HTML templates, and 1 jQuery template (which can be used for any of the jQuery functions), then explain exactly how to make them work. Knowledge of javascript or jQuery is not necessary, although some understanding of programming principles is helpful. Note: these jQuery scripts are for display only, not for collecting data. Check out jQuery Examples to see these libraries in action.

A Month of Sessions

What's covered: Whatever you need, from site setup and configuration, to SEO, to text & media handling, Views and more

Want weekly sessions? With the 'Month of Sessions' option, we will explore the many facets of Drupal, with more exercises. Try out what you learn during the week and have your questions answered in the next session. Don't worry about remembering everything all at once; we'll go over things until you are comfortable. If you are learning with videos or tutorials, we can go over the confusing parts. You can continue with the 'Month of Sessions' until you feel you have learned all you want.

Tell Me Again (Review)

My goal is to give you all the information you need in a given session to accomplish the tasks at hand. But when you get onto the computer by yourself, you may find that you don't quite remember some things, or there are other questions you forgot to ask. You need the Tell Me Again session. We can go over anything included in the previous session, or other issues that pertain to it.

How to order

Click the 'Order Now' button beside the session that interests you, and you'll be taken to the order form. You'll be asked to choose a date and time for your session. If purchasing consecutive sessions, allow at least 15 minutes between them. The time you choose must begin no earlier than 11:00 am and end no later than 8:00 pm Central Time (GMT - 5:00). Be sure to check the Scheduled Session page for unavailable times. Otherwise choose any time that works with your schedule. If you prefer, email me first through the Contact form to confirm the time you want.

You'll also be asked for an email address and contact information for the session. The email address will not be sold or used for anything but sending you information about the session, and the contact information will only be used for scheduling the session and for the session itself.

When you submit the form, you will be directed to a payment page with a button to take you to the Paypal payment screen. You may pay later if you choose. You will receive a confirmation email with additional information, and a link to Paypal for payment. Payment must be received before the start of scheduled session. Sessions will not go on without payment received. If scheduling conflicts arise, you may reschedule or cancel the session up until 1 hour before the session is scheduled to begin. Instructions for preparation will be included in your confirmation email. Soon after, I will contact you to confirm the date and time of your session.

If you have suggestions for new session topics, email using the category 'Training: New topics'. For other questions, email with the category 'Training: General questions'.

Screen sharing software

Communication is via phone or Skype, your choice. (Skype only outside the US and Canada.) I will contact you to begin the session.

If you choose to receive your training via Skype, we will use Skype for screen sharing. This is the easiest way to go: No extra software to load, no session number.

If you receive training via telephone (US and Canada only), you will need to download the correct screen sharing software for your operating system as follows:

• Windows or Mac: Join.me (https://join.me/)
• Linux: Mikogo (http://www.mikogo.com/)

Let me know in your order form if you prefer a different screen sharing program. When we are ready to begin, you will give me a code so that I can share your screen.

Gift certificates available - email for details!