Be True to ExpressionEngine
When some loud braggart tries to put me down / And says his school is great
I tell him right away / Now whats the matter buddy
Aint you heard of my school / Its number one in the state
Train-ee is pleased to offer ExpressionEngine classroom training in the native region of EE - the Pacific Northwest. We’ll have 4 days of Portland Oregon hospitality and scenery while learning about EE elbow to elbow with other like-minded folks. Some folks from EllisLab will also be making an appearance during the week—so if you missed them at SXSW in March here is your chance to catch up.
Days will be spent in an informal yet informative learning environment, and evenings we’ll get out on the town and see the sights.
Update!
EllisLab will be on hand at this class for an EE 2.0 demo, and an open Q&A time with Lisa Wess, Leslie Comacho, and Rick Ellis all in attendance. More details on the ExpressionEngine Blog.
The Location
This class will be in Portland, Oregon, USA.
70 miles from the Pacific and located between the Columbia and Willamette Rivers—Portland has a historic old town plus galleries, museums, Saturday Market, and theatre companies. It’s also a short distance from wineries, skiing and ocean beaches. The biggest draw for the class, however, is the nucleus of EllisLab employees and EE users in the area.
If you are from out of town, getting to Portland should be a breeze - just book a flight into the Portland International Airport. The venue for the class is just minutes away from the airport.
The Venue
This class will take place at the McMenamins Kennedy School.
What better place for a Train-ee class than in a former elementary school?
With guest rooms, classrooms (complete with chalkboards), restaurants, a soaking pool, and its own microbrewery all contained within the 1915-era building the Kennedy School is a unique venue and a simple choice for this class.
Room rates start around $115 and we’ve 10 of them on hold for the class. The hold only lasts until 30 days before the class, however, so make sure to book by June 11th if you want to stay with us at the school. You’ll need to mention Train-ee when you call or you will probably be told that the hotel is sold out. However - don’t give up if we run out of rooms at the school—downtown Portland and other lodging options are only 10 minutes away (and yes, you can then take the bus to school).
The Instructor
This class will be taught by Michael Boyink.
I’ve worked on dozens of ExpressionEngine-based websites, wrote the first ExpressionEngine book, produced the first commercial EE screencasts, and offer the first (and currently the only) EE classroom training available.
If the class size warrants it I’ll also have a skilled TA to help with the class as well.
The Schedule
This class runs from Monday, July 13th, 2009, through Thursday, July 16th, 2009.
The daily schedule is:
- 8:00 - 9:00 AM: Breakfast (provided)
- 9:00 - 10:30 AM: Instruction Time
- 10:30 - 10:50 AM: Break
- 10:50 - 12:00 PM: Instruction Time
- 12:00 - 1:00 PM: Lunch (provided)
- 1:00 - 2:30 PM: Instruction Time
- 2:30 - 2:50 PM: Afternoon Break (snack provided)
- 2:50 - 4:00 PM: Instruction Time
- 4:00 - 5:00 PM: Q&A
- 6:00 - ??: Optional evening activities (TBD, dinner may be provided, bring your friends/family)
Note: If you have any special dietary or physical requirements please let us know when registering so that we can accommodate you.
The Class Details
During the class we’ll cover the following:
- Brief history of EE
- Review of the “EEcosystem”
- Getting a conceptual understanding of EE
- EE Control Panel Overview
- Basics of coding in EE - tags and loops
- EE linking variables
- Loading an existing design template into EE
- Chunking the visual design into parent and embedded templates
- Passing variables to embedded templates
- Designing an ExpressionEngine architecture to power the visual design
- Implementing EE weblogs, custom fields and categories to hold content
- Building dynamic navigation menus
- Building page titles and setting navigation states dynamically
- Working with categories
- Working with relationships
- Using EE conditionals
- Using EE variables
- Troubleshooting tips
- Using plug-ins, modules and extensions
- Implementing different content types
- Setting up the site for client access and workflow
- Fighting SPAM
- Improving performance
- EE search engine - constraints and implementation
- Discussion forum module overview
- Wiki module overview
- Multiple Site Manager Overview
What If EE 2.0 Comes Out?
As of this posting, EE 2.0 has not been released in either beta or final form. What if EE 2.0 comes out between now and the start of this class? What version of EE would be used in the class then?
Here’s the deal: If EE 2.0 is out in beta form, I’ll work a preview/tour into the class. If EE 2.0 is through beta and has been released, I will try to gear as much of the class towards 2.0 as is humanly possible. Realize, however, that in order for all of the class materials to be ready on time I need to wrap them up roughly 2 weeks before the class, so depending on the birthdate of EE 2.0 there may or may not be time to work it into the course materials.
However - while EE 2.0 will have a redesigned Control Panel, and be re-implemented on CodeIgniter, and probably have some new features, the fundamentals learned in this class will still apply and be valuable.
The Testimonials
The Train-ee classroom training was excellent. The real life examples conveyed the best ways to extend ExpressionEngine’s capabilities. The environment was exceptional! The optional evening gatherings made the experience fun. We were able to brainstorm many of our ideas even after the class time was over! This allowed the formation of many relationships and extremely beneficial resources. If there is another session you are willing to teach, keep me posted!
Marianna Martinez
Mike is an insightful and competent instructor. His wife, Crissa, is a talented and gifted organizer. The two of them together proved to be a great team in making the ExpressionEngine classes both educational and loads of fun. If ever there is an advanced class, I wouldn’t miss it for the world!
Todd Daubs
Mike is one in a million. He genuinely cares for each individual in his class and wants them to succeed with their efforts to learn ExpressionEngine. Thanks Mike—EE is not a mystery to me anymore and I now have the tools needed to get the job done.
Bryan Juber, US Synthetic
Mike Boyink offers quality hands on EE training that makes you wish he’d hit the road and tour annually. I have never come across such a humble developer who has the patience and dedication that Mike gives to his students. EE is an amazing CMS tool and Mike certainly helps make EE more inviting and manageable. I highly recommend his training and his educational materials.
Josh Rubinstein
The Train-ee course was well worth the time and money spent. Mike Boyink’s patience, knowledge, and well-planned curriculum elevated my understanding of ExpressionEngine and got me excited about future projects. If that weren’t enough, he and his wife went out their way to make the entire experience comfortable and enjoyable.
Sean O'Brien, Western Pulp
Class Prerequisites
- Working knowledge of (X)HTML and CSS
- A Laptop
- MAMP/WAMP installed
- ExpressionEngine installed
To Signup
This class has already taken place - visit the Classroom Training page for information on current classes.
