ExpressionEngine in Bloom
Train-ee is again hosting the world’s only public ExpressionEngine classroom training back where it all started in Holland, Michigan. Enjoy 4 days of hometown hospitality, great scenery and tasty food while learning about EE elbow to elbow with other like-minded folks.
Days will be spent in an informal yet informative learning environment, and evenings we’ll get out on the town and see the sights.
The Location
This class will be in Holland, Michigan USA.
While being best-known for the annual Tulip Time Festival, Holland is nicely situated on Lake Macatawa, which connects to Lake Michigan. TulipTime officially ends two days before the class, but there’s a good chance many of the flowers will still be in bloom for your viewing pleasure.
Besides tulips Holland offers beautiful sunsets, clean sandy beaches, lighthouses, historic shopping districts, microbreweries, coffeehouses, bikepaths—and I’m going to do my best to get you out of the hotel and enjoy the area with some after-hours activities.
Getting here is easy— you can fly into the Gerald R. Ford International Airport (a free shuttle is available), grab one of the daily Amtrak trains from Chicago (the Holland terminal is 2 blocks from the hotel) or drive from either Chicago or Detroit in less than 3 hours.
The Venue
This class will take place at the CityFlats Hotel.
CityFlats is one of those fun, funky spaces that will really inspire your creative side - I’ve never stayed at a hotel quite like it. CityFlats is a “green hotel” - it plans on being one of the first hotels in the United States to attain LEED certification.
CityFlats is offering a great rate of $109/night, discounted from $189, for the training. Train-ee is partnering with CollectiveIdea for this class - so if you book at CityFlats you’ll need to mention “CollectiveIdea” to get the special rate.
There are other local options as well.
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.
The Schedule
This class runs from Tuesday, May 11th, 2010, through Friday, May 14th, 2010.
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 About EE 2.0?
Here’s the deal - our experience with the training tells us the best approach is to use the latest released version of ExpressionEngine as our basis for the class.
As of this posting, EE 2.0 has been released in public beta form - so unless that changes (and soon enough that I have time to revise the class materials) the class will use the latest version of the 1x branch of EE.
I’ll, however, work a preview/tour of EE2 into the class.
Keep in mind that while EE 2.0 has a redesigned Control Panel and several new features the fundamentals learned in this class will still apply and be valuable.
The Testimonials
Some say, “Those who can, do, and those who can’t, teach.” Mike proves them wrong, bringing his in-depth EE knowledge and real-world experience in to the classroom. Two thumbs-up for Boyink and his refreshing approach to education!
Bob Romanko, Alaska
The Train-ee session on ExpressionEngine was of enormous value to me. Mike Boyink has a a real command of the topic and his experience was invaluable. The training covered using the basic framework, potential pitfalls, and making the most of the software. As a small business owner the cost of training is a serious consideration but I left feeling that I got more than my moneys worth.
Mary Ellen Slater
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 Class in San Antonio was a life saver! Mike taught a 4 day session on EE that allowed me to completely understand the CMS. I couldn’t wait to get home and start working…even though I didn’t want to leave the beautiful weather and B&B. Not only that, he continues to mentor through our learning, after the class is finished!
Lauren Gray, Flipboxstudios.com
The Train-ee class was phenomenal! It was both comprehensive and easy to understand. Held in a fun location, it made for a great week. I’m willing to bet that even those who think they know ExpressionEngine could learn a thing or two from Mr. Boyink!
John Knotts, S3VN2
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.
