More than a dozen intrepid journalists set out recently to join the blogosphere with a crash course in WordPress.

The sudden immersion in WordPress took place over two workshops, with the beginning course sponsored by Cerritos College. At the beginning course, students and professionals alike got a chance to feel out WordPress.com’s interface and advanced features.

“I’ve been a member of AAJA for three years, and this is the first event I’ve ever gone to – and I’m beginning to think I’ve been missing out! I had no idea that they ran such helpful workshops,” Cal State Long Beach student Margaret Sharpe wrote in a note after the beginning workshop.

The advanced workshop, sponsored by Santa Monica College, which required participants to purchase a domain name and hosting in advance, covered FTP, installing themes and plugins, SEO and more.

Veteran AAJA member Denise Poon attended both workshops and was surprised there weren’t more journalists taking advantage.

“It was a great idea and the knowledge was incredibly helpful in introducing many of us to skills we will need to utilize as the profession changes. These types of interactive workshops that teach practical skills are so valuable. Additionally, our tutorials and suggested links compliment the sessions,” she wrote.

Both workshops were taught by yours truly, coordinated by AAJA-LA’s national board rep, Leezel Tanglao and funded thanks to a generous grant from Verizon.

Future workshops are a possibility — however, there must be demand. Members, if you want to take part in a future WordPress workshop, leave a comment and you’ll be first on the list.

“I really enjoyed both of them. The informal, Q&A part was useful for filling in gaps, and the more structured side of the presentation walked us through the steps in a way that was easy to follow. It helped a lot to see how Darleene had used WordPress for her particular interests rather than just having a general discussion about how anyone might *hypothetically* use it. The particulars of Darleene’s experience can be applied to any range of topics, and it was great to hear specifics–especially on the ups and downs of services and applications she’d tried. I’d definitely take another workshop like this if one was offered,” wrote Corey Takahashi.