Earlier this year, a number of people gathered in Sarasota, FL, to attend WPCampus, the first conference devoted to WordPress in higher education. As the organizers continue to accept applications to host the event in 2017, the team is also organizing a virtual conference called WPCampus Online. WPCampus Online is an all-day event planned for Monday, January 23rd, 2017.
Organizers are accepting speaker applications until Friday, November 18th at Midnight. The event will have multiple tracks and opportunities to network with each other. Rachel Carden, lead organizer, says they’re looking for a variety of session topics with a focus on ‘Why WordPress in Higher Education?’
“This is a highly valuable topic to our community that can range anywhere from case studies to how to overcome biases and pitch WordPress to your administration,” Carden said.
Carden emphasized that WPCampus Online is supplemental to the in-person event and is not a replacement, “We as a community hope that, by taking advantage of readily available streaming technology, we can make the education and development we wish to provide more accessible for our community,” she said.
“This type of event not only helps those limited by a travel budget but allows us to increase the number of educational opportunities throughout the year.”
It will be interesting to see if there are any sessions dedicated to clearing up some of the misconceptions of WordPress in higher education. According to a user survey conducted earlier this year, security, scalability, and WordPress’ reputation are misconceptions that are slowing its growth in higher education.
Pricing information for WPCampus Online was not available at the time of writing. Those interested in attending are encouraged to keep an eye on the event’s website for updates.
Something else to point out is that our call for speakers is not limited to those who work in higher ed as you do not have to be in higher ed to bring value to our community. Please check out the WPCampus Online Call for Speakers, especially if you need topic inspiration, and consider contributing to our cause and community.