I'm Karen McCamy...
It's been a fascinating & surprising journey!
Here's a bit about me & how I got here...
s
Why & How
I Developed a System
Picture this:
- Fresh out of university with my degree (at 50-something! Don't judge me!
LoL!) - Tried the only thing I knew at the time (this was 2008): hand-coding every page with html & CSS...
(What was I thinking???)
I struggled for 15 months on my own...trying to learn this "coding stuff!"
Finally, in desperation -- (I'm the world's most stubborn DIYer...even when it's counter-intuitive to my own better interest) -- I reached out desparately for help.
A wonderful lady came to my rescue. She offered to help me "clean things up" (she was referring to fixing the code I broke)... She refused my offers to pay her, saying she just wanted to help!
I broke things again!
This time she introduced me to WordPress, knowing from our brief conversations I didn't have deep pockets to hire a developer...and I obviously didn't want to spend 2+ years learning how to code!
At last...an intuitive & familiar workspace!
WordPress looked just like a familiar word processor! Turns out it was way more than that, but it was familiar & not intimidating!
I set out to learn all I could about WordPress, buying all sorts of books (which were obsolete within 12 months!
)
I also joined WordPress community groups and met some awesome fellow WordPressers... Among these were a LOT of beginners, who actually knew less than I did!
Fast forward...
It was clear that "beginner's classes" were in high demand (most of the community WordPressers were developers and designers, and coding was what they ate for breakfast!
They tried to help, but were all busy running their own businesses and just not able to devote personal time to "beginners."
So...I started a "spin-off" group -- just for beginners -- and vowed to teach them everything I knew...based on my own "fits & starts" in teaching myself WordPress...
It turns out I had learned a LOT in the 5+ years since first discovering WordPress!
I started classes rather informally, but as the demand for classes grew and I learned what my students' problems and challenges were, I built out the classes into a 4-day, structured 8-hour course.
Now, it's important to note these were face-to-face classes and I could only accommodate a limited number of students per class...
Even though I have taught well over 500 students over the last few years, I was turning away more students than I could teach! In spite of seeing so many successful students, this became a teacher's worst nightmare: turning away students who wanted to learn... As a teacher, my real satisfaction comes from seeing my students have those "AHA" moments when the light comes on and everything "clicks!"
So, I've been working on creating a place for teaching these basic skills to everyone who wants to learn!
That's the purpose of this website...
I'm delighted you are here...and hope you'll tell me how I can help you!
