Back in my Edublogs and CampusPress days, we had a simple dream: a WordPress site for every student.
That might sound ambitious, but it wasn’t really about the technology itself. It was about giving young people a real space on the web that they owned, controlled, and could publish to the world. We wanted students to experience actual technology, not some watered-down “educational” version of it.
And man, did we work hard at it.
Our humble blog, TheEdublogger.com, became our megaphone. Sue Waters, my partner in crime, and I did everything we could think of to empower educators and students. Tutorials, resources, community support — whatever it took. We’d refresh those old blog ranking websites religiously, and when we’d see our posts sitting at number one for education? I ain’t gonna lie, that was a massive thrill.
But what’s happening now at wordpress.org/education goes even further than we ever imagined.
Beyond Blogging: Open Source as Education
The new WordPress Education initiative isn’t just about giving students websites. It’s about pulling them into the entire open-source ecosystem — teaching them how collaboration works at scale, how communities build software together, and how their contributions can actually matter to something bigger than a grade.
And with AI transforming everything around us, these students are getting exposed to the cutting edge of what’s possible on the web.
Three Pathways In
WordPress.org/Education runs three core initiatives, each offering a different entry point into the community:
WordPress Campus Connect brings hands-on WordPress workshops directly to universities. Events are hosted as half-day or full-day workshops where students get hands-on training in website building and discover the many ways they can contribute to and grow within the WordPress ecosystem. Anyone connected to an educational institution can organize one — no prior experience needed. They’ve already run events in Spain, Costa Rica, India, and the Philippines.
WordPress Credits takes things a step further by integrating WordPress directly into university curricula. It’s a contribution-based program that connects higher education students with the global open-source community, offering real-world experience with mentorship to help students fulfill academic requirements while contributing directly to WordPress. Students work on actual projects — translation, content creation, development, design — and earn recognition that shows up on their WordPress.org profiles. Universities in Italy, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Latvia, Bangladesh, and Poland are already participating.
Student Clubs keep the momentum going year-round. These allow students to sustain on-campus WordPress activities, creating space for ongoing learning through workshops, study groups, and real-world projects. You only need one faculty member and two student co-leads to get one started.
Get Involved
The application process is open, and they’re actively recruiting participants right now. I’m happy to put anyone interested in touch with organizers, too.
Full Circle
I spent over a decade getting WordPress into the hands of millions of students. To see it formalized like this — with university partnerships, mentorship programs, official recognition, and a direct connection to the global WordPress community — well, it hits different.
Check out wordpress.org/education and see how you can be part of it.
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