I am now three, or is it four, weeks into learning Drupal and am starting to see the bigger picture of the software better. In the beginning I wanted to install every module and theme I heard mentioned based on a few words about the module and no other research. In the two sites I am working on I have stripped out all the modules I am not using directly at present. It really helps me to see what happens when I do add a new module.
One module I have had trouble with is jstools and specifically wforms. I couldn't get wforms to run on my sites but I have gone to the creators of wforms, FormAssembly and am using their service to create web forms. It works really well as I download the forms to my site and link to them from within drupal. I am migrating the gmslegal.com.au site to Siteground server from my own site so it should be up in the next day or so. There you will see the wforms in action. Look at "Instruct us to Act" and "Obtain a quote" links in the menus.

About 2 weeks in and I am working on two Drupal sites. I started with the site for the short course our college runs at cor.robonline.id.au. log in is (teacher/teacher) I have created some pages and added some modules that looked interesting. I particularly like the front page module as it gives an initial message and instructions for anyone who finds the site and then has a different front page for students once they log in. The events module also looks great. What you see is about 8-10 hours of work. I admit it is pretty primative but I have a plan to get the site to where I want it to be over January. The main things I want to do are to 1) rewrite the single page for each of the three topics into book pages, 2) tidy up the themes including the banner and primary links, 3) get the events/calendar working so it can send email messages to students at certain dates, for example, when an assignment is due and 4) I don't really want students contributing to the content areas so I want tot get the blog working so they have a place to contribute Forums will probably do the same thing.

Drupal Podcasts from Dudertown.com - see http://dudertown.com/howto_classes - Overview for beginners!

All the talking and planning is behind us and we are ready for Drupal CMS Academy lift off! Check out the new and improved Drupal CMS Academy web site!

The Drupal CMS Academy is a collaborative learning environment created by and for you. Want to know more about the Academy? Browse the new Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) guide to get answers to the most common questions about the Academy and what it means to participate as an Intern. As an Academy Intern, you will receive help achieving your Drupal related performance goals as you help others in the community meet their Drupal web design objectives. Whether you are new to Drupal or you are a seasoned Drupal veteran (with the scrapes and bruises to prove it), your participation is welcomed and appreciated! 

If you are interested in becoming an Intern in the inaugural session at the Drupal CMS Academy, please register as an Academy Intern and join us at the next LIVE web cast session this Monday, December 4th at 9:00 pm ET in North America (click here for global times). See you at the Academy!

Most Drupal users agree that the best way to improve performance when installing, administering or customizing a Drupal site is to do it! While many Interns already have a Drupal site up and running, most novice Drupal users do not. Unfortunately, one of the many obstacles preventing novice users from developing a Drupal based web site is a lack of expertise in setting up a web site with a web host. Therefore, the Academy offers access to a temporary site (or “sandbox”) on the WorldBridges network to provide a safe training ground for Interns to set up and maintain an initial Drupal installation. If you would like access to a temporary sandbox, please note this request when you register as an Intern.

Live web casts are a hallmark of the WorldBridges network and are used to facilitate ongoing Academy sessions. The weekly live web casts scheduled on the Events Calendar at the Academy allow Interns to see and hear about how to use Drupal features and to share their Drupal discoveries with others. The web cast tools are free, reliable and accessible to both Mac and Windows users. The web cast tools include:

• Skypecasts – see https://skypecasts.skype.com/skypecasts/home
• WebHuddle for screen sharing – see https://www.webhuddle.com
• Text based chat via the existing chat module on the Academy web site – see http://cmsacademy.net/drupal/chat

A Drupal mentor is assigned to each Intern at the start of an Academy session. The role of the mentor is to provide feedback and support to the Interns as they move through the three Phases of an Academy session. While mentors are the more experienced members of the community, they do not have all the answers. Rather, they act as guides for the Interns and play an active role in facilitating live web sessions and the moderating the Intern Forum discussion boards.

Their primary responsibilities are to:

• Guide new Interns through the three Phases of the Academy,
• Provide vision regarding the possibilities of using Drupal,
• Encourage the Interns progress, and
• Facilitate the sharing of experiences among all Interns.

The following tools are resources are available to Interns of the Drupal CMS Academy.