Posted by Jason Johnson on September 25, 2010 at 6:48am
I am just getting started with Drupal to aid my interests in web development. I am majoring in computer science at Montana State University and am on my own as far as learning web development is concerned. I really wish they offered classes in JavaScript and PHP ect. If Drupal and its community are as powerful as I've been led to believe, I'm sure there's a possibility to gain more followers from the CS department. I'm following drupalmontana on twitter and am watching the #drupal-support channel on irc.freenode.net. Is there any other connections to social media and/or other resources that this group has to offer? Thanks in advance and it's nice to meet all of you.
Comments
Greetings from the greater Missoula area Jason.
First, welcome Jason to Western Montana Drupal group.
Yes Drupal and it's community is quite large (Worldwide) and definitely a very dedicated group. We have a strong albeit nuclear (small) group here in Missoula and surrounding areas.
There is also a meetup group most (if not all) of us belong to and it is great for connecting (as well as here) with other programmers in general and for Drupal meetups. You can always start a Drupal meetup group for the greater MSU area as well.
Once you sign up/register for a meetup account (free) you can do a search or drop in the url below.
http://www.meetup.com/Montana-Programmers/
If you are excited about Drupal and would like to shorten the learning curve I might suggest you invest in Lullabot training DVD's especially Site Building, CCK and Views editions. Although once you land on their products page your credit card may leap with joy.
http://store.lullabot.com/
Andy will surely chime in with his Drupal book recommendation so if you prefer to read vs. watch..don't worry you are covered. I will warn you that IMO the DVD's are a bit dry in delivery but the info is very good.
There is also all kinds of free stuff on their site and I am sure others will chime in and be glad to help. Keep in mind you are welcome to post discussion here any 'ole time you like.
Well that is enough to get you dangerously deep into Drupal...welcome again!
Christopher Cable
Welcome
Hey, Jason. Welcome to the Group.
Christopher, our most active poster, has chimed in with some helpful resources. If you're interested in a book, Using Drupal is the most commonly-recommended resource for those learning Drupal.
We haven't had any Drupal-specific meetups in Bozeman yet, although the Montana Programmers group that Christopher mentioned has started meeting regularly in Bozeman. Although their primary focus is not Drupal, they are a great resource. I'm very active with that group here in Missoula.
I'm not on IRC very regularly, but when I am, I hang out on #drupal and #drupal-support as ScottRouse.
As you begin learning Drupal, please feel free to hit me/us up with questions as they come up and, once again, welcome to our group!
-Scott
Scott Rouse
http://about.me/scott.rouse
MT Programmers
Of course, just after I posted this, I see your posting at the MT Programmers Meetup group...so, you found that. Good deal.
Scott Rouse
http://about.me/scott.rouse
Drupal at MSU Bozeman
Hey Jason,
I am also an MSU Drupal user, still fairly new to whole process but learning fast. I have a site I use for my classes in the Film Program at MSU here: www.theolipfert.com . I have a bunch of other sites that I am working on but that are not online yet. My office is in the VCB building on 11th and Grant -- stop by and say hi sometime.
Best,
Theo
(Theo Lipfert
Associate Professor
School of Film and Photography
MSU Bozeman)