UWM Workshop Template

How to use this Template

1. Fork this repo
2. Modify _config.yml
3. Modify index.md
4. Create lessons pages in markdown
5. Add setup instructions, instructor notes, or other auxiliary pages
6. Clean up template pages
7. Problems? Suggestions? Need Help

Fork this repository

1. Sign in to GitHub
2. Navigate to this repository’s main page.
3. In the top-right corner, click the Fork button.
4. Choose your GitHub account (or an organization you belong to) as the destination.
5. (Optional) Rename your forked repository and update the description.
6. Click Create fork.

Now you can clone the repository to your local machine and build using Jekyll (recommended!) or modify the files directly in GitHub.

Modify _config.yml

Edit the site-wide settings in _config.yml to match your workshop:

These values control the core identity and deployment details of your workshop site:

title: UWM Workshop Template # The main title displayed in the header and metadata
email: srappel@uwm.edu # The primary contact email shown on the site
author: Stephen Appel # The author or maintainer of the workshop
github_username: uwm-libraries # The GitHub username or organization for the workshop repo
website: https://uwm.edu/libraries/ # The website for the author or hosting institution
description: >-
  A reusable template for building self-paced technology workshops at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
baseurl: "/workshop-template" # Path to the site when hosted (usually the repo name)
url: "https://uwm-libraries.github.io" # The base domain for the hosted site
...

• title^(required), email^{(recommended)}, author^{(recommended)}, github_username^(optional), and website^(optional) personalize your workshop.
• description^{(recommended)} appears in metadata for search engines and social sharing.
• baseurl^(required) must match your repository name when hosting on GitHub Pages (e.g., /workshop-template).
• url^(required) should be your GitHub Pages domain or custom domain.

Modify index.md

Update the home page (index.md) with your workshop introduction, goals, and links. You can use Liquid syntax like {{ site.title }} to insert site-wide values defined in _config.yml.

Include any special instructions or expectations for participants.

Create lessons pages in markdown

Add markdown files to the _lessons folder. Use YAML front matter to set:

---
layout: home
title: "Lesson 1: Introduction"
position: 1
permalink: /lessons/intro/
---

The position value controls the order in lesson lists.

Modify the “title” object to reflect the lesson title.

Use the permalink to set a “pretty” url. Keep /lessons/ in place!

Add setup instructions, instructor notes, or other auxiliary pages

Add markdown files to the _more folder or modify the existing ones.

Use YAML front matter to set:

---
layout: home
title: "Instructor Notes"
position: 2
permalink: /more/notes/
---

The position value controls the order in “more resources” lists.

Modify the “title” object to reflect the page title.

Use the permalink to set a “pretty” url. Keep /more/ in place!

Clean Up

Remove any template pages from /_lessons and /_more that you aren’t using.

Remove this page from navigation by setting

published: false

in thie page’s front matter.

Update favicon.svg and logos in assets/images if desired.

Update colors and styles in assets/css/main.scss if desired.

Problems? Suggestions? Need Help

If you run into issues or have ideas to improve this template:

• Open an issue or pull request on the repository
• Share suggestions with your workshop’s maintainers
• Check the documentation for Jekyll and Liquid for troubleshooting