08 Mar 2019
How I Teach University Digital Marketing Classes Using Themify! – Dr. Arnold Robinson III
It’s always exciting to hear the different ways and purposes people use Themify, and this month’s Customer Story is no different. We’re pleased to welcome Professor Robinson as well as an entire several years of graduates and undergrads of Colorado State University. They’ve been using Themify to create WordPress sites to flex their digital marketing skills and to help local businesses get their websites started.
About Me
My name is Dr. Arnold Robinson III and I am a Clinical Professor at Colorado State University. I teach undergraduate Digital Marketing and Social Media Marketing, and graduate level Search Engine Optimization and Digital Marketing.
I graduated with a CIS (Computer Information Systems) degree in 2001 and my first job out of college 2001 was as a web designer. I have been involved in websites and digital marketing ever since. Throughout the years I have obtained an MBA and a Ph.D. in marketing. I currently own a web design company on the side while I teach full time at CSU.
Project: Favela Interiors
Base Theme: Ultra
How I Teach Digital Marketing
In my digital marketing courses at Colorado State University I teach a very hands-on class. I don’t use a textbook and instead I write all the learning material myself, usually in the form of a blog post on my own website, The Digital Marketing Professor.
Students in my digital marketing class make two self-hosted WordPress websites throughout the semester. One for themselves and one for a local business. We use these websites to implement and run all the latest digital marketing technologies and techniques.
Project: Social Cocktail Bar
Base Theme: Ultra
Discovering Themify
I have been teaching Digital Marketing since 2008 and I started using Themify in my class in 2017. Before I found Themify my students were creating blogs on Blogger and then WordPress.com. However, neither of those platforms were powerful enough to teach my students the digital skills they needed. They were both very limited in what they could do.
I spent about 6 months researching a flexible framework for my students. I needed a flexible WordPress framework where my students could learn to make nice looking website. There were a few options I tested out but my sticking point was that I needed something flexible enough that one student could make a website for a non-profit, another could make a website for a coffee shop and another could make a portfolio resume website for him or herself.
Additionally I needed a framework that was easy to learn. Most of my students have zero experience with WordPress coming into the class so I needed a framework with a very small learning curve.
After Themify
I decided on Themify a few years ago and I haven’t looked back. Since then my students have made several hundred different websites with Themify's Ultra Theme and their drag-and-drop page Builder. We also have a lot of Fort Collins businesses running Themify-powered websites. With a couple clicks students can have any type of website up and then it just takes a little bit of configuring to fine tune it for the clients.
Local businesses have been pleasantly surprised with how nice looking the student produced websites have turned out. Additionally, once we turn over the websites, they are very easy for the businesses to update and maintain.
Looking Ahead
Themify has made it so easy for me to teach WordPress and Web Design. All the digital marketing WordPress tools and plugins work seamlessly with Themify as well. I have been able to step up the quality and professionalism of my students’ sites and as a result, my students get to finish the semester with one or two great looking websites and enough knowledge for an entry level digital marketing job.
If anyone tells me they want to make a website themselves I always recommend Themify as a very fast, very flexible solution to getting a great looking website up and running.
If you've enjoyed this story and Professor Robinson's insights, you'll likely enjoy his collection of Themify Tutorials, such as 'How to Edit the Menu or Header in Themify', or 'How to do On-Page SEO for a WordPress Site'.
Share Your Customer Story Now! Have you created an intriguing website using Themify? Do you have an interesting story? Whether your site is for a business, blog, or portfolio, let us help you showcase and share your beautiful work. Please contact us.
Mar 09, 2019 @ 01:21
I think that’s pretty cool that Dr. Arnold Robinson teaches search engine optimization, online marketing, and how to use the Internet to make money online potentially 24 hours a day to college students. Empowering them with priceless information how to use the Internet to be a future side hustle millionaire will help them have a greater respect for life and inspire them to be their own bosses by unleashing their hidden entrepreneurial creative potential and not rely on a narcissistic employer for a paycheck. :-)
Mar 10, 2019 @ 15:00
Great Work Dr. Arnold.
Are you teaching PPC also?
Jun 21, 2019 @ 13:40
Awesome work Dr. Arnold Robinson. Keep doing this.
Jul 23, 2020 @ 11:11
Great content and easily understandable.
Really lucky to be here , Themify is the best
Aug 28, 2020 @ 06:34
Hello Dr Arnold, Thanks for sharing your story and information about teaching digital marketing. It is very essential to learn WordPress and little bit about web if you’re a digital marketer. I am also learning new things everyday by myself.
Jun 16, 2021 @ 09:31
Digital marketing is a field of study which make you amazing.
i am a Digital Marketing intern.
Sep 18, 2021 @ 09:01
Themify is a great tool to get the best WordPress themes for your site. The base ultra theme and its drag and drop page builder is very easy to use.