Hands-On Learning With Lasting Impact
Training sessions are the practical bridge between reading and doing. They transform insights from the Community Forum, examples in the GitHub Repo, and updates shared through Twitter, LinkedIn, and the Facebook Group into guided practice. Sessions are interactive, designed to help you apply checklists from Cybersecurity Resources and updates from Web Security Trends. They are also excellent opportunities to connect with peers through live co-working in the Slack Community and Discord Community.
Unlike a static tutorial, a training session adapts. Facilitators adjust based on participant questions and needs. If a new security advisory is published, it gets folded in. If someone brings an example repo, we may walk through it step by step. The goal is not just to absorb but to practice and refine.
What Sessions Cover
- Setup and configuration: Getting your environment aligned, with examples hosted in the Repo.
- Performance tuning: Applying optimization strategies and testing them live, often previewed in Local Meetups.
- Security drills: Exercises drawn from Web Security Trends and reinforced by Cybersecurity Resources.
- Event prep: Practice runs for talks scheduled in the Conference Schedule.
- Community showcases: Participant-led demos, later highlighted across Slack, Discord, and the forum.
How to Join
Training sessions are listed on the Events page and mirrored on Twitter and LinkedIn. Registration links are posted here and in the forum. Some sessions are free thanks to donations and sponsorship; others may carry a nominal fee to cover materials. All recordings, when available, are added to the Conference Schedule.
To prepare, check the forum for pre-reading and the repo for starter code. Coordinators often share a Slack thread where participants can introduce themselves and list goals. This ensures facilitators tailor examples to the cohort.
Why Sessions Matter
Passive reading is one thing—active practice is another. Sessions help you stress-test ideas, apply them in a controlled setting, and walk away with tangible assets: working code, improved checklists, or a step-by-step plan. They also build confidence, ensuring that when you face similar tasks later, you’re ready.
For facilitators, training sessions are a chance to pilot material that may later become talks at Events or presentations on the Conference Schedule. For participants, they’re opportunities to meet peers who share similar challenges and goals. Many collaborations start in these cohorts and continue in Slack or Discord afterward.
Supporting Training Sessions
Sessions are resource-intensive. They require facilitators, moderators, prep materials, and reliable platforms. Support via Donate or Sponsor Us helps keep them accessible. Volunteers contribute by writing recaps in the forum, publishing examples in the repo, or organizing Local Meetups as practice grounds.
Many of our best security workshops began as sponsored sessions. With dedicated funding, we can provide captions, pay for accessibility tools, and publish evergreen guides. Each dollar or hour contributed multiplies the reach of the training program.
From Session to Skill
Training sessions are about transformation. They take you from “I’ve read about it” to “I’ve done it.” The repo, forum, and community channels ensure your practice isn’t lost—it becomes part of the collective knowledge.
After a session, share your outcomes. Post notes in the forum, screenshots in the Facebook Group, or refined examples in the repo. If you built something reproducible, propose it as a talk at a local meetup or add it to the conference schedule. This loop ensures each session doesn’t end when the call closes—it continues as part of the larger ecosystem.