Now that Views and CCK have hit release candidate (read: stable, almost ready for primetime) versions for Drupal 6, we should start seeing a significant crossover from new sites being built in Drupal 6 instead of Drupal 5.  If you’re new to Drupal, or simply exploring Drupal 6 for the first time, here are a few screencasts to get you up to speed on the new versions of the most important modules for Drupal.

Views 2

Introduction to Views 2 in Drupal 6
A 10-minute video that will give you an excellent introduction to using the new version of Views.  This video is a bit older and some of the interface is different compared to the current release.  However, if you want a quick overview, this is the video for you. 

New Features in Views 2
At over half an hour, this screencast goes into much more detail about Views, and if you want a more extensive tutorial with narration, give this one a watch.  It doesn’t cover all the new features, but Greg’s done a great job of showing off what Views can do!

Also, make sure you install the Advanced Help module to get quick links to help topics while building your views.

Panels 2

Currently there is not a version of Panels available for Drupal 6.  However, it’s well on the way (track progress of the code here), and unlike Views, will not be changing drastically from Drupal 5 to Drupal 6.  So, rest assured that your knowledge acquired on using Panels 2 for Drupal 5 will still be quite applicable for Drupal 6. 

Panels 2 Overview
This 8.5 minute video gives you a great introduction to Panels 2, starting at the very basics.  It will show you how to install the module, create a basic Panel as well as overriding nodes with Panels.

Advanced Panels 2 – Contexts
This is a 6 minute video that covers more advanced use of Panels 2, the feature called Context.  After you’ve got a basic handle on Panels, this is a great one to watch to see what it can do.

CCK 2

CCK 2 doesn’t feel as radically different as the update for Views, but there’s a lot of new goodness happening under the hood.  Alas, no screencast is available yet, but we can get you rolling in the right direction…

CCK Overview
An 18 minute screencast covering the basics and walking you through a demo of using CCK to create a custom content type and fields. 

You can also review a list of new features added to CCK 2 for Drupal 6.  Some highlights include:

• Ajax ‘Add More’ button to easily add multiple values to your fields
• Drag and drop field rearranging
• Content Permissions module to add access control to fields
• Enhanced integration with Views 2, particularly with reference fields and filters

Diving into Drupal 6

Unless you’re building an e-commerce site or perhaps an extensive social networking site or one that requires particular specialized modules that have not yet been upgraded to Drupal 6, now’s the time to start diving into this great new version of Drupal!

PS. Not sure what’s so new and great about Drupal 6?  Here’s another handy video to add to your watch list.