This is where you can catch up on my latest thoughts on my TLC 311 class.
| Date | Entry |
| 9/18 | So far I am really enjoying this class. At first I was really apprehensive over all the previous web design knowledge my classmates had, but Prof. Royal does a good job of helping me when I'm lost. What I like about this class is the feeling of power I now have. Designing a web page seems so hard and complicated, but this class is teaching me that with the right knowledge, it is rather easy. Granted I am saying this now when class has only been in session for a few weeks, but look at what I can do already! I have gone from having absolutely no clue to being able to write HTML code. I am learning it is an impressive thing to tell people, that I can design a website, because so many people out their were just like me and had no understanding of how one would do that. I am hoping that when I am done I can design a website for my family, as I had mentioned on the Home page. I have so many cousins, aunts, and uncles that it is hard for us to keep up with each other. People move, change phone numbers, and no one ever knows what peoples'email addresses are. It is also going to be nice to be able to put down on a resume that I have had lessons in web design. In class we have a student every day give a short presentation on a website that they enjoy or like. I think that is a good idea for this class. We get to see different sites out there that we might not have and we also get to analyze them in a way that I never would have before. I can now look at a website, and even with my limited knowledge, be able to tell some major mistakes people made. Don't worry, I'm not getting ahead of myself, I know that there is still so much that I need to learn before I have it all down. Another thing I enjoy about this class is the book we are using. It is a fool-proof guide on how to design websites and it explains things in an easily understood manner. I'm glad that I bought it and I don't plan on returning it, I think my little brother would also be very interested in reading it, so I plan on having the book around for awhile. Some parts of the book may be a little too basic for me, but for someone like my parents who have a limited understanding on how the internet works, this book would be perfect for them. Well, thanks for reading my first entry, I hope you follow along and see how much my website progresses as the semester goes on. I'll keep posting my thoughts and please send an email if you have anything you would like to say! |
| 9/25 | We turned in our projects last Thursday and I was glad to get it all done. This project did not seem so bad/difficult. I think that is because we had such little freedom with how the website was to be designed and all you had to do was just follow a few rules and make sure you had everything required on the site. I think this next project will be a little more difficult because she is now going to teach us how to use software made for designing sites, which means that there will be a lot more playing room. I got an A on my site, which is awesome. I don't know how much it means though because like I said, the project was not all that difficult. I looked over someof my classmates sites and saw some things I really liked and some other things that worked for them but I would not do for myself. It is interesting the different approaches everyone takes when all given the same assignment. I liked looking at everyone's stuff. We went over stylesheets in class and I got pretty confused. I don't know why because it is not like stylesheets are a difficult concept to grasp or anything. But for some reason I just could not understand and I could not make my stylesheet work with my pages. I got some help and now all the bugs are worked out. |
| 10/2 | By now, the newer stuff we have covered is stylesheets, using Adobe Photoshop, and Dreamweaver. Dreamweaver was easy and hard at the same time. What it can do for you in creating a web page is very nice, there are a lot of buttons and tools that you need to know about before you can get much of anything accomplished. I like being able to open the page in Dreamweaver and being able to click on any part of it and the HTML code box/split screen I have open will have a cursor moved to the spot I clicked on. It helps out because now you do not have to read through the code just to find a particular spot. Using Adobe Photoshop is somewhat like using Dreamweaver, there are some nice amenities but once again, a ton of buttons and tools you need to know in order to make anything work. Working with photos is not that complicated, I think at least, and that could be due to the fact that I have already had some experience with Photoshop and pictures. Since having a lot of pictures on a page is not a good idea, I am looking forward to learning how to make my own buttons in Photoshop versus learning how to manipulate photos. |
| 10/9 | AAGH...I got so confused and lost this week. We started moving really fast and I think that is because Cindy wanted to give us time in class to be able to work on stuff. But for me that just meant spend the rest of the time trying to figure out everything she showed us. It is hard to remember what she is doing up on the screen when you go and try to replicate it. I figure she is just trying to give us a general idea on how some of the tools work and the rest is up for us to figure it out by playing with the software. Which is exactly what I need to do. I have been spending so much time on my stylesheet, trying to get the right color scheme down that I have not been able to get much button making time in. I need not to spend so much time on my colors! I started making my table for my front page and that was a pain in the butt. I don't know why tables are so important but I do know that their annoying to make. I know what I am going to add on my hobbies page, but I need to think more about the layout of it. We went over that in class too, the steps in creating a webpage. Designing it was one of the first things to do, which is not very fun I think, but makes a lot of sense now that I am in the middle of designing another page and some new buttons. |
| 10/14 | Our project is due on Thursday and I am a little apprehensive about my project. There are so many decisions to make about graphics and I don't know about my pictures uploading. Webspace has been moving so slow these past few days I don't know how anyone is getting anything finished. I really like my page design now, with a red bar running down the left hand side. I tried so many different styles that I thought there might never be an end. I am really interested in seeing what everyone else in the class comes up with, we really have some people who know what their doing when it comes to their sites. Well here is to having a good turnout for my second project. |