Journal 6: Looking Back. Looking Ahead.

As we enter into the home stretch of GED 512, I look back at our accomplishments with appreciation. The progress has been steady; each class and assignment building upon the previous lesson. Jennifer Robbins' "Learning Web Design" parallels our sessions nicely. I appreciate its clear and methodical approach; the step-by-step exercises, summaries, and end-of-chapter quizzes helping to reinforce the material.

One of my more rewarding moments in this class was the revelation of the synergy between structure and design in web development. Specifically, how HTML and CSS work together. I'm learning the importance of semantically marking up a document, then breathing life into it with CSS. It's like building a house. As soon as the walls, roof, windows, doors, etc. are built - the construction equivalent of HTML – a decorator is brought in to personalize it. Windows are treated, paint is applied, and eventually the place is furnished. CSS as interior decorator?

The challenges for me still, though, are plenty: Being mindful of the plethora of declarations, classes, and tags and when to best utilize them; all browsers are not created equal; what you see is seldom what you get; and the challenges of responsive design.  

One of the exercises that I found gratifying was the “Pimp My Shoes” online form exercise. I think it was due in large part to the interactive aspects and the immediate feedback once the form is submitted. Oh yeah, and it's pretty cool - in a geeky sorta way - to be able to click on the "HTML" button (next to the "Compose" on the upper left of this Blogger Post editor) and understand what's going on!

With an ever-increasing diversity of platforms, technologies, media, and who-knows-what-else, it’s never a dull moment for the folks in web design and development!