Week 12

HTML and CSS


Introduction

This week I am going to describe online training resource, Code Academy, and how it can help you with your professional development. You may already be familiar with this website, which is great! You will have an advantage in your upcoming assignment!

Code Academy

There are numerous online resources for learning technology and it can be overwhelming to decide which one will be the most helpful. When I was getting started with coding, I found Code Academy to be one of the most helpful resources for learning HTML and CSS. I have returned to Code Academy to learn JavaScript, PHP, and Python. The amazing part about Code Academy is that it's FREE! There is another resource "Code School" and this is a paid resource so do not confuse it with the resource we're using for our class. Code Academy does have a paid part of the training; however, you will not need to purchase anything to complete this assignment.

                               

You might wonder how someone who has a Ph.D. in recreation and sport management turned into a web developer and instructional designer - it was because of sites like Code Academy that got me interested in the topic. I spent some free time I had on weekends and taught myself how to build websites. I quickly became good at making websites and putting courses online that I made a career change in 2011 to an IT-related field. I am definitely not suggesting that you change your career choices, recreation and sport management is a great field and I miss it; however, skills, such as web design, are valuable for almost any industry. You might work for a company that would like to make a website or you might have to update a website with your event information. So even thought you are not going to be an IT major or professional, HTML and CSS are, as Bostonians say, "wicked cool."

Code Academy provides lessons within each topic that helps you work toward a final project. We will be doing a similar final project in this class, which is why I am having everyone become familiar with this resource.                                

Go Learn HTML and CSS!

Ok! Time to get started. Go to Code Academy and sign up for an acount. Once you have done that, sign up for the HTML and CSS lesson and start your coding adventure. For an upcoming assignment I am going to ask you to complete the HTML module online, specifically these sections:

  1. What is HTML?
  2. HTML Anatomy
  3. The Body
  4. HTML Structure
  5. Headings
  6. Divs
  7. Attributes
  8. Displaying Text
  9. Styling Text
  10. Line Breaks
  11. Unordered Lists
  12. Ordered Lists
  13. Images
  14. Image Alts
  15. Videos
  16. Review

You can get started on this assignment this week because Code Academy saves your progress.