Well, not really… As the title implies, I have an upcoming teaching gig. It is not at the university where I draw my paycheck, but rather at a local adult school. Still, it promises to be an exciting experience (and a bit stressful, of course). The normal teacher is ill; they desperately searched for a replacement; and they ended up with me. Because people have already signed up for and paid for the course, the basic content of the course (description below) is mostly set in stone.
This in-depth beginners’ course covers page design principles and understanding the document structure. It will cover HTML, HyperText Markup Language, and touch on XHTML, the eXtensible “ditto,” which are the fundamental technologies for creating web pages. However, emphasis is on the design aspects, with coding as the tool, not the substance. Learn how to deal with text, graphics, links, tables, lists, forms, JavaScript, and more. No knowledge of HTML or programming is necessary, but you should be completely comfortable using a browser and a text editor such as vi, Notepad, or SimpleText.
A few of my coworkers agreed that the description is “creepily geeky.” (Who does still design pages in vi?) Fortunately, they will give me some latitude to add subject matter that I feel is essential. Surprisingly, a few subjects near and dear to my heart as a web designer are missing; there is no mention of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), accessibility, or standards compliance in the course description. You cannot design a modern web page without them. Also, rather than “touch on XHTML,” I will focus on it.
Starting on September 30, the course will unfold over eight weeks, one ninety-minute session per week. Of course, the pay won’t even noticeably pad my wallet, but who teaches for the money…
As for the stress part, I just agreed to do this, so now I barely have a week to develop a rudimentary syllabus and the content and handouts for my first session. Ack.
