It's Not Disney World, but CSS ... Here I Come!

For my individual tutorial I am going to explore CSS, which means I am also going to explore HTML. After hearing about all of the languages last night, I have decided that, as a newbie to this whole world, CSS/HTML, since it is so widely used, is a good entry point that will lead me in the right direction for my future work. I am attending the 2012 DMAC, during which I will explore video and audio editing a great deal. I hope to take that experience and apply it to the basic of website building that I will learn through my explorations this semester with the ultimate goal of creating my digital portfolio for my PhD language requirement.


This image (from Tools & Resources for Web Professionals) offers a great look into my final goal. I hope to understand better how the information transmitted through HTML is visually arranged by CSS into the final product that users enjoy and understand. I know that this basic programming understanding will help me as I venture out into more specificity at DMAC and as I ultimately define my independent study of summer 2012. I have a ton of ideas for that independent study, from designing my own programming course for high school students to creating a Kairos submission from my Pottermore research, but bless Shelley Rodrigo, my professor and independent study adviser, who told me today that she is willing to wait for me to explore more before defining my independent study. What a gift of trust -- that I will find something worthwhile to do, and she is willing to stick with me while I do that.

So, my short-term goal of CSS ... I am going to use the resources provided by my classmates to explore CSS this week and find specific tutorials to learn from -- I also have a friend in my yoga class who is a programmer and has provided me with a series of introductory lectures on CSS/HTML that I plan to listen to this week. I am also going to start looking into the programming behind sites using HTML/CSS to see just what it is I am in for. Finally, I am in the process of getting my own DreamWeaver/programming software for when I really start playing with programming. I think that is enough for this week's work; in the coming weeks, I plan to decide what kind of object/site I want to create with my practice programming. I have two early ideas: something fun for my two kids to play with and a note-taking site for me to explore (thanks again to Shelley for this recommendation!).