Week 3: Links, Images, Color, and the Box Model

We covered a lot of ground during Week 2, and I can tell that some of you are struggling to keep pace with our workshops. I can also tell that some of you think this is a breeze, but that doesn’t mean you can blow off our reading and homework assignments. (I saw a lot of sloppy markup in class yesterday!) Whatever your situation, don’t panic — we still have two weeks of class sessions to help you apply the concepts in our textbook to your Online Business Card and Résumé projects. Next week, we will review several topics and add a few new ones to the mix. Here’s what we’ll cover each day in class and what you need to do to prepare:

• On Monday, we will focus on the “business card” for Unit #1, so please start thinking about what you want your website’s readers to see when they visit your site. Draft a “welcome” paragraph or two, and find an image (preferably of yourself) that you would like to use on your site. In addition, please read Chapters 6 and 7 in Learning Web Design before you come to class and make sure that the HTML file for your résumé is fully (and correctly!) “marked up.” (This might mean undoing some of the markup mistakes you made last week.) Your CSS file should be well on its way, too, with style declarations for typography and color. (I’ve added some new links to the Resources page that will help you with typography and color — please use them!)
• On Wednesday, we will return our attention to CSS, focusing on colors, backgrounds, and the box model. Before you come to class, please read Chapters 13 and 14 in Learning Web Design and try to incorporate some of the concepts in those chapters into your style sheet. When you come to class on Wednesday, you should have two completed HTML files (one that includes an image) and a single CSS file that controls the visual design of both HTML pages. In addition, please make sure you can log in to your Reclaim Hosting control panel (if you can’t, submit a support ticket) and download FileZilla onto your personal computer before class. [Update: When you get to class, download our CSS workshop files.]

Remember, as you work your way through the textbook, you should be practicing, not just reading, the material. If you have fallen behind, please take some time this weekend to catch up. If you’ve been diligent with your homework and you’re still feeling lost, please come see me during office hours (Tuesday 1-4 or Wednesday 9-12). Oh, and if you find resources online that help you understand new concepts or make progress on your Unit #1 project, don’t forget to share them with your classmates on Twitter by using the class hashtag: #engl4814.