Web Site Coordinator Certificate

Last semester while looking at what classes I’ve completed and what classes I still needed to take, I discovered I was only three classes away from being eligible to receive the Web Site Coordinator Certificate.

I’m already in the IT-Web Designer/Developer program here at Moraine Park. The outcome of the program is a technical diploma. The certificate requires many of the same classes that the technical diploma requires except the certificate requires fewer classes. It gives students a foundation in Web design basics.

I decided to sign up for the certificate because it’s something I’ll be able to put on my resume at the end of the Fall semester. It will be awhile before I earn the technical diploma since I’m only in school part time. Some of my classmates started off in the certificate program, decided they liked the classes and chose to continue on with the technical diploma. I think that’s a good idea to start with the certificate program since it’s a smaller commitment than the longer program.

I wasn’t sure how to enroll in a second program, so I went to Student Services to ask what I should do. They gave me an application like the one I filled out for the IT- Web Designer/Developer program. All I needed to do was fill it out and hand it in. There was no application fee or anything else I needed to do.

Some time later, I received a letter in the mail from MPTC stating I was accepted into the certificate program. I only need to take one additional class that isn’t a requirement for the technical diploma. Of course, I will check with my advisor to make sure I’m not missing anything. I will have a piece of paper in my hands that shows I‘ve accomplished something sooner than I thought!

My Online Textbook

After a brief hiatus to help out with my cousin’s wedding, I am back and still learning even though I’m done with classes for the semester at Moraine Park Technical College.

For some of my classes we use an online textbook and pay for access to tutorials. It’s like having a really, really big textbook that uses video to cover tons of topics relating to technology and computer programs. I am taking advantage of the fact that I have a year subscription. Why not use it during the summer to learn more about something or to learn something new?

I’ve learned how search engines work in class and a little about SEO (Search Engine Optimization). The video tutorial site we use for class has an informational tutorial for SEO. For those of you who’ve never heard of SEO, basically, a search engine takes what the visitor is looking for and finds what it thinks is the most relevant websites by searching for the key phrases on Web pages. This topic is so important in Web design. Every company wants to know more about it and how to use keywords effectively. They want their website to be as high up on the search engine results as possible so people can find their site.

Some of the material so far has been review, but some of it is new. I’ve learned more about how to research keywords so I’m reaching my target audience and choosing keywords that are high in search queries but low in usage by competitors’ websites.

I’m about halfway through the tutorial videos. It’s over 2 hours long and is broken down into chapters, just like a book. When I’m done with this one, I may see if there are some tutorials on how to use programs on my computer that I know how to use but would like to be better at using them.