Web Developer Club Discusses Technology

WDC meeting room at WB campus

There’s only one Web Developer Club meeting left this semester. It’s hard to believe the time has gone by so quickly.

It’s been an awesome year for the club. We’ve learned many new things outside the classroom. I even gave a presentation about design aesthetics, which was really fun to put together. The tour of SparkNET was one of the highlights of the semester.

April’s meeting was really casual. After taking care of some club business, like the treasurer’s report, we had an open discussion about Web design and technology. There’s so much cutting edge technology being developed. We talked about the new Google glasses and Instagram, a photo sharing app company.

Application of Knowledge Outside of Class

My instructor, who is one of the instructors of the IT-Web Designer/Developer program at Moraine Park Technical College, told us we need to do more than the homework assigned to us. We need to practice and learn things on our own if we really want to be the best at what we do. This semester I’ve realized I have been using what I’ve learned in class outside of the classroom and class assignments.

I volunteer in an office setting where I use a computer on a regular basis. While volunteering at an organization I was interested in, I was able to offer my time and skills. In return I’ve learned about office culture, and I’m able to apply what I’m learning in my classes. Frequently I use programs like Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. Without realizing it, I’ve developed a good understanding of file structures. I was able to comprehend how this office file structure works. My files on my personal computer are also very organized. I never have to wonder where I’ve saved something. If you’ve ever spent time looking for a file because you don’t remember where you put it or what you named it, you know how much time that can eat up.

This blog has been an excellent resource for applying what I’ve learned in my classes. This semester I learned how to save files for the web so the file size is smaller (for faster download time) while maintaining quality. I’ve been able to create my own images and graphics and edit them. I’ve used my textbook to look something up that I had forgot how to do.

On my own time I’ve been able to create things in Photoshop for fun and share them with my friends. The more I practice, the easier it becomes, and the more fun it becomes. During winter break I’m sure I’ll be working on some kind of fun project. If I put some thought into it, it could become my next portfolio piece.

Week in Review: A Reflection of September 19 – 23, 2011

Each week I reflect on what I have learned, new skills I have developed, challenges I’ve overcome, and new concepts I now understand. This week I learned how to make my own Web page backgrounds in Graphics for the Web class at Moraine Park Technical College.

In class we learned how to make a small image and repeat it using CSS to cover an entire background. Background images on Web sites are important when you consider that colors and shapes have different, specific meanings. The background needs to reflect what the Web site is about.

If you’re a student studying Web design, you know how time consuming it is to look for specific images online that express the exact message you are trying to portray. It gets more difficult when you’re working on paid projects and need to be mindful of copyright laws. I think it’s actually much less time consuming to create a background than to look for one using a search engine. It’s a pretty useful technique I’m certain I will use in the future. I may take a look at my previous work and apply this technique to those Web pages as well.

My JavaScript Final Project

These past few days I have been spending a lot of time working on my final project for my JavaScript class. Web and graphic designers are notorious for being unaware of time passing and the necessity for food and sleep. I had to make sure I took breaks when I was working on it in the library at Moraine Park’s West Bend campus on Wednesday.

It’s an interactive application. My theme for the project is an aid for new artists to help them learn art basics. I’ve created a list of words and their definitions, and I’m working on making a quiz. Using JavaScript, a programming language, I’m writing code that will swap images with other images that show the answer to each question when you hover over the original image.

I still need to add more JavaScript to make it interactive. There is a long list of criteria to follow that goes all the way back to things we learned at the beginning of the semester. Luckily, I can look back through previous assignments to refresh my memory. It’ll be a nice item to add to my online portfolio to show future employers or clients what I can do for them.

Group Project Update: Web Site Design, Implementation and Maintenance

We are nearing the end of the semester, and there are only two weeks left of my Web Site Design, Implementation and Maintenance class. You may remember me talking about this class in a previous blog. We all work as small design teams who are creating Web sites for pretend clients.

Each team member has a title. I am the Quality Assurance Lead. This past week, I finally learned more about what that means. When creating a Web site for a client, the site must be tested for bugs and potential errors before it is launched (AKA a finished Web site that people on the Web can access).

There are so many factors that play a role in how a person visiting the site will see it. It is the Quality Assurance Lead’s job to facilitate tests in order to make sure that the client’s site can be viewed in the way it was intended to be viewed. Some variables include what kind of browser the viewer is using (ex: Internet Explorer, Firefox) and what version of the browser is being used, the type of platform (ex: PC, Mac), operating system (ex: XP, Windows 7), screen resolution and connection type. That’s a lot of variables. Not to mention there are numerous combinations you can make with those variables!

After running through several tests to make sure that things like images and links show up correctly, any errors found must be fixed. It’s more work than I imagined, but it’s a necessity.

This week we have more steps to complete. The site isn’t ready to launch yet, even though the errors are fixed. We need to create several plans before the launch, like the site announcement plan, maintenance and evaluation plan, and a plan involving search engine optimization (SEO) so it can be found on the World Wide Web.

I know it will be a good feeling when my group and I finish this project. To have all this documentation to look back on when we have real clients will definitely help as a reference. In this class we have learned that Web design is more than building nice-looking Web sites and handing them off to clients. A professional site involves lots of research and planning, testing and retesting, and documentation-- tons of documentation.

Open Lab Hosted by the Web Club

One of the groups I am in at the West Bend Moraine Park Technical College campus is the Web Club. Most of the people in the club are people I have class with on a regular basis, and we end up spending a lot of time together.

It was the club’s idea to have an open lab where students in the Web Developer program could go to work on homework and get help if they needed it. I’m there almost every Monday to work on homework since the open lab is right before my evening class.

One day I was having trouble with one of my assignments. I just couldn’t get the JavaScript to work even though everything looked like it was coded (typed) correctly. Somebody from my class was also working in the lab. She took a look at my code and told me a few things to try to make it work. The problem ended up being an external link placement issue. I was very thankful for the help!

Open lab also gives us the opportunity to show each other projects we are working on and get feedback from others. Sometimes people find a really cool or funny website and share it with each other. One of the sites we were looking at one day was actor Jim Carrey’s site: http://www.jimcarrey.com/. It is pretty amazing.

The open lab is on Mondays from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in room S112 at the West Bend MPTC campus. Come join us for homework or for fun!

Making Cookies

If I said we were talking about cookies in class on Monday you’d probably think I was taking a cooking class in the culinary arts program here at Moraine Park Technical College. But actually the class I have on Monday nights is JavaScript.

JavaScript is a programming language that Web developers use to create more interactivity for the users (people who visit a Website). My instructor likes to explain JavaScript in terms of cooking. Using JavaScript is like adding spices to a Website for flavor. You can cook up a plain HTML page, but it can be bland without things like JavaScript.

In class, we learned how to create an Internet cookie. This kind of non-bakery cookie is something uploaded to a users computer when they visit a site to make it more personalized next time they visit that site. These could be things like preferences or what they had in their shopping cart. The HTML page we coded prompted the user to enter their favorite kind of cookie. By using JavaScript, we were able to take that information and use it in an alert box.

To see if it was saved onto the computer, we checked the browser to see if that information was saved in the cookie folder. It was! Last semester I learned what a cookie was and this semester I’m actually creating them!

After class we were all hungry for cookies - the bakery kind, of course.

My Group Project for Web Site Design, Implementation and Maintenance

One of my classes this semester is “Web Site Design, Implementation and Maintenance.” That sounds like a mouthful. What does it mean? Basically, this class is a mock project with pretend clients. Simply put, you need to plan a site, put the design into action and maintain it. It’s very hands-on and very much like a real project.

The first thing we did in class was to divide into groups of four or five. Each group is a design company. We created a name, logo and website for our web design company. Every team member has a role. There is a project manager, creative lead, production lead and quality assurance lead. I’m the quality assurance lead for my group.

Next, we chose a client. We decided our client was going to be a local restaurant that needed a website. The client fills out a survey (we had to do this ourselves since it is a fictitious restaurant) so our company knows some basic information about them.

There are several phases a design company must go through to create a finished website project. By doing this mock project, I now understand why websites are so expensive to create. There’s a lot of work that goes into it! We have already done several reports including an audience analysis and competitive analysis report. Recently, we’ve created the project planning document. This includes things like the budget, schedule and contract.

This week we are moving on to sketching out the client’s site. We’ll be working on creating site maps and gathering information. In the future, we’ll be making a style guide where we choose color schemes, fonts and other visual aspects. In the distant future we’ll be creating a quality assurance plan and fixing bugs. Even after the site is built, there’s more work to be done!

There are many other things we’ll be doing between now and May. This is just a brief overview of a few of the steps in these phases. Every week we learn something new and get to use what we learn in our project. It can be intense, but it makes me feel more prepared for the real world when I start working with real clients.

If this class sounds interesting to you, check out the Web Designer/Developer program at Moraine Park Technical College.

The Welcome Blog

Hello to those of you who have come across this blog! Chances are I may not know you, but I’m hoping this blog will give you insight into what Moraine Park Technical College is like through my eyes. I don’t know for sure, but I can guess that you are a potential student, a current student or a parent of one. Although, this being the Web, you may have clicked on many links and ended up here somehow. No matter who you are, I have a few words for each of you.

A Message to the Potential Traditional Student

If you’re graduating from high school soon and are looking to enroll in college, I recommend looking into a two-year college like MPTC. College academics and college life are different from high school. By going to a local two-year college you can get used to the academic expectations of higher education before going on to live in a dorm or an apartment at a four-year college. It’s a little intense to juggle both higher academic expectations and being independent right away. The classes might be more rigorous than in high school, but don’t be discouraged or afraid. Something you may not realize is that you may actually excel here. My grades improved in college. I found the way classes are set up to be more suited for me. You get to choose specific classes in subjects you really enjoy and you don’t have to spend 7 hours Monday through Friday going from one class to the next every forty minutes.

Potential Non-Traditional Students

There are many reasons why people go back to school whether it’s their first time in college or not. Some of you have lost jobs or you’ve decided you want to go for a new, more fulfilling career that requires a diploma. It’s an exciting and often a little scary time in life. You may be nervous to go back to school. You may feel that so much has changed in the academic world, would you be able to keep up with the technology? You may feel like you won’t fit in somehow. However, you may find when you get here it won’t be as difficult as you think it will be. No matter who you are, you are very likely to find a fellow classmate in a similar situation as you. There are students from all kinds of backgrounds and at different stages of their life. There is somebody at Moraine Park who you can relate to. You may be surprised to find that your younger classmates are more than willing to help you when it comes to working with computers. This generation has grown up with computers. They are very comfortable with them and have an enthusiasm for technology. Plus, the faculty and staff are an amazing resource for help.

Current Students

“When did we get a blog for Moraine Park?” “Hey, there are links for Twitter and YouTube.” Yes, we do have all these things. I was surprised, too. If you are a current student you may be aware of all the activities and events at Moraine Park, or maybe you’re not. Either way, you should be aware of all these opportunities. You’re here to get an education, then a diploma and then, ultimately, a job. It’s what you do between enrolling for your first class and graduation day that will determine your success in finding a job. Check out all the academic student organizations that relate to what you want to do with your life. Don’t see one that fits what you are looking for? Start one. Chances are there are other people who want to be in an organization that you already have in mind, and they’re waiting for you to take the lead.

People Who Click on Links

So, you found this blog by chance. Isn’t the Web amazing? Everything is connected, like a spider web. Here is an interesting fact: In 1985, the first domain name, symbolics.com, was registered. It is still in use today making it the oldest website on the Web.

Why does Moraine Park Technical College Have a Blog?

Blogs in general give a personal account of everyday life. This is my life, my future and my MPTC. Choosing a college and making the most of the experience is one of the most important things you’ll ever do. It can change your life and give you direction as you head out into the unknown. If you’re already a student, I want you to be aware of all the opportunities MPTC has to offer, (especially) including the fun stuff. Part of the college experience is socializing and having fun. Make time for that as well as academics. Come back to this blog often and find out what’s going on at MPTC! Feel free to leave comments and/or questions to my posts.