During my first section I used Diana's lesson plan. But first we talked about HTML and the Web more generally. I briefly talked about HTML in comparison to other computer languages and why it is useful. I also talked about universal accessibility and why certain HTML techniques are used currently, like HTML with CSS, vs. the use of tables and in-document formatting.
I had the students “mark-up” the paper so that it would be more legible. We then opened up their portfolio sites in DreamWeaver. But I found that this took a long time, opening the program, then the index file. And looking at the portfolio site was not particularly helpful because it is so crowded with image files, etc. Plus, it uses tables as formatting, which I had just explained was old school and bad practice.
We then had problems when I asked them to open MS Word and create simple HTML sites. Most students were able to open it, but a number of them had Word crash on them. So the majority did use Word to create simple HTML documents. I had the others use TextEdit and save them as plain text. Then both could use the work around to change the extension to .html. I'm sure you would all agree, but I hate using these kinds of workarounds because they send a bad impression and they are generally bad practice, i.e. “do this now, but don't do it in the future.”
For the second section, it was much smoother, because during the interval I discovered that all of the computers have jEdit on them. So, for the second class I did the same intro and had them mark-up the paper. This time I skipped opening the portfolio site and had them go right into making the simple HTML sites using jEdit. This was a good solution, as they got a lot further than the first section. They were able to format the text, then insert images and links, and make the image a link afterwards.
Rothberg Fivel
Apr 21, 2009 10:51 AM
During my first section I used Diana's lesson plan. But first we talked about HTML and the Web more generally. I briefly talked about HTML in comparison to other computer languages and why it is useful. I also talked about universal accessibility and why certain HTML techniques are used currently, like HTML with CSS, vs. the use of tables and in-document formatting.
I had the students “mark-up” the paper so that it would be more legible. We then opened up their portfolio sites in DreamWeaver. But I found that this took a long time, opening the program, then the index file. And looking at the portfolio site was not particularly helpful because it is so crowded with image files, etc. Plus, it uses tables as formatting, which I had just explained was old school and bad practice.
We then had problems when I asked them to open MS Word and create simple HTML sites. Most students were able to open it, but a number of them had Word crash on them. So the majority did use Word to create simple HTML documents. I had the others use TextEdit and save them as plain text. Then both could use the work around to change the extension to .html. I'm sure you would all agree, but I hate using these kinds of workarounds because they send a bad impression and they are generally bad practice, i.e. “do this now, but don't do it in the future.”
For the second section, it was much smoother, because during the interval I discovered that all of the computers have jEdit on them. So, for the second class I did the same intro and had them mark-up the paper. This time I skipped opening the portfolio site and had them go right into making the simple HTML sites using jEdit. This was a good solution, as they got a lot further than the first section. They were able to format the text, then insert images and links, and make the image a link afterwards.