I have definitely learned a lot in this class, not only about website design itself but about other internet topics & issues. Something that has resonated with me is what I learned about browsers. As strange as it may sound, whenever I have a problem online the first thing I think about is if it has something to do with the browser I'm using (I used to assume it was the individual website I was using, or my computer having issues). For example, when I use some Ebsco databases in Google Chrome, I can't view full-text PDFs. It gives me an error message. But, if I try the same thing with Internet Explorer, the PDFs work just fine. I might just not have the right applications and such downloaded for Chrome, but first trying with another browser saved me a lot of time and frustration!
At the beginning of this class I thought I was a step ahead just because I knew a little HTML already. Well, after learning XHTML and CSS I now know I wasn't really that far ahead of anyone else in the class! Sure, I recognized the very basic elements and how to use them but everything changed about halfway through the semester and I had to "forget" what I originally knew and start fresh without any of that previously-learned HTML causing me to make assumptions.
At first this was kind of frustrating, but once I went along with it, I started to understand WHY CSS is used and how nice it actually is (while at the same time being so fussy and detail-oriented!)
Even though it was a lot of work and my site ended up being probably more "simple" than websites of the other groups, I am glad I chose to do this project by myself. At the mid-point of the semester when I decided to change the entire look of the site, I was glad I didn't have to get approval from anyone else. Not to mention, I operate on a slightly "non-traditional" schedule (late nights and late mornings) so getting together with group members all semester might have been challenging--and frustrating for the others in the group.
In the end, I'm basically happy with my website. If I were doing this "for real" it would be a site that is constantly updated and revised...Some things I might have included if time & technology allowed would have been podcast and/or video lessons. I've seen some video presentations given at online writing conferences that were great. Not to mention, hearing the instruction might resonate more with young adults than having to read it all.
A few other things from the class that have stuck with me are: the info on cloud computing (I'm glad I understand it now that there are commercials on TV about going "to the cloud"!), and the copyright law info. This is something that will always come to mind when I'm viewing or downloading content online.
I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for professional web designers now that I know how much time, effort, and frustration go into creating websites! You certainly can't learn everything about web design in one semester! (although we got a very good introduction. I can actually hold a conversation about web design with some professional designers now!)
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