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

Weekly Updates

We covered a lot of ground during Week 2, and I know that this is challenging material for many of you. Don’t worry, though — we still have two weeks of class sessions to help you apply the concepts in our textbook to your Landing Page and Online 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 “landing page” 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 “marked up.” (This might mean undoing some of the markup mistakes you made last week.)
  • On Wednesday, we will return our attention to CSS, focusing on colors, backgrounds, and the box model. (When you get to class, download the files for our in-class workshop.) 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 CSS file that is starting to take shape. [Update: Please take a look at some of the "Personal Page Examples" on the Resources page and find a few that you would like to discuss in class.]

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.