I never seem to make very smart decisions when it comes to doing things. I get excited about what it is I want to do and I run with it, and that is exactly what I have done here. While I perhaps should be grading papers (and believe me, I will be getting to that shortly), I am instead reading chapter one of the first text I decided to run with...Producing for the Web 2.0: A Student Guide. And I gotta tell you, 14 pages into the chapter and I am DEFINITELY feeling like a student!!
Even though I have 14 more pages to go before I complete this post, I decided to take a moment to jot down, as it were, a couple of things I've noticed so far. First, I believe this is an excellent text for students. One reason is the smoothness with which Whittaker repeats things that he knows a student needs to really comprehend before moving on. After about the second time of seeing statements about how computers can't decipher XML without instructions, I started taking note of every time he would mention this in one way or another. I have a feeling I've not seen the last of this yet. Second, Whittaker gives plenty of useful examples to get the point across. For me, the more I see something, the more it begins to make sense.
Off to continue with the last 14 pages, so I'll just virtually pause this entry until I am done.
Alright, I'm back with 14 more pages read and a slight headache. The chapter started out just as I suspected: it is, after all, entitled "Pre-Production". So it started out discussing the planning of a website, talking to the client, storyboarding it so to speak, but that only lasted for about 7 of the 26 pages. Then began the in-depth conversation about web technologies, online media toolkits, and setting up a server. That is a LOT of information to digest in one night. But again, I have to point out that the information was thorough without being TOO daunting.
Will I retain everything that I read about Ajax, PHP, Apache, Flash, Java, MySQL.... you get the picture.... No, I won't, but when someone mentions it, I'll know I've read it, and I'll have a clue as to what the hell they are talking about. Something that the Whittaker keeps pointing out is that a lot of this stuff you will never really get into deeply, but you need to at least know what it is and have a clue as to how it works.
With all of that said, tomorrow night's reading may possibly be only a half a chapter, as it is longer than tonight's, and I have papers to grade and clothes to wash.
So stay tuned tomorrow for the next installment of Producing for the Web 2.0: A Student Guide entitled "Designing for the Web," or Dianna comes to terms with the web not being magic like she always thought.
Even though I have 14 more pages to go before I complete this post, I decided to take a moment to jot down, as it were, a couple of things I've noticed so far. First, I believe this is an excellent text for students. One reason is the smoothness with which Whittaker repeats things that he knows a student needs to really comprehend before moving on. After about the second time of seeing statements about how computers can't decipher XML without instructions, I started taking note of every time he would mention this in one way or another. I have a feeling I've not seen the last of this yet. Second, Whittaker gives plenty of useful examples to get the point across. For me, the more I see something, the more it begins to make sense.
Off to continue with the last 14 pages, so I'll just virtually pause this entry until I am done.
Alright, I'm back with 14 more pages read and a slight headache. The chapter started out just as I suspected: it is, after all, entitled "Pre-Production". So it started out discussing the planning of a website, talking to the client, storyboarding it so to speak, but that only lasted for about 7 of the 26 pages. Then began the in-depth conversation about web technologies, online media toolkits, and setting up a server. That is a LOT of information to digest in one night. But again, I have to point out that the information was thorough without being TOO daunting.
Will I retain everything that I read about Ajax, PHP, Apache, Flash, Java, MySQL.... you get the picture.... No, I won't, but when someone mentions it, I'll know I've read it, and I'll have a clue as to what the hell they are talking about. Something that the Whittaker keeps pointing out is that a lot of this stuff you will never really get into deeply, but you need to at least know what it is and have a clue as to how it works.
With all of that said, tomorrow night's reading may possibly be only a half a chapter, as it is longer than tonight's, and I have papers to grade and clothes to wash.
So stay tuned tomorrow for the next installment of Producing for the Web 2.0: A Student Guide entitled "Designing for the Web," or Dianna comes to terms with the web not being magic like she always thought.
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