Comments on: ALA No. 276: Web design education

By: Arp

Arp — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 22:23:43 +0000

Sorry – that double negative in my last comment should be a single negative…

By: Arp

Arp — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 22:21:20 +0000

I don’t think acquiring debt to learn web design is not worth it at all. The greater issue is whether people are motivated enough to learn themselves, and if you can apply yourself to get straight A’s in class, you can likely teach yourself web design. I firmly believe that classroom education will always fall short of actual experience. And if you need actual experience to improve, why waste money on education? If one doesn’t have it in themselves to learn on their own, then perhaps that person should find something more personally fulfilling to pursue.

By: John McSwain

John McSwain — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:55:49 +0000

Sorry about my website link on the last post (fixed)..

By: John McSwain

John McSwain — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:51:32 +0000

One definitive way of learning the intangibles of web design is to experience the process of web creation and execution in lieu of memorizing it (See How to be a free thinker. In my undergraduate days, I introduced myself to several nonprofit organizations and humanitarian groups in my locale (Atlanta) who literally burst into tears when people like me took an active role in their groups. For example, there is a website called Designism Connects which can serve as a starting point for any creative who is just getting started. All of the subtle interactions, communications, styles, and eventually the deliverables can be explored and critiqued. In addition, much of the creative license is in the hands of the newbie. Most orgs don't have a preference as to the final product, as long as it serves its underlying purpose of their group. Take it from me, learning this way is very gratifying and it can actually be a great relief from the future non-humanitarian projects that will inevitably stifle any creativity in favor of a larger bottom line...I challenge every designer and developer to try this philanthropic approach once to see how much happier your / our craft can be when the purpose supercedes money...

By: Jason Stanfill

Jason Stanfill — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 01:06:02 +0000

My question for everyone is that if current education is not properly preparing people for the real world, then what is the best way for someone to break into web design.
Thanks

By: Wayne State Web Communications Blog » Blog Archive » [Friday Links] The New President Edition

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 12:34:27 +0000

[...] ALA No. 276: Web design education [...]

By: Jason Friesen

Jason Friesen — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:36:06 +0000

I’m rather proud of our smallish Community College in British Columbia, Canada. we’ve got a standards-passionate instructor in our Digital Arts and New Media program . She teaches the students ONLY accessible XHTML 1.0 Strict and CSS in her first-semester DA 131-3.0 Introduction to Web Standards, Accessibility XHTML and CSS class. And they don’t get to touch WYSIWYG tools until second semester—plain-text editor only. :D She teaches it exactly the way I would. The course is also available online and outside the program, which is pretty cool. And she makes sure she stays up-to-speed on the latest best practices—we were at An Event Apart Seattle last year. All the best!

By: Sarven Capadisli

Sarven Capadisli — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:12:15 +0000

@ Ara Pehlivanian re: http://teachtheweb.com/monograph.php , that ‘usual suspects’ doesn’t say much to me, and here is why:

CSS is the most important skill (84%) to teach students? While HTTP and URLs are at 4%? HTML comes second to CSS at 73%?

Here is what I would propose (yes, this is just my two cents):

1. HTTP, URI, and HTML are the fundamentals of the Web. Make sure they ‘get it’.

2. Data ownership and rights

3. Communication, business sense, project management

3. UI, IA, ~ CSS, Server-side scripting, JS

By: Derek Pennycuff

Derek Pennycuff — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:31:14 +0000

Damn. Now my 1st comment shows up like normal. Sorry for the comment spam, Jeffrey. This is obviously something I’m passionate about and as you may remember I’ve written about it before. :)

By: Ara Pehlivanian

Ara Pehlivanian — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:16:06 +0000

Jeffrey:

Touché! :-)

By: Jeffrey Zeldman

Jeffrey Zeldman — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:13:29 +0000

Ara:

It can’t be the usual suspects if I’m not on that list. :)

By: Ara Pehlivanian

Ara Pehlivanian — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:05:24 +0000

I was referring to the people on this list: http://teachtheweb.com/monograph.php

By: Ara Pehlivanian

Ara Pehlivanian — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:02:47 +0000

Honest question, is there no diversity in the web dev community? I get the feeling like there’s this clique of people who get recycled over and over. I mean it’s gotten so that I’ve started to think of everyone on that list as being part of “The Usual Suspects.”

Am I wrong?

By: Derek Pennycuff

Derek Pennycuff — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:30:11 +0000

For the sake of clarity, I mean 12 hours per week reading ALA and other such resources and 20 hours per week putting those ideas into practice. My poor comment-fu made it sound like I meant spending a few hours per year on such tasks.

By: Derek Pennycuff

Derek Pennycuff — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:27:47 +0000

Did my comment get eaten or is it being moderated? :(

In case it’s gone, I’ll quickly recap: 12 hours reading ALA ect. + 20 hours tinkering with those ideas on projects (for pay, for publication, or just for the hell of it) + a conference or 2 per year > 4 year degree. And I say that as someone with both 2 year and 4 year degrees in web design and currently working on a masters (not in web design).