Web Design Training

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by OScubed

I'm not saying don't learn CSS/HTML/Javascript - I'm saying don't reinvent the wheel by hand coding things that are already provided to you in a development platform

Well said!

[ttldomination]

I agree with rsisks in that teach them to plan properly.

Better than actually HOW to do it, is structure and basic etiquette. It really makes me...frustrated, when I see a website with a cluttered home page, or a website that has complex navigation. Teach them to plan, structure, and to lay things out

As for actual code, I started making websites just recently. And a basic understanding of HTML really helped before I went to DreamWeaver/CSS, simply because I could understand what was going on. So I would recommend teaching this, and developing an understanding.

From there, I would recommend introducing a Development Platform that OScubed talked about. That way they have a wide scope of knowledge on the subject.

[synth3tk]

Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla!, and even using a forum software's CMS plugin/add-on are a great start. You can still teach them HTML/CSS since they will need those skills to work on the theme or customize the code, and even introduce them to PHP and templating a CMS/forum. Just like OScubed mentioned, using one of those will prepare the students for the future of the web, not just the history. Almost all medium- to large-sized companies and businesses use a CMS in one form or another.

[JamesByrne]

Either use a CMS, or get some experience and have the web team work on making a custom CMS for your site. Then if the team really wants some custom aspects you can put it in there, and the web team will have the ability to do that. If you make a CMS it will be a better learning tool for you and all involved because it will teach you about real world web programing. Then the site content will be updated by the leadership and the web team will just have to worry about the site being matained. And you can add new features if wanted.

It is alot of work just an idea.

James

[Zholl]

Well, I think I've about figured out what I'm going to be doing. I've been working on setting up Joomla on our web server, and I'm starting to get a handle on that. I'll probably wait a while before I start teaching that though, just so I know it well enough to teach it. I'll probably start them on basic site management (file handling and updating) and do some sandboxing with HTML and CSS, and I might work in PHP later on. I figure I'll try and teach Javascript as well, but since I haven't dealt with it as much, I should probably brush up on it first.

We get assigned to logistics/management teams this week, so I should have an idea of what I'm working with soon.

[synth3tk]

If you need help with Joomla, let me know. I've been almost using it exclusively for a CMS.