So, I finally got my login info and I was able to follow the tutorials. Way easier than I thought! I think I have this down! All I have to do is go to New Site and fill in the info. Then, when I’m ready to transfer files, I select them and press the “Put” button. Not scary at all! Bring it on, World!
So my links for this week are:
Chapter 5
Video 2
Video 3
Chapter 9
Video 3
Video 4
Week Two Update. 01/26/2010
Week Two.
So, this week we learned the technical settings of Dreamweaver, and the ins and outs of FTP servers. I haven’t had a chance to do it yet due to technical difficulties, but I’m looking forward to it!
We also learned about linking. There are two types of links in a website- relative and absolute. A relative address links to another page or a different part of the same page within the same site. An absolute address links to an outside website. The text or picture that contains the link is called the label. Now for the good stuff- FTP! We were taught how to set up a root folder and define it as our local side in Dreamweaver and how to define AACC’s FTP server as our remote side. I didn’t see any official vocab thing, but I think the local side just means a folder on your computer or flash drive, and remote side is a destination folder on the server you want to send it to. It’s important to only move files in Dreamweaver once you connect your root folder to the remote server or it will cause linking problems. Once everything is up and ready, you can see my current schedule here. I will post links to all of my pages as I go along.
We also watched some interesting videos on Adobe TV. If you’d like to check them out, I included the links below.
- What Is Dreamweaver
- Using View and Workspaces
- Defining Sites
- Adding Text and Images
- Managing and Uploading Sites
- Styling Text in the CSS Property Inspector
I am a huge fan of the Adobe TV videos. I just purchased the Adobe Master Collection and, since I’m not not familiar with every program on there already, I enjoy watching these videos- they’re quick, but they are always packed with a lot of neat tricks and tips. Especially with CS4 just having come out recently, some of the environments are slightly different, and these videos are great if you want to know how to make the most out of the little differences.
Waiting.
So far, I haven’t been able to do much, as I am waiting on a broken link(I think) to be fixed. Such is the peril of relying on computers for information. However, I think this week is going to be my favorite week as far as the course material goes, since it’s all about FTP servers- something I know very little about working with. I know how to create a web page using XHTML and CSS, but publishing it is still something that I’m not that experienced with. I hope I learn everything I need to know because right now, I’m feeling kind of half-stupid. What good is a website if you don’t know everything about making it live? I will continue to read and hopefully will post my entry for this week a little later.
Week One. 01/22/2010
So, it’s the first week of classes, and already I’m pretty busy. I didn’t expect for it to pick up this fast, but I’ve never taken a completely online-only class before. A lot of this week was review on HTML(HyperText Markup Language) vs XHTML(eXtensible HyperText Markup Language). XHTML 1.0 is the standard currently in use by most people, and enforced by the World Wide Web Consortium (www.w3.org). XHTML is a stricter version of HTML and also incorporates XML (eXtensible Markup Language). Stricter rules means that websites can work better on more platforms.
We also learned the “8 Commandments of Naming” which are actually some pretty good, general rules.
- Use no spaces in filenames.
- Use underscores or hyphens for adding spaces between words.
- Use short filenames that have meaning.(7-8 characters max)
- Lowercase only, but camelCasing is okay.
- All filenames must end in .3letterextension. The only exceptions to this are .html and .js
- Use alphanumeric characters only.
- Avoid special characters.
- Use either .htm or .html for web pages, but only use one within a single site
The one thing that is still kind of foreign to me (even after a few classes that have touched on the subject) is web servers and web hosting. It’s almost like the mystical part of having a web site. In an FTP FAQ I learned a lot more about FTP servers which is great! I also learned some about servers and hosting, and hopefully I’ll learn even more throughout this class. A few websites that compare web hosting services were mentioned in one of the videos. They seemed really helpful for people like me who are a little unsure about the whole deal.
There was also a video that talked about website folder templates, and a web page template. I thought these were both great ideas. I can’t believe I had never thought about it. They also gave a great example of how to set up your website folders in the future to keep them organized. I kind of do something like it, but this is way better. I think my favorite idea was the “source” folder, highlighted red. This is a great way to keep the source material all together, and remember to delete it. Much better than the way I currently do it.
I was a little disappointed that we didn’t go over some more Dreamweaver this week. As of now, I only use Dreamweaver to write my XHTML and CSS, so I can preview it easily and find mistakes easily. I am anxious to learn more about the WYSIWYG part of it.
Which brings me to an awesome article from Smashing Magazine that we read. It’s called 25 WYSIWYG Editors Reviewed. I didn’t realize there were that many out there. I think besides Dreamweaver, Amaya and RapidWeaver look really cool. It also described a little about Contribute, which I own and still don’t really know what it does differently.
All in all, I’m pretty excited about this class, and I’m looking forward to learning more about publishing websites!
Hola!
Welcome to my blog! I am currently obtaining an Associate’s of Applied Sciences in Media Production, and a Certificate of Publication Design on the Internet at Anne Arundel Community College. I am also currently the president of AACC’s Graphic Design Club, which meets every Thursday. I plan to go to the University of Baltimore and get my Bachelor’s in Corporate Communications. When I graduate, I hope to pursue a career in Graphic and Web Design. You can also find me on Facebook under Katy Claiborne.
Kaitlyn Janine's Blog 