Dreamweaver 2: Final Showdown

Last week in ETEC we created our very own instructional website. My website can be viewed at comp.uark.edu/~cdenger. This website gives instruction on how to prepared for your first adventure race in Northwest Arkansas. The three pages covered gearing up, training, and what to expect on race day.

The first obstacle encountered was were to start. I had to put myself in the shoes of a beginner to try to understand what questions they would ask and what parts needed instruction. I was able to overcome this obstacle by remembering my first adventure race and all the questions that I had when I started. I also tried to include instruction for the items I wish I had know before doing my first adventure race.

In the end, I think the website was put together well and will provide anyone viewing it with a solid base to compete in their first race. I also tried to make the site somewhat simple to avoid complication and confusion.

I would like to work more with the Dreamweaver menus to create better looking, more professional menus on my website. I think with some guidance and practice, this can be achieved.

Dreamweaver - Getting Started

Last week's assignment was to create a two page Dreamweaver html website. Naturally I designed the website around something I am interested in, Adventure Racing. I proceeded to create the first page and ran up against my first obstacle. I have never created a menu bar in Dreamweaver, and I quickly found out that things can get crazy very fast if you don't pay very close attention. I thought all was well until I got my graded assignment back and found out I needed to spend more time on the spry menu on my webpage as they were not linked correctly.

The other obstacle I encountered was getting an image on the header while still making the title of the webpage legible. I successfully found the perfect background picture, a topographical map of the Ozarks. Next I had to crop it down and resize it to make sure the viewers could actually tell what it was. In the end, I think it turned out well and added a little character to an otherwise plain website.

I learned many things working on this Dreamweaver project. I think the number one thing that I learned was that patience is part of the successful webpage formula. Many things can get frustrating very quickly, but it helps to allow yourself extra time to complete the project.

After using Dreamweaver just a bit, I can see tremendous value in it for future endevours. From just creating personal websites or resume websites to small business or instructional websites, Dreamweaver makes it so much easier. Also the results you can get from Dreamweaver go above and beyond what most people can do with hand-coding. I think this crash course in Dreamweaver will help a lot when I start the Web Design class in an upcoming semester.

Lolcats!

Photoshop or Awesomeshop!

Week 9 in ETEC leads us to Photoshop. After a few tutorials, I am ready to try it on my own. This week's assignment: Alter a picture of myself. Low and behold, I took a picture of myself using the trusty iPhone (no longer in my possession) and proceeded to alter it the best I could.

Starting with a simple Google search I found a sweet flaming skull picture. After selecting the skull itself, I copied it over the face of my picture. From there I selected individual fire sections to put on my shoulders. To try to blend the flames into my shoulders I used the smudge tool to drag sections down and create the illusion. The clone stamp tool was used to resurface my neck area to match the black and grays in the skull face. After that was all done, I linked those layers and transferred my whole picture to a new background using the selection and copy tools.

The obstacle I encountered was thinking of a way to make the flames look like they were coming out of my shoulders naturally. While it was not the perfect solution, I think the smudge tool worked well for this attempt. I learned a bit more about Photoshop. The greatest success in this project showed me the new selection tool that was not present on previous versions (5). It works like a charm to get almost exactly what I wanted to select.

I like what Photoshop can do and I can't wait to use it for more projects. It is a great tool for retouching photos especially with custom macros. Not only that it is fun to just mess around with creating funny pictures.

Skull picture from: http://pda.88000.org/63__Flaming_Skull.htm
Background from: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Healthy_People,_Healthy_Planet/Wasteland.jpg

Lolcats!

HTML and CSS - Look Out Internet!

The past two weeks in ETEC have focused on HTML and CSS. Starting with HTML, we all made our own webpage using basic HTML code. I created mine in notepad and followed the instructions on our Blackboard assignment. It was easy enough, but I learned some very helpful lessons on where exactly to put the h1 tags (in the body). One obstacle for me was learning the correct order of tags and I think this lesson straightened it out for me. Learning the basics of HTML will help me with future assignments and at work. I can use it along with what we learned for CSS to make my own website.

The other topic we learned was some basic CSS skills. I did not create my own CSS template but was able to modify an existing one to change the way the webpage looks. One obstacle I encountered was working with the padding. With a little trial and error, I was able to get a better idea of how padding really works. After making a few changes, they website was already looking better than it was before (in my opinion). I think learning a bit more CSS will always help in the future, especially when I want to change the style of an entire website.

Lolcats Time!

Let's Get ETEChnical!

So you want to install iTunes?

Week two consisted of making a properly formatted Word Document that was ADA compliant describing how to download and install software. I chose iTunes naturally, only because it was the first thing that popped in my head, and I had already been working on creating a silent installer at work. I wish I could say there were obstacles, because it would make writing this a bit easier. I guess my biggest obstacle is working up the motivation to do homework. I usually get interested when I actually start working, but the hardest part for me is just writing that all too familiar opening sentence or just cracking the book (logging in). Deadlines are my saving grace and best friend. Sometimes the best way to overcome the procrastination obstacle is with a stiff deadline. In this case, it worked like a charm for me.

I am pleased to report that I also learned something last week while working on the Word Project. Previously, I cared little for the use of Heading settings except for designing websites. After reading through the tips and requirements for ADA compliant documents, it made a world of sense to me. I have already passed that knowledge onto another individual, so I think this learning thing is working! I have yet to start my PowerPoint assignment, so there is little to mention here. I do plan to use what I learned last week for future endeavors, so I guess that teaching thing is working out also.

In week three we made our Powerpoint presentations. It was fun as usual, as Powerpoint always lets me be a bit more creative than Word. A much more enjoyable topic was also presented as my presentation was on Adventure Racing. One obstacle this time was figuring out what to use as a scanned image. I can't remember the last time I needed to scan something, then it popped in my head that I had a Topographical map in my car. Problem one solved!

I think Powerpoint is a great tool when used correctly, and I plan to use it to supplement instruction in the future. Adhering to the 6x6 rule is a great start. Hopefully everyone can learn that in the future so we don't have to read entire books on Powerpoint.


PS - Enjoy the lolcats! The will be coming at you all semester long.