Week 1 Podcast - Summer 2008

I hope you've watched the short welcome video (1:17 minutes) linked above. I know some of you won't be able to attend the information session tonight but watching the video will give you a chance to meet me.

This week's podcast has several announcements and an overview of the Chapter 2 Assignment. We are jumping right into XHTML so fasten your seat belts! Also, this assignment is rather long so please get started on it right away. With summer quarter being so short, we don't have any time to waste.

The podcast and transcript are linked below. Enjoy!

Week 1 Podcast (5:55 minutes)
Week 1 Podcast Transcript (PDF)

IT 111 Week 5 Podcast - Spring 2008

This screen snapshot is what I'm calling my "15 minutes of fame" because I'm the featured educator in a newsletter from the software company that I use for making the tutorials and demos for our class. So far, I've been contacted by someone from Ireland and Washington State. I couldn't resist sharing this with you.

This weeks podcast has some announcements and a brief overview of Chapter 4 and Assignment 4. I'll also be producing a special podcast at the end of the week after I attend a conference at Microsoft. Listen to the podcast to find out why! By the way, I'm giving presentations on podcasting and screencasting at the conference. I'm also giving a three hour workshop at a conference in Spokane. So, this is a busy week for me.

Listen to the Week 5 podcast (5:03 minutes)
Or, read the transcript if you prefer. PDF

Feel free to leave a comment.

IT 111 Week 4 Podcast - Spring 2008

This week's podcast has an announcement, a brief discussion of my communication style and grading strategy, and tips for Assignment 3. You'll be learning about web safe colors and using CSS to format color and text in this assignment.

The screen snapshot is of the W3Schools CSS reference page. It lists all the common properties used in CSS and I encourage you to bookmark or favorite it. I find it an extremely handy list and refer to it on a regular basis. Please check it out!

Listen to the Week 4 Podcast (4:21 minutes)
Or, if you prefer, read the transcript. PDF

Feel free to leave a comment, too.

IT 111 Week 2 Podcast Spring 2008

The week 2 podcast for IT 111 includes some course updates and gives an overview of the assignments that are due this week and next. The video (about 8 and a half minutes long) I've embedded above will be helpful when you start working on Assignment 2.

Listen to the Week 2 Podcast (4 minutes)
Or, read the transcript if you prefer. (PDF)

Welcome to IT 111 - Week 1 Spring 2008

This is a short (55 seconds) welcome video that I created with my Flip Video camera.

I've just finished the first podcast for the class. I'll add a link to it (and the written transcript) below. It has some announcements, information about the podcasts I'll be producing this quarter, and an overview of Assignment 0 and Quiz 0.

There's an information session scheduled for Tuesday, April 1 from 7pm - 7:50pm in IB 3406. I hope you can come because I enjoy meeting the students who'll be taking the class.

I've also created an online orientation that everyone needs to watch. It's in several parts and the whole thing takes about 30 minutes to view. It will give you important information on the course goals, the requirements, and how the class works. The first quiz will cover both the orientation and the syllabus. Make sure you watch the orientation before you take the quiz.

Welcome to IT 111.

Listen to the Week 1 Podcast (4:33 minutes).
Or, if you prefer, read the transcript. PDF

View the Online Orientation
Get a copy of the handouts that accompany the orientation.

IT 111 Week 10 Podcast

This is the final podcast of the quarter and it focuses on the final project and how you can get the best score possible. Remember this is 25% of your final grade!

Why don't you print out a copy of the grading sheet and use it as I explain each of the grading elements?

Listen to the Week 10 podcast. (6:17 minutes)
Or, read the transcript if you prefer. PDF

IT 111 Week 9 Podcast

This podcast include announcements, some information about Assignment 7 and Chapter 10, and tips for the final web site project.

Don't forget to check out the Chapter 10 updates from the textbook web site. There's an error in the textbook and you'll want to know about it in advance before you get frustrated.

Speaking of the textbook web site, you might want to use the Chapter 4 page to find free-to-use images and logo and navigation button generators for your final project. Past students have found them helpful.

You can also find images at Flickr. Many are available as long as you give the author credit.

Listen to the Week 9 Podcast. (3:25 minutes)
Or, read the transcript if you prefer. PDF

IT 111 Week 8 Podcast

I took this picture during the lunar eclipse on February 20th. It didn't turn out too well because I didn't use a tripod but I'm glad I spent some time watching the eclipse.

This podcast has some course updates and information about Assignment 6. I hope everyone has noticed that I've extended the due dates for Assignment 6, Quiz 6, Assignment 7, and Quiz 7. Also, there are come Chapter 6 updates that you should review before you start working on Assignment 6.

I'm ordering online course evaluations that will be sent to the email address that's on file with the college. Visit the Online Student Kiosk to make sure it is correct.

Listen to the IT 111 Week 8 Podcast. (3:48 minutes)
Or, if you prefer, read the transcript. (PDF)

I hope everyone is getting a chance to enjoy the spring-like weather we've been having!

IT 111 Week 7 Podcast

This is a short tutorial (3:30 minutes) that provides 4 tips for avoiding CSS validation errors. I hope you'll find it helpful.

This podcast has some information about Assignment 5 which is based on Chapter 9 in the textbook. Notice that we are skipping around again. I also hope everyone is aware that I've extended the due date for Assignment 5 to Thursday, February 21. It might take a bit longer to understand how Cascading Style Sheets work and to complete the assignment which is a little longer than some others.

I encourage you to make the W3Schools CSS Reference List a bookmark or favorite. It is an excellent resource for coding your CSS.

Have a good holiday weekend everyone but don't wait too long to start Chapter 9 and Assignment 5.

Listen to the IT 111 Week 7 Podcast. 3:21)
Or, read the transcript if you prefer. (PDF)

IT 111 Week 6 Podcast

This podcast includes some general course information, an introduction to the second discussion assignment, and some advice on studying for the test next week. Discussion 2 gives you practice in applying the web design principles from Chapter 7 in our textbook. In addition, I found a great article from Smashing Magazine called "10 Principles of Effective Web Design." I encourage you to read it.

I've also included a short recording I made from a screen reader simulator that will give you a real world example of how blind people experience the web. You can access the simulator yourself. At the very least, it will help you understand why it's important to include the title and summary attributes in your table tags.

Listen to the Week 6 Podcast. (4:56 minutes)
Or, read the transcript if you prefer. PDF

IT 111 Week 5 Podcast

The screen snapshot on the left is from the ColorMaker - a helpful web-based tool for picking good colors for a web page or site. I encourage you to use it when selecting colors for your final web site project. It, along with some other helpful sites are linked from the Class Links page on the course web site.

This podcast includes an overview of Chapter 4, which covers colors and images, and Assignment 4. Even though this isn't a web graphics class, I want students to be able to edit images so they look good and download quickly on the web. If you don't have an image editing program like Photoshop Elements or PaintShop Pro on your computer, you can download and use Picasa- a free image editing program by Google. If you're working on a Mac, you'll probably want to use iPhoto instead.

Finally, in order to complete the Chapter 4 updates on your case study, you'll need to get the Textbook Student Data Files from WebCT.

Listen to the Week 5 Podcast (6:55 minutes)
Or, if you prefer, read the transcript. (PDF)

IT 111 Week 4 Podcast

The screen snapshot to the left shows the Seattle PI front page story on online learning which features North Seattle Community College. If you missed it yesterday (1-22), you can read it online.

Anyone for a "virtual office hour?" If you're having problems with an assignment, contact me via email or Meebo and we can set up a time to talk. I'm using a program called Gizmo Project that allows me to receive calls on my computer for a small annual fee ($36/year). We can discuss your problems in real time and work together to figure out how to fix them.

This podcast also discusses my grading strategy and gives some tips for Assignment 3.

Listen to the podcast (4:27 minutes)
Or, if you prefer, read the transcript. PDF.

Is anybody listening? Feel free to leave a comment.

IT 111 Podcast #2 for Winter 2008

This podcast took a bit longer to produce than I expected. I'm still getting software installed and tested on my new computer and it's been very time consuming.

The main focus of this podcast is Assignment 2 - your first web coding assignment. Get an early start on it since you'll need to download and install a few programs to complete all the tasks. All this software is listed and linked on the Tips Page which is where you can find the ePacket, too. Make sure you watch the tutorials (found on the Tutorials Page). They should help you a lot as you work on the assignment.

In addition to the short movie above, there are some excellent resources for Chapter 2 on the Class Links Page. One of them is the W3Schools XHTML Reference - a list of all the XHTML elements or tags and how they are used. There's also a web page that has plain English explanations for the error messages you might receive when you validate your pages.

Listen to the second podcast (4 minutes)
Or, if you prefer, read the transcript. (PDF)

Feel free to leave a comment!

IT 111 Week 1 Podcast for Winter 2008

I'll be producing a short weekly podcast for our class this quarter and this first podcasts explains why and how I'm using them.

One of my favorite Christmas presents was a flip video camera, pictured in the image on the left. It takes decent videos that are easy to upload to YouTube or just watch on your computer. Find out more about it by going to the Flip Video web site. My welcome video was recorded with it.

Listen to the Week 1 Podcast. (2:52 minutes)
Read the transcript if you prefer. PDF

Feel free to leave a comment!

IT 111 Podcast #10 for Fall 2007

I couldn't resist making a short movie of the snow that fell today in Seattle. Did you enjoy it?

This podcast has some announcements and several tips for getting a good grade on your final project. I'm recommending that you print a copy of the grading form I'll be using before you listen to the podcast. Then you can follow along as I review and give advice on each of the project elements.

Remember there are many web-based tools you might be able to use with your project. A quick review of the Class Links will direct you to sites that allow you to:

• make free customized buttons
• create a good color scheme
• find free stock photos

Listen to the Week 10 Podcast (6:23 minutes)
Or, if you prefer, read the transcript. (PDF)

Please feel free to leave a comment.

IT 111 Podcast #9 for Fall 2007

This week's podcast has some course announcements, an introduction to Assignment 7, and a very cool web site you'll want to use the next time you fly someplace.

Before you start Assignment 7, look at the Chapter 10 Updates on the textbook web site. There is a correction that will save you time and frustration if you know about it before you begin.

While you're looking at the Updates page, I encourage you to explore the CSS Page Layout Creator. It might help you understand these new CSS techniques or even help you create the layout for your final web project if you decide not to use tables.

Finally, make sure you check out the SeatGuru.com. I used it on both legs of my flight from Seattle to London and had good seats both times.

Listen to the Week 9 Podcast (3:51 minutes long)
Or, if you prefer, read the transcript. (PDF)

Feel free to leave a comment, too!

IT 111 Podcast #8 for Fall 2007

This podcast has some announcements and tips for completing Assignment 6.

One of the announcements is the online evaluation I'll be ordering for our class next week. Since the evaluation is sent to your email address, I'm asking you to check the email address that's listed for you in our system and correct it if necessary.

The screen snapshot shows the Chapter 6 web page for the textbook and if you want to learn more about the scripts that process forms or free remotely hosted form processing services, check out this page.

Listen to the Week 8 Podcast (4:21 minutes)
Or, read the transcript if you prefer. (PDF)

Feel free to post a comment!

IT 111 Podcast #7 for Fall 2007

This podcast has some additional tips for Assignment 5 and includes two book recommendations as well. The web page to the left shows Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug. The NSCC library has a copy but if you decide to purchase it, do it from this web site.

Here is a link to Eric Meyer's CSS Compatibility Chart but I think you might want to use the one from the W3Schools web site instead. It is more up-to-date.

The NSCC Library web site will help you order and/or place a hold on the two books mentioned in the podcast.

Thanks to Lisa for finding and sharing the Seattle Times article about Vint Cerf a founder of the Internet back in the 1960s.

Listen to the Week 7 Podcast (4:14 minutes)
Or, read the transcript if you prefer (PDF)

Feel free to leave a comment!

IT 111 Podcast #6 for Fall 2007

This podcast introduces Cascading Style Sheets and Assignment 5 which covers chapter 9 in the textbook. The screen snapshot to the left is of the W3Schools CSS Tutorial which I strongly encourage students to use as they begin learning CSS.

I'll get the test graded ASAP and I apologize for the technical problems that arose during the test. I know it impacted at least one student who had planned on taking the test in the afternoon.

Listen to the Week 6 Podcast (4:16 minutes)
Or, read the transcript if you prefer. PDF

Feel free to leave a comment!

IT 111 Podcast #4 for Fall 2007

This is a picture of my great nephew Tommy and me taken in London. I'll be returning to Seattle on Wednesday, Oct. 17 so we'll be in the same time zone soon.

This week's podcast has some background information on web color and graphics and some tips for Assignment 4.

Listen to the Week 4 Podcast. (6:24 minutes)
Or, read the transcript if you prefer. (PDF)