Video Recap Transcript
HTML is how web pages are made. Web pages were simple with blocks of text and a few photos when I first learned about HTML. The lesson was part of a computer literacy class. It covered the very basic elements.
Web pages now have multimedia, photo slideshows, and rotating text. They're very different, but my knowledge of HTML is still the same. I used the basic elements and kind of fudged my way around the rest. I took a short refresher course more than a decade ago, and I have worked on multiple websites.
But I knew nothing about Cascading Style Sheets, which is called CSS. As one online instructor said, "HTML is the bones of the website, and CSS is the muscles." Well, I didn't have any muscles for the websites I worked on.
Plus, there were large gaps of when I didn't use HTML at all. So when the need arose again, I would spend time double-checking what I knew to make sure it was right. Fortunately, on the bigger websites I managed, there were developers who did the heavy lifting.
My basic HTML did what it needed to do. But I was working alone. No one else saw my HTML, so I didn't have to worry about someone else understanding it or messing up someone else's code.
That is no longer the case. I joined a new team in January, where multiple people are working on the same HTML pages, so I need to make sure my HTML is up to date and correct. Plus, I have some coworkers who haven't used HTML at all. And they're looking to me for some guidance, so I want to make sure I provide them the current and latest information.
Because of that, I signed up for the Udemy Web Design for Beginners: Real World Coding in HTML & CSS course. The course is aimed at people new to HTML and CSS, hobbyists, and experienced developers who want to brush up on their skills.
I kind of fall between the last two. There were 22 units videos in the course, which totaled about 11 hours of videos to watch. I planned to watch the videos over a three-week period. The first week I had some extra time. I watched the first eight units, which was about four hours long, plus I was able to add an extra two or three units to it that week.
When I saw the complete list of units, I was tempted to jump ahead. But I didn't. I was afraid if I skipped ahead, I would have missed the important lessons in between.
The units were divided well, with basic HTML at the start, CSS second, and then some additional related lessons third. I was worried about missing out on a lot of HTML, because I saw a handful of things I didn't recognize in new HTML files. But I realized those handful of things were basically the only thing that changed. So for the most part, I watched most the videos about HTML training videos in fast forward.
I was introduced to resources I didn't know about like Visual Studio Code and CodePen.io. Those was very helpful. There were also resource files attached to units.
But here is my downfall. If a course doesn't require me to do the practice lessons, I'm not going to do the practice lessons. I call it "Someday Isle," a dumping ground for things I save but never actually do. Someday I'll do this or do that. So I saved those resources files, and they're still there waiting for me. However, I did take plenty of notes. And while notes are good and help me remember, practice is what helps me learn.
The next week, I continued watching the videos, which covered CSS. As I mentioned, I wasn't familiar with it at all. And what I learned is CSS does a lot of the heavy lifting. Once again, there were resource files, which I ignored.
On the third week, I realized I was behind on my video viewing schedule, but the good news is I had planned for that. I had scheduled just a small amount of videos the last week, so that way in case I did have videos to catch up on, I would just kind of balance out. I wouldn't be overwhelmed with any, so that worked out.
And it was during those videos of the last week that I finally got curious enough about a lesson, that I actually opened Visual Studio Code to practice along with the instructor.
After completing the Udemy course, I received a certificate of completion. And I feel more confident in knowing that the HTML I've been using is still relevant. It's also been great to get an insight into what CSS is and how to use it. I hope to use the lessons to complete the HTML work I'm assigned faster and also to help my coworkers who need some help with HTML.
While I didn't practice like I should've, I look forward to using this new information in actual work projects. When I first got involved in managing websites, it wasn't because it was assigned to me. I saw a need. I was curious, and so I got involved. I still have that curiosity and interest. So while my current workload doesn't let me tinker with some of the things I learned in the Udemy course, like the CSS animations. I do look forward to trying that in the future.
Web pages now have multimedia, photo slideshows, and rotating text. They're very different, but my knowledge of HTML is still the same. I used the basic elements and kind of fudged my way around the rest. I took a short refresher course more than a decade ago, and I have worked on multiple websites.
But I knew nothing about Cascading Style Sheets, which is called CSS. As one online instructor said, "HTML is the bones of the website, and CSS is the muscles." Well, I didn't have any muscles for the websites I worked on.
Plus, there were large gaps of when I didn't use HTML at all. So when the need arose again, I would spend time double-checking what I knew to make sure it was right. Fortunately, on the bigger websites I managed, there were developers who did the heavy lifting.
My basic HTML did what it needed to do. But I was working alone. No one else saw my HTML, so I didn't have to worry about someone else understanding it or messing up someone else's code.
That is no longer the case. I joined a new team in January, where multiple people are working on the same HTML pages, so I need to make sure my HTML is up to date and correct. Plus, I have some coworkers who haven't used HTML at all. And they're looking to me for some guidance, so I want to make sure I provide them the current and latest information.
Because of that, I signed up for the Udemy Web Design for Beginners: Real World Coding in HTML & CSS course. The course is aimed at people new to HTML and CSS, hobbyists, and experienced developers who want to brush up on their skills.
I kind of fall between the last two. There were 22 units videos in the course, which totaled about 11 hours of videos to watch. I planned to watch the videos over a three-week period. The first week I had some extra time. I watched the first eight units, which was about four hours long, plus I was able to add an extra two or three units to it that week.
When I saw the complete list of units, I was tempted to jump ahead. But I didn't. I was afraid if I skipped ahead, I would have missed the important lessons in between.
The units were divided well, with basic HTML at the start, CSS second, and then some additional related lessons third. I was worried about missing out on a lot of HTML, because I saw a handful of things I didn't recognize in new HTML files. But I realized those handful of things were basically the only thing that changed. So for the most part, I watched most the videos about HTML training videos in fast forward.
I was introduced to resources I didn't know about like Visual Studio Code and CodePen.io. Those was very helpful. There were also resource files attached to units.
But here is my downfall. If a course doesn't require me to do the practice lessons, I'm not going to do the practice lessons. I call it "Someday Isle," a dumping ground for things I save but never actually do. Someday I'll do this or do that. So I saved those resources files, and they're still there waiting for me. However, I did take plenty of notes. And while notes are good and help me remember, practice is what helps me learn.
The next week, I continued watching the videos, which covered CSS. As I mentioned, I wasn't familiar with it at all. And what I learned is CSS does a lot of the heavy lifting. Once again, there were resource files, which I ignored.
On the third week, I realized I was behind on my video viewing schedule, but the good news is I had planned for that. I had scheduled just a small amount of videos the last week, so that way in case I did have videos to catch up on, I would just kind of balance out. I wouldn't be overwhelmed with any, so that worked out.
And it was during those videos of the last week that I finally got curious enough about a lesson, that I actually opened Visual Studio Code to practice along with the instructor.
After completing the Udemy course, I received a certificate of completion. And I feel more confident in knowing that the HTML I've been using is still relevant. It's also been great to get an insight into what CSS is and how to use it. I hope to use the lessons to complete the HTML work I'm assigned faster and also to help my coworkers who need some help with HTML.
While I didn't practice like I should've, I look forward to using this new information in actual work projects. When I first got involved in managing websites, it wasn't because it was assigned to me. I saw a need. I was curious, and so I got involved. I still have that curiosity and interest. So while my current workload doesn't let me tinker with some of the things I learned in the Udemy course, like the CSS animations. I do look forward to trying that in the future.