Teaching Web Design

Anyone here who has taken a Web Design class will know that from the ground up, you are taught only the basics to get a page working. Meaning a html opening and closing tag, head tags, body tags and so on. None of these courses put any kind of opinion on using valid and correct code as much as you'd find with a course on programming.

Now, I may end up teaching a class on Web Design over a few days (I think it's a 5 day lesson plan I need to provide), and I feel that providing an insight on correct code would be very benefitial for the learning experience. Now, simply, what would you teach people who are new to Web Design? (but definately not new to computing or programming)

I think i would start from the ground up. I would start off by telling them some of the many uses a website may be developed for, and some of the major income/revenue you can actually make with a website. Just get them into the feeling of wanting to make a website to start off.

Then, i would say start off by telling them the "proper" way to code valid XHTML/HTML. Once all of your students have learned how to code that, i would introduce them to minor CSS.

I mean, if its only 5 days, then you may not have a large enough timespan to teach all this. But, i would always start off all the new topics/coding languages, with the benefits of coding in that language.

Originally Posted by Infinity22 I think i would start from the ground up. I would start off by telling them some of the many uses a website may be developed for, and some of the major income/revenue you can actually make with a website. Just get them into the feeling of wanting to make a website to start off. Then, i would say start off by telling them the "proper" way to code valid XHTML/HTML. Once all of your students have learned how to code that, i would introduce them to minor CSS. I mean, if its only 5 days, then you may not have a large enough timespan to teach all this. But, i would always start off all the new topics/coding languages, with the benefits of coding in that language.

That's the one problem I had with doing this. Should I teach good coding right from the start? Considering the lack of knowledge the students would have, I'm not so sure.

If they dont know any coding now then teaching them proper XHTMl/CSS now is the best possible way to do it - if they have a foundation in improperly done code then they're going to continue coding like that even if they know that tehre are better ways of doing it.

I agree. I teach web development and the course books that the curriculum has are aweful for teaching outdated (egad! Frames!!!) and bad coding habits(Arg!! font tags and tables for layouts everywhere). I am constantly having to correct what is in the books for my students.

Teach good, clean code and let them build their own bad habits later

I done a Web Development Diploma. You needed to have completed a basic IT course to get into a cert IV course and then after that you could get into the Diploma course.

Start by teaching the basics then possibly implement some CSS?

Originally Posted by Wish Start by teaching the basics then possibly implement some CSS?

I plan to move straight into CSS. The overall plan for the moment was to get everyone into working with working HTML, then showing them how they can turn a simple page into something nice with CSS. Another good method I was going to use was to direct them to a few select pages on the Internet, then showing the page without a stylesheet and how basic it actually is.

What I want to show them is the different sides to design and code.

They won't really have much time to learn anything with a five day course. So I'd suggest teaching the basics.

Hmm, but yes teach them the proper way of coding. I myself started off coding wrong, and to this day i still do. And i must say, its hard to learn the proper way now.