Each semester I ask students to write a letter to people who will someday take the class. These are generally written on the last day of class. I present these here in the raw. That is, I have not edited them in anyway. They're here to help you...
Well organized notes. Date them. Write everything down in a neat and tremendously organized fashion. Expect to come in for lab time. Once the lesson is done, write a summary of everything you learned.
Dear future student, I only have two words for you, " take notes and do your homework!' I came into this class worried that it was going to be a drag, that was wrong. I have learned so much in this class, and so will you. this is not the class to sit and check your damn facebook page. mike is full of answers, but only if you try to get them from him. he is very approachable, and easy going. don't mistake his kindness for weakness, he will swallow your soul if you screw around in his class.
dear future student Dont miss any classes!
I got four words for you: Pay attention in class. If you have to ask what's going on when the only step the teacher has done is open the program, you should probably stop fooling around on MySpace or whatever it was that you were doing. This will also cut down on those annoyances you will likely cause on the rest of the class. Now, in the event that you get lost legitimately, ask your question as soon as politely possible. Don't wait until you gotta go back like ten steps. Raise your hand or something. The teacher likes to give answers. That's what he's there for. Turn in your paperwork and projects on time and this class is a freaking breeze. Don't tell yourself you can't do it. Your work will be at least as good as his examples. It's really not as hard as it looks. Have fun!
Dear future student... MAKE NOTES! clear helpful ones and buy a notebook so you don't have papers all over. Buy the book!!! IT HELPS SOOO MUCH! And makae sure you read it!
GO TO CLASS! I missed a class and was really lost. If you go to every class you may not even need the book.
Take notes, study your notes, read the book before class and listen. Not much different than any other class you want to succeed in.
Ask questions!! Practice.. practice... practice!!
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1) things that helped in the class...audio-he might let you tape the class and that is very helpful when you go home and have forgotten everything. You also NEED to take precise notes that are well organized and maybe draw graphics of the screen in your notes to remember where you did what. 2) things that were helpful outside of class...being smarter than you are, remembering more than you did, laughing more at yourself than anyone else...3) things that were problematic...my memory 4) how best to succeed... take long well organized notes and come to class!
Do your work early so that you can get help with it before it is due...unless you are an expert, which you aren't if you are taking this class, problems will arise.
I found that you do not need to buy a book for this class. It was useless and a waste of money. This class will help you if you are going to be a website designer someday. Other than that this class is fun and you learn alot.
Things that helped me in this class: The teacher, and the book. Things that were helpful outside the class: The computer lab, I can't work on my homework at home, so the lab's being open really helped me. Things that I found problematic: Remembering everything: It was hard to take notes on everything that we did, and sometimes the book doesn't really explain the things I need to know well. Advice: Take lots of notes and pay attention.
Dear future student, If you want a great learning experience then you should take Arts173. You will get the basics out of Dreamweaver that will give you a good foundation for further training. I would recommend having the software on your home PC or Mac this make life easier then you're able to work at your leisure. My advise would be to ask questions even if you think its stupid and never get behind in your projects.
This class was fun. Mike kept it lively and interesting and made it easy to sit through the 3 hour class. Time flew by. I thought the modules that Mike showed us during class were helpful. If you took detailed notes you will not be so lost, if you take o-kay notes you will kinda get lost. Don't copy notes from someone else if you miss class because you will not understand a word they are saying in them unless they are a good note taker. Hope this helps and good luck!
You should plan to spend time outside of class working on homework. I found it helpful to meet others in my class so I had a couple people to help me out when I needed it. You can't miss classes and expect to do well unless you already know the programs well.
Dear stranger, Take precise notes during lectures, to be able to see what you did to get to the step your at. Although this may seem difficult r repetitive. At times, skipping a very simple step can create one big confusing mess. It is good to attend labs outside of class, even if for nothing more then to mess around and get to know the software a little better. Turn your stuff in on time and do the paper work. Your computer will be a pain in the ass, so instead of getting mad when it decides to fail you, be happy when it works. It will save so much frustration. That's it. Farewell.
write stuff down, it really does come in handy later! asking as many questions that it takes and writing stuff down. getting a hang of div tags, classes. and id tag, they can get a little confusing at first.
Hello, I heard that you want to take arts 173. Well I took the class already, so I can tell you it is a lot of fun. This class really helped me learn how to make a web page so I can put my art work on it for potential employers, as well as being one of the few people in my family that can boast about being able to do this confidently. The only problem that I found was that you need to not use capital letters certain aspects of the page, where you would normally want to. Really the best way to succeed in this course is to come to class every day, and if yours is a late night class like mine, bring a beverage with a lot of caffeine. I found that Vault was a good choice for me. Well all I can say is I hope you had as much fun as I did in the class.
To a future student in arts 173, My advice is best summed up with "give it your best". By that I mean you HAVE to go to class EVERY night. If you don't you will miss a lot, and by next class, you'll be behind. It is very fast paced, so keep up on your work, and don't hesitate to ask questions. That is the only way you will get them answered. Make sure that you have time to work on projects outside of class because you will not have enough in class.
Dear Student So you think you want to learn Dreamweaver. This is a great intro class that you will have the oppertunite to do just enough to get by and pull a good grade or take it as far as you like (time permitting) and learn the fundementals of Dreamweaver. As far as "how to build a web site" that's another thing. You have to bring some skills with you. It's like Dreamweaver is a hammer and this class can teach you how to drive a nail. That doesn't mean you can build a house but even with a little graphic experiance you should be able to build a bird feeder. This class is time consuming but the only why I've ever found to learn a new software program IS to spend time with it. All and all I found it interesting enough to want to take the next Dreamweaver class.
Definitly work through the things while he is going over them in class and use a lot of outside of class time to work on things and figure some things out.
Dear Future Student, If you are reading this, you're probably about to start taking Arts 173 (Computer Graphics/Web Design.). The most helpful thing that I realized while taking this class was that it is important to pay attention to the basic functions of Dreamweaver before you start working on projects. Although it is not required, it would be extremely helpful to be able to access Dreamweaver at home. The only real problem I had was learning about forms. Pay attention especially well when they are discussed. The best way to succeed in this course is to make sure you finish on time, don't skip, be creative, and have fun. I hope that you enjoy taking Arts 173. From, Matt Shoemaker
Future Student, Since this class is offered only once a week I found it very important to be at every class session. It is very easy to fall behind if you're not here to learn the information Mike is teaching. The class is mostly a lecture class and all the things he talks about deals with the assignments that are due in class. So if you don't show up, you'll miss out on learning how to do your assignments. Because this class is a lecture class, I found it extremely important to ask any and all questions during class. Don't hesitate to ask! When you are given class time to work on assignments, don't skip out on the opportunity. That way you have a teacher handy if you run into any problems and need help. I also found it helpful for people with a busy schedule (like me) who don't always have time to come in and work on assignments outside of class, to download a 30 trial period of Dreamweaver CS3 and Flash. This way I was able to use my hard drive with all my information on it at home and work on assignments there. Or you could pay a lot of money to actually purchase the software, but I would only do this if you plan on using the programs a lot for you profession. Stay on top of your classwork. Don't fall behind and don't loose track of when things are due. If you follow these short guidelines I've given you, you should do a great job! Have fun!
To my fellow future student, It's wise to listen to someone who has already been through something you have never experienced. Here are some words of wisdom by someone who has survived this intro to webdesign course...so listen up. STAY FOCUSED. COME TO EVERY CLASS. Web design is so detailed and specific that if you miss anything you will definitely be lost. If you dont understand something, ASK. Believe me, its more frustrating to not know what you are doing than to feel silly asking a question. Follow along, be thorough, TAKE NOTES because you wont remember everything unless youre some kind of super genius. Good luck to you and your epic battle with dreamweaver. Preparation is everything. Sincerely, Your Average Peer
For the Future student, I think that you are going to really enjoy this course Mike is a good instructor and usually knows the answers to your problems before he even sees the work. I do want to say that you should take really good notes, you are going to be somewhere and forget almost everything you learned in the last class, trust me you will, and good notes are what's going to help. Also I want to say that there are going to be some glitches DON'T freak out it can almost always be fixed, I don't know how many times I thought my whole assignment was ruined and stressed myself out for nothing, just breathe. And last but not least have fun if you really pay attention, take good notes, and ask lots of questions, Mike won't mind, you will create some really cool things. Good Luck!
1) Ask lots of questions. Web design, even with the latest and greatest software, is not an easy subject to learn. If you don't understand a concept, ask questions. If you still don't understand, ask again. Eventually, you'll get it. 2) I spent a lot of time at home working on each time a new concept was introduced. I often failed at my first few attempts, but kept trying until the light bulb went off. Having the software at home made a huge difference. 3) Understanding html code would have been beneficial in helping to understand why some things didn't work right. I would have like to see more handouts that streamlined or charted flow of how to do most tasks. 4) To succeed, spend a lot of time on your homework, do assignments as soon as you get them, ask lots of questions, take good notes, read the book, over and over.