computer
HeadFirst HTML and CSS
18/08/08 21:58 Filed in: Non-Fiction
OK for my first review I wanted to
begin with the latest book I’ve read. Mostly because I’ve been
trying to organize and create this website, I thought I’d share
with you a little of my inspiration. For some reason I decided to
learn something about HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) HTML is the
programming so to speak behind all web pages. HTML tells the
browser how to display the web page content. If you choose “View
source” from the menu of whichever web browser you’re using, you’ll
see the HTML code for the page you’re viewing. This is the language
used to arrange the different elements of text, images, links etc
for the page. To be able to create a web page from scratch or to
modify a page that needs tweaking you have to understand the
language.
Needless to say, as in learning any new language, the vocabulary and rules of HTML are strange. There are lots of good resources on the Web that are available free, but I wanted something written to which I could refer. Plus, I was intrigued by the concept of this particular book Head First HTML with CSS and XHTML (I’ll try to explain those later). In the intro to the book the authors underscore principles of active learning. That is, what are the proven methods of increasing the comprehension and retention of new subject matter. For any educational endeavor, these include:
OK, so I dive into this book. It is quite varied in its typography, layout, graphics, and methods. It makes use of all the elements above, with a good splash of humor and savoir faire thrown in. For example, when explaining “doc types” the authors eventually just say: “at the end of the day, it may not make sense, just put it at the top of your webpage and move on [to more important things].” There are numerous exercises where you need to write part of the code for the page. They supply a website where the code for each chapter is archived, and include the images used as well. There are crossword puzzles (to cement the new vocabulary), variation exercises (to show how different snippets of code affect the page), brain teasers, and places where the reader is encouraged to actually write in the book. In short, the authors adhere to their educational principles and I think the results prove the validity of the method. This HTML business can be very dry, but this book makes it fun. I wanted to keep reading it and learning new parts.
Now by no means am I a web design expert after reading this book. But I’ve received an excellent introduction. I would highly recommend it to any beginner who wants to learn more about the subject.
Needless to say, as in learning any new language, the vocabulary and rules of HTML are strange. There are lots of good resources on the Web that are available free, but I wanted something written to which I could refer. Plus, I was intrigued by the concept of this particular book Head First HTML with CSS and XHTML (I’ll try to explain those later). In the intro to the book the authors underscore principles of active learning. That is, what are the proven methods of increasing the comprehension and retention of new subject matter. For any educational endeavor, these include:
- Make it visual
- Put images next to the words that they pertain to
- Use a personal and conversational style
- Engage the learner with challenges, exercises, puzzles, and the like
- Be different: catch the reader’s attention with the exotic, the discrepant, or silly associations
OK, so I dive into this book. It is quite varied in its typography, layout, graphics, and methods. It makes use of all the elements above, with a good splash of humor and savoir faire thrown in. For example, when explaining “doc types” the authors eventually just say: “at the end of the day, it may not make sense, just put it at the top of your webpage and move on [to more important things].” There are numerous exercises where you need to write part of the code for the page. They supply a website where the code for each chapter is archived, and include the images used as well. There are crossword puzzles (to cement the new vocabulary), variation exercises (to show how different snippets of code affect the page), brain teasers, and places where the reader is encouraged to actually write in the book. In short, the authors adhere to their educational principles and I think the results prove the validity of the method. This HTML business can be very dry, but this book makes it fun. I wanted to keep reading it and learning new parts.
Now by no means am I a web design expert after reading this book. But I’ve received an excellent introduction. I would highly recommend it to any beginner who wants to learn more about the subject.