Introduction
Welcome. Hello and welcome to the Intermediate CSS Workshop. This page provides an overview and an introduction to the class. If you're reading this page - and in the Intermediate CSS Workshop - then you should have already completed H151, Introduction to CSS. That class (or equivalent CSS knowledge) is a prerequisite for this one. And this class, while not a prerequisite for the advanced CSS course, will prepare you to do better in that class if you decide to continue your study of CSS. The bridge role is just one purpose for the creation of this workshop.
A Niche. The main reason we created this class is to provide you the opportunity to learn more advanced CSS concepts as you apply honest-to-goodness CSS projects to Web pages - beyond the beginner level. What you learned in the introductory class laid a good foundation for this class. The CSS advanced class tends to be slightly more theoretical but will also deal with "real world" design issues. That leaves a neat little niche for an intermediate level workshop, and we're here to fill that niche.
Weekly Routine. Each week of the course will consist of similar elements. You will see the following in each week of the class:
- Reading assignment
- Project assignment
- Peer reviews
- Practice quiz
Weeks 1-2. The first two weeks in this class will focus on some topics that were not covered (or were not covered in detail) in the introductory class. The projects for weeks one and two will be short exercises to practice the topics and ensure you have a good foundation - primarily in areas such as validation, specificity, inheritance, and liquid design - as you proceed through the remainder of the course.
Weeks 3-5. Weeks three, four and five will require you to take a look at one or two of the projects from Eric Meyer on CSS and apply them to a class Web page. You may choose to create a new page for the projects or work on an existing page. These three weeks will also include a practice quiz and assigned peer reviews.
Week 6. For the final project, your assignment will be to convert a Web page that was done without CSS and to apply the principles you have learned throughout the class to make that page shine. You will have two weeks at the end of the class to do the final project.
The Text. Eric Meyer on CSS is the text for this class for a couple of pretty sound reasons. First of all, Eric is an icon in the CSS world. Second, it's a darned good book, with an accompanying Web site (www.ericmeyeroncss.com) that contains lots of good CSS resources.
Class Procedures. The material for each week of the class - reading assignments, practice quiz, project(s) - will be posted in the classroom each Sunday evening. We will discuss the questions and concepts on the practice quiz throughout the week. We would like to see the project posted by the following Sunday. Peer reviews will also be assigned and will be due one week later. The class is graded on a pass/fail basis. If you do the required reading, try the practice quizzes, post the weekly project assignments, do your peer reviews, and participate in class discussions, I guarantee you will pass the class. And in the process of "passing the class," you'll learn quite a lot of good CSS that you'll be able to apply to your own Web design projects, which is really the "main thing."
Workshop? Yes, a workshop. Rather than theories or exercises designed solely to demonstrate a particular CSS concept, our goal here is to work projects that are immediately applicable to your real-world sites and Web pages. And because this is a workshop, I expect the participants to contribute significantly to the success of the class and to the overall learning experience. As instructors, we are here to help and contribute wherever we can, but we don't have all the answers. The "learning dynamic" really comes to life through peer reviews and class participation - by all members of the class.
Browsers. We will focus on making our work in this class look good in the latest versions of the main browsers (IE, Firefox, Safari, Chrome and Opera). At the same time, we'll do our best to ensure our work is presentable (legible) in older browsers. You are required to have a minimum of two newer browsers installed.
Enjoy! Although this workshop actually does involve quite a lot of work, I think you can - and should - enjoy the experience. You'll have the opportunity to learn a lot. Please help us make the class a success by being an active participant. Ask questions, post your thoughts about the class, the material covered, CSS problems, issues, etc., in the weekly discussion areas or in the open forum.