Source: http://pressure.eightyeightteeth.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/jeff-2020.jpg
Red Peach Designs provides a feature-rich online HTML editor, which could be a great little tool for introducing HTML coding to students.
No need for any downloading or installing of software with this online editor.
Set up and view the text, tables etc in the WYSIWYG editor and then simply click the ‘Source’ tab to reveal the HTML code which is nicely presented in indented format.
Source: Patricia Donaghy, Using ICT in Further Education
Seeing this announcement of a free online HTML editor takes me back 10 years when HTML editing was done with text editor, then Adobe Pagemill, then Claris HomePage, then MS Frontpage, then Dreamweaver (which reined supreme as far as I was concerned). The old argument still rages–teach kids to code HTML or use an editor? It is an obsolete argument.
A few years ago (quite a few!), I urged for a redesign of Webmastering curriculums in the region I was working in. I even went so far as to outline what changes needed to be made. We had, I thought, come to rely too much on simple HTML coding but had left out the really important things like database-backed web sites, etc.
Now, it seems obvious that database-backed web sites are THE WAY to go. With content-managed systems (e.g. blogs and Joomla/Drupal, not to mention wikis and a million other MYSQL backed sites) that are managed by end-users, the question is, why do some Texas high school Tech Apps courses (and Careeer and Technology) still emphasize HTML coding for an entire semester?
If you were designing high school Webmastering class…
- Would you make it an online learning experience?
- What aspects of Web 2.0 would you teach?
- Would cascading style sheets (CSS) be a part of the curriculum?
- Would HTML coding at a simple level be a necessary part but not the whole?
- Would learning how to setup an Apache, MySQL/PHP server on a particular platform be a part of Webmastering?
- Would learning to code PHP to connect to a MySQL database be a part of it?
- Would you focus on Ajax, RSS, developing APIs to interact with existing web 2.0 apps?
I would love to hear your thoughts…the next question: Where would you get teachers who knew how to do this?
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Another Think Coming 
If you were designing high school Webmastering class… * Would you make it an online learning experience?At least part of it, using Moodle as a basis for a hybrid course and I’d set up a web server LAMP to practice management. * What aspects of Web 2.0 would you teach?History and evolution of the web and Web 2.0. Detail the underlying concepts. * Would cascading style sheets (CSS) be a part of the curriculum?Absolutely, they’re fundamental to anything you do on the web now. * Would HTML coding at a simple level be a necessary part but not the whole?Yes, since its important to have at least a fundamental understanding of how a markup language works. I would use XHTML Transitional or Strict. * Would learning how to setup an Apache, MySQL/PHP server on a particular platform be a part of Webmastering?Yes, given the importance of the backend in web development, and how ubiquitous the LAMP platform is in the web dev world. * Would learning to code PHP to connect to a MySQL database be a part of it?Yes, again at least on a fundamental level in order to illustrate how information is stored and retrieved in a web DB environment. I would go a step further and teach some basic SQL commands, at least the MySQL version of SQL. * Would you focus on Ajax, RSS, developing APIs to interact with existing web 2.0 apps?On a conceptual level, yes. Defining what AJAX is, how the various technologies complement on another, etc. Teach that RSS is xml another markup language. My expertise here is limited so I would not be able (at least at the moment) to teach AJAX development using Ruby-On-Rails or the like, though I think developing a simple app would be a good experience. I would love to hear your thoughts…the next question: Where would you get teachers who knew how to do this?I’m the only one that I know personally who could cover it. I guess I’d look for a teacher or instructional techology specialist with a strong interest in web mastering, Linux, PHP/MySQL, web design etc.
If you were designing high school Webmastering class… * Would you make it an online learning experience?At least part of it, using Moodle as a basis for a hybrid course and I’d set up a web server LAMP to practice management. * What aspects of Web 2.0 would you teach?History and evolution of the web and Web 2.0. Detail the underlying concepts. * Would cascading style sheets (CSS) be a part of the curriculum?Absolutely, they’re fundamental to anything you do on the web now. * Would HTML coding at a simple level be a necessary part but not the whole?Yes, since its important to have at least a fundamental understanding of how a markup language works. I would use XHTML Transitional or Strict. * Would learning how to setup an Apache, MySQL/PHP server on a particular platform be a part of Webmastering?Yes, given the importance of the backend in web development, and how ubiquitous the LAMP platform is in the web dev world. * Would learning to code PHP to connect to a MySQL database be a part of it?Yes, again at least on a fundamental level in order to illustrate how information is stored and retrieved in a web DB environment. I would go a step further and teach some basic SQL commands, at least the MySQL version of SQL. * Would you focus on Ajax, RSS, developing APIs to interact with existing web 2.0 apps?On a conceptual level, yes. Defining what AJAX is, how the various technologies complement on another, etc. Teach that RSS is xml another markup language. My expertise here is limited so I would not be able (at least at the moment) to teach AJAX development using Ruby-On-Rails or the like, though I think developing a simple app would be a good experience. I would love to hear your thoughts…the next question: Where would you get teachers who knew how to do this?I’m the only one that I know personally who could cover it. I guess I’d look for a teacher or instructional techology specialist with a strong interest in web mastering, Linux, PHP/MySQL, web design etc.
@Tom, great feedback! What’s tough is finding a tech specialist with that kind of background. We probably need to reconfigure how we prepare our high school tech apps teachers.
@Tom, great feedback! What’s tough is finding a tech specialist with that kind of background. We probably need to reconfigure how we prepare our high school tech apps teachers.
Miguel, I learned it all on my own over many years. I was lucky enough to teach computer courses at the high school level for a few years. Keeping up with the kids and bringing them fresh content was a challenge. While I still toy with Linux, Apache, etc. mostly I support classroom teachers with tech integration.
Miguel, I learned it all on my own over many years. I was lucky enough to teach computer courses at the high school level for a few years. Keeping up with the kids and bringing them fresh content was a challenge. While I still toy with Linux, Apache, etc. mostly I support classroom teachers with tech integration.