Harper College Faculty Member
As an Associate Professor at William Rainey Harper College I've been teaching a variety of web development, web accessibility, e-learning, e-commerce, and computer information systems courses since the previous millennium. Professionally, I have over 20 years of information technology experience which includes software development for various computer platforms (working with the Web since 1996) and teaching graduate courses in information management and database management.
New 5th Edition - Available March 2010
Announcing the 5th edition of Web Development & Design Foundations with XHTML.
Building on the textbook's successful 4th edition, the 5th edition features:
- Expanded coverage of CSS
- Expanded coverage of accessibility
- Expanded coverage of design topics
- Updated code samples and web resources
- New section on Domain Name Selection
- New section on Styling for the Mobile Web
A First Course in Web Development
Web Development & Design Foundations with XHTML, 4th Edition
Web Development and Design Foundations with XHTML, 4/E includes everything you need to develop highly effective Web sites. Besides providing comprehensive coverage of XHTML, this book introduces the Web design and development process and offers successful strategies for promoting Web sites, including accessibility and standards.
The 4th Edition integrates XHTML and CSS topics such as text configuration, color configuration, and page layout with an enhanced focus on the topics of accessibility, usability, and Web standards. Table of Contents (pdf)
Textbook Companion Web Site
The companion web site at http://webdevfoundations.net contains a page for each chapter in the 4th edition of the textbook with URLs listed in the book, information on emerging trends, additional examples, corrections, and review games.
The review games include Crossword Puzzle, Flash Cards, Matching, Fill-in-the-Blank, and Pick-a-Letter activities. iPod review activities and iPod iQuiz games are also available for each chapter. Students can use these games to review concepts and terms. Some instructors use these as group activities in the classroom. They also can be made available for independent student self-assessment activities.
The World Organization of Webmasters has designated this book as a recommended learning resource for the WOW Certified Web Designer Associate (CWDSA) certification Exam.
2010 News and Events
January 2010
Presented an e-poster session, Engage Visual Learners with a Wordle, at the Harper College 2010 Spring TechFest.
2009 News and Events
October 2009
Presented the session, No Web Professional Left Behind: Educating the Next Generation at the 2009 Conference on Information Technology sponsored by the League for Innovation in the Community College.
August 2009
My chapter, "Anytime/Anywhere Online Learning: Does It Remove Barriers for Adult Learners," has been published in the new book, Online Education and Adult Learning: New Frontiers for Teaching Practices.
Even with the convenience of anytime/anywhere online learning, adult learners still encounter barriers and challenges. This chapter explores the growth of online education in higher education and the participation of adult learners.
The chapter introduces K. Patricia Cross’ research about the situational, dispositional, and institutional barriers faced by adult learners in the 1980s. The relevancy of these barriers to today’s adult distance learners is examined. Characteristics of adult learners are discussed. New barriers for learners introduced by online education are explored, including social interaction barriers, technology barriers, student-support barriers, pedagogy barriers, and accessibility barriers.
Suggestions for removing and/or reducing these barriers are provided, including providing technical support services, offering online orientations, pre-assessing student readiness, providing professional development opportunities for faculty which model andragogy and online course methodology, and designing online courses to support learning preferences of adult learners. Recommendations are made for future research.
April 2009
Co-presented the session, "No Web Professional Left Behind: Educating the Next Generation" about the InterAct web design curriculum framework at the 2009 TCC - Technology, Colleges, and Community Online Conference. Fellow members of The Web Standards Project (WaSP) Education Task Force: Rob Dickerson, Christopher Schmitt, and Jeffrey Brown joined me for this panel discussion.
Elluminate Session Recording
March 2009
Attended SxSW Interactive in Austin, Texas. A highlight was the unveiling of a new web design curriculum framework, InterAct, created by The Web Standards Project (WaSP) Education Task Force. InterAct is intended to be a living curriculum to help schools, colleges and universities bridge the gap between educators and industry best practices. There is a wealth of course materials that educators can adapt or adopt as best meets their needs — including assignments, projects, exam questions, resource links, and even learning modules.
It was a great experience to work with my fellow WaSP Education Task Force members during 2008 and 2009 as the curriculum framework took shape. Web Development & Design Foundations is one of the recommended reference books for the Web Design 1 course. Also check out the Accessibility course — I spent many hours developing this course and organizing materials for it. A shout-out of thanks goes to course reviewers Glenda Sims, John F. Croston III, Virgina DeBolt, Mark DuBois, and Jon Gunderson.
February 2009
Co-presented the session: "Community of Inquiry Framework: Teaching Presence Encourages Student Motivation" for the StarLink Webinar, Award-winning Tools, Tips, and Techniques for Online Instruction.
Participated in the online Sloan-C Workshop, Using the Community of Inquiry Framework to Design and Assess Online Courses.