Resources for Web Development Students @ Robin’s Blog

There is a lot of buzz on the design sites about designing for handheld devices. With virtually all of the new handheld devices (cell phones & PDAS) offering some kind of web access and usability improving more and more people are turning to their handheld devices to access the Internet when they’re away from their desktop computers. We’re currently researching [...]

It seems that on a daily basis we can count on a student’s cell phone loudly ringing several times during class. Class is further disrupted by the phone being answered with a loud “Hello” in the middle of the room. This has become a joke in class with students and I threatening to collect a dollar for each class disruption; [...]

I was reading SimpleBits this morning and there was a link to Design Eye for the Idea Guy which outlines the process of redesigning a site for a client, Dirk Knemeyer. Excellent sample logos, color choices, typeface samples, wireframes, and photography ideas are shared on these pages. The pages should give you inspiration and a lot of planning assistance. Of [...]

Searchfreefonts.com is a huge font site with no pop-ups. You can search for fonts or browse font categories. Dave Shea has put his notes and slide presentation on How to be Beautiful: More Hi-Fi Design With CSS from his panel discussion at SXSW. The slide presentation is amazing! Fawny, Joe Clark’s personal blog, also has some notes on the same [...]

Checky – “Easy to use interface to many free and commercial Online Validation and Analysis Services. Validate and analyse HTML, XHTML, CSS, RDF, RSS, XML, WAI, Section 508, P3P, Hyperlinks, Metadata and many more.” Web Color Names – Is a color table extension that includes hex values, rgb values, and color names. You can sort the table by color or [...]

I was just watching the news and there was an interview with a securities expert/author (aka hacker) who has recently written a book on how Google is used to hack. He has a Google Hacking Database on his site. You may want to visit this site to learn how your sensitive information could be at risk.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Dithered.com has a huge listing of CSS filters and hacks. The site includes browser support tables, non-validating hacks, and links to additional information on each hack. This is another site worth bookmarking. Andy Budd & Jeremy Keith have a great “CSS slideshow” on How to Bluff Your Way in CSS. This is from their presentation at [...]

The following books are in stock in the classroom: CSS Anthology 101 Essential Tips, Tricks, and Hacks (15 copies)- $28.00 Dreamweaver MX 2004 The Missing Manual (4 copies) – $25.00 Flash Hacks (1 copy) – $18.00 Dreamweaver in a Nutshell (1 copy) – $22.00 Please complete a receipt form to order books.

If you are a student in my class you are probably learning that the CSS styles that you are writing may look good in Internet Explorer (Windows), but not in Firefox/Opera and visa-versa. At times you may have to use what are referred to as “hacks” in your CSS code to get your site to look good across all browsers. [...]

I have become concerned lately with the amount of time spent on job search activities in class. While I understand the most students’ number one priority is finding a job, I fear that job search activities are interfering with completing the course curriculum. I want to be flexible and allow students to work on job search activities in class, but [...]