As Jesse Kelly wrote in an earlier article, LVS Online is one of the best beginner classes for html, css and php. This is an actual classroom type experience with a live instructor, lessons, and interaction over those lessons on a private classroom forum each week. All the basics are taught, right down to what programs to use to edit code. If you have no clue, this is where to start.

For those who have some skills but need to improve them, W3Schools offers online tutorials in all sorts of Web Development subjects. Html, xml, browser scripting languages, server side languages, and more are covered in well written and easy to follow format. There are also similar web dev tutorials at Tizag.

There’s nothing like getting your fingers into the code. When you do, and you screw up royally, then you need to ask the experts to bail you out before you pull out all your hair. The Mail Groups are the best way to do this. For general questions about all aspects of web development the Webdesign-L List is the best I’ve found. For css usage questions the uncontested best is the CSS-Discuss List. For accessibility issues, the WebAim list is the one. They also have a Forum for accessibility questions.

Have fun!

I have a pretty good understanding of how things work already, and it still showed me a couple surprises. Those of you who are on the css learning curve can surely get a fair bit of understanding out of playing with the colored blocks. I can think of worse ways to waste 20 or so minutes!

So you want to learn to code? Well, amongst LVS’s numerous offerings are website classes including “Build Your Web Site I, II and III,” each running the six-week term. But this is not reading from a book or stumbling through an online guide. LVS instructors bring you back to basics where you lean to write standards compliant code form the ground up. Every question and assignment is quickly examined and nothing is missed. If you mistype a command, they’ll find it, and if you have a question, they’ll answer it. Plus, not only do you have the feedback from your instructors, you also receive encouragement and assistance from your fellow classmates. You even get to play instructor yourself as you have to opportunity to answer questions and examine the assignments of your classmates in return.

I have taken the Build I and Build II classes, and they are thorough college quality learning experiences. Because I took some time off I’ve decided to repeat Build II as a refresher to get ready for the Build III. And that is another great feature of LVS; if you have trouble with material, or have to leave a class for any reason, or if you just want to repeat a class for greater understanding, you can. And the investment is nominal.

LVS isn’t just for computer types; they have many other courses including English Composition, Introduction to Advertising, Piano/Keyboard Intro, and Digital Photography. And this is just a few of the 90 instructor led classes available. Plus, there are even more Self-Study classes that run around half the price. And don’t forget to tell your computer illiterate friends, because LVS even offers an instructor led introductory Windows course for free.

There are many opportunities for learning both online and in the real world. I encourage you to explore as different methods work for different people, and a broad based learning approach is second to none. But if you’re looking for a great place to learn W3C web standards and accessibility based coding, you’d be hard pressed to find a better starting point than LVS. Terms begin five times a year with September 1st being the earliest, so get over there and register now for Build I and start coding your way to the future!

*Note: the author has received neither compensation nor special treatment from LVS Online, but will not turn down the above in the future!

Take a quick glance at the Roadmap and you will see that it will be in beta until at least the beginning of 2008, so no production use until then; but don’t let that dampen your spirits… start using it now and become one of the beta testing pioneers. This is definitely one to keep an eye on and knowing it inside-out is just another skill to add to the list

We’ll be trying a new Venue for the April Meetup, since we found out the hard way that Panera is known to turn their wifi hotspot off if people have trouble finding tables. Hard to have a computer geek’s Web Standards and Accessibility Meetup without a connection! We still managed to kill three hours though, which was very cool.

We’re looking to join other computer geek groups from the Eastern PA and NJ area sometime in August and have a Computerless Geek Weekend, probably up in the Delaware Water Gap, though the beach might also be nice. Response will determine if this will be a one day or two day event. If you or someone you know runs any sort of Geek Group, and this sounds interesting, please contact me. I perceive this also as an opportunity for those of us who have family to let them participate in one of our events, since computers will be verboten.

Technorati Tags: RefreshDelVal March Meetup wrap-up, August Computerless Geek Weekend

This month we broke our attendance record. Thanks to all who made it. I really look forward to seeing you all again next month.

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Technorati Tags: Usability, Accessibility, SEO

Aptana is a terrific alternative, and it’s open-source (GNU/GPL). It’s an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that can handle a multitude of files including PHP, Javascript, (X)HTML, CSS, plus more. The application is still in it’s infancy but shows promise and has a growing community. Has some validation features as well. Check out Aptana’s website for the full feature set and other details.

So, if you want to cut down on software costs or your just getting annoyed with Dreamweaver, Aptana is definitely worth checking out.

See you at the meeting later today!

Topics will focus on Web Development and Accessibility.