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September 23, 2004
Teaching Standards to Co-Workers - The Class
Finally, a few months after my original entry, I finally taught a standards-based design course, focusing on XHTML/CSS and semantic markup, to my co-workers at the office.
The Class
The class consisted of four people, all responsible for creating and updating our company's global intranet presence. Everyone had a good understanding of HTML walking in the door, but little to no experience with CSS.
I took my original outline (see previous entry) and tailored it a little bit to make a nice PowerPoint. I then conjured up with a few exercises to work on over two four-hour sessions scheduled on seperate days. It went much better than I expected.
What Worked
The really hit home:
- Emphasizing XHTML as a bridge to XML, and why that's important
- They had all seen and heard of XML but hadn't yet understood how important it will be to their jobs in the not-too-distant future. Once that realization took hold, they were very interested.
- Conveying semantic markup as "Markup with Meaning"
- Once the understanding of XML sunk in, we talked about semantic markup and how XML is very conducive to that. This led to looking at XHTML (since its the current standard) and how we can provide some level of semantic meaning through IDs and Classes on DIV and using other HTML element correctly.
- Examples, Examples, Examples
- Thanks to standards design taking root in the last couple of years, there are quite a few sites to point at, big (Chevrolet.com) and just plain cool (CSS Zen Garden). Either way, what really made their eyes pop was turning off the styles and then switching them back on.
What Didn't
Honestly, I think everything went really well. I handed out a feedback form but haven't got any back yet. If I do, I'll be sure to update here.
What's Next
I'm going to make a few minor tweaks then teach this class again next week to a few more people at the company's headquarters. Bringing standards-based design to my company, one web professional at a time.
