IT 325 has been an excellent course! While I knew some very basic html code, I was still very excited about taking this course. Throughout this course I have gained some valuable experience that I believe would definitely help my resume to stand out among other public health professionals. I think that learning JavaScript and PHP are going to be beneficial if I decide to work with a small medical office.
My website at http://www.rogerepairs.net63.net (please excuse the web address, I had to make it accessible to my husband who is on deployment. So I switched my original url during my midterm so he could view my progress during this course) has definitely evolved over the last few weeks. I think while my skills are still at a novice level, I am much more prepared for creating a website, maintaining a website, and also updating a website. The simple design I choose was very basic. I think the color choice is easy on the eyes and complement each other. If I were to change anything about my website, I would implement a cascading style sheet to make the pages much more uniform.
I have gained significant insight from this course. For example, the importance of a aesthetically pleasing website. Users want cohesion and smooth transition from one page to the next. I also learned the importance of protecting website information from security breaches. This is important because if the website if left vulnerable to external users, customers personal and private information could easily be released to the general public. Finally, while websites should look nice visually, they should also be user friendly. Since users typically have varying amounts of experience, it is important to have a website that easy to navigate.
I would say that I definitely approach websites differently now that I have taken this course. I now look to ensure consistency throughout the website as well as occasionally, I look at the source code to see what was written and how it was written. This can be an excellent for new IT professionals.
When it comes to designing and creating websites, I would say that I am definitely more confident with creating websites in comparison to designing them. I definitely had a lot trouble with spacing and layout of my website. But this is something that I would need to work on in order to develop more professional looking websites. Though I am confident that with continuous practice, I will be able to design website much more fluently.
I have considered combining my design skills with my public health background. I think these two together would give the edge I need to stay ahead of my peers and future colleagues. Especially, with healthcare becoming integrated with technology, I think future employers would appreciate someone with my background. Though I do not see myself completely giving up a career in public health to become fully focused on web design or web development.
I enjoy online courses; however, there are a select few that I do not think should be offered online such as math or science. I think online classes are much more flexible in regards to time and allow me the choice of interacting when I have the time. This class is perfect for online meetings because a significant portion of this class requires internet usage, web design, and web development, with reduces the need for in class meetings.
