Introduction to HTML5

Week One

This week we will uncover the "mystery" behind the Internet. What happens when you type a URL into your browser so that a webpage magically appears? What is HTML5 and what happened to HTML 1 - 4? We will also cover some practical concepts that you need to master before you begin coding your own pages.

Week Two

This week you will need to take a deep breath and jump into coding. I will cover a large number of HTML tags, but it is important that you do more than just listen to these video and read the text book material. You need to practice (and fail!) in order to learn. Believe it or not, once you master the basic idea of using tags and attributes you will know everything you need to use any HTML5 tag. The page may not look the way you want it to look yet, but you will be able to use text, links, images, tables, and even music and videos! If you want to refer to a textbook this week for reinforcement of concepts, we will be using the Shay Howe online textbook as a reference. I will include links after the lectures, but some students prefer to read before the videos. (My preferred approach is to read/watch/read again.)

Week Three

Okay, you created a file...what now? This week we will begin by covering the important but often overlooked concepts of validation and accessibility. Did you follow the DOM structure when you created your page? Did you use semantic tags to make sure that page viewers can access all of the information, even if they have physical or cognitive disabilities? This is knowledge you can use if you would like to pursue a career as a web accessibility specialist. Finally I will briefly cover the steps needed to post your site to the web. There are many free and paid services that you can use to get your work off your computer and on to the Internet.