A shortened week (thank you, fall break) meant that we only touched on the topics covered for about half of our regularly alotted time. However, we still managed to pack some good information in. We discussed our next project, Verification Quest, at greater length, introducing our chosen topics to the class and playing around with research directions in small groups. We also took a CSS training course through LinkedIn Learning over the past week.
I’m looking forward to the research side and the writing side of Verification Quest! It’s the HTML combined with CSS that’s throwing me for a bit of a loop. The research, I’m sure, will be interesting if not simply fun; the writing will be exciting as we’ll get to stretch our creative non-fiction muscles–something I’m not sure many of us have gotten to train yet.
For the few minutes I’ve been able to try out HTML, it seems straightforward enough. There are more things I need to remember when writing in it, and the formatting isn’t as intuitive on the screen (obviously). Practice and time, however, will undoubtedly smooth some of these bumps.
CSS will hopefully be similar in terms of learning curves. But right now, at least, it makes me pretty nervous. I want my final project to look good, of course, but I’m just not sure if I have the patience or capabilities to create what I imagine. In the LinkedIn Learning course, the instructor covered a good bit of ground–very quickly. For some of the topics, her advice was to seek outside sources and information about how to use the feature. For other topics, it seemed like maybe the two- or three-minute video was all the training she thought we needed. So, it’ll be interesting at least to try out CSS on a bigger project.
In our small group and class discussion, we touched back on what good research skills look like. A few classmates brought up the importance of Googling with biases in mind, which was a skill that kept fading from my memory. It might be a hard habit to break–not just blindly searching with the exact words I’m already thinking–but I’m sure it would prove to be a helpful one to overcome.
This past week for me personally has been sort of hectic, but I’m looking forward to sitting down with my topic, my HTML, and my cascading style sheets and crafting something engaging and, hopefully, pretty cool.
Comments
2 responses to “Exploring CSS–Quickly”
I can definitely relate to feeling a bit overwhelmed with the HTML and CSS side of things. It’s a lot to take in, and honestly, CSS makes me nervous too. I’ve found that with practice, though, things start to click a little more! I’m also really excited for the Verification Quest project, especially on the research and writing fronts. Like you, I think the creative non-fiction angle is going to be a fun challenge.
I’m with you on the whole “Googling with bias” habit—it’s so easy to just search for things with the exact words already in your head. But I think being more mindful of it is the first step, and once we start catching ourselves, it’ll get easier over time. Plus, being aware of it can really help us dig deeper into our sources and find stronger evidence.
I’m right there with you in terms of going into CSS, feeling pretty nervous and unprepared. Watching Dils’s tutorial helped, but I completely understand the fear that I may not have the patience or skills to make my project look how I want it to. I agree that the LinkedIn tutorial seemed to gloss over some of the more specific topics or topics that needed more explanation. I think with the Verification Quest, the difficulty is going to be not so much collecting the information but arranging it and writing it in a way that is nonfiction but also engaging and storytelling.