Introduction

This website is part of the Capstone Project which is required for completion of my Webmaster Certificate through Austin Community College (ACC). More information about ACC's Webmaster Certification program can be found on the ACC website. I began taking the necessary Continuing Education classes in January 2009 and completed the eleven required and elective class in September, 2010. The curriculum path I took was the Design / Media path as I enjoy doing user interfaces. The eleven class I took are listed below (the first eight were required for the Design Media curriculum and the last four were electives):

  1. Introduction to the World Wide Web (WWW) & XHTML
  2. Intermediate Word Wide Web Authoring & XHTML
  3. Web Authoring Using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
  4. Dreamweaver 1: Introduction
  5. Photoshop 1: Introduction
  6. Photoshop 2: Advanced Web Design
  7. Web Design and Usability
  8. Flash 1: Introduction
  9. Dreamweaver 2: Advanced Web Design
  10. Web Applications with ASP.NET, Part 1
  11. Web Applications with ASP.NET, Part 2

 

My Background

I have been working in industry for nearly twenty five years in careers ranging from Human Factors Engineering, Usability Specialist, Business Analyst, and Software Developer. I have spent the last eleven years working as a software developer designing, implementing, and maintaining several graphical user interface (GUI) intensive Java desktop / client applications. I have also maintained a C++ / MFC application.

I graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.S. and M.S. in Industrial Engineering. The M.S. specialized in Human Factors Engineering. Over the years I have worked with hardware and software user interfaces. I enjoy evaluating or creating user interfaces to ensure they are easy to use by the intended audience. I began ACC's Webmaster Certification program after being laid-off and found I needed additional skills to compete in the software industry. For more details, please see my online resume.

 

Capstone Project

My final project was to completely redesign the Austin District United Methodist Men's (UMM) website. In redesigning the site, I used many of the techniques I learned in the various classes I took as part of the Webmaster Certification program at ACC. This included use of Dreamweaver, Photoshop, CSS, XHTML, Flash, and Web Design and Usability. Please take a look at the Austin District UMM website.

 

Sampling of Class Assignments

The following are some of the assignments which I completed as part of the course work for each class. Note: in some of the assignment links below, some of the links inside the assignments may not be functional. These assignments were done in class with limited time, so we were required to complete the overall assignment, but not necessarily finalize all the links.


WWW & XHMTL I


WWW & XHMTL II


Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)


Introduction to Dreamweaver


Advanced Dreamweaver


Introduction to Flash

Introduction to Photoshop

My final assignment was to develop a postcard or mockup a web page. I chose to develop a postcard as my assignment.


Advanced Photoshop

My final assignment was to use Photoshop to create (or modify) the main page for a website. My page was similar to the National Park Service's website.


Web Usability

My final assignment was to design (using Photoshop) a single page of a website for a fictitious, upscale Tex-Mex restaurant called Poblano's.