HTML kickin my Ass

When I signed up for my classes this semester, I was most nervous about the Introduction to Business, and Windows Server 2003 classes. Turns out those weren't the ones to be concerned with. The HTML class is more difficult than Organic Chemistry was the first time I was in college. This HTML class is why I haven't blogged in awhile. For every hour I spend studying for the other classes, I spend at least 4-5 hours on the html class, and I'm still struggling.

I dislike putting the blame on someone or something else, but the textbook for this class is one of the worst I've looked through. I highly DO NOT recommend it. I DO recommend Head First HTML. I purchased it off Amazon, and what a difference. The Head First series uses every means possible to help you learn a subject, not just throw the material at you, and see what sticks.

The teacher for my html class is very helpful. I'm not blaming him at all. Part of it is me, and my learning issues. When I'm struggling with a subject like this, the only way for me to really learn it is through a Brute Force learning technique, sometimes called over-learning. In his book, "How to Learn Any Foreign Language", Barry Farber emphasizes a multi prong attack. I used it to help with language learning. In this method, you use whatever you can to learn; books, tapes, CD's, software, videos, etc. This is exactly what I've done with this html class. I've downloaded, borrowed, and purchased as much material as I can get a hold of on the subject of html and xhtml.

I'm not too upset about the class, just a bit stressed. When I've had difficulty with a subject in the past, I set to overlearning it so well that it became a strength. Since collaborative workspaces and online educational content is something I want to go into, this is an important step for me. That, and I want to keep my GPA for better possibilities for scholarship money.

You may have noticed some changes to my blog. The text is different; was Times New Roman, now Verdana. The color is a bit darker (darkkhaki), and the links are different colors. That's partly from me playing and learning html. I'm also trying to keep a consistent look through all my linked sites from the main CoachDANNY.net site. I even updated the colors on my YouTube.com channel. I liked the original color of the blog better, actually, but I need to figure out how to use it in all the pages. I wish Flickr would enable different color schemes, but it's not really that important.

I'm looking forward to Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon, coming out on October 18th. I've loaded the beta on a FreekBox. It looks good and works very well. It actually feels faster than previous version. Many new tools, too. I don't recommend an update on the 18th though. I'd wait about a month, at least. Let all the users find and fix the bugs first.