Reflections: What I Learned in Internet Publishing (So Far...)

First and foremost, I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Krizia Cuevas, I am 21 years old, and I am an aspiring freelance IT consultant. I am taking a class called Internet Publishing as part of my curriculum to achieving an associates degree in applied sciences. Here on this webpage, I plan to reflect on what I have learned and my experience of taking this class.

Q/A about my semester of Internet Publishing

I had planned on being a business major in the past and a lot of my courses involved the use of internet. Going into business in today's age, it is assumed that you are required to have knowledge about online marketing. Through the courses I took in the past, I was then introduced to the concept of internet publishing.

I have had to create my own webpage for a class before, but it was through a third party website (Weekly). It is a little different compared to what I had to do for this class because I was learning and actually needed to create my own webpage by developing a coding system using HTML. Which was a little bit more challenging and took more effort to do.

It is a course about online publishing. It may come as shock to some, but people actually apply this concept into their everyday lives when using social media. Internet publishing is simply the process of publishing content on the Internet, which almost everyone can and is doing. In this course, we go in depth and tackle subjects such as: learning what is and how to use HTML, what to consider when creating a webpage (eg. Accessibility), and basic principles of web design.

The two things I learned through completing assigned activities throughout the course were: accessibility and web design concepts. I discovered that there is a lot more to the process of creating a webpage besides making it look "pretty". I appreciate being educated on making the internet more inclusive for people with certain disabilities that prevent them from accessing endless amounts of information.

I eventually plan on designing and creating my own website for an online store. Acquiring knowledge about HTML, accessibility, and web design principles will greatly assist me in my future endeavors. Instead of losing funds for my business, I could design/create my own site and I can make changes anytime I please. This is an investment in my opinion because, there could be unexpected technical difficulties that can come up so, it would be helpful if I knew how to fix those problems myself.

I still sometimes struggle with understanding the prompt/instructions for some of the assignments. I did not realize how confusing and mentally challenging coding could be until I have had to apply my own knowledge and perform everything I have learned so far. It is very stimulating for me though, so I quite enjoy it. I guess I would have to say that I have a problem most with the vocabulary of coding. I confuse the meaning of elements, properties, and attributes. So when I am reading a set of rules for what I have to do on an assignment, I get overwhelmed.

I try to split up the workload I have to do for one assignment. I tend to focus on one thing for too long so I try to catch myself when I start to do that. I usually put the steps out into different sections (by heading, body, etc.) and combine it all together after I've written the codes for each instruction I've been given. That way, it helps me keep track of where I need to place them, what each code means, and which code is which.

I have no specific resource that I used, mainly because I do my own research on the internet and try to read as much information I can to understand the concept my own way. I do use the recommended websites from each module guide and that has helped me a lot as well.

I find Khan Academy especially helpful because it allows me to practice, make mistakes, and learn about those mistakes. I have been particularly fond of the projects on there and it gives me a better understanding and feel of how it will be like to start coding from a blank "canvas". The practice helps me not be overwhelmed when I have to start my own and it also teaches me to be more confident in my knowledge of HTML codes. Another source that has helped me a lot would be w3schools.com. When I get stuck on a prompt and need more insight, I simply go on there and figure out what I'm forgetting and trace back my steps. It's especially helpful when I forget the tag or properties for certain elements and attributes.

Assuming I start freelance coding in the future, I will definitely be using w3schools as reference for HTML and CSS tags. I find it unrealistic to memorize every single code in the textbook so having that as a guide will be handy.

Reflection Essay:

If I am being honest, I really do not enjoy school. I love learning and broadening my knowledge about certain topics, but the thought of being confined within a structure terrifies me. Well, that's sort of an exaggeration but I just don't like being defined by my GPA. For my first year of college, I gave entrepreneurship a shot. I like being my own boss, numbers, and being creative. So I thought, "why not? This seems like the thing for me", but then I found out that having an entrepreneurial mindset was actually too straight-forward. A person like me that thinks too critically about things will be doomed in that kind of a business setting. During class once, my professor ask me me: "what would you do in a situation where a sexual harassment accusation was involved and there was no proof. What would you do? Would you fire the accused or the accuser?" I took way too long thinking about it and he answered, "both of them". That's when I realized I was not cut-out for that stuff. So I changed my major to accounting because I didn't have to deal with interpersonal affairs too much, but it was still in the realm of business. It was going well at first. I was enjoying the challenge the numbers gave me, but then that was just it. It didn't give me the spark anymore and I dreaded learning about accounts payable and whatnot. I took a couple semesters off of school and did some sort of "soul searching". At this point, I have already spent a lot of time and money towards school so I figured I should probably focus on my strengths and see where that leads me. During that time, I would think about what I liked when I used to go to school. One thing that stood out to me is that I really appreciated the CS courses for the applied science curriculum. That's when I had a ground breaking realization of what I really wanted to do. Something that will let me be creative, technical, think in "numbers", and allows me to be my own boss-- CIS/IT. Here we are. In the present. First semester in my steps of pursuing this career path.
Like I've previously mentioned, I took some CS courses in the past. One of them being "Intro to Computers". There I learned a lot about what goes inside a PC tower and its functions, how to create an app, and design a website. It is where I also learned a little bit about internet publishing-- giving me a little bit of background knowledge for this class. For one of the classes I took, I was instructed to design a website for a project. This helps me understand the concept of what internet publishing is and know what to expect about this class. On that project I had to use a third-part website, called Weebly so it's not like I was already using coding. In this class, I'm learning and applying the information to create my own webpage instead of relying on a site to do it for me. Which makes it a little different and more challenging in comparison. For a bit, I didn't really understand what internet publishing meant. I always referred to this class as my "coding class", but from doing research and reading the modules each week I finally came to a realization of what it is all about. It may come as a shock to some people, but people apply this course into their life everyday when using social media. Internet publishing is simply the process of publishing content on the internet, which almost everyone can and is doing. In this course, we go in depth and tackle subjects such as: learning what is and how to use HTML, what to consider when creating a webpage (eg. accessibility), and basic principles of web design. The two things I learned through completing assigned activities throughout the course were: accessibility and web design concepts. I discovered that there is a lot more to the process of creating a webpage besides making it look "pretty". I appreciate being educated on making the internet more inclusive for people with certain disabilities that prevent them from accessing endless amounts of information.
I eventually plan on designing and creating my own website for an online store and acquiring the knowledge about HTML, accessibility, and web design principles will greatly assist me in my future endeavors. Instead of losing funds for my business, I could design/create my own site and I can make changes anytime I please. This is a great investment in my opinion because there could be so many unexpected technical difficulties than an online market could experience and it would be really helpful if I knew how to fix these problems myself. I still sometimes struggle with understanding the prompt/instructions for some of the assignments. I did not realize how confusing and mentally challenging coding could be until I have had to apply my own knowledge and perform everything I have learned so far. It is very stimulating for me though, so I quite enjoy it. I try to split up the workload I have to do for one assignment. I tend to focus on one thing for too long so I try to catch myself when I start to do that. I usually put the steps out into different sections (by heading, body, etc.) and combine it all together after I've written the codes for each instruction I've been given. That way, it helps me keep track of where I need to place them and which code is which.
I have no specific resource that I used, mainly because I do my own research on the internet and try to read as much information I can to understand the concept my own way. I do use the recommended websites from each module guide and that has helped me a lot as well. I find Khan Academy especially helpful because it allows me to practice, make mistakes, and learn about those mistakes. I have particularly been fond of the projects on there and it gives me a better understanding and feel of how it will be like to start coding from a blank "canvas". The practice helps me not be overwhelmed when I have to start my own and it also teaches me to be more confident in my knowledge of HTML codes. Another source that has helped me a lot would be w3schools.com. When I get stuck on a prompt and need more insight, I simply go on there and figure out what I'm forgetting and trace back my steps. It's especially helpful when I forget the tag or properties for certain attributes. Assuming I start freelance coding in the future, I will definitely be using w3schools as reference for element tags. I find it unrealistic to memorize every single code in the textbook so having that as a guide will be handy.
Although I was disappointed in myself towards the end, I had a real fun time in this class. I wish I did not fall off like that but I was really struggling with coping with the death of my father. Nevertheless, I am trying my best and this class is definitely one of my favorite classes from this semester. I was always excited for the homework and couldn't wait to exhibit what I have learned each week. I do believe that I have found what I wanted to do in life. Just like everything else in life, I think this all came in perfect timing. Not to have an existential moment on here and I know schooling does not have to be deep but I'd rather have a purpose rather than plainly be another cog in a machine. I like that this path gives me some sort of "restricted independence", as I like to call it. I get to still be my own inspiration in the work I produce while having a set agenda. If you made it this far, thank you Tammy for a breeze of a semester. You made online schooling stress free, fun, and very educational on top of an ongoing pandemic. Thank you for also being understanding and for being our guide in this class.

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