To educate, inform, inspire

Adobe Premiere Rush

May 10, 2019 - Adobe , Technology , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Our Central Illinois Chapter of Web Professionals meets the second Tuesday of each month (typically on the East Peoria campus of ICC). For our May meeting, I decided to provide a demo and overview of the recent Adobe software – Premiere Rush. This works both on the desktop (as long […]

WordPress Security

April 16, 2019 - Security , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

I had the honor of discussing WordPress security at the East Peoria WordPress meetup on April 15, 2019. Several individuals requested a copy of my slides so that is linked. Obviously, this was an introductory presentation. This information is provided as is and is for informational purposes only. All opinions […]

ES6 materials

July 9, 2018 - Technology , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

The week of July 9, 2018, I will be discussing some features of ES6 (JavaScript) at a couple of local Meetups in the Peoria area. I thought it might be helpful for participants to download the materials (including exercises) as reference for our discussions. Here are the materials we will […]

National web design contest – time lapse videos

July 6, 2016 - Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

I used my GoPro camera throughout our recent national web design contest in Louisville, KY. For fun this week, I thought readers might enjoy watching a few of the time lapse videos I put together. I have included videos detailing the contest setup (many thanks to the SkillsUSA Courtesy Corps […]

National Web Design Contest Software

June 29, 2016 - Adobe , Apple , Web , Windows , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

We just concluded our 13th national web design contest in Louisville, KY (June 21 – 25, 2016). Although I plan to post additional information about the judge’s observations on our WebDesignContest.org site soon, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss some observations and insights I made regarding the tools […]

National Web Design Contest

June 22, 2016 - Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

As you are reading this, our national web design contest is happening in Louisville, KY. This will be the 13th consecutive year we have held this competition. We hold this in conjunction with the SkillsUSA national competitions. We provide a contest for secondary students and a separate contest for post-secondary […]

Docker Containers

February 10, 2016 - Technology , Web , WOW - by Mark - 1 Comment

I recently posted an article on web developer trends for 2016 at WebProfessionals.org. One of the technologies I believe will grow in importance in 2016 is Docker containers. For aspiring web developers (particularly those in our CMWEB program), I thought it might be helpful to further explain the concept. I […]

WorldSkills Insights

August 19, 2015 - ICC , Technology , Travel , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

All told, my trip to São Paulo, Brasil was a very interesting and informative trip. I learned a lot about the processes involved with WorldSkills. I received my Expert pin (there was a small ceremony among the experts at the conclusion of the competition where each received a special pin […]

WorldSkills C4

August 16, 2015 - ICC , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Last day of the competition (C4). It was a very long day so I am posting this the following day. Actually, I did not get back to the hotel until 12:45 a.m. so I could not have posted yesterday even if I wanted to. For those who would like to […]

WorldSkills C3

August 14, 2015 - ICC , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Another day in paradise. Hard to believe it is day 3 of the WorldSkills web design competition. The final day is tomorrow. There were new modules presented to competitors today. If you are up to the challenge, one is 2 hours; the other is 3 hours. Remember, no Internet access, […]

WorldSkills C2

August 13, 2015 - ICC , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Today was the second day of our 4 day competition (day C2). As before, breakfast at 6 a.m., catch the bus at 7 a.m., and arrive at Anhembi Park between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. (depending on traffic). The bus ride this morning was incredibly quick. We held an introductory meeting […]

WorldSkills C1

August 12, 2015 - ICC , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Today is day C1 (first day of competition). We have been counting down to this start for some time. The actual competition runs 4 days. Numerous aspects of web design and development are tested. As promised, I am providing the challenges all WorldSkills competitors are asked to complete today. Obviously, […]

WorldSkills C-1

August 11, 2015 - ICC , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Today is C-1 (1 day before competitions begin). Tonight is the opening ceremony. I spent most of the morning trying to debug small problems with some of the application plugins. Without going into great detail, competitors need to have their software automatically upload their files to the server (so they […]

WorldSkills C-2

August 10, 2015 - ICC , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Today is C-2 (Familiarization day for competitors). This is the day where each person spends up to 5 hours reviewing the provided infrastructure. Competitors are provided with access to a server and have individual workstations with a fair amount of software (ranging from Adobe products to open source products) that […]

WorldSkills C-3

August 9, 2015 - ICC , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Today was C-3 (3 days until start of competition). It was also Sunday. Hard to believe it is winter here in the southern hemisphere. Temperature is very warm (of course, we are in the tropics). Today was a day of working and walking. As always, breakfast at 6 a.m. and […]