To educate, inform, inspire

WorldSkills C-4

August 8, 2015 - ICC , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Today is day C-4 (4 days before the competition begins). It was a very long day. As before, breakfast was at 6 a.m. and we boarded the bus at 7:15. On the way to Anhembi Park, I saw a couple of interesting items. This tree has seed pods that remind […]

WorldSkills C-5

August 7, 2015 - ICC , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Only 5 days until our competition begins. I learned the following today – this is the largest event WorldSkills has ever held. There are over 1,200 competitors. During the days of the competition, a crowd estimated at between 50,000 and 60,000 people is expected every day.This is an incredible venue. […]

WorldSkills Arrival Day

August 6, 2015 - ICC , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

C-6 (6 days from official start of competitions). I arrived in São Paulo at 10 this morning. For those who may not know – the city name translates to Saint Paul (just like the city we have in Minnesota). Of course, this one is the largest city in the western […]

2015 Illinois Web Design Contest – the code

May 6, 2015 - Learning , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

I previously discussed the Illinois web design contest at a high level. I thought it would be important to also focus a bit on the code and related design aspects of the sites. Note that these comments are my own and do not represent the observations of any judges in […]

2015 Illinois Web Design Contest

April 29, 2015 - Learning , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

I had the great opportunity to supervise the Illinois Web Design contest in Springfield on April 23 – 24, 2015. As always, our contest focuses on professionalism (we are WebProfessionals.org after all), current web design job skills, and industry best practices to help students be better prepared to enter the […]

Tagged: Web Design Contest

Tornado – 1 year later

November 19, 2014 - Huh? , Learning , Who knew? , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

I find it very hard to believe it has been on year since the EF 5 tornado passed through Washington, Illinois. I put together some notes using the Luca Project. I find this a most interesting tool. The link above points to my original post on this project. I hope […]

New Beginnings

April 23, 2014 - Who knew? , WOW - by Mark - 2 Comments

As many readers know, my son and his family lost everything in the Washington, Illinois tornado of Nov. 17, 2013. We recently helped them move into a new home. I wanted to thank everyone who has been so generous with their time, money, and other assistance. This short video is […]

Summer 2013 Reflections

September 4, 2013 - Adobe , Learning , Technology , Travel , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

As the fall, 2013 semester begins, I thought it appropriate to reflect on what happened during the summer. As was the case last year, this was an incredibly busy time for me. Not only did I provide a number of “train the trainer” sessions throughout the country, I helped run […]

2013 Illinois Web Design Contest

April 15, 2013 - Technology , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Now that the 2013 Illinois Web Design Contest is history, I thought it might be appropriate to share some thoughts and observations. First, congratulations to everyone who participated (in either the secondary or post-secondary contest). You took the extra effort to grow and learn. Those who are taking classes in […]

Node.js Server

January 21, 2013 - Technology , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Now that we have some understanding of some of the capabilities of Node.js, it is time to investigate its true strength – as a web server. Recall that many reseller accounts will not allow Node.js to act as a server as it is viewed as a long running task (and […]

Markdown and Node.js

January 14, 2013 - Technology , Web , WOW - by Mark - 1 Comment

I realize that not everyone wants to write HTML. Tools like Dreamweaver make it much simpler, but there are times (particularly when taking notes) that an alternative might be more appropriate. Markdown has been around for a number of years. Essentially, you markup your document in plain text and can […]

Node.js

January 11, 2013 - Technology , Web , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

Node.js uses JavaScript to run a web server – yes, JavaScript on the server. One of the main benefits is that a single language is used on both the client and server sides (JavaScript). I know some would argue that JavaScript is not a “true” programming language since it is […]

Illinois Web Design Contest

May 29, 2012 - Technology , WOW - by Mark - No Comments

The 2012 state wide web design contest for Illinois was held at the Capital Area Career Center in Springfield on April 27. I would have posted these images sooner, but for the eye problems encountered shortly after the contest (see Life Happens post). Now that I have limited vision, I […]

Tagged: Contest WebDesign

What is a Web Professional

January 4, 2012 - ICC , Technology , WOW - by Mark - 8 Comments

We are about to start the Spring, 2012 semester where I teach. Our college [Illinois Central College] has been recognized as a Web Professional Academy since 2006 (when the Web Professional Program began). Before we start the semester, I though I would reflect on what it means to me to […]

Is summer really over?

August 22, 2011 - Adobe , Technology , Travel , WOW - by Mark - 4 Comments

“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” This quote by Carl Sagan essentially sums up how I feel about this past summer. I have learned so much and had so many incredible experiences and met so many knowledgeable and passionate people and renewed a number of friendships. For those […]