HTML Writers Guild Newsletter 20 July, 2001

                      HTML Writers Guild Newsletter
                    Volume 7 Number 11, 20 July, 2001
                           http://www.hwg.org/
                          mailto:editor(at)hwg.org

<!-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -->


Table of Contents 

1. HWG Honors Our Volunteers!
2. Board and Officer Changes; Welcome to Hank Mardquardt
3. Instructor Profile:  Roy Goring, Intermediate JavaScript
4. July Town Hall Meeting
5. Upcoming Online Classes: Take an HWG Class!
      -ABCs of E-Commerce
      -Design Concepts
      -Intermediate JavaScript:  Working With Form Data
      -JavaScript Special Topics: Manipulating Layers
      -....and more!
6. Why Did I Get This Email? And Other HWG-News FAQs 
(How to change your email address, how to unsubscribe, and more.)

<!-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -->
1. HWG Honors Our Volunteers!
   (Chris Higgs, Treasurer, chris(at)hwg.org)
   
Not everyone is aware of the volunteers who give their spare time for The
Guild. Until now we haven't really given them the recognition that they
deserve. We will be featuring a piece in each newsletter to honor our
volunteers. There is no specific order of importance, they are
all-important and very valuable to us!
   
We begin our volunteer article with someone who has been with the Guild
for over three years. Many of you have had the chance to exchange e-mails
with her. Her name is Pat Greenfield. Pat has been donating her time to
the Guild for several years. In the past she spent time with our Logo
Team and other special projects that took a lot, if not all, of her spare
time. Right now she is working with the HWG Database Administrative Team.
If you have ever sent mail to dbadmin you've probably heard back from
her. They search for lost passwords reset them, search for membership
numbers, and assist with renewing memberships if needed. When asked what
she enjoyed the most about what she did, she replied " Helping people and
at the same, hopefully, in some small way, being of use to the Guild,
which in my opinion is a worthy organization." Well Pat, you are very
useful to the Guild!
   
Pat is involved in a number of activities outside the guild. She, of
course, enjoys her computer. She loves to ride horses, breeds German
Shepherds and teaches dog obedience classes. She is the President of the
Hospital Auxiliary where she lives, and runs the local Food Bank. Last,
but certainly not least, she is the Webmaster for a web-site dealing with
breeders and registered kennels for the entire Province.

<!-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -->

2.  Board and Officer Changes; Welcome to Hank Mardquardt
    (Fred Barnett, HWG Secretary, secretary(at)hwg.org)
      
Guild President Frank Boumphrey has chosen to step down from as President
of the Guild and from the Governing Board, to pursue other activities.
The Governing Board has appointed Kynn Bartlett to serve out the
remainder of the term as President, until February 2002.  Marshall Jansen
has also agreed to serve as the Guild's Vice President.
      
Board members Joe Cline and Carole Gay also stepped down from the
Governing Board in May and June.  The Board wishes Frank, Joe, and Carole
success in future endeavors, and thanks them all for their service and
dedication to the Guild.
  
The Governing Board's newest member is Hank Marquardt (hank(at)hwg.org),
instructor for the Guild's popular PHP course.  Hank brings experience,
knowledge, and enthusiasm to the Board, and has already agreed to put
that to work by accepting the position of Assistant Treasurer.  Welcome
aboard, Hank!
      
There are still several open positions left on the Governing Board for
dedicated HWG members who may wish to serve as Directors of the HWG;
members who wish to submit their names for consideration may do so by
writing to gb-search(at)hwg.org.  Applicants should meet the following set
of qualifications:
    
Minimum requirements
 
  * Current Full (paid) member of the Guild
  * Must be at least 18 years of age
  * Sound understanding of the Guild's strategic plan and bylaws
  * Member of the HWG for at least one year
  * Strong business or accounting skills
  * Innovative and self-motivating
  * Have good "people handling" skills
 
(The strategic plan is viewable at
http://www.hwg.org/opcenter/hwginc/stratplan.html and the bylaws are
viewable at http://www.hwg.org/opcenter/hwginc/bylaws.html)
   
Experience/qualifications and proven track record in one or more of the
following lines of work:
   
   
  * Human relations      
  * Advertising and marketing      
  * Running of non-profit organizations      
  * Accounting and finance

Members of the Board must commit to:

* Serve a term of up to three years on the Governing Board 

* Invest a minimum of 15 hours per week in Board-related activities, 
and possibly more if asked to serve as an officer on the Executive
Committee

* Contribute to setting the direction of the Guild through participation
on the Governing Board's private discussion list, and effectively
articulate your vision for the HWG

* Reach decisions based on the best interests of the HWG Inc. corporation
as a whole, in cooperation with other members of the Board

* Be willing to travel (if necessary) on behalf of the Guild
 
Being on the Governing Board is a major responsibility and commitment,
but it can also be very rewarding to shape the future of this
organization. If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to
gb-search(at)hwg.org.

<!-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -->


3.  Instructor Profile:  Roy Goring, Intermediate JavaScript
    (Kynn Bartlett, kynn(at)hwg.org, HWG President)

I recently sat down (virtually!) with Roy Goring, the instructor for the
Guild's online courses, "Intermediate JavaScript: Working with Form Data"
and "JavaScrript Special Topics: Manipulating Layers."  This is the first
of several profiles of instructors for upcoming HWG courses, highlighting
our peer-to-peer approach to improving our skills at the craft of web
development.


HWG:  Roy, tell me a little about yourself.  What's your "day job" and
      what do you like to do when you're not teaching JavaScript 
      classes?

RG:   I'm Roy Goring, age 47, from Havant, UK.  I'm married with 2
      daughters, age 19 and 17, and I've been a Fireman for 26 years.  
      I enjoy motorcycling and mountain biking. At the moment my wife 
      and I are spending a lot of time renovating old sewing machines.

HWG:  So you're a fireman!  But you're teaching a JavaScript class.  
      How did you come to do that?

RG:   I have been working with JavaScript for a few years now and I 
      also work as a freelance JavaScript Tutor to businesses in 
      the UK.  I initially learned JavaScript by playing with scripts 
      and with the HWG.

HWG:  So you took a Guild class, and now you've "graduated" to be an        
      instructor?  Excellent.

RG:   I was working as a Teaching Assistant on the Intermediate 
      JavaScript course and was asked to take over as the instructor.  
      Since then I have developed another course "JavaScript Special 
      Topics: Manipulating Layers" and I am at present developing 
      another "Special Topics" course.

HWG:  Neat.  So tell me a little about these courses.

RG:   The Intermediate class is the next stage up from "Introduction to
      JavaScript" and covers all you need to know about using form 
      data. It will enable the student to use the data in productive 
      ways in their web pages. The course also covers the use of 
      cookies.

      The layers class continues on from the Intermediate class, and 
      teaches students how to manipulate layers for formatting 
      sliding menus, pop-up menus, and animated objects.

HWG:  What's the most important thing to know about JavaScript?

RG:   To me there are two things that a student should learn to be a 
      good scripter:

      1.  To format your scripts in a neat and logical way.
      2.  To be able to "think around a problem" and to find their 
          own solution.

      In these courses I work on both of these techniques. The students 
      can often find number 2 frustrating, but after they have solved 
      their problem they always find it rewarding that it was they who 
      found the solution.

HWG:  Sounds great.  When's the next course?

RG:   There's a session of each course starting on 30 July 2001.

HWG:  Thanks for talking with me about your JavaScript classes, Roy!

RG:   You're welcome.


Each of Roy's six-week JavaScript courses is priced at $80 for Full
members of the Guild, $110 for Trial members; classes are conducted
online via the Web, and are adaptable to fit the student's schedule.
Enrollment is limited, so you will want to sign up soon to secure a seat.

To enroll in Roy's course "P152: Intermediate JavaScript:  Working with
Form Data", point your browser at:

      http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/p152.5.html

To enroll in Roy's course "P161: JavaScript Special Topics:  Manipulating
Layers," sign up online at:

      http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/p161.2.html

<!-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -->


4.  July Town Hall Meeting: Thursday, July 26
    (Fred Barnett, Secretary, secretary(at)hwg.org)

Town Halls are informal affairs, where you can talk to the governing
board, ask questions, and generally let your opinions be known in a more
public forum than email. We hope to see you there! 

The details on the June town hall meeting are:

26 July Town Hall Meeting 
Date:      Thursday, 26 July 2001 
Time:      6:30 p.m. PST, 9:30 p.m. EST
Server:    HWG Interactive, http://interact.hwg.org/
IRC:       irc.hwg.org, port 6667
Channel:   #townhall

To connect, either go to the URL above and use the Java-based client
available via the web, or use your favorite IRC client and join channel
#townhall.

<!-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -->

5. Upcoming Online Classes: Take an online class! 
   (Gretchen Lowerison, Online Education Director, classes(at)hwg.org)

Through a web-based interface, we offer a broad series of online classes
designed to teach you the skills you need, in a way that fits your busy
schedule. Our instructors are your fellow Guild members, chosen for their
expertise in their field and their willingness to pass along their
experience to you.

Upcoming courses you can take this summer include:

ABCs of e-Commerce 
Dates: July 30, 2001 - September 9, 2001(6 weeks) 
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/b331.1.html
Whether you have a business or want to start one, having a web location
just makes sense. Many businesses started with a brochure type website -
informational and intended to drive customers to make a call or visit
their location. With all the competition of items for sale on the web,
there is little reason not to offer it to your customers.

Design Concepts 
July 30, 2001 - September 9, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/d301.1.html
This course will cover the artistic aspects of Web Site design. Covered
in this course are Art Theory including Form, Line, Texture, Space,
Shape, and Color, basics of page layout planning, design, and
presentation. It is an art class that is focused specifically on web
presentation. Anyone interested in learning how to artistically create a
web site will find this class interesting, informative and fun.

Intermediate JavaScript: Working With Form Data
July 30, 2001 - September 9, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/p152.5.html
Intermediate JavaScript: Working With Form Data is designed for the users
of JavaScript who want a bit more technical mastery of the language.
Students will increase understanding of the JavaScript language and
syntax, especially in the area of interacting with HTML forms.  Users
will become proficient in manipulating form data to make interactive web
pages. The class will focus on using JavaScript to create an interactive
order form.

JavaScript Special Topics:Manipulating Layers 
July 30, 2001 - September 9, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/p161.2.html
JavaScript Special Topics: Manipulating Layers will move the students
knowledge further forward into the area of interacting with layers. Users
will become proficient in manipulating layers to produce animated menus
and images.

Introduction to Programming Concepts 
August 6, 2001 - September 16, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/p010.7.html
This class is an introduction to the fundamental syntax and logic of
programming. Students will learn how to establish a script, and work with
variables, conditional statements, loops and arrays. The fundamental
logic of program flow and design will also be discussed. This exposure to
the major concepts common to many programming languages will provide
students with the ability to focus more on the details of learning a full
programming language, or a scripting language.

Web Site Promotion 
August 6, 2001 - September 16, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/b301.3.html
This is a course in Basic Web Promotion for students with existing Web
Based businesses and/or offline businesses to promote on the Internet.
The course covers the basics of developing a marketing plan, branding and
positioning, web-based promotional strategies and how to use traditional
marketing strategies to supplement or enhance an Internet marketing
program.

Cascading Style Sheets - Level 2 
August 6, 2001 - September 16, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/h161.2.html
Advanced Cascading Style Sheets is designed for students who have already
made use of CSS in their projects, and who now wish to delve more deeply
into the mysteries and power of CSS. It is also meant to teach students
the important deatils of how CSS really works, and thus show them how
their styles can be adjusted to get the effects they seek. Finally, the
course aims to arm students with the skills necessary to further their
own studies of CSS and integrate their research into what they have
already learned.  Taught by a recognized expert in the field of using CSS
in the real world, this course will build upon students' existing
knowledge of HTML and CSS to introduce them to advanced CSS concepts and
techniques. There will be a balanced emphasis on theory and practicality,
with the goal of using the theory to gain a deeper practical knowledge.

Introduction to XML 
August 13, 2001 - September 23, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/x101.14.html
XML has been referred to as the new ASCII of the computer world. In a
short space of time it has outgrown its nascent purpose of being a means
to fix 'broken' HTML and help the web expand, and has become the language
of choice for most new major standards and projects.  This course is
designed to give students a thorough grasp of the basics of XML and will
also hopefully excite them enough to learn more about this powerful new
concept. This class  will emphasize hands on instruction and practical
usage of XML. 

Photoshop Level 1 
August 20, 2001 - September 30, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/g301.4.html
Photoshop 6.0 and ImageReady 3.0 software package is the industry
standard program for creating web graphics and for image manipulation.
This course is designed for graphic designers, web designers, digital
artists and photographers with little or no working knowledge of creating
or modifying photographs and graphics for the web or print. Students will
gain an understanding of the tools required to create, modify and import
(scan) custom images and graphics. Some of the more creative aspects of
Photoshop including filters, color management/manipulation, layer
manipulation, special effects and actions will be explored as well.
ImageReady's web features such as animated gifs, roll-overs and slices
will be also explored. 

Introduction to SMIL 
August 20, 2001 - September 30, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/a401.1.html
SMIL 1.0 is an authoring language that emerged to enable designers &
developers to create and deploy streaming multimedia content over the
Internet. This course is aimed at graphic designers, web designers,
programmers, digital artists and filmmakers with some working knowledge
of HTML or XML Languages. During the 6 week class, students will develop
a basic understanding of the SMIL 1.0 Standard as Recommended by the
World Wide Web Consortium, (W3C).

Beginning PHP 
August 20, 2001 - September 30, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/p171.3.html
PHP is a server side, embedded scripting language ideal for web
development, database interaction and deployment of dynamic web
pages/sites. PHP has enjoyed meteoritic growth in the last two years,
January 2001 statistics published by Netcraft show 5.8 Million domains
running PHP world wide. In this course you'll jump head first into the
nuts and bolts of using PHP for web development - we'll move pretty fast
and cover a lot of ground. 

Introduction to SQL 
August 27, 2001 - October 7, 2001
http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/ms301.2.html
Learn the basics from a simple SQL statement to more complex 3-table
join. Inserts, updates, deletes, inner joins and outer joins are covered
in this course.

Get more information at:  http://www.hwg.org/services/classes/ 


COURSE FEES

Course fees are based on membership level; Full members receive a
discounted tuition price, while Trial members pay the standard price.
Full membership is only $40 per year, so upgrade your membership before
registering, and save money! Payments may be made online via secure
transaction; all figures are in U.S. funds.  A certificate of completion
is available for an additional $5; the request needs to be made at the
time of registration. A certificate can be requested after class is
completed for $10.  Textbooks (when required) are separate and may be
purchased through the Guild's online bookstore, The Bookmark. Books
should be purchased before the first week of class! In addition, students
should have regular access to the web and the ability to post completed
assignments on a public (non-Intranet) web server.

<!-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --> 

6. Why Did I Get This Email? And Other HWG-News FAQs 
(HWG-News Newsletter Editor, editor(at)hwg.org)
This newsletter was edited by Kef Moulton <kef(at)hwg.org>. 

Some questions you may be asking:

Q: Why did I get this mail?
A: You received this newsletter because you are a member of the HTML
Writers Guild. This message came from HWG-News, the Guild's mandatory
mailing list for all members. If you need more information about
HWG-News, please see the List Charter at:
http://www.hwg.org/lists/hwg-news/index.html

Q. Why doesn't this newsletter talk about web design or HTML more?
A. The newsletter is the Guild's administrative bulletin to the
membership; beyond the HWG News Tips, we don't include specific
information on web creation. If you are interested in the topics of Web
design and HTML, then you might want to subscribe to some of our
discussion lists devoted to those topics. More  information on the
Guild's offering of discussion lists can be found at:
http://www.hwg.org/lists/mailinglists.html

Q. How can I find out more about Guild activities?
A. The Guild has set up a one-way announcement list, HWG-Announce, that
carries bulletins of day-to-day Guild business. For details on how to
subscribe, please see:  http://www.hwg.org/lists/hwg-announce/

Q: How do I unsubscribe from HWG-News?
A: Since this is a required list in order to maintain your Guild
membership, unsubscribing is the same as resigning from the HTML Writers
Guild.  If you have your Member ID and password, to resign your
membership in the Guild and to unsubscribe to HWG-News, visit:
http://www.hwg.org/member/resign.html  Fill in the pertinent information,
and submit it.  If you don't have a Member ID, or have forgotten your
password, send mail to: lost-password(at)hwg.org  with a Subject of: Resign
membership.  In the body of the message, provide the following
information:   

* Your email address(es) 
* Your member ID if you have one. 
* The list of discussion lists you are on.

Please remember that unsubscribing to HWG-News automatically resigns you
from the Guild. If you have problems with unsubscribing, please contact
the password support team <lost-password(at)hwg.org> for help.

Q: How do I change my email address for Guild mailings?
A: Full members can update their membership profile at any time by going
to this page:  http://www.hwg.org/member/profile.html. If you don't know
your password, contact the password support team <lost-password(at)hwg.org>
for help. Trial members can send email to <dbadmin(at)hwg.org> to change
their email address.

Q: Can my company advertise in the Guild's newsletter?
A: Yes; the Guild is offering sponsorship opportunities in HWG-News on a
limited basis. If you are interested in advertising your web related
product or service here, please send email to advertising(at)hwg.org.
Discounts are available to Guild Business and Corporate members, as well
as for multiple placements. The Guild's newsletter reaches over 124,000
web authors worldwide each month.  (Note: The Guild does not make our
member database available for third party use. We have a strong privacy
policy and will not release our members' personal information; our
mailing list is not for sale. Any questions regarding the Guild's
advertising or privacy policies can be directed to advertising(at)hwg.org.)

Q: What if I want to comment on this newsletter?
A: The HWG-News Mailing List is a "Read-Only" list -- please do not try
to reply to this message directly.  If you wish to contact the editor of
this newsletter, you may do so by sending email to editor(at)hwg.org. Each
article begins with the contact information for the author as well.  

<!-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --> 
Copyright 2001, HTML Writers Guild, Inc., All Rights Reserved. 
Published twice monthly via email and WWW.

HWG: hwg-news mailing list archives, maintained by Webmasters @ IWA