Not quite a CSS Master

July 31, 2006

Back in May, I read Andy Budd’s book, CSS Mastery: Advanced Web Standards Solutions. I wrote a review after reading the first two chapters. I think it is the most practical and helpful book I have worked through on CSS.

[Sidenote: When I think about the book title, I think about becoming a CSS Master which makes me think of Star Wars and Jedi Masters. At this time I am still an apprentice.]

Last week, I started working on changing GodSquad.com from using tables for layout to CSS. I have been wanting to move in this direction for quite awhile now and thought I would do it as part of a redesign of the site. But I continue to be stumped in that creative process so I finally decided to move the current design into CSS.

As I was working on a CSS design last week, I ran into some trouble where the site rendered correctly in Firefox but not in IE6. Reality is that most people are still using IE6 so I have to come up with a design that works well in it. I was really frustrated. I had some inkling that the problem was caused by the way IE renders “padding” but I was not sure I am far enough along in my CSS skills to diagnose the specific problem.

I started thumbing through Andy’s book and reviewed what I had read. I have not been able to use the knowledge I had gained in reading the book in May. I had to turn my attention to working on support for our ministry at the end of May and beginning of June. Then at the end of June, I took a month of classes through Campus Crusade’s Institute for Biblical Studies. It was good to review the book because I realized that I could do a lot cleaner coding with the GodSquad design I was working on. I came up with a plan to do the structure a little bit differently. And I learned some tricks that would allow me to change the layout of a page using the body property.

But I still did not have a solution for my main problem. But I did some tinkering and got it to work. I think it might have been Spirit inspired as I had prayed about my problem and asked God to help me with a solution.

All this is to say that it just brought me back to the fact that Andy’s book is one of the best that I have seen on CSS.

Is Tagging Right for Your Site?

July 31, 2006

Last week, I participated in a virtual seminar done by Josh Porter of UIE. The topic was “is tagging right for your site?” Tagging is part of Web 2.0. Tags are like keywords but the big difference is that they are determined by the user not the information architects of the website. And unlike traditional categories on some sites, you can have multiple tags on an object like a photo, content or people. If you would like some more information on tagging, I would suggest some of these articles written by Joshua Porter:

• Folksonomies: A User-Driven Approach to Organizing Content
• Tagging Category on Josh’s blog, Bokardo.com

You can see examples of tagging on Flickr, del.icio.us, and Google video. One Campus Crusade ministry site that is using tagging is StorySpot.com.

One of the key benefits of tagging is that the users are determining the words so tags speak the user’s language. This has been a big challenge for anyone trying to do information architecture on a website, to get the categories in language that is meaningful to the user. As we know, what is meaningful to us as web developers is not always (usually) meaningful or connect with those trying to use our sites.

The best insight I got from the seminar is that the most common use and the one that is the greatest benefit to users right now is tagging for personal retrieval and organization. Users are tagging things that they want to be able to find later. Joshua said that as we think about implementing tagging, it works best when we are seeking the personal benefit of the user.

Given the fact that one of the greatest benefits that users are getting from tagging right now is personal retrieval, I think that there are several ministry sites that would be greatly enhanced be tagging. I would love to implement it on one of my ministry sites, GodSquad.com. Most of the site is a repository for some of the best resources and tools that the US Campus ministry has developed. I can think of at least two emails this past year that asked for easier ways of remembering content. I see tagging as a possible solution to many things I have been thinking about in regards to improving the site.

As I continue to process the material from the seminar, I hope to share some more insights.

Class in Session

July 13, 2006

FYI, here is a list of the classes I am taking or have taken this summer:

• Biblical Interpretation – I liked the lecture and workshop aspect of this class.  We were taught some new ideas about interpreting Scripture in light of the whole redemptive story of the Bible.  It is just another way to consider the context.  I had been exposed to this line of thinking about 8 years ago (the last time I went through Campus Crusade’s Institute for Biblical Studies).  I spent two weeks unpacking Genesis 11:1-9 and saw some new things I had not seen before.
• Christian Worldview – a better name would be comparative worldviews.  I had taken this class 13 years ago but did not complete it.  It was a sense of relief to complete this course last week.  I enjoyed the video clips that we saw that illustrated how different worldviews come out in Hollywood movies.
• Biblical Communication – this week and next, I am taking the Genesis 11:1-9 passage and making it into a 20 minute talk and Bible study lesson.  Thinking about delivering this talk makes me nervous.  Like many others, public speaking is not something I look forward to.  But I do enjoy teaching and sharing what I have learned from the Word.
• Biblical Theology: God, Bible, and the Holy Spirit – I have really enjoyed this class and our teacher Dr. Bruce Ware.  His love for God and for the theology that leads him to worship comes through in his lectures.  I have really enjoyed going through the theology of the Bible and starting on the theology of God today.

I Miss the Web World

July 13, 2006

Although I am enjoying taking theology and classes in Biblical studies, I am really missing working with Web sites and the such. Web development is the world I live in and I miss it right now as I am engaged in intensive classes. I am looking forward to resuming my work with Web in a couple of weeks.

Like Being a Student Again

July 3, 2006

Right now, I am in the midst of taking four weeks of intensive classes through a summer program with Campus Crusade for Christ. It is keeping me busy but I enjoy being a student again. One of the things that I have enjoyed is being on the campus of Rollins College. I like the trees that provide a canopy of shade as I walk between buildings. I enjoy seeing the squirrels running around on the ground. It brings me back to my days as a college student at the University of Kansas. I enjoyed walking around the campus because of all the trees and scenery. I like the natural environment in the midst of the academic setting. So I like walking around Rollins because it reminds me of enjoyable times in my past.