Closing up the second quarter of school year, I find myself thinking about all the learnings I encountered in Information and Communication Technology (I.C.T.) class. Indeed, of all of the learnings, my biggest take-out is actually dealing with coding in CSS or Cascading Style Sheets, which in itself proved challenging but yet rewarding in some ways. Looking at lessons, projects, and activities, that's really where my real understanding deepened in dealing with web design and its development.
So when we first started learning CSS, I was very excited and overwhelmed. Having an understanding of HTML already in my head, it felt like a whole new world with CSS. When learning how to style and place elements on a page of a website, simple changes like changing text colors or font sizes or how images should be aligned appeared somewhat complicated at first. As I moved through the pages of the lessons and worked with all these exercises, suddenly the magic of CSS clicked. How one simple looking page can be converted to look pretty and in place amazed me.
The value skills I learned include what you use CSS to control a layout and manipulate presentation on a webpage. For example, learning about the "box model" in CSS gave me insight into the construction of elements and how padding, margins, and borders influence design. Understanding how to apply different styles through CSS selectors also became something of a game-changer for me; this ability allowed me to select a specific element within an HTML document and apply varying levels of styles to create more customized and professional projects.
It wasn't all easy, though; at times I got frustrated with the way things were. CSS sometimes can be pretty tricky in terms of what you are trying to get out of it, such as making elements align or making a design responsive to different screen sizes. Many times I spent hours playing with code and refreshing the page just to see if the change worked. Each mistake and adjustment made me more patient and persistent. It dawned upon me that web design is more than just writing code: it's a process in which learning to troubleshoot and find solutions is an essential part of the activity itself.
Hands-on projects were completed in the shape of designing a personal webpage and creating a simple layout of a website, wherein one could apply what one has learned in a hands-on manner. These projects were not only about my CSS but an opportunity to be creative while trying out different elements. It would be really rewarding to see little changes in CSS code have a huge effect on the overall look and feel of any given webpage.
As the end of the second quarter closes, I feel more confident to use CSS to create functional yet aesthetically pleasing web pages. I have come to understand the importance of attention to detail and how style and design can greatly power web development. So, moving forward, I hope to continue building upon these skills and eventually apply them with other web technologies, such as JavaScript, to create even more dynamic and interactive websites.
In conclusion, the second quarter in I.C.T. has been very valuable in terms of learning, and CSS coding is one of the highlights of my journey in web development. Though it was hard at times, the progress I made was incredibly rewarding, and I am excited to see where my skills will take me in the future.
If you want to check my first ever website feel free to click this: 1st Quarter