Sep 01 2008
Web 2.0 is for Wimps
Yes, my secret is out. I think Web 2.0 is for wimps. Certainly, Web 2.0 technologies are wonderful for providing wider access for the general masses, but you have to really respect someone who bothers to take the time to learn about the technology that’s behind these wonderful tools we now take for granted.
I am sort of attached to Web 1.0. The largest class I’m teaching this semester is a Web 1.0 course– a basic HTML course. My students are learning to write XHTML code along with CSS style sheets. It doesn’t get any more wonderfully geeky than that. It is one thing to upload original content using an internet application that someone else has designed but it is something entirely different to hand code an interesting web page you have designed from scratch.
I recently read an article by Marc Prensky, the Digital Natives/Digital Immigrants guy, holding that programming will become the new literacy in the 21st century as those who master human-machine interactions will be leaps and bounds ahead of those who have not learned these skills.
Yes, I have my beginning web students write their first web pages using nothing more than a simple text editor. I feel I am being generous by permitting the use of a code editor such as Scintilla, which color codes the HTML tags it recognizes, and highlights tags that are incorrectly applied.
This philosophy is akin to the beginning carpenter who learns the trade using hand tools. There will be time for more efficient power tools once you understand the basics of swinging a hammer and sawing a saw. If I let my beginning students start off using Dreamweaver, they would never bother to learn to write and edit HTML like they do writing it by hand. And you should see my advanced students once they do graduate to Dreamweaver. Inevitably, the WYSIWYG editor will do something unintended, and the student who has taken time to learn it the tedious, hand-coded way will have no problem switching to code view to fix the problem.
Certainly, I would not expect someone who makes web pages for a living to use nothing but a text editor, although I know some who do just that. Just as a master carpenter understands the trade and effectively uses power tools to do the job, so too a master web developer ought to use the equivalent power tools for that profession.
I’m just saying I think it is important not to forget to teach people the basics of web page development. By skipping directly to Web 2.0, I think we are missing an important part of the mix. Artists, designers, programmers, entrepreneurs, writers and dreamers should all understand the basics of web development to get the most out of Web 2.0 tools that they use. They might never hand code a bit of HTML ever again, but having that basic understanding will provide them a foundation of understanding for the environment in which they work.
I first learned how to write a basic HTML page while reading “HTML for Dummies” sitting in a tent while camping on a very rainy camping trip over ten years ago. It only took an hour or so to grasp the basics, and I’ve been using that knowledge ever since! So don’t be a wimp! If you are a fan of Web 2.0 tools, take a little time and learn some basics of Web 1.0. You will never regret having this increased understanding of the tools you are using.
***Disclaimer*** The author recognizes the hypocrisy of making this post using a Web 2.0 blogging application and actually does love Web 2.0 in all of its variations. I’m just trying to have a little fun here!
4 responses so far
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I concur! There is no doubt in my mind that the future of the written word will be driven by hypertext…
I constantly bump into folks who are pretty switched on to Web 2, but still think in very pre web ways… witness the person who wants to lay photos out in a blog the same way they would have laid them out in a Word doc. The fact is that HTML has a few quirly behaviours that are “just the way it works”, and once you know what those ways are and are willing to work with them rather than against them, life just gets so much easier.
I recently commented to someone that I wish people had a basic grasp of HTML so they could take full advantage of the Editor tools in Moodle… there are all these little buttons for adding images, aligning them to the left or right, linking to urls, etc… these little tools seem to me to be so much easier to use if you have a basic understanding of what the HTML code is about. Try explaining to someone what Right Align does, and you keep finding yourself needing to go back to first principles.
I watched someone insert a 80% wide horizontal rule recently, then use the WYSIWYG editor to drag it wider… it then became a fixed pixel width and suddenly all his pages needed sideways scrolling. He had no idea how or why it was happening, but it bugged him no end! A little bit of basic understanding about HTML would have solved it, not to mention that the problem had to be then fixed by editing the code. There are lots of times when the simplest way to fix a layout problem is to edit the raw source code…
I’m with you Bill, I think a little bit of basic HTML knowledge is a useful thing to have under your belt.
While I agree wholeheartedly with your post, I think you missed one important thing.
What about people who write programs for Web 2.0; the creators of Web 2.0 software? Obviously there is a tremendous amount of brainstorming, troubleshooting and programming involved in making [a] Web 2.0 project/software.
The whole idea of Web 2.0 is to make things simpler, and to allow people to do more with less knowledge. It is my belief that Web 2.0 was designed less for programmers and more for .. well, blogger-types.
Nick
People designing Web 2.0 applications typically aren’t using Web 2.0 tools for development.
I guess the point of this post is to point out the fact that while yes, Web 2.0 makes technology within reach of more people, let’s not completely ignore the underlying basics that many people do not bother to learn, especially when it comes to teaching kids about technology.
creating their squidoo website will need to learn at least some basic HTML coding. There are many tools available that can help you design and create your own website, but without a good understanding of at least some basic HTML, even a basic webpage can quickly get out of hand.