PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING IMPORTANT NOTES:
- The dates listed for this series are about 95% reliable. We are completing our 2026 schedule as we speak, so minor adjustments are still occurring.
- Each class in this series has an attendance fee, though this first offering is free on a first-come, first-served basis.
- Each class, from BOTH a sign-up and fee perspective, is a separate entity.
Introduction:
HTML5 is the foundational technology for modern web development, serving as the standard markup language for structuring and presenting content on the World Wide Web. Developed through a collaboration between the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG), HTML5 provides a robust system of elements (tags) that tell a browser how to display text, images, and multimedia in a clear and meaningful way. It works in concert with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) for presentation and JavaScript for interactivity, forming the core technology stack for virtually all websites and many web applications today.
One of the significant advancements of HTML5 is the introduction of powerful new features and elements designed to improve functionality and simplify development. Key additions include native multimedia support via the \ and \ tags, allowing developers to embed media without third-party plugins. It also offers new form controls for better user input, such as date and email types, and introduces web storage capabilities to store data offline for enhanced performance. These features streamline the process of building rich, interactive web experiences.
A significant focus of HTML5 is enhanced semantics and better structural organization of content. New semantic elements like , , , , and \ provide meaningful structure to documents, which aids in search engine optimization (SEO) and improves accessibility for assistive technologies. These elements define different parts of a webpage (e.g., a header for the top, a nav for navigation links, a footer for the bottom), making the code more readable and understandable for both developers and machines. This emphasis on clear structure helps in creating more logical and maintainable websites.
Developing websites in today's competitive environment requires taking advantage of every technique you can to get the maximum exposure possible. Our HTML5 class will not only show you what's new in the HTML specification, but also the best way to develop optimized web pages that get the attention your client and/or company requires.
The breakdown of the four-class series is as follows:
Class 1: Introduction to Web Structure and Basic HTML5
This class introduces the core concepts of web development, the history of HTML, and the fundamental structure of an HTML5 document.
- Topics:
- Web Architecture Overview: How browsers, servers, and web pages interact.
- HTML Fundamentals: Understanding elements, tags, and attributes.
- Basic Document Structure: Using !DOCTYPE html, html, head, and body.
- Text Formatting: Headings (h1 to h6), paragraphs (p), and text-level semantics (e.g., strong, em, br).
- Lists and Links: Creating ordered (ol) and unordered (ul) lists, and linking between pages using anchor tags (a).
- Activity: Students create a basic personal webpage containing text, a list of hobbies, and a link to an external website.
Class 2: Semantic HTML5 and Multimedia Integration
Class 2 focuses on modern HTML5 elements that provide meaning (semantics) to content, improving accessibility and search engine optimization. It also covers adding images and multimedia.
- Topics:
- Semantic Elements: Understanding and implementing elements like header, footer, nav, section, and article.
- Images: Adding images using the img tag and attributes like src, alt, width, and height.
- Multimedia: Embedding audio and video content using the audio and video tags.
- File and Folder Structure: Best practices for organizing project files and managing file paths.
- Activity: Students refactor their Class 1 project to use a proper semantic layout and add an image and a link to a video file.
Class 3: Forms and User Input
This session is dedicated to building interactive HTML5 forms, which are essential for capturing user data and input.
- Topics:
- Form Basics: Using the form element, action and method attributes.
- Input Types: Exploring various input types (e.g., text, password, checkbox, radio, date, submit).
- Form Elements: Utilizing label, textarea, select, option, and button.
- Client-side Validation: Implementing HTML5 validation attributes like required, minlength, and pattern.
- Activity: Students build a complete contact form with different input fields, radio buttons, and basic HTML5 validation.
Class 4: Introduction to CSS3 and Basic Styling
The final class introduces Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to style the HTML content and make the web pages visually appealing and accessible.
- Topics:
- CSS Fundamentals: The role of CSS, selectors, properties, and values.
- Integrating CSS: Using inline, internal, and external style sheets.
- The Box Model: Understanding margin, padding, border, and content for basic layout.
- Basic Styling: Changing colors, fonts, and text alignment.
- Accessibility Basics: Identifying principles of web design usability and accessibility, including ARIA labels.
- Activity: Students apply an external CSS file to their Class 3 form project to style the layout, colors, and fonts, culminating in a well-structured and styled webpage.
