I Wish I Knew How…
For a few years, I’ve thought about creating a website. I’ve watched videos, spoken to web designers, and tried on my own, but the longer I study, the more confused I become. If I could wake up one morning with a new skill it would be to understand the technology that sits behind websites.
The concepts for creating them are like learning a foreign language. There are topics like HTML, CSS, and Javascript that make me want to pull out my hair. I’m impressed with anyone who can navigate through the complexities of modern internet life, but I’m frustrated that I can’t figure it out. Being an educator I never thought there was a barricade to learning that couldn’t be broken with hard work, determination, and attention to detail. Boy, was I wrong. It doesn’t matter how many hours I put in I don’t seem to have the requisite skill to understand.
That’s not to say I can’t learn. It just means I’m going to need help. I’m going to need a good teacher. And that’s one thing I’ve noticed in the videos. The people speaking move at a pace that supposes their listeners have the background knowledge to understand at a high speed.
Being a teacher with special needs students, I know that understanding any new lesson is only possible if even the slowest student experiences success, and I vow that if I gain this knowledge I will make videos showing others how to duplicate what I’ve learned at a much slower speed. I may be older, but I haven’t finished learning, even if it takes a little longer.