The educator

Peter Hazlet works at Fremotra College. He’s 43, married, and been at Fremotra for five years.

Peter is a self-described geek. He likes to keep up with Web tech, and include it in his classes.

Peter teaches two undergraduate Web courses in the information technology systems (ITS) program: ITS 240, and ITS 250. ITS is more applied than straight computer science programs.

Both courses run on the semester system. The students are mostly from 19 to 23 years old, though there are some older students in his classes.

ITS 240 is a course on client-side technologies, focusing on HTML and CSS. The course has two goals:

• Give students skills they’ll need in the work world.
• Prepare students for later courses.

About half of the students in ITS 240 are ITS majors. The rest are from other fields, including journalism, business, and education.

Students take a computer skills class before ITS 240. They learn to manage files (copy and move files, create directories, etc.), use a browser and email, and create documents with Word and Excel.

Peter has tried teaching JavaScript in ITS 240. He knows it’s important for Web 2.0. However, his students have a much harder time with JavaScript than with HTML and CSS.

Some ITS 240 students go on to take ITS 250, a server-side class using PHP and MySQL. Almost all ITS 250 students are ITS majors. For some, this is their first serious programming course.

Some sections of ITS 240 and 250 are taught face-to-face in computer labs. Other are taught on-line. Peter teaches in both modes.

Quotes:

• You learn the Web by doing.
• I like students to be independent, but in high school they’ve been trained to sit down and be quiet. That doesn’t cut it in the workplace.
• There’s more to being a good IT worker than just IT. You have to know why you’re doing what you’re doing. Make your work count for the business.

The student

Sarah Lavatia is a student in Peter’s ITS 240 course. She’s 20, and lives in a dorm at Fremotra College.

Sarah likes both computers and creative writing. She uses Twitter and MySpace to keep up with friends. She posts poetry and short stories on deviantart.com. She enjoys the supportive DA community.

Sarah isn’t sure what she wants to do in her work life. She could be a writer, a journalist, a Web jockey, or something else. She’s taking ITS 240 so she can build her own Web sites, and to help her decide whether to be an ITS major.

Quotes:

• I like texting, hanging out with my friends. I tweet a lot.
• I want to get a good job when I graduate, but I don’t want it to suck. I can’t imagine being stuck in a cubicle shuffling forms for the rest of my life.
• I’m a bit scared. I’ve never had a real job. What if I’m not good enough?

The small business Weber

Beth Johnson works for Feline Fancy, a chain of four brick-and-mortar stores in North Carolina. She has worked for FF for four years, mainly doing buying and promotion. Beth has a good relationship with Felicity, FF’s owner.

Beth has an associates degree in business. She can use Microsoft Office, email, and a Web browser. She has a MySpace page, and can upload photos to it. She likes YouTube.

FF has a basic Web site with store locations and hours. It was created by a contractor a few years ago, and is outdated. Felicity wants a new Web site to (1) bring more people to the physical stores, and (2) start selling over the Web.

Felicity has hired another person to take over some of Beth’s duties, and has asked Beth to spend 2/3 of her time on the Web site. Her first job will be to update the existing Web site.

Quotes:

• I’ve got a lot to learn. I don’t even know what I need to know.

The job switcher

Joe Euphis is 34, married, with two children. He lives in South Brumton, Oregon.

Joe is a sales rep for Wilson Worm Products, a division of Giganto Corp. Wilson Worm is in financial trouble, and Joe doesn’t see a great future there. He’s looking for other opportunities, either within Giganto, or with another company.

Joe enjoys his work well enough, but he also likes using the Web. He thinks he could make himself more employable if he pursued this interest. He wants to learn more about the Web and how he could use it in a future sales position.

Joe has a bachelors degree in marketing. He can use Microsoft Office, email, a Web browser, and some of Wilson Worm’s mainframe systems. He has a MySpace page.

Quotes:

• I like using the Web. Watching videos and stuff. My MySpace page keeps family up-to-date with the Oregon Euphisi.
• I like to create things. I like woodworking.
• Sounds like Web work could be fun. Better than cold calling.
• I don’t have a lot of spare time. I’d like to get my feet wet, then figure out where to go from there.