Very helpful introduction to web development and XHTML
I am using this book for my web development class and so far the chapters are very well laid out and the hands-on exercises to apply the new concepts are interesting and fun to do.
Many errors, need more solutions to exercises
Web Development & Design Foundations With XHTML (3rd Edition)
I used this text for a college Web design class. The lessons were easy to follow and laid out in a logical sequence. The case studies that are built upon as new material is learned are useful. I appreciate the attention paid to accessibility issues. I do have two major complaints though. First: There are far too many errors for a third edition, as noted by others. A great deal of study time is wasted before a student realizes that the text is wrong. Coding solutions provided by the publisher in the "Student Data Files" don't always validate, for example, and there are several mistakes not yet updated in the "erata" sections on the publisher's web site. Second: the extensive "Hands On Exercises" at the end of each chapter are less than helpful at the college level without at least some sample solutions. College instructors don't usually waste time on going over this type of material, so it's often a waste of time doing them. Suggestions for the publisher: Fewer "Hands On" exercises, more solutions and please fix all those text errors you've been hearing so much about!
Great coverage of Web accessibiltiy & Web standards!
Comments from reviewers of this book:
"The layout of Felke-Morris's text is excellent. I have always
disliked texts with crowded pages, distracting sidebars, and many colors. Felke-Morris' text focuses the student on salient content and uses color, text boxes, and the like to enhance and emphasize, rather than distract. Felke-Morris' hands-on exercises are something my current text does not even have. I really like these exercises because they give students a chance to learn and practice small chunks of material before applying the knowledge to a larger project."
"Great coverage of web accessibility standards! Glad to see a tutorial on File Management. Many students coming into this course struggle with those
concepts."
"Great inclusion of ethical issues and accessibility tips (these are areas that I do find myself supplementing with our current text)."
"Superior aspects of Felke-Morris include:
--Inclusion of web site pages and/or addresses that have been referred
to in the text as either examples of techniques, or places to find more information, or used as a part of the end-of-chapter section on Web Research. These are a real strong point of the text.
--Use of the same four example sites through the text as end-of-chapter Cases. As each chapter is completed, each site is enhanced using the current chapter's skills and concepts.
--The inclusion of Hands-On Practice and Web Research sections."
okay
The errors in this text annoyed me to the point of wanting to drop my course. I took this class online so it was difficult to get feedback from professor. The case studies were helpful, and despite it all I have learned a couple of things about web development.
Good text, but code errors
Ive taken the online course of this class and while over all the book is very imformative, there are several HTML errors every now and then which for me really has no excuse as this is the 3rd edition. The author DOES correct these errors on a website she maintains, but as this is a text book for a subject that requires exacting work, it can be quite a hinder to the learning process when the students are forced to check the professors own work when the coding does not work for them even after following the example to the letter. I highly recomend this product none the less, but you may want to have a friend on hand to double check the text if you are experiencing a problem with no reason.
