Why Continuing Education Is Important for Web Developers & Designers

Web developers and designers are projected to be some of the most in-demand professionals over the next few years, when employment growth is expected to boom within these careers. However, the businesses doing the hiring will be seeking developers and designers that have the most comprehensive and up-to-date skills in Web development and design. As technology continues to rapidly advance, even today’s experienced developers and designers will need to be brought up to speed on the latest versions of design programs, trends in Web development and methods of effectively drawing people to a site. One of the best ways to sharpen your skills and gain a new creative edge is by taking continuing education courses in Web development and design.

The Advantage of Taking Online Classes

It’s only fitting that those who work in Web development and design take their continuing education classes online as well. After all, developers and designers are already some of the most tech-savvy professionals out there, and should have no problems adjusting to the online format. In fact, they may be more comfortable learning in an online format than they would in a traditional classroom setting. Quality online classes are offered by accredited universities and taught by degreed and experienced professors with extensive portfolios of work in Web development and design. With online classes, you can log in to your courses 24/7, and have greater flexibility to continue work while brushing up on some new design skills.

How Free Online Classes Can Supplement Your Career

A new trend is emerging among some of the nation’s top universities—they are starting to make some free educational courses available to the general public. Granted, these free online classes are generally non-credit-bearing, but they are still a great resource for Web designers and developers. After all, these classes are prepared by some of the most experienced professors and instructors in the nation and are offered by some of the nation’s top universities. MIT was one of the pioneers in offering Open Courseware, and a number of universities followed suit. Some of the well-known universities offering free classes related to Web design and Web development include Utah State, Penn State and the University of Virginia. Course listings have included: Introduction to Computer Graphics; Algorithms for Computer Animation; Visual Communication Design; and User Interface Design & Implementation.

• Understanding Online Interaction: Take this course to better understand how people interact online, with each other and with technology. [Utah State]
• User Interface Design and Implementation: This course will give you the basic tools and concepts you need to create user-friendly interfaces. [MIT]
• Open Web Mapping: Practice using open software to create websites. [Penn State]
• Ethics and the Law on the Electronic Frontier: Learn about Internet regulation, copyright law, the Fourth Amendment and more. [MIT]
• Accessibility in interaction design: Learn about social disability, physical disability and how you can design accessible interfaces. [The Open University]
• Algorithms for Computer Animation: Here you’ll learn how to create animated graphics and games. [MIT]
• Big Data in Computer Graphics: You’ll cover texture management, ray tracing, compression, volume rendering and more in this design course. [University of Virginia]
• Flash: Learn Flash 8/Actionscript 2.0, and find links to Flash CS3/Actionscript3.0 here. [Utah State]
• Search Engines: Technology, Society and Business: Take this course to get an introduction to the business of search engines and optimization. [UC Berkeley]
• Designing the user interface: text, colour, images, moving images and sound: Here you will learn how to use text, color, images, moving images and sound to create an accessible, engaging website. [The Open University]
• Real-Time Rendering: This course will teach you how to use OpenGL so that you can design 3D graphics and games. [University of Virginia]
• Introduction to Computer Graphics: Topics covered here include shading, ray tracing, projections, hidden surfaces, image processing and frame buffers. [University of Washington]
• Animation: This is another animation course to teach you about feedback control algorithms, dynamic simulation, and more. [University of Virginia]
• Visual Communication Design: Design technical documents after taking this course. [Carnegie Mellon]
• Blender 3D Design: Take this course if you want to learn how to use Blender 3D for modeling and animation. [Tufts]
• HTML Basics: If you’re just starting out, take this course to learn the basics of HTML coding. [University of Washington]
• Beyond the Internet: Predicting the Future of Computing Technology: Find out what could be next for computers and the web. [Fathom]
• An introduction to e-commerce and distributed applications: Learn how to develop e-commerce sites here. [The Open University]
• Introduction to Flash MX: Web designers get an introduction to Flash MX here. [Sofia]
• What’s Shaping the Global Internet Society?: Study all the aspects that manipulate, impact and are influenced by the Internet around the world. [Georgetown]
• Foundations of American Cyber-Culture: Discover who you’re designing for when you take this course. [UC Berkeley]
• Graphical Display of Information and Design of Dynamic Database-Driven Web Sites: Here you’ll learn how to design a website that has a database back-end. [ArsDigita]
• Creating Interactive Multimedia: Study the elements of multimedia and practice using the tools needed to create interactive projects. [University of Southern Queensland]
• Computer Graphics: You’ll get an introduction to animation, lighting models, algorithms and shading in this course. [MIT]
• Learn and Apply HTML: Here is another HTML beginners’ course. [Utah State]
• eCommunities: Analysis and Design of Online Interaction Environments: If you want to learn how to build social sites, take this course. [University of Michigan]
• Adobe Free Sample Courses: Download free sample courses to learn various Adobe programs. [Adobe]
• Game Development Channel: Find resources to help you develop educational games and graphics. [OpenCourweWareUK]
• Digital Typography: This typography course will help you learn about semantic filtering and more. [MIT]
• Virtual Worlds: Take this course if you want to learn how to create virtual worlds. [Harvard]
• Adobe Illustrator: Practice using Adobe Illustrator with the help of this class. [Connexions]
• 2D Motion: Get an overview of 2D motion design. [University of Colorado]
• Interactive Multimedia Production: Here is another Flash course to teach you coding, control structures and more. [Utah State]
• Digital Logic, Computer Organization and Design: Take this course to learn basic computer architecture. [ArsDigita]
• Advanced Computer Graphics: More advanced students can take this graphics course to learn about deep-water animation, virtual creatures, and more. [University of Virginia]
• Web Page Authoring: You’ll get an introduction to HTML coding here. [Sofia]
• Computer Science Lecture Slides: Topics here include worms, Google case studies, text categorization and HTTP protocol. [University of Washington]
• Design: Learn about creativity, innovation, design needs, model-making, and more. [The Open University]
• Color in News Design: If you design news websites, take this course to help you with color choices. [Poynter]
• Programming 3D Graphics with OpenGL: Here’s another class to help you work with OpenGL. [Connexions]
• Introduction to Design Inquiry: Learn all about computation in design here. [MIT]
• Graphic Design Basics: These resources will give you an overview of graphic design tools and practices. [About.com]
• Graphic Design I: Learn about visual communication with multimedia elements here. [Qedoc]
• Creative Typography: This course combines design theory with modern typography experiments. [Sofia]
• Common Sense Reasoning for Interactive Applications: Learn how to use common sense reasoning when developing or designing your interfaces. [MIT]
• Illustrator CS2: Create all kinds of images and characters when you take this course. [Design Mentor]
• Keeping it safe: Get an overview of malware and viruses on the Internet. [The Open University]
• Computer Graphics Lecture Notes: Review computer graphics lessons like Image Formation and Models and Architectures here. [Kent]
• Applied Multimedia Technology: Play with the four elements of multimedia: usability, functionality, content, and aesthetics, in this course. [Notre Dame]