Web Development in a School Environment

My name is James Mitchell-Clark and I have recently finished year 12 at William Clarke College.

I’m currently doing some work experience at Wiliam and would someday love to become a web developer.

There are many resources in the public school system allowing students to learn the basics of web development. 3 courses in schools being Information technology, Information Processes and Technology and Software design and development all provide different levels of web development education from graphic design to databases architecture.

I first became interested in computing studies in year 7 merely because it was a chance to play games instead of doing work, however I learned in this class that making games was just as exciting and would also contribute towards my grades in this subject.

In years 9-10 I studied another computer course which was where we first started learning about html. From there we went on to develop small websites and also started learning the basics of flash.

Years 11-12 was when I studied software design and development and although this course was entirely flash based it helped us focus on the user experience, whether it be easy to use navigation or an attractive banner to entice the user.

When enrolling in this course I was unaware it was based on one specific language and was a little disappointed we did not get to explore and learn a wider range of topics. However I still enjoyed the course and learnt many valuable skills and techniques.

The courses provided at high schools are a great starting point for a career in web development and my experience through high school has led me to seek a higher education in the industry. As computer capabilities and the internet continue to expand and evolve I can definitely see computer oriented courses becoming a larger part of school education.