I started creating and editing web pages in about 1994, I was working for an education support company and Ameritech was just staring to roll out the internet to schools. I was the curriculum planning and staff development guy so I was given the charge to look into how to create webpages. Given that I've been at it for quite awhile I've tried just about everything from basic text editors to Dreamweaver. Along the way I've used HomeSite, GoLive and Frontpage. I've made the mistake of trying to be quick and putting Microsoft Word code online and watching my bloated pages never render quite right on non-Internet Explorer browser. I've also taken way too much time trying to craft the perfectly compatible and accessible page from scratch. I needed to find something in between.

I realize that I've got to be able to publish good looking, professional web pages. Not every page that I publish has to be an original work of art, nor am I a graphic designer with the skills to effectively and efficiently create that original page. I'm an audio engineer, videographer, and educator. I have a good eye and ear, but I don't practice art like Jessica D. or Paul Y., our artistic colleagues in CTER.

Dreamweaver is a pretty cool program, it does allow just about any kind of development happen within it's boundaries - html, ColdFusion, php, xhmtl, xml, javascript, etc. How many of us are creating dynamic, database driven sites? If ColdFusion, php, xhmtl, xml didn't ring any bells, DW is much of a program than you need. DW has powerful layout tools, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) which are VERY useful for site continuity, and can pop-up every parameter that you can think of for every tag. However, just like it's cousin Flash in the Macromedia (now Adobe) "Studio," DW says it's a WYSIWYG environment, but the minute you try to do anything advanced, you are writing code or need to how code works. You can can own powerful tools like DW that can do it all, but you need to have skills and knowledge to use anything beyond the basics. The program itself is not going to make the pages for you. The people I work with make DW stand on its head and do amazing things but it's also because one is a graphic designer with 25 years of professional experience and the other has a PhD. in web information architecture. Look at www.aces.uiuc.edu or www.p247.aces.uiuc.edu for examples of what DW can really do, both sites use all those things I mentioned above that I don't have a clue as to how to implement. However I do understand what ColdFusion based site can do and as a web team I contribute structural ideas that others implement in DW. I develop and add audio and video content to both those sites, but when I do my work, I don't use DW, I use a text editor, specialized streaming tools that create cross-platform code and also add my code from snippets that I keep on file.

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