CLASSES

All of my extended ed classes are Saturday workshops from 9am to 4pm. I leave plenty of time for discussion and for getting your questions answered, including those about your own projects. I encourage you to bring along anything about which you have questions or want input from me and/or your fellow students.

Please visit the appropriate college, usually Pierce College (Lakewood or Puyallup campuses), South Puget Sound Community College (Mottman Main Campus), or Centralia College for information on fees, classroom locations, and how to register.

The following is what's on my schedule so far for 2011. A list of my writing and publishing classes is at my writing Web site: www.writingwriteaway.com. Class descriptions follow the schedules below.

WINTER 2012 Schedule

JAN 14 - Start A Web Site for Your Small Business (one-day class)
South Puget Sound Community College (Olympia)

FEB 11 - Start A Web Site for Your Small Business-Part 1
Pierce College (Puyallup)

FEB 25 - Start A Web Site for Your Small Business-Part 2
Pierce College (Puyallup)

MAR 10 - Make Your Living As An Artist
Pierce College (Puyallup)

APR 7 - Make Money Selling Arts & Crafts
South Puget Sound Community College (Olympia)

SPRING 2012 SCHEDULE

APR 21 - Start A Web Site for Your Small Business (one-day class)
South Puget Sound Community College (Olympia)

MAY 5 - Start A Web Site for Your Small Business
Pierce College (Puyallup)

Make Your Living As An Artist (also called Make Money Selling Arts & Crafts). This class is for anyone who aspires to a career as an artist or craftsperson. Plenty of time allotted for discussion and getting your questions answered. Includes the artist's investments in knowledge, tools of the trade, software, Internet access, and a space to work; finding, evaluating, and contacting markets for selling arts and crafts; what galleries and buyers want; working with artist's agents and galleries; business licensing and sales taxes; royalties and licensing fees; establishing fees and pricing; contractual agreements; copyright laws; derivative works and plagiarism; publishing rights; flexibility and fluency in creative projects; keeping the creative works flowing at all times and handling creative blocks; marketing your own works via the Internet; selling at arts/crafts shows; and more. Instructor has been making her living as an artist since 1973, so bring along anything about which you have questions or want input. Detailed outline.

Start A Web Site for Your Small Business. This class is taught in two versions: one is done in two separate all-day Saturday classes at Pierce College, and the other in a single all-day Saturday class at other colleges. It is an excellent overview for anyone who wants to start a successful Web site or has problems with their existing Web site. Taught in English — not "geek" speak — it covers just about everything, including many things that are very hard to find in one place. Detailed outline. Plenty of time is allotted for getting your questions answered. Here's what's included, and this is the two-day class breakdown, but all the same info is covered in the one-day class. Start A Web Site - Part 1 (this class is the pre-requisite for Part 2). Computer basics include file naming and storage; backing up; firewalls and virus protection; and computer maintenance. Web basics include Internet access; search techniques; Web hosting; domain/URL registration; E-mail; Web software; search engines; HTML/XHTML, CSS, and javascript; coding and meta tags; forms; and shopping carts. Writing basics include planning; pages to include; keywords and keyphrases; titles and headings; understanding relevant content; search engine optimization; writing styles; establishing credibility; and copyright. Start A Web Site - Part 2 (this class has a pre-requisite, which is Part 1). Design basics include researching Web sites; design principles; neuromarketing/eye-tracking; psychology of color; browser-safe colors; navigation structure; using templates; CSS and HTML extras; selecting fonts; working with images and videos; Web no-no's and time-wasters; and tables/divs. Marketing and promoting basics include robots.txt files; Google sitemaps; RSS feeds; online ad campaigns; paid ads; social networking; linking; sales and conversion rates; press releases; and online yellow pages. Site monitoring and maintenance basics include regular updating/refreshing; creating forms and harvesting data; use of Google Analytics and Webalizer Reports; and adding more content.