By Kathryn Masterson [complete article in UMBC Magazine February 2014]

Every Monday morning at UMBC’s Prototyping and Design Lab (better known on campus as “The Pad”), Amy Hurst and Shaun Kane convene a meeting of students across disciplines who work in the space. Some of the students come to the lab to build things, but many are exploring how to use technology to make computers and the wider world accessible for people with disabilities.

Hurst and Kane are both assistant professors of human-centered computing in UMBC’s department of information systems. It’s a field that focuses on the user end of technology, combining elements of computer science, design, and behavioral science.

In mainstream human-computer interaction studies, Kane observes, the work often centers on making small improvements in a user’s computer experience, such as making a mouse respond better. In the accessibility research that Kane and Hurst focus on – which investigates how to put technology to work for people whose physical or mental disabilities make even simple tasks difficult – the chance for a breakthrough is higher.

CSEE professor Tim Finin has been appointed as a co-editor of the Viewpoints section of the Communications of the ACM, the monthly magazine of the Association for Computing Machinery. ACM was founded in 1947 and is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society with the mission of providing resources that advance computing as a science and a profession.

The Communications of the ACM was started in 1957 and is sent to all ACM members (currently over 100,000) and is considered “the leading print and online publication for the computing and information technology fields”. CACM’s Viewpoints section is publishes short articles expressing opinions and views that pertain to issues of broad interest to the computing community, covering a wide range of topics, including scientific, technical, educational and social. Each month a handful of articles are published from those contributed by a set of distinguished ACM columnists and submitted by ACM members and computing professionals.

For the Ninth year, UMBC hosted the Maryland State FIRST LEGO League Championship on March 1^st, 2014 in the RAC. This year, nearly 350 teams competed in 17 qualifiers around the Maryland area to earn one of the 72 championship slots. Teams performing well in all three judged areas (Project, Robot Design and Core Values) and scored in the top 40% of the Robot rounds at their qualifier, were invited to compete. Maryland FLL is currently run out of the College of Engineering and IT, Mechanical Engineering Department. Several Departments and scholar programs (Meyerhoff, CWIT, Sherman) continue to support the program through volunteering at many of the qualifiers and the state championship.

A video of the state championship can be found here.

FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL®) introduces young people, ages 9 to 16* (grades 4-8), to the fun and excitement of science and technology while building self-confidence, knowledge, and valuable career and life skills. FLL challenges kids to think like scientists and engineers. Alongside adult Mentors, FLL teams research and design their own solutions to a current scientific question or problem using engineering concepts, presentation techniques, and build autonomous LEGO robots. In this year’s challenge, NATURE’S FURY’S, students explored the awe-inspiring storms, quakes, waves, and more that we call natural disasters. Teams discovered what can be done when intense natural events meet the places people live, work, and play.

For more information about Maryland FLL, please visit www.mdfirst.org.

It’s even nerdier than it sounds.

Back in the mid 2000s, I spent a good deal of my free time learning to code PHP in my school’s library while most of my classmates were out partying.

I attended the University of Central Florida, and like many college campuses, there were paper flyer bulletin boards everywhere. I was building a web app that could consolidate these campus-wide boards into a searchable, sortable, and environmentally friendly medium. After spending about eight months perfecting my web app, I launched the site and promoted it as best I could. About two weeks later, Facebook Marketplace debuted, and I quickly realized that there wasn’t much point in continuing.

The bright side of the story is that my web app landed me my first “real” job writing code professionally. (I was doing freelance work previously.) I was able to showcase my design work and my PHP code, and that was enough to get me hired.

Sometimes I wonder what my life would be like had I not worked so hard learning on my own. It was a big turning point.

Most employers in the web industry care about demonstrable skills above all else (including Treehouse). They’re not interested in college degrees or boring resumes. Rather, they want to know what job candidates can do right now. Building experience and creating a portfolio of work can be difficult, but it’s much easier if you know where to look. The path I took is just one of many.

Here’s part of the UCF library, where I taught myself PHP and used that knowledge to ultimately land work. (Photo by Flickr user cybrgrl)

Contact a Local Organization or a New Business

There’s no shortage of demand for web design skills, even for beginners. Every business and organization has a need for a website, from the world’s most valuable companies to local volunteer groups. Smart business people and organizers know that a great website could be the difference between swift failure or wild success. Many of these organizations are just getting started, so even though they might understand the critical importance of creating a web presence, they might not have the money, time, or skill to make it happen.

That’s where you come in. If they don’t have a website or their existing site doesn’t look very good, contact them and offer your skills. When you talk to them, be tactful. The people you’re contacting might take a lot of pride in their current website, so try asking if they’re looking for web design help without offering any critique. Explain to them you’re trying to build your portfolio. If they don’t accept, you’ve at least introduced yourself. Networking could potentially lead to a gig later on.

You may also consider charging a small fee, even if you’ve earned money for your work before. This will help you gain experience negotiating and creating a freelance contract. A little cash can also keep you motivated when frustration hits. Some small businesses may choose to barter and spread goodwill, especially if they’re new. Sometimes this is annoying, but if you’re still gathering experience, trading might be a nice bonus for your time. For example, I was once offered weekly beer deliveries in exchange for ongoing site maintenance. Now that I think about it, I probably should have taken the deal.

Building a website for an animal shelter or foster organization could raise awareness and ultimately improve the lives of many animals. (Photo by Flickr user Dave Parker)

If you’re having trouble thinking of an organization to contact, here are a few more ideas:

• Farmer’s markets
• Local clubs and meetup groups
• Volunteer organizations
• Independent artists and musicians
• Church community groups

Gain Experience by Building a Web App

Nearly a decade ago, I first learned how to write PHP because I had an idea. Things didn’t go the way I planned, but it was a great experience. Learning with a goal in mind helped me focus on the right things. It was also a powerful motivator because my desire to complete my vision helped me push through frustrating bugs and problems.

The experience was valuable because I had a complete piece of work that could demonstrate my abilities to potential employers. When I went to interviews, I brought my code with me in case they asked for a sample of my work.

Building an entire web app by myself also helped me gain a better perspective of how the disparate components of a website work together. This was valuable experience to draw upon once I was working inside an organization with other team members because it made it easier for me to interact with specialized job roles. I’ve designed and developed several more small applications since and it’s always a helpful experience.

Create a Personal Website

If you don’t feel confident enough to contact a local business or build a web app, build a personal website first. Whether you want to be a designer or a developer, you’ll need a portfolio of work. In fact, this is exactly what I teach in the Treehouse course How to Make a Website.

This is the simple portfolio project in the Treehouse course How to Make a Website.

If you don’t have anything to put in your portfolio yet, you can omit the portfolio portion of the site or fill it with related content. For example, maybe you’ve done graphic design work and you’re making the switch to web design. Alternatively, you could save the portfolio site for another time and just create a personal site to showcase a hobby or talent that you enjoy, such as photography or baking. This is a fun way to get started because the focus is on you and your own personal expression.

Going Further

There are plenty of ways to get experience in the web industry, and these are just a few. If you have anything to contribute or any questions you’d like to ask, let me know in the comments!

The post How to Get Web Design Experience appeared first on Treehouse Blog.

The Affordable Care Act, also deemed Obamacare, has been receiving a lot of criticism since it first rolled out.

With crashing websites, unclear deadlines, and potential penalties, the law seems to have more symptoms than a bad Flu. 

Regardless, there has been one provision in the law that has left many people feeling dizzy.

Birth control.

Under the ACA, it is mandated that for-profit corporations must provide their employees with contraceptives. However, many corporations,cite this is an infringement on religious beliefs. 

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court met to discuss this mandate’s constitutionality. The case in question featured complaints against the ACA by the catchy/corny named company, Hobby Lobby.  

Afterwards pundits tried to parse the leanings of the judges on the issue.

It is a bit of a parlor game to try and predict the court’s judgement on any issue. However, some suggest from the tone of the questions posed on the day, the female members of the bench find Hobby Lobby’s argument to be hocus-pocus. You can see Politico’s analysis of each member’s view here! 

Whatever the Supreme Court’s vote on this issue, the battle over birth control is not over. Religious nonprofits, like Catholic schools, have deemed this provision a violation on their religious beliefs. It is quite possible to see nonprofits take new different cases to the highest court.

So, readers, should employers have to provide their employees with contraceptive services? 

And while we’re on the topic of the Affordable Care Act, remember that the deadline to sign up for health insurance is March 31st! Remind your friends and family to sign up here.