by Steve Waddell | Jun 1, 2022 | Web Security
We often talk about web security because we believe it is an extremely important topic that will remain relevant for as long as the internet is around. If you missed it, we touched on it in our article on the next 25 years of the web. One of the most important aspects of security is password security.
Let’s dive into what security actually means. If you look at an environment like Moodle, your username and password are not only encrypted, but they are also encrypted with a salt value. A unique string of numbers, letters, and special characters are added, which is fairly long. And that is used to encrypt your username and password to begin. So when you log in, the data store retrieves the salt value, takes what you typed in, and marries those two together in a rather unique manner. It then encrypts it and compares that value to the value stored in the Moodle database. If they match (bit for bit), you’re in. And if not, you can’t get in. That in itself is a fairly high level of security. It is as close to military-grade security without two-factor authentication.
Here at the Web Professionals Organization, we maintain information in our learning management and certificate testing system. However, we are careful not to keep track of personally identifiable information. We only keep the student’s first name, last name and email. This is the minimum we need to allow students to self-enroll. We do not allow users to attach any phone number, address, social media links or profile names. In some cases, schools will ask that we completely anonymize the accounts, and for this we will create complex passwords and dead drop emails for each user.
If a hacker were to actually steal our data store, it would be useless because they would need to know the salt value. The salt value is stored in a different place—not in the database. The hacker would then have to be able to do a reverse lookup by using a rainbow table or something similar. And it would be impossible to do a binary reverse lookup. It’s just not possible today to crack those username and password combinations—and that’s by design.
How do hacks happen?
Let’s imagine we have a WordPress site that uses a MD5 hash. MD5 is a message-digest algorithm and cryptographic protocol that can be used for authenticating messages, content verification and even digital signatures. MD5 is quite secure. To hack it, you could create a rainbow table and start with lowercase “a” as the password. You would then encrypt that. Then you would store the value that you started with and the encrypted value in two separate columns. And then go on to lowercase “b”, “c”, “d”, and encrypt each of those. Then go on to uppercase “A”, “B”, “C”, and so forth. And then 1, 2, 3, and continue on (for example, a1, b1, c1). Obviously, the table gets larger and larger as you get more and more characters. For even eight characters, you are looking at a significant amount of data—multiple gigabytes, if not a terabyte.
So now you have these two fields—one field contains the safe value, and the other contains the encrypted value. Then you can download a data store from a WordPress site that’s been hacked. You would be able to see that there is an encrypted value and do a binary search on that encrypted value. Once you have the encrypted value, it can be found in the large table. And as easily as that you could have the username of “admin” and password of “123456” which you can use to log in.
Ensuring password security
It’s important to make it as difficult as possible to hack your accounts. Many people like to use their initials or identifiable information so that they remember the password. However, you can use random letters, numbers and characters in your usernames and passwords. In fact, many security experts recommend 15-20 characters. You can even go up to 40 or more these days. Sites like Correct Horse Battery Staple are helpful to create randomly generated passwords and allow you to set parameters. And encrypted password vaults like NordPass and LastPass are a good way to ensure password security without needing to write them down and keep track of each one.
There are all sorts of bad actors out there who have wide-ranging hacking capabilities and could likely hack into any of your accounts. However, most hackers will have trouble hacking into your accounts if you use unique passwords. It’s like someone walking down the street at night and trying to open car doors. If yours is locked, it’s likely they will move on to the next car that is open and leave yours alone. That’s what you’re doing by making it more difficult for people to get into your website or your information. You can even put your list of passwords on a USB stick or hard drive and avoid connecting it to the internet, thereby creating an extra level of security.
You can also make up answers for password security questions—for example, your mother’s maiden name—to make your accounts even more difficult to hack. Alternately, you could add a word like “flower” to the answer to each security question. For example, make of car “fordflower.” And you can use passphrases that you will remember (unrelated to your personal information), which can be helpful when utilized correctly. It should be said that you should be careful about revealing sensitive information anywhere on the internet—including social media. And you can use two-factor authentication and authentication apps for an added layer of security.
We should mention that we have never—and will never—sell student and member information to anyone.
Wrapping up
Whatever happens in the coming years in the world of security, the Web Professionals Organization will be here to help web professionals however we can. If you are interested in learning more about our mission, contact us today.
by Steve Waddell | May 24, 2022 | State of the Web, Web Design Trends
Mark DuBois, Executive Director of the Web Professionals Organization, shares his thoughts on the next 25 years of the world of the web and technology trends. Mark was asked to take over the organization in April 2016 and has been running it ever since as Executive Director. Click here for Mark’s reflections on the first 25 years of the organization.
I will be the first to say that trying to predict the future of what technology trends and the web will look like is difficult. So take all of this with a grain of salt. These are all my opinions based on 30+ years experience on this stuff. I will start by saying that the web is about documents. When I say document, I don’t mean text-based materials. I use the word document to refer to a package of knowledge—in other words, an association of images, words, videos, sounds that come together as an element of knowing or understanding.
We will always need packages of knowledge from the past to inform how we behave in the present and future. If you don’t know how to build a fire, it would be handy to have a “document” informing you how to do so. And there will be a continued need to access documents in whatever form they may be in.
When Tim Berners-Lee created the first Hypertext Markup Language prototypes, what did he try to do? His focus was on making information available to anyone on any device at any time. In my way of thinking, that’s where the mission remains today. When I started working with web technologies in 1992, there was no CSS, no formatting of text (except by the browser), and no behaviors like JavaScript. There will probably be other stuff that we haven’t even thought about that will happen in the next 25. We will remain focused on the fact that we’re dealing with documents—we will need to archive them and make sure they are available. We will try to meet that original requirement for people to access documents on any device, at any time.
With the web, ideas can cross generations. You can access websites and content on your phone, tablet, Chromebook, laptop, and desktop—you name it. There are all sorts of different ways, but to me, documents are the key. And I think if we focus on documents, there is always going to be a need for archival retrieval of documents. In my mind, that’s the core purpose of the web.
In the next 25 years, there is probably going to be a much greater need for document retrieval—and not just here on Earth. Whether we have some kind of colony on the moon or Mars or more space stations floating around, we will still have documents and need ways to retrieve them. And given the distance that could be involved, retrieval is not going to be instantaneous. Your tweet could take up to 10 minutes to get somewhere—and things may have changed by then, right? The point is that there will still be a great need for web professionals—in the next 25 years and beyond.
Additionally, in the next 25 years, it is possible that 100% of planet Earth will have internet access thanks to technology like SpaceX’s Starlink. Anyone with an internet-connected device will be able to create and consume content, even with an inexpensive internet-connected phone. We are already seeing in real-time the impact of this, as Ukraine has benefited from Starlink satellites.
Remote working will also continue to play a massive role in the global economy. Because of this interconnectedness, it will continue to be easier than ever before to work with people around the world. Over the past several years, a lot of companies and organizations have figured out that employees don’t actually need to be together in a physical office. They are saving tons of money by not paying for office space, utilities and more. And employees are usually happier working remotely. They can spend more time with their children and less time sitting in traffic traveling to and from work. The whole nature of work is changing, and we’re never going back to the way it was.
We’re past the revolution phase, where we have a world wide web and so forth. We’re now into the evolution phase, where it’s just going to keep growing. As much as I hate to use the term, the next version will be Web 3.0. However, even as things improve, we’re going to take a step back for every two steps forward. For example, look at blockchain—it’s like we’ve taken a big step backwards in terms of robust user interfaces and accessible interfaces. But that’s going to happen repeatedly, as things evolve over time and new technology trends emerge.
One of my big passions has always been security. And we keep making the same security mistakes that we have in the past, which must change. Security is so important because of the vast amount of data that is being created each and every day. And this data is gold to those who wish to get their hands on it. The information that’s in your documents needs to be reliable and secure. And combatting things like deep fakes in the coming years will be increasingly difficult and require entirely new tools and approaches. In the coming years, two-factor authentication will not be powerful enough to protect highly sensitive information.
Another interest of mine is accessibility, which I think is going to remain a big issue and one of the most important technology trends. Although interfaces are improving, they’re not there yet. For example, Apple’s Siri feature often resembles a drunk elf when you try to dictate something to her. So those areas still need improvement in the coming years.
It used to be that you had a little bit of knowledge. And you could make a career in a corporation, because you were a keeper of that knowledge. Today, the best way to make a career is to be the one who is able to curate the content and distribute the knowledge to others. Keeping information secure and accessible is a big part of this.
The whole merging of artificial intelligence with documents is going to require things like blockchain, to make sure that information is valid. The whole point behind blockchain is that you’ve got an audit trail—and that audit trail cannot be changed. And if you apply it in terms of documents, to me, that’s a way of dealing with some of this AI-generated deep fake stuff that I guarantee is out there.
We Support Web Professionals in Adapting to Technology Trends
Part of our mission is to continue to develop and support a thriving professional community who are connected to the internet and prepared to meet the next technology trends. We take a big-picture look to make sure this community remains vibrant and sustainable to reach the next level and help others for years to come. We will continue to work with students, teachers, and working professionals to meet their needs. In the web industry, you need to know how to run a business, bring value to clients, and execute on your promises. We are preparing current and future generations to do just that. As we mentioned in the article about the past 25 years, our mantra continues to be “Community, Education, Certification.”
To be frank, we don’t know where this is all going. We have always made our certifications good for two years because of how fast the industry changes. We at the Web Professionals Organization are in it for the long haul. We will continue to evolve and adapt to whatever the web industry will look like next year, in five years, and in 25 years. Many associations that began around the time we were founded are no longer around. We are okay making mistakes and being wrong about the future—but we will always adapt. We look forward to what the next 25 years hold for the web industry. If you are reading this and would like to be a part of tomorrow’s technology trends, reach out to us today.
by Steve Waddell | May 23, 2022 | Member Profiles, Profiles Of Success
Are you interested in learning web design and earning an industry-recognized web design certification? Web design is a rapidly growing career pathway, and we at the Web Professionals Organization are proud to support many professional web designers in their career development.
We teamed up with our curriculum partner CTeLearning in recent months to reimagine how we administer industry certifications. Instead of having to pass a big certification exam, students meet certification milestones as they complete lessons and projects throughout the course—and earn their embedded certifications upon completion of the course.
Our Executive Director, Mark DuBois, noted repeatedly that we need to move away from the test-centric approach so common in academia these days. No one in business and industry cares about a specific test (especially one where the student prepares for the exam); they care whether the individual can do the job they were hired for. It is because of this reality we are moving towards portfolio-based certifications rather than continuing to focus on an exam. We want individuals to be able to showcase their accomplishments (and have that work reviewed by competent professionals). This is one more way our professional organization is responding to what business and industry are asking for. Mark says, “We are not a testing company (never have been and never will be). We want to confirm those holding our credentials are able to prosper in the industry.”
One of our latest certification recipients, Milan, is a mom who wanted to build her web design skills and knowledge. She is one of the first to earn a certification under the new embedded certification model. Milan gained skills, knowledge and certification as well as developed real-world web design projects—all from the comfort of her own home while being a great mom.
Like so many families, COVID-19 affected Milan’s family significantly. Milan, her husband and their children live in California and dealt with strict lockdown restrictions. Milan’s husband was an essential worker, and with that came long hours during the pandemic. Milan’s work was also hit by restrictions, and she and her husband began talking about making some changes to ensure their family’s future.
One of the topics they talked about is what it would mean to future-proof their family. Milan, a naturally curious type, had always had an interest in how websites worked. She told her husband that she had been watching YouTube videos, reading articles, and doing some activities on web design. Her husband had seen time and time again how his wife would take on new challenges and always give it her all. They both agreed that she would set her sights on becoming a web designer. Her kids were excited to know that this would mean their mom would be able to work from home in the future.
Milan reached out to her local workforce and met with a counselor. They looked at a number of programs, but Milan wanted a program with a certification that would mean something when applying for jobs in the web industry. The counselor suggested she take a course that would give her the opportunity to earn the Web Designer Certification from the Web Professionals Organization, which was a perfect fit.
In addition to the Web Designer Certification, she also earned the Remote Working Professional Certification. This micro-credential taught her how to become a remote working professional. It also taught her how to interview for remote and hybrid working positions, and as a bonus how to get started as a freelancer.
As Milan was working her way through the courses, she and her husband decided to start a side business with customized t-shirts for businesses, community events, family reunions and children’s parties. Her web design studies quickly became even more important as she and her husband began the process of launching their own business. She was no longer just a student, but the web designer for their family business.
A few months later, everyone in the family got sick—including Milan, who had to take a break for a few weeks before she could continue with the curriculum. However, she persevered and continued to build her skills and her career-ready portfolio.
When she was having trouble getting motivated, her daughter said, “Don’t worry Mommy, you will keep working on it. I’m really proud of you.” Her son chimed in and said the same thing.
Milan’s husband said, “I am so proud of my wife—I knew she would finish this course. My wife achieves whatever she puts in her mind. Our whole family is grateful she got this opportunity.”
We caught up with Milan to hear more about her experience:
What was it like being a working mom with a family and earning your credentials?
It wasn’t easy. I work and often come home late at night. When I got home I needed to spend some time with my family, make sure my kids were getting their homework done, and then I would work on my studies. When my son and daughter saw that I was doing homework, they tried harder on their own schoolwork.
How does it feel now that you have your certification?
I am ecstatic to have three credentials from this course—the Web Designer Certification, Remote Working Professional Certification and Ethics in the Workplace microcredential. Now I will have a chance to spend more time with my family as well as obtain a better job for myself. Before earning these certifications, I didn’t realize the impact it would have on my kids. Both my son and daughter see that I studied and learned what I needed to in order to get ahead. They both have told me so often how proud they are. My husband has told me how proud he is of me and how I am a great role model for our children.
What do you think about the courses and certifications?
I have already told seven of my friends they need to take this course—and just wait till they see the certifications. They will be so jealous!
As English is your second language, what was it like taking this course?
“At first it was a little scary. My Spanish is still much better than my English. However, the way the course explains everything with text and videos made it easy to understand. When I did have a question, my instructor Steve was always very helpful. He would often make a video to help me through what was confusing. I think I told you already that I recommended the course to seven friends. They are all like me—immigrants from Puerto Rico and Mexico—and I told them they could do this just like me.”
What is next for you?
I have already started on my next certificate with the Web Professionals Organization! I want to dive deeper into digital marketing—and with our side business being in t-shirt graphics, I decided my next step will be taking the Web Animation for Digital Marketing course and earning my Web Animator credentials. I’m excited to be able to create the social media animations we want to use to market our business as well as animated logos, banners and ads that my web design clients want. This is another way I can make myself stand out from the rest of the web design crowd—either as a freelancer or as a potential employee.
A New Approach to Web Design and ESL
Dr. Mauricio Castillo, a professor with California State University, Los Angeles, works with the Web Professionals Organization in their participation in SkillsUSA competitions. He is an expert in career and technical education and consults with companies on curriculum design and adapting courses to support English as a second language for learners in workforce development. He joined Steve and Milan on their Zoom meeting chat.
“I met Milan in the very beginning of her journey to get these credentials, and I have watched her progress closely. First, on a personal level I want to congratulate her on getting these certifications—she makes us all proud. As a professional, I will say that even though the course is in English, the way the course is designed and delivered does help support an ESL learner. I have been working with the curriculum developer CTeLearning since 2006 and I have deployed their courses at secondary and post-secondary levels with great success. We have even done some special projects at the middle school level in East Los Angeles. Although I do work internationally, my focus has always been in the Los Angeles area. Being bilingual, I often work with first-generation immigrants and programs to upskill and prepare them for high-demand and high-paying jobs. The content and delivery style coupled with an industry-relevant model for earning the micro-credentials and international industry-recognized certifications is ideal. Web Professionals Organization and CTeLearning have really, in my opinion, created something unique, special and impactful. So, congratulations to them as well.”
Interested in Learning More?
We are proud of Milan and all the members of our organization around the world. Check out the certifications we offer and contact us today to find out about a career in web design and how we can help you reach your professional development goals.
by Steve Waddell | May 18, 2022 | Member Profiles
What do you do when you want to retool for a new career? As an adult, you have more responsibilities and time pressures. Add to that the chance that at any moment you can get a call from school saying that your kids will be learning from home for the week or month or more, and it can be difficult to manage being a working professional.
Today we are highlighting one of our success stories here at the Web Professionals Organization. Eliza H. is a mother of school-age children who had to transition to working remotely because her children were home more due to frequent COVID-19 school closings. Over the years she has taken courses at her local community college to keep her skills sharp and continue to develop her career, and she is working with the Web Professionals Organization to continue that development and maintain flexibility to balance her personal life and professional life.
Eliza earned her Web Design certification and Remote Working Professional certification all from the comfort of her own home by taking the courses from the curriculum partner of the Web Professionals Organization, CTeLearning. She recently used those credentials to land a remote job as a web community developer and is now working on meaningful projects in the job of her dreams. In her interviews for the job, she was able to talk about the industry certifications she earned. She started on a Monday, knocked out four separate interviews all within a week and she was offered the job that Friday.
As a mom with two young children, these courses and certifications gave her the skills and knowledge to enter the tech field while maintaining her status as an involved mother. She still picks her children up from school, helps them with homework, and stays with them when they are home sick.
Eliza is very thankful to her local community college that set her up with this opportunity and gave her the chance to become certified web designer through the web design curriculum. With all the chatter today about the high cost of college, she shows how quickly you can upskill. No high-dollar boot camp. No expensive four-year school with big loans. And these certifications are built and backed by industry, not professional testing companies. Instead of having to take a high-stakes exam at the end of the courses, she completed project work through the courses to build her career-ready portfolio. Her training paid off when she realized on day one of the job that she already had the skills to succeed.
Right before she landed her job, we caught up with Eliza to learn more about her journey and dedication to professional development in the age of remote work.
What attracted you to web design and development?
Web design and development allow me to combine my passions—being creative and helping people. I love being creative and bringing ideas to light while helping people expand their businesses to reach other places and countries. I am currently focusing on the coding or backend side of websites so I will be able to provide customized website designs to each client.
What did you enjoy about your experience at the community college?
Community colleges offer fantastic value. It was an easy choice for me to first look at Washtenaw Community College to retool and get ready for the new reality of work. It wasn’t just the convenience—Washtenaw is part of our local economy, understands our community, has great teachers and is affordable. I really do love Washtenaw. I started taking classes back in 2006 when I was transitioning from one college to another. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I took some general education classes that would transfer. I love the small class sizes, and the teachers are excellent. I have gone back several times to take classes and have never had a bad experience.
How has your experience at the community college shown you how important it is to continue to develop your skills as a professional?
I previously worked in an office and took classes at my local community college that taught me the skills I needed to be good at my job. Now that I have my Web Design certification, I am taking even more courses. The information that I am learning is up-to-date and valuable in the job market.
How has taking the Remote Working Professional course and earning the certification empowered you as a working professional?
The Remote Working Professional course provided guidance on how to set up my day-to-day operations while working from home. Now that many jobs have moved to being remote, we need to learn how to make home the new workplace and also be able to separate work life from home life. I have worked from home in the past doing tech support, and this course has provided me with further knowledge and an industry-recognized certification on how to work remotely and be successful. I like that this was something I could do during the kids’ nap time or when they were at school. The information was easy to digest and I could easily pick up where I left off.
How has the course and certification changed your view of global connectivity and people being able to learn and work remotely from anywhere?
I think we are digitally connected more than ever. The Remote Working Professional course shows others that I have the skills to work from my home office and excel in a variety of roles.
What skills did you learn in the course about working remotely that you would share with a hiring manager in a job interview?
I would tell them about my home office that is secluded from the rest of the house, which ensures I have limited distractions during the day. I would also tell them about how I am more productive working at home since I don’t have a commute.
What does the term future-proof mean to you now?
Future-proof means being able to have an in-demand flexible career and business that I can work on when I want to.
What have you learned about how to balance being a mom with school-aged kids with being a working professional in the remote economy?
I love working remotely because I have time to get tasks for work and home done. I can take a quick break and go change laundry loads or take the dogs out for a walk. I can pick up my kids from school if I need to. Being able to get home tasks completed allows me to focus more on work. I end up getting more done than if I had to commute.
What have you learned that you would pass onto your kids to help them excel in the classroom as well as in their future professional lives?
It is important to make a schedule and follow it. Set times to focus on work and times to take breaks. Great time management can make you stand out and be more productive. With the pandemic, it is more important than ever to be able to learn and work productively from home.
What would you tell other parents who are considering career changes?
Don’t be afraid! You have to come up with a plan of attack to get where you want to go and then follow it. Don’t let doubt get to you. Find something that you are passionate about so that work becomes more like play. Get paid to do what you love.
Reach Out To Us Today
We are proud of Eliza and all of our students who strive to further their professional development, no matter what stage of life they are in. Contact us today to find out more about us and how we can work with you to help you achieve your goals.
by Steve Waddell | May 6, 2022 | Member Profiles
Today we are highlighting Amy F., one of our most recent Web Professionals Organization certification recipients. She earned her Certified Web Designer (CWD) and Certified Remote Working Professional (CRWP) certifications as well as an Ethics in the Workplace microcredential, all from the comfort of her own home. She can use these credentials and her robust portfolio of web design projects in future interviews with potential employers or as a base to launch her own business as a freelancer.
MyCAA—also referred to as the My Career Advancement Account— is a program that provides tuition assistance for courses and certifications to military spouses. Amy was able to utilize the MyCAA program, and we are proud to be associated with this program that helps military spouses succeed. We have worked with countless military members and spouses over the years to help them earn certifications, and they are always among our most driven and hard-working students. As a military spouse, Amy is a great example of why we offer online certification programs.
We caught up with Amy to ask about her experience taking courses and earning certifications as a working professional.
What initially attracted you to web design and development?
Coding reminds me of math in a way! The beauty of math is that it’s either right or wrong. I love that! As I learned about coding, I realized it has operations of its own, a set of rules that need to be followed. I find that relaxing.
As a military spouse, what did you enjoy about being able to complete the courses and certifications fully online?
I really appreciate that this class was fully online! I also liked the schedule flexibility as well as the ability to work on the certifications at my own pace and from wherever my husband and I were stationed at the time. We underwent a permanent change of station (PCS) move while I was in the middle of the courses, and I was able to continue working seamlessly.
How has taking the Remote Working Professional course and earning the certification empowered you as a working professional?
I’m fortunate that this course also offered a Remote Working Professional (RWP) Certificate. I’m excited about the future and the jobs I will be able to get now that I have a RWP certificate. I plan on working remotely so that I don’t have to look for work each time my husband and I change locations.
How has the Remote Working Professional course and certification changed your view of global connectivity and people being able to learn and work remotely from anywhere?
I love the fact that I can work for a company based anywhere in the world.
What skills did you learn in the Remote Working Professional course that you would share with a hiring manager in a job interview?
I learned a number of skills. To name just a few:
- Communication: well-mannered verbal and non-verbal communication as well as sending post-meeting recaps to avoid miscommunication are important.
- Organization: using a planner and setting a timeline.
- Ethics: adhering to commitments, showing empathy, and being respectful, honest, transparent, and accountable.
- Initiative: doing the job right and on time.
- Preparation: being ready for technology failures.
- Cultural sensitivity: understanding different cultural norms by researching before engaging.
- Cybersecurity: how to maintain safety and privacy.
How has your experience earning these certifications improved your confidence in being able to work from anywhere as a military spouse?
My mom and dad always tell me they’re proud of me…but that’s their job. I took the course so I could be proud of myself.
What advice would you give to others who are considering earning certifications to future-proof their careers?
The same advice my mom gave me: “The time is going to go by anyway!”
The internet, business, and marketing are all closely intertwined together—how do you think the courses and your new certifications will fit into your future plans as you go on to finish your business degree?
I will be graduating with my BBA this summer (woo-hoo)! Through my education I have earned experience, skills and qualifications that show I am capable of learning. After this summer, I plan to use my degree and certifications to land a nice job!
You have taken a number of courses online—what stands out about these courses?
I really enjoyed both courses! I like how well CTeLearning organized the courses, as each lesson helped and prepared me for the next lesson. I also liked how during each lesson I was able to apply the information I learned. In the Web Design course I was first shown how to write the code, then I did it myself. Thank you for teaching in a way that I can have ownership of my knowledge! And thanks to the Web Professionals Organization for the integrated certifications I now have!
Mark DuBois, Executive Director of the Web Professionals Organization, said, “Amy is another great example of a MyCAA success story. I am proud of our military leadership for thinking about the whole military experience—not just for the service person, but for their spouses and families as well. I think it is a brilliant idea that we, as a country, invest in educational opportunities for military spouses. Our servicemen and servicewomen and their families sacrifice to maintain the security of our nation. Helping spouses gain marketable web technology skills so that they can move as duty requires helps make the family unit stronger and more resilient. MyCAA is money well spent. Everyone who has been a part of this program who has gone through the education and received certifications from us has been exactly the type of person employers want to hire. Congratulations again to Amy. We thank Amy and her husband for all they are doing to contribute to the safety and security of our country.”
If you would like to earn certifications and learn skills that can make you a more marketable professional, check out our certifications list and contact us today. We would love to chat with you.
by Steve Waddell | Apr 29, 2022 | Web Pro News
Mark DuBois, Executive Director of the Web Professionals Organization, shares his reflections on the 25th anniversary of the organization. Mark was asked to take over the organization in April 2016 and has been running it ever since as Executive Director.
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The Web Professionals Organization was originally founded as the World Organization of Webmasters (WOW), which was established in April of 1997. The founding Executive Director, Bill Cullifer, was a webmaster who was early to the scene of web design. Bill saw a need for the burgeoning wave of webmasters, content creators, and new internet businesses to come together in a community to share, collaborate and propel the web profession forward. Bill pitched his idea to many companies, and three of the largest gave WOW their start-up grants. We are still thankful to Adobe, Microsoft and Macromedia for our initial funding. The organization was registered as a 501(c)(6) organization, and the early years were full of growth. Bill Cullifer was deeply involved in growing the organization as Executive Director until 2015. He bowed out due to illness, but his legacy lives on.
The mid-1990s was kind of the wild wild west of the web, if you will. In 1992 I built my first web page, which no longer exists. I first came across the World Organization of Webmasters in 2001 in Chicago. I had been working in web technologies for a while at that point and created many websites including one for a multibillion-dollar utility company in 1995. Four years later, I felt a need to do more. It was then that I decided to give something back to the community. Like so many others who feel the call, I decided to teach the next generation. So in 1999 I started teaching at the local community college, and met some folks from the World Organization of Webmasters at a conference a few years later.
Coming from industry, I liked what the organization was doing. I began to seek ways to get more involved, so I took some certification exams and established a local chapter at the community college I taught at. I guess I made a name for myself and my program because a few years later, in 2006, I was offered and accepted the role of Director of Education for the organization. Remember that this was still early in the industry—I became an officer of the association the same year Steve Jobs announced the iPhone.
Under Bill’s leadership in the early years, we participated in many meetings of the World Wide Web Consortium (WC3) at various venues around the world from Edinburgh through Beijing. It was at these meetings that we gave presentations and had the opportunity to meet with a number of luminaries such as Sir Tim Berners-Lee, known as the inventor of the world wide web. These events were key in expanding the reach and influence of the organization—especially internationally.
Around 2006, I took my students to a web design competition in Springfield, Illinois that was held under the auspices of SkillsUSA. That was a state competition, as there was no national web design competition. I felt that the competition was not run as well as it could have been, opened my mouth, and the conference organizers invited our organization to run it ourselves. So that’s what we did. In 2002, we had a much-improved web design and development competition, where students actually had to compete at the state level. The Illinois SkillsUSA chapter loved what we had done, which got the National SkillsUSA executive team to take notice of our organization.
In 2004, the organization collaborated on our first national demonstration competition for web design and development. And we had a number of teams that competed in that initial competition— it was something like 12 or 15 teams of secondary schools that competed. At this point it was no longer a demonstration contest—it was official. And we’ve been doing the national web competitions for SkillsUSA ever since. I was responsible for competitions through 2008, when I passed it to a former student of mine named Jonathan. He has been doing it ever since for the state of Illinois. We have never missed a year and even continued to run the competitions, albeit virtually, through the COVID-19 pandemic. We are committed to giving students access to competitions run by industry professionals.
As an organization, we decided early on to get involved in web competitions to highlight industry best practices. Our experience with all the workshops, teacher training, and seeing what student competitors produced showed us that many schools don’t teach the business fundamentals that are so important in addition to technical skills. Because of this, we decided that the best way to drive professional standards is to have students compete at both the state and national levels. In our competitions, the students’ code has to adhere to international web development standards for them to have a chance to win.
Prior to the national competitions, all competitors participate in mandatory training so they are exposed to new concepts. We enjoy seeing the competitors discover that they don’t know as much as they think. This has helped us drive our message of professionalism and expand our influence as the competitor-students go back to their schools and encourage their teachers to teach industry best practices. We know this works as more teachers ask us about industry standards every year. Little by little we are helping secondary schools prepare future professionals, which is a big part of our mission.
II
In 2009, we were invited to be a part of the Web Standards Project, which unfortunately has been archived and is no longer active. We were thrilled to participate, as web accessibility and security has always been a focus of the organization. That year the meeting was held in Chattanooga, Tennessee with a number of people who were responsible for web standards. As you may remember, back then there were a number of different browsers emerging like Internet Explorer and Netscape. In the early 2000s, each browser came up with their own browser codes— there was the blink tag from Netscape, the marquee tag from Internet Explorer, and so forth. And the Web Standards Project was created to establish that all browsers implement similar code so that web designers could create websites that would work on any browser. This was something I felt strongly about, and I was delighted when I was chosen to be co-chair of the Education Task Force for the Web Standards Project.
Working with Adobe and a number of other companies, we established the criteria for what curriculum should contain. And this became the career cluster for things like digital media that are out there today. If you look it up, you’ll find there’s a digital media career cluster. This provided the impetus for us to work with the Department of Labor around 2011. We also worked with professors and universities around the U.S., including John Gunderson of the University of Illinois, to do seminars and events about web accessibility. We also worked with the WordPress team on their accessibility task force.
One of the biggest pushes for the Web Professionals Organization has been certifications. As we are made up of industry professionals, we had plenty of contacts to help us develop what would become our international industry-recognized certifications. With the blessing of our whole certification team we started to issue industry credentials in 2001. Back then, everything was paper-based. When I later became Director of Education, one of the first things I did was eliminate paper and make it all online. We thought this was a big step forward to modernize the organization and make it easier for more people to earn certifications. From 2006-2008, we had meetings in Las Vegas, with people representing businesses, workforce, secondary and post-secondary schools to define what should be taught in the way of curriculum as a general outline, and what should be covered in terms of certifications, technical skills, soft skills, and more.
As a professional organization, we take credentialing seriously. The first certifications we offered were designer, developer, and webmaster. Today, we are proud to offer far more. What constitutes a web professional is far more diverse and demanding than back then. We do not teach to the test—you cannot find a sample test out there that you can practice with. For our professional levels, we ask to see examples of his or her work. For secondary and post-secondary students, we asked the teacher to assemble a portfolio of their work. To us, certifications signal that someone has the ability to produce and pull their weight in the industry—it does not mean that they are capable of cramming for an exam.
As an aside, I have been in the industry and education for decades. I have seen it all and understand what does and does not help the web profession. Testing companies will give you samples of their exam, and often will sell you a book to use to prepare for the exam. These exams usually have little to no basis in industry standards. We are proud to have higher standards than just scoring well on an exam that you can study for from a book. We are not so much about the number of professionals we welcome into our organization, but the quality of those professionals.
We have continued to make our certifications good for two years. Some have asked why they are not good for longer. It is for the simple reason that the world of the web changes so often that we must always be learning new skills. We are always focusing on the fundamentals. Frameworks come and go—we could make a list of those that have come and gone in just the last couple years. All that said, we focus on giving people a professional foundation that allows them to continue growing and adapting. We are about building true professionals.
A quick story: there was a high school that had a number of students earn apprentice-level certifications, and they did well. That teacher retired and they were replaced by somebody from a different department. The following year, 100% of their students took the exam. All 30 students failed miserably. The teacher called me and was apologetic. And we discovered in a very short order that the teacher was not teaching what the students needed to know. The teacher had just grabbed a book and focused on just coding and nothing else. However, the next year they turned it around by focusing on the appropriate things in the following year, and the majority of students passed the certification exam. Educators seek to develop whole learners, and we want to grow whole professionals. Our expectation is that the certification represents the fact that students have the knowledge and portfolio to demonstrate proficiency.
III
In-person meetings have also been important for us. We haven’t been doing as many in recent years because of COVID-19, but fortunately we understand how to use the internet to stay connected. Our members are webmasters, developers, and technologists from schools and companies of all sizes all over the world. Just as the internet is international, so is our organization. We work with schools and professionals in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, South America, and Asia. In addition to helping schools, we also help workforce partners train and re-engage adults in high-demand web careers. We are constantly working with industry and education partners to understand how we can better serve the web professional community, and it’s why we are industry-driven and industry-recognized.
Around 2010, we started the School of Web. We included a lot of the course materials that I had put together at the community college level, as well as courses from professors at other schools. We started the School of Web because in conversations with industry people we realized there was a hunger to develop their skills and knowledge. This started our efforts to offer micro-credentials.
One of the main drivers behind all of this, which is still somewhat true today, is that the term “web developer” can have different meanings. If you look at two job listings for a web developer, one may be looking for someone with HTML and CSS while the other may be looking for someone with a solid knowledge of a number of JavaScript frameworks. So our certifications and micro-credentials establish a baseline that any web designer or developer should have in their skillset. A big part of why the web technologies industry evolves so much is that there isn’t a set of standards for credentialing like different states have for medicine or law. And we’re seeing some improvements on that. Today, we are proud to have certification recipients and members not only all over the U.S. but also around the world in countries like Albania, Germany, Nigeria and Lithuania.
This year, we have begun to expand to doing more state competitions within SkillsUSA. We have seen early success so far. We’re trying to bring the state competitions to a new level of excellence, so that those who participate are better prepared before arriving at the national competition. For the national competition, each state can enter just one team at the secondary level and one team at the post-secondary level. By getting involved with these state competitions, we are now impacting many schools around the country.
We continue to go out of our way to build community and get people involved—everything from Slack channels to local chapters that meet. We strive to make sure our members have a solid understanding not only of web technologies but also best business best practices. We also have expanded our international presence— we have participated in the international WorldSkills competition, starting in 2013 in Leipzig, and we have had international members on our advisory board. Our mantra continues to be “Community, Education, Certification.”
It has been a wonderful 25 years for the Web Professionals Organization. When we started out, the web was in its infant stages. Today, the internet is more integral than ever to people around the globe in industries ranging from manufacturing to education and healthcare to energy. People work, learn, and play on the internet every day, making our mission more relevant and important than ever.
Stay tuned for a future article on where the Web Professionals Organization would like to go in the next 25 years. And if you would like to get connected, please contact us today. We are always seeking to expand our ranks both nationwide and worldwide and look forward to connecting with you.
by Steve Waddell | Apr 20, 2022 | Web Pro News
We know it is early to think about rebuilding. However, our hearts are with all Ukrainians. We know they will be triumphant in defending their country, and we call on all freedom-loving people to support them to this end. We are not trying to be political—we believe the internet is a place of free speech and freedom. We believe that wherever people live should be a place of free speech and freedom.
We are a professional association with international members who are also speaking out in their communities against the aggression and devastation of this war.
We have personally made financial donations to support Ukraine. Many of us fly Ukrainian flags on our homes. Now, as an organization, we want to help in other ways. When the time is right, we want to help schools rebuild and prepare their students for careers. We want to give schools the ability to use our training, educator support, and provide our international industry-recognized certifications for free. It is our way to share our talents when our talents will matter. We are skilled in helping people move into and maintain their professional status in career pathways all things web.
We know this is early. We will continue to give to support the needs of the Ukrainians and continue to pressure our country’s leadership to do more to support President Zelensky and all the courageous people who are fighting to protect Ukraine.
We know Ukraine, with the continued support of the free world, will win its fight. Ukraine is fighting for all of Europe. Our words of support and our gift to help rebuild may feel hollow right now, but when the time is right we hope to be able to help Ukraine in a way that will be meaningful for them and cast a bright light on their future.
We appreciate one of our corporate members loaning us one of their Ukrainian team members to help us create this video. She is still in Ukraine, and we hope for her and her family’s continued safety.
Glory to Ukraine.
Ukrainian version
by Steve Waddell | Apr 5, 2022 | Web Conference, Web Design
Over the past 25 years, we have been working hand in hand with education as we push forward our mission to support web professionals with education, community, and certification. Over the years, funding requirements for career and technical education have shifted. We know that we need to do what we can to help administrators meet the funding requirements so they can continue to provide the tools teachers need to upskill students, open up career pathways, and ensure students’ career readiness for high-skill, high-wage, in-demand occupations.
As part of our mission to engage the next generation of professionals, we partnered with SkillsUSA in 2004 and started the National Web Design and Development Competitive Event. Our event team has run this competition ever since, and did not even skip a beat during COVID-19. We have learned so much over these years about how to blend industry expectations with secondary and post-secondary learners.
Our industry team that runs the SkillsUSA event also has experience developing and running international competitions in artificial intelligence, robotics and game development. It is this wealth of experience that brings us to where we are today and our announcement for a new competition.
In this article we will discuss:
- Our history of successfully running web competitions
- The creation of a new competition model
- The three competition variations
- The career pathway trinity of curriculum, certification, and competition
- How the competitions will develop the next generation of students/future web professionals
Background
We have had teachers asking us to run more competitions for years. While we have always been willing, we knew we had to do it in a way that could scale easily and enable students anywhere in the world to not only compete but also to learn. Otherwise, we would not be meeting our core mission.
Behind the scenes, we have been testing a new virtual competition model. This model will allow us to provide an international industry competition for secondary education students. All our testing has shown us that we have a viable competition system ready to go. Creating this virtual competition also allows us to push forward the message of how people with disabilities or specific conditions that might make other careers difficult are not a limitation in the broad and welcoming world of web professional careers.
During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, we were one of only two competitive teams who ran their SkillsUSA National Competition. We were not going to let COVID break our perfect record of running our part of the SkillsUSA competitive events. Admittedly, we were not allowed to run the event as an official SkillsUSA competition. We had already taken steps to simulate a web environment at Skills, so we simply took some of that experience and ran our web design competition virtually in 2020 for SkillsUSA programs who wanted to take part in the web design event in an unofficial capacity.
One teacher who recently ran a competition had this to say about the experience: “If they want a great experience, they should use this program for running the competition. Anyone who is even remotely knowledgeable in using a computer can get the students on and running in the event. Most of it is hands-off for the advisor and the students do the bulk of the work. The user experience was great from a student’s perspective. I was very happy to find out that we were getting to have a professional experience in the web design category that was going to challenge my students and provide all of the necessary online materials for the competition. Thank you for making this event possible first and foremost. Without Web Professionals Org and their team, we wouldn’t have had a web design event in Mississippi.”
It is through this experience we realized that many schools have situations where it is not feasible to compete in a standard career and technical student organization (CTSO) event, yet they need to compete in a national event to meet some of their funding requirements. As the international professional industry organization we have the real-world experience and technical expertise to deliver competitions that are equitable, accessible and simple for educators to implement. We see the need and we can fill the need.
Overview of the New Competition
We are proud to announce that the Web Professionals Organization will be running the following Future Web Professionals competitions virtually beginning in the 22/23 school year for the benefit of US-based and international career and technical education partner programs.
The motto of the Future Web Professionals competition is “Success Favors the Prepared.” We feel this fits with what we want our educators as well as future and current professional members to always remember. Lifelong learners are always striving to be prepared. Let’s face it—industry leaders are always better prepared. We see this as the next stage in supporting creating the next generation of industry professionals.
In talking to our secondary educators, we found that many of them see a group of three areas that their learners are most attracted to.
- Web design is a first obvious pick as it is the in-demand and high-paying career most people think of when they hear the words “web professional.” And they are right—as the U.S. Department of Labor cites the profession as one of the most high-demand, high-skill and high-paying.
- Web animation is a bit more subtle of a choice and may not be as obvious. As companies look to market and brand themselves, they are always seeking to visually engage their target audiences with new innovative messaging on websites and social media. Web animation is one of the most important tools web professionals can use to help their clients propel their stories with or without dialogue. This career path has a ton of opportunities in web marketing, media and entertainment industries.
- Web game design is another pathway that attracts audiences and enables them to experience a company’s brand and story. Web games can attract new audiences to a website and allow new markets to discover brands organically through social media platforms. The game design pathway also teaches the value of interactivity in engagement. Today, 50% of all video gaming revenue comes from games played on mobile devices and 30% of mobile gamers are over 45 years old. Web game development is all about combining story, graphics, and choice into playable experiences. We also find that experience in developing web-based games helps strengthen a designer’s overall skill set.
We will issue awards to top-performing future designers as well as acknowledge schools nationally for their work in preparing future professionals. The competitions will run so that both fall and spring semester learners can participate.
Preparation—Curriculum, Certification, and Competition
We are a non-profit industry organization with a 25-year history of working not only with industry, but also with education and workforce. We have seen what it takes to prepare individuals for high-skill, high-wage, in-demand occupations. A competition alone is not the way. We know it takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a similar approach to raise a professional.
Each of these competitions is part of what we see as the career pathway trinity or what we refer to internally as the 3Cs: Curriculum, Certification, and Competition.
- Curriculum: We create the foundation for your students to learn through a media-rich, real-world and project-based approach. This is not about simply learning coding skills, but engaging in the concepts, hard and soft skills that we know are important as professionals. This creates the whole learner who becomes a whole professional.
- Certification: The curriculum prepares the students to earn international industry-recognized certifications. However, our model of certification represents far more than passing an exam—our certification represents the whole learner. The whole future professional. Students are acknowledged for completing a career readiness body of work. They express their development through their college and career-ready portfolios with real-world examples of their creativity, problem-solving, and soft and technical skills. The capstone in each learner’s portfolio is the student’s ethics in the workplace micro-credential and their international industry-recognized certification. Their portfolio is portable and becomes a testament to career preparation success and a confidence-boosting career-affirming expression of each future professional.
- Competition: Finally, we offer the learners the opportunity to compete and test their skills on an international stage. As a professional organization, we are naturally global in scope. We are US-based, and we work to support professionals domestic and international. The international context of the competition reminds learners that they are part of a global community. In the future, they may work for international companies or have international team members—and they are always in competition on a global scale. Regardless of how well students do in the competition, they learn valuable skills in meeting project expectations and having their work stand with the work of those around the U.S. and the rest of the globe.
Helping you meet Carl Perkins funding requirements
For years we have heard from administrators, department chairs, and countless educators about the struggles they have trying to balance the needs of their learners and the demands of Carl Perkins funding. For larger districts with more administrative support this may not be a pressing issue—however, this can be a daunting task for rural, urban and small districts. We believe we are making it easier for all educators to get their funding by taking advantage of our curriculum, certification, and competition approach. If you want to talk with us, reach out to us at Steve@4WebPro.org.
We are excited to offer this opportunity to CTE educators. We know that by adding this component to a CTE program we can help schools fulfill their Carl Perkins funding requirements more easily. We understand the frustration administrators feel and are doing what we can to make it a bit easier. We also see this as an opportunity for us to meet our mission and help welcome the future generation of web professionals, some of whom will eventually take our places here at their Web Professionals Organization and do their part for the future.
One more note
As of the 22/23 school year, we will only offer this competition for our secondary partners. However, our post-secondary partners are already asking when it will be available to them. We promise that we are serious about bringing the competition to post-secondary and our workforce partners, but for now we ask them to remain patient. Please reach out to us today with any questions about this exciting new model.
by Steve Waddell | Mar 14, 2022 | IT, Web Security
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, there has been a renewed focus on one of the most important web topics: cybersecurity.
Cyberwarfare has been a major focus of Russia’s efforts to disrupt daily life in Ukraine. While there have not been large-scale attacks yet, there have been reports of smaller attacks. Last week, Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) said that it has discovered phishing attacks from Russia aimed at Ukrainian and Polish officials. In fact, hundreds of threats emanating from Russia over the past twelve months resulted in warnings being issued to Ukrainian users. One of these threats is WhisperGate, a malware that displays a fake ransomware note to users, encrypts files and can destroy data and disable devices.
U.S. Army Cyber Command has been aiding Ukraine in improving its cyber defenses since the 2015 Russia-led attack on the Ukraine power grid that temporarily shut down Kyiv. The U.S. has continued to work with Ukraine in recent months to prepare for the types of cyber attacks occurring now as well as potential large-scale events like infrastructure attacks that would make it much more difficult for Ukraine to defend itself.
There have also been reports of coordinated Russian campaigns aimed at disrupting U.S. firms that supply natural gas, as natural gas has become increasingly valuable in recent weeks following sanctions against Russia that affect exports.
Additionally, there have been reports of the hacking collective called Anonymous hacking Russian targets in retaliation, as well as Chinese hackers using the Ukraine crisis to target European officials for a variety of purposes. It’s clear that cybersecurity continues to be one of the most important web issues.
One of the biggest cyber attacks in the U.S. took place in May of 2021, when the Colonial Pipeline suffered a ransomware attack carried out by the Eastern European hacking group DarkSide. The Colonial Pipeline supplies half of the East Coast’s gasoline, making it a high-value target for hackers. The pipeline was down for several days, which caused gasoline price spikes, shortages and panic buying. It was reported by Bloomberg that the hackers launched the attack after gaining access to a leaked password for an old account that had access to the virtual private network (VPN) used to remotely access company servers.
The company eventually paid the $4.4 million ransom in bitcoin, and the U.S. Department of Justice has since tracked down and recovered roughly half of it by successfully tracing the bitcoins. However, the CEO of Colonial Pipeline Company admitted that the hack ended up costing the company tens of millions of dollars to restore systems.
Taking Action
With cyber attacks on the rise, now is a good time to do a security check-up to make sure you and your organization aren’t susceptible to hackers. Many believe that these Russian-led cyber attacks will soon spread to businesses and individuals in other countries. Make sure that your organization has budget resources dedicated to ensuring your cybersecurity strategy is robust.
Make sure you use private connections, inspect your code regularly, be cautious of suspicious-looking emails, employ a strong password strategy and have multiple backups of your information. Make sure that all employees, including new ones, understand the organizational strategy and policy for protecting against cyber attacks. Remember that hackers don’t always need to exploit multiple vulnerabilities—sometimes they only need one to do serious damage.
Although the crisis in Ukraine has brought awareness of cybersecurity to the forefront, having a cybersecurity plan and committing to executing it year-round will help to ensure you and your organization stay protected from hackers and avoid costly disruptions.
Read More: The Importance of Web Accessibility
by Steve Waddell | Feb 11, 2022 | User Experience, Web Accessibility
Web accessibility is the practice of making websites and web tools accessible to as many people as possible, and it is rapidly growing in importance in the world of web design and development. The web levels the playing field for people from all different walks of life and removes barriers for people who may have disabilities and struggle in one way or another in the physical world.
With more people than ever working and learning from home, it is important to make sure websites and web tools are properly designed so that no user is left out. Poor website and web tool design can limit accessibility, often unintentionally. It is up to web designers and developers to ensure the products and services they offer can be easily utilized by everyone.
In addition to supporting people with disabilities, accessibility can include other groups that are often marginalized such as populations in rural areas, populations in developing countries, and older populations. Additionally, improving accessibility is a good business decision as it improves the overall user experience for all users. An increased focus on accessibility can spearhead new product and service offerings as well as expand market share. Once accessibility becomes a priority for you and your organization, it will become an integral part of the design process.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common disabilities, and how smart design can make the web accessible for all.
Cognitive impairments
This group includes people with a wide range of disabilities including learning disabilities and mental illness. The most common issues this group has when using the web are difficulties understanding content on websites and how to navigate complex web page layouts. To help this group, designers can focus on making easily understood content by delivering the content in more than one way, such as text, video, and text-to-speech. Maintaining a consistent web page layout and making forms easy to understand and submit are other ways to ensure accessibility for this group.
Mobility impairments
This group includes people with different disabilities ranging from physical impairments to neurological conditions. Disabilities include difficulties moving a mouse around on the computer screen and conditions that require assistive technologies such as speech recognition. Designing a website that can be fully navigated with just a keyboard can go a long way toward meeting the needs of this group.
Visual impairments
This group includes people with blindness, limited vision and color blindness. To help this group, it is important to include tools with zoom capabilities for websites and web tools. It is also helpful to include screen readers so that users can opt to have the text on the site read aloud to them.
Hearing impairments
This group includes people who are completely deaf or partially hard of hearing. To keep websites accessible for people in this group, make sure all audio content is transcribed and all video content has closed captioning easily available.
Designers and organizations often publish accessibility statements on their websites to provide an overview of accessibility policies and what steps have been taken to improve in this area. This can be a good way to be transparent, and it is also an opportunity to solicit feedback from users about areas for improvement.
The World Health Organization states that over 1 billion people—15% of the global population—have a disability. By not incorporating accessibility into websites and web tools, designers and organizations miss out on a massive number of people who might otherwise be potential users. Accessibility in web design is the right thing to do, makes the experience better for all users, and can help businesses grow worldwide. For more information on web accessibility, contact us today.
Read More: Taking a Look at Cybersecurity
