Front-End Web Development Instructor Introduces Innovative New Course

We spoke with John Pettibone, our Front End Web Development instructor, to find out more about how he began teaching web design and what he has to say about this extraordinary new course.

Before becoming an instructor at CCPE , John served in the United States Army for 10 years. He began in the Army Reserves, then went into active duty for six months during operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and finally served in the Georgia National Guard. He began as a communications officer before ultimately rising to the rank of Captain.

“In the Army I was responsible for all kinds of technology including computers and teaching people how to use that equipment,” John said.

After showing fellow comrades how to use different equipment and introducing them to web design, he found an interest in the field and eventually decided to teach the course after leaving the Army. He has been teaching technology-based classes for more than 30 years, and has been with us for 6 years now.

John was inclined to teach Front End Development once he saw that the demand for more tech instruction had begun to increase over the years. He felt that it was important to have a course specifically for front end development so people could learn about the public-facing section of a website.

“Additionally, more and more companies are hiring one person for the website management, instead of 2 or 3, so a graphic designer today has to be able to take their designs and get them working on the web where they used to be able to just hand them off to a front-end developer,” he said.

Students in the Front End Development course will learn about the important elements of web development including HTML, CSS and a collection of JavaScript libraries. They can also expect to learn about and work with a common framework called Bootstrap, along with WordPress, Google Analytics, and the principles and procedures for Search Engine Optimization. The class offers many hands-on, in-class activities and graded projects to help students develop a portfolio of working websites.

“Using these technologies, [students] will receive a strong foundation in building the structure of sites as well as how to add interactivity and functionality,” John said. “I want them to gain confidence in themselves and their skills in front end web development to be able to take a site from a design concept to a working interactive website [by the end of this course].”

By attaining a certificate in Front End Web Development, along with Graphic Web Design and Back End Web Development as well, students will be able to combine all of the skills and techniques that they’ve gained through all of the courses and be able to build and manage a successful website.

“All three certificates make a job candidate that much more attractive to employers. Even if the job is specialized in one of the areas – say front end development – but the candidate has all three certificates, it sets them apart from their competition,” he said. “A full stack developer demonstrates to potential employers that the individual knows about all layers needed to develop a website from the front end to the back end including database design and site management.”

According to John, after students gain their certificates, they can look forward to jobs that include working on a web design team, running their own web design and development company, or working for important companies as a specialized front end web developer.