Home schooled...

Before I go any further (lest my heading mislead you) I do have a degree. I have a BFA in Graphic Design. I'm also a self-taught web designer with 'old school', pre-WYSIWYG roots. However, the truth is I have spent the last several years devoting most of my time and energy to my two young children. I still managed to do a bit of consulting during this time so all was not lost - but I would be fooling myself if I didn't admit that I am in desperate need of a SERIOUS refresher course. So I stopped by Barnes & Nobles & picked up a few 'school books.'

Here's the plan:

• I'm ashamed to admit that although I dabbled in it, I never really learned how to use Fireworks and I think it's about time I did. During a recent discussion with an industry friend, she mentioned she had bought two copies of CS3 for her business - one for the pc and one for the mac. Turns out she never installed the pc copy and offered it to me - brand new - at the bargain basement price of $20. (CS4 retails new for $299!) I also picked up the "100 Essential Techniques" book to assist acquisition of this new skill.
  
• I'm proficient in Dreamweaver but there are many features I have yet to explore. I purchased the "100 Essential Techniques" guide to further my knowledge.
  
• Another book, "Mastering CSS with Dreamweaver", should streamline the creation of standards compliant style sheets within Dreamweaver.
  
• I haven't used InDesign too much; I've always used Quark. Sadly, Quark is losing the war against InDesign so if I am to compete with the many job hunters out there I really need to list both on my resume. Read more about the battle between Quark & InDesign here.
  
• I've done a couple of small Flash projects but am still quite the novice. I hope the "100 Essential Techniques" book & lynda.com training video will take me to the next level. I have future plans to attend professional Flash training once a basic foundation is in place.