October 2011 Registration Open for LVS Online Classes

September 28th, 2011 lvs

NEW Courses for the October/November 2011 session: » Dreamweaver CS5 – Level I » Drupal Basics II [new for Drupal 7] » Drupal Basics III [previously Drupal Basics II, a Photo Site] Classrooms open October 17, 2011 Registration closes October 19, 2011 First lesson posts October 20, 2011

Give the gift of LVS Online Classes to someone special for Valentines Day AND….if you refer new students to LVS, receive $5 for EACH referral!

Our Windows classes are FREE to everyone and includes instructor support!

LVS students are eligible for Corel educational version software from the Corel Education Store. This includes CorelDRAW, Corel Painter, Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo, and Corel PhotoImpact! Registered LVS students enter CRL10LVS when checking out to get an additional 10% discount on all Corel products! Check out the LVS News page for more information and details on special offers!

As an additional benefit to our enrolled LVS students, special offers are made available by famous software developers such as Auto FX, Andromeda, AV Bros, Harry Heim – The PlugIn Site, namesuppressed, Nik Multimedia, and Ulead. Only registered students receive the information and discounts! Be sure to click on the “Class Information” link provided in your registration confirmation for IMPORTANT class information and special offers!

Registered LVS students are also eligible to purchase some of their favorite software and hardware at a student discount through our Academic Reseller programs.

New Course Highlights

*Dreamweaver CS5 – Level I*

The world is heading online and many businesses want and needs an online presence. The first thing that means is a setting up a web site. Dreamweaver CS 5 help you get and maintain a web site. This is an introductory class that gives you the basic tools to use the Dreamweaver program. Using its WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) method of web design, we will talk about topics like CSS and HTML, SPRY Assets and basic web site setup. We’ll touch on image editing within Dreamweaver and making image rollovers.

Need to update your print skills, make a website for your local church group, or an organization? Or maybe you would like to make a family picture album site. Dreamweaver CS 5 can help. Want to get a job working for Amazon, Google, or You Tube? Well you need more then we can do in 5 weeks but this is where you can start building web sites then move onwards and upwards! Dreamweaver CS5 is Web Standards compliant and produces clean code to a number of standards.

Not sure exactly what that means? If you take the class you will know plus, we cover other topics like FTP, Beginners HTML, Beginners CSS, Web Templates and more. You’ll learn by reading then doing.
Visit our Web Development Campus to learn more.

*Drupal Basics II [new for Drupal 7] *

Drupal offers two important tools that can be used to personalize your site. Custom Content types allow you to add custom fields to existing content types and create your own content types. Views can be used to generate reports, create summaries, and other content. With the combination of these two tools, amazing things can be done on your site. The possibilities are endless. In this class we will explore Custom content types, View, and other modules that can be used to personalize your site. We will learn about the Administration tools that are available in Drupal and how to use them.

Hundreds of modules are available for use with Drupal. You can create events calendars, a contact form, product catalogs, polls or surveys, guestbook, a forum, or newsletter signup. The possibilities are endless. Basically, there are no limits with Drupal. You really can make any type of website you want. No programming skills are required! Visit our Web Development Campus to learn more.

*Drupal Basics III [previously Drupal Basics II, a Photo Site]*

This class will teach you the basics of this very important Drupal module: Panels. With Panels you can create customized layouts for your pages and views, even your home page. We will also be doing more with custom content types and Views. In this course we will create a photo album for our site. This should be a really fun way to learn how to use some very important contributed modules that have lots of different uses.

These lessons will take you step by step through the development of your photo site. You should have previous experience with Drupal by taking the first two Drupal Basics class where we built a site/blog or by having similar experience with creating content, links, menus, blocks, taxonomy, setting up users, user roles, permissions, comments, selecting themes, using views, creating custom content types, and enabling modules. If you have not done a majority of these things, you may want to consider taking the other Drupal Basics classes first, then taking this class.

You may have already done some online photo sharing on different sites on the web. The first photo sharing sites originated during the mid to late 1990s primarily from services providing online ordering of prints, but many more came into being during the early 2000s with the goal of providing permanent and centralized access to a user’s photos.

There are many more ways you can use this type of site. Have you thought about different uses for a photo site? Here are just a few ideas:

Use your imagination and you’ll find dozens of ideas for uses of this type of site. Visit our Web Development Campus to learn more.

Check out our complete selection of online classes!

*FREE TUTORIALS*

• Understanding Directories and Paths
• Basic HTML Page
• Dreamweaver Extension Manager
• *Mac* Basic IRCle Tutorial
• Basics of mIRC
• Saving and opening PDF files
• Screen Captures with Photshop CS
• Screen Captures with IrfanView
• How to Set File Permissions
• Text Editors
• Create Thumbnail Images
• Windows XP Compression
• Winzip Tutorial
• WS-FTP Tutorial
• Visit the Free Tutorial Page for more information!

Posted in Announcements, Registration | 2 Comments »

Photoshop Elements 9: Make Your Photos POP!

August 24th, 2011 lvs

Posted in In The Spotlight | No Comments »

Corel Painter 12 Online Classes

August 15th, 2011 lvs

On May 11, 2011 the Corel Corporation released the newest version of Corel® Painter™ 12. There have been so many changes to this version, it’s almost like a brand new program, and as a result, new lessons are available here at LVS Online Classes.

Not sure you want to upgrade? The class consists of 5 lessons; in week 1, you will be able to download the first lesson, and in the second week of class you will be able to download all the remaining lessons, 2 through 5. If you wait to download and install the Corel® Painter™ 12 trial until the first lesson is available, you will be able to use the trial for the full 30 days while you complete the lessons, and thereby get a really good idea if this upgrade is for you before you spend your hard-earned money.

Posted in In The Spotlight | 2 Comments »

September 2011 Registration Open for LVS Online Classes

August 9th, 2011 lvs

NEW Courses for September 2011 session: » Painter 12 Get Up To Speed » Painter 12 New Horizons Part 1 » Photoshop Elements 9: Make Your Photos POP! » Photoshop Elements 9: Pizzazz! » Drupal Basics [revised] Classrooms open August 29, 2011 Registration closes August 31, 2011 First lesson posts September 1, 2011

Give the gift of LVS Online Classes to someone special for Valentines Day AND….if you refer new students to LVS, receive $5 for EACH referral!

Our Windows classes are FREE to everyone and includes instructor support!

LVS students are eligible for Corel educational version software from the Corel Education Store. This includes CorelDRAW, Corel Painter, Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo, and Corel PhotoImpact! Registered LVS students enter CRL10LVS when checking out to get an additional 10% discount on all Corel products! Check out the LVS News page for more information and details on special offers!

As an additional benefit to our enrolled LVS students, special offers are made available by famous software developers such as Auto FX, Andromeda, AV Bros, Harry Heim – The PlugIn Site, namesuppressed, Nik Multimedia, and Ulead. Only registered students receive the information and discounts! Be sure to click on the “Class Information” link provided in your registration confirmation for IMPORTANT class information and special offers!

Registered LVS students are also eligible to purchase some of their favorite software and hardware at a student discount through our Academic Reseller programs.

New Course Highlights

*Corel Painter 12 Get up to Speed*

The newest version of Corel® Painter™ was released in May 2011. If you have recently upgraded, or are thinking of doing so, you are in for many exciting surprises. There have been so many changes made to Corel® Painter™ 12, it’s almost like a brand new program. The entire interface has changed to a more modern and streamlined look, and there are new and easier ways to customize the program and the workspaces. However, some of the changes may prove to be a bit confusing. The Palettes are now called Panels, the icons are different, menu items have been moved, and there are some new and strange looking items on the Toolbox too.

Come along with me while we explore this new program together, and discover many of the exciting feature additions provided in this version. This class has been designed especially for those who are currently using earlier versions of Painter, particularly Corel® Painter™ 11. Reading the lessons and following the various exercises will help you to transition to this latest version of Corel® Painter™. Each week you will create a new image in an exercise designed to help you more fully understand the new features in this most current version of the premier painting program. Visit our Graphics Program Campus to learn more.

*Corel Painter 12 New Horizons Part 1*

Corel® Painter™ 12 is a brand new, modernized, and very different version of Corel® Painter™. This latest version of the premier digital painting program has gotten an exciting face lift. In addition to the streamlined interface, there are new and better ways to customize the program to your individual taste, new features, new brushes (as usual) and much, much, more. This class is the first part of a beginner’s level course aimed at the Painter novice. The lessons will cover the most commonly used features of Corel® Painter™ 12, and students will learn how to use and customize many of this program’s unique tools and features.

Please note that this is a class especially written for Corel® Painter™ novices. If you have prior experience with Corel® Painter™ IX.5, Corel® Painter™ X, or Corel® Painter™ 11, please check the Course Catalog for my Corel® Painter™ 12 “Get Up to Speed” class. Visit our Graphics Program to learn more.

*Photoshop Elements 9: Make Your Photos POP!*

This intermediate class focuses on photo correction using Photoshop Elements 9. Learn to correct your photos for color and exposure problems! This class goes above and beyond the skills in the beginning series of classes, Photoshop Elements 9: The Journey Begins.

Learn to convert your photos to make dramatic black and white images and use levels, color curves, and much more! Learn many sharpening secrets.

If your goal is to improve your photos, Photoshop Elements 9: Make your Photos POP! class for you. Please note that this is NOT a photography class. It is an application class, designed to teach you how to use the tools in Photoshop Elements to improve your photos. Visit our Graphics Programs Campus to learn more.

*Photoshop Elements 9: Pizzazz!*

With so many third party filters available for Photoshop Elements, people tend to forget about the ones native to the software. Native filters are the ones you will find under the Filters menu. These filters can produce some dramatic effects whether used alone or combined with others, how to use these filters is the focus of this course.

One more problem is often these filters aren’t very intuitive, so even if you have noticed them, or even experimented with them, you may not know what the sliders and settings mean, or when you might want to use a particular effect.

Over five lessons we will cover quite a few of these filters to enhance photographs, create paintings and make your text stand off the page. I believe in learning by doing so we’ll be creating images as we go to learn more about these filters. Visit our Graphics Programs Campus to learn more.

*Drupal Basics* [Revised]

Drupal is a free and open source Content Management System written in PHP. With Drupal you can create a simple personal homepage, a company website, a blog, an ecommerce site, etc. Hundreds of modules are available for use with Drupal. You can create events calendars, a contact form, product catalogs, polls or surveys, guestbook, a forum, or newsletter signup. The possibilities are endless. Basically, there are no limits with Drupal, you really can make any type of website you want. No programming skills are required!

This class is for anyone that is interested in creating a personal, club, or group site/blog using Drupal. In this class we will plan and design our own web site/blog in Drupal. No knowledge of XHTML, CSS, or PHP is necessary. I will give you written and visual instructions that will take you step by step through the lessons. We will create content, add and manage users, select a theme, and other exciting things. The main intent for this class is to learn the basics of Drupal. There are many Drupal blogs and web sites on the web. When we finish you will have a completed blog/web site that you can continue using. We will be doing a site on whatever “G” rated subject that you choose or you can use the material provided to make a Garden Club site. In Drupal Basics II and III you can add more functionality to your site. We will use the same site for all Drupal Basics classes. Visit our Web Development Campus to learn more.

Check out our complete selection of online classes!

*FREE TUTORIALS*

• Understanding Directories and Paths
• Basic HTML Page
• Dreamweaver Extension Manager
• *Mac* Basic IRCle Tutorial
• Basics of mIRC
• Saving and opening PDF files
• Screen Captures with Photshop CS
• Screen Captures with IrfanView
• How to Set File Permissions
• Text Editors
• Create Thumbnail Images
• Windows XP Compression
• Winzip Tutorial
• WS-FTP Tutorial
• Visit the Free Tutorial Page for more information!

Posted in Announcements, Registration | No Comments »

Digital Painting Online Classes with Maureen

May 29th, 2011 lvs

I have been painting with Corel® Painter for a number of years and decided to teaching the software a few years ago. It is a delight and pleasure to help others learn this somewhat complicated piece of software and enable their artistic flare to shine through. I’m always inspired by my students and enjoy seeing them grow and improve in their art.

Posted in In The Spotlight | No Comments »

Photography Instructor Al Mierau Gets Published!

May 28th, 2011 lvs

Al Mierau is the Photography instructor at LVS Online Classes. Several years ago Al met Dr. Robert Berdan, PHD, via Viki Nygaard (an LVS Online Classes instructor) who was doing some work for him. Al was so impressed with Robert’s nature images that during one of his stays in Calgary he decided to meet this renowned photographer. Since that meeting, over the years Robert has always helped Al out whenever he required assistance of any kind.

Posted in In The Spotlight | No Comments »

PHP Web Designs I Online Class

May 26th, 2011 lvs

PHP Web Designs I Online Class is for anyone that is interested in learning the basics of PHP and how to use it in your web pages for interactivity, form validation, and really cool effects.

Posted in In The Spotlight | No Comments »

WordPress Basics Online Class

May 24th, 2011 lvs

This WordPress Basics online class is designed to take you through the development of your own WordPress site. We will be doing a site on whatever “G” rated subject that you choose or you can use the material provided to make a Garden Club website/blog.

Posted in In The Spotlight | No Comments »

LVS Online Class Registration is Open for the June 2011 Session

May 10th, 2011 lvs

NEW Courses for June 2011 session: » Photoshop Elements 9: The Journey Begins, Part 4 » PHP Web Designs I » WordPress Basics Classrooms open May 30, 2011 First lesson posts June 2, 2011 Registration closes June 1, 2011

Give the gift of LVS Online Classes to someone special for Valentines Day AND….if you refer new students to LVS, receive $5 for EACH referral!

Our Windows classes are FREE to everyone and includes instructor support!

LVS students are eligible for Corel educational version software from the Corel Education Store. This includes CorelDRAW, Corel Painter, Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo, and Corel PhotoImpact! Registered LVS students enter CRL10LVS when checking out to get an additional 10% discount on all Corel products! Check out the LVS News page for more information and details on special offers!

As an additional benefit to our enrolled LVS students, special offers are made available by famous software developers such as Auto FX, Andromeda, AV Bros, Harry Heim – The PlugIn Site, namesuppressed, Nik Multimedia, and Ulead. Only registered students receive the information and discounts! Be sure to click on the “Class Information” link provided in your registration confirmation for IMPORTANT class information and special offers!

Registered LVS students are also eligible to purchase some of their favorite software and hardware at a student discount through our Academic Reseller programs.

New Course Highlights

*Photoshop Elements 9: The Journey Begins, Part 4*

In the first installment of this four-course Photoshop Elements 9 road trip, we packed our bags full of the basics of the program. On the second leg of the journey, we got on the road, finishing the basics and getting into the real meat of the program. In the third installment of this four-class course, we made a pit stop and learned some great editing tools! Now, in the fourth part of the journey, you have arrived! We’ll be learning fun extras to take your use of Elements over and above the beginner level.

Photoshop Elements 9: The Journey Begins is the fourth part of the Photoshop Elements 9 Basics classes, which covers both the Windows and Mac versions of Photoshop Elements 9., You must have completed Parts 1 – 3 to take this class. This online class builds on what was learned in the first three courses, and picks up where the third class left off. Visit our Graphics Program Campus to learn more.

*PHP Web Designs I*

PHP is a server-side scripting language that’s designed specifically for building web sites. You create pages with PHP and HTML. When a visitor opens the page, the server processes the PHP commands and then sends the results to the visitor’s browser. Learning PHP can open up new possibilities for your web site. Interactive features can be added to your web site including guest books, message boards, forms, surveys, and shopping carts. In this class you will learn the basics of PHP including syntax, variables, operators, loops, conditional statements, arrays, and functions. We will use a lot of simple basic examples that will demonstrate the concepts you need to master in order to write more advanced scripts later.

PHP is free to download and use, which is one reason why it is so popular. You’ll find that the vast majority of Web hosting accounts supports PHP. While many programming languages can be used to build Web applications, PHP is one of the few languages specifically designed for the Web. For this reason, it includes a lot of useful Web-related features including:

• Easy ways to read and handle Web forms and cookies
• Functions for creating and manipulating graphics
• The ability to talk to popular databases such as MySQL
• Functions for working with HTML.

This class is for anyone that is interested in learning the basics of PHP and how to use it in your web pages for interactivity, form validation, and really cool effects. Visit our Web Programming to learn more.

*WordPress Basics*

WordPress is a free, Web-based software program that anyone can use to build and maintain a website or blog. It began in 2003 as a simple open source blogging tool and was originally intended as an easy way to set up a blog. But, thanks to the efforts of a large “open source” community of WordPress programmers working to extend and improve its capabilities, WordPress has become much more than just a tool for bloggers. Today’s WordPress is really a “content management system” (CMS), which means that it can be used to run full-sized, social media-rich business websites or small, personal web sites.

This online course is designed to take you through the development of your own WordPress site. We will be doing a site on whatever “G” rated subject that you choose or you can use the material provided to make a Garden Club website/blog.

What is a weblog? A weblog, or “blog”, is a personal journal on the Web. Weblogs cover many different topics. Your blog can be used to share information with relatives and friends. It can include recipes, graduation announcements, birthdays, or club news. Basically anything that you are interested in can be shared with others on your blog. You can allow others to post comments on your blog. The sky’s the limit!!

This class is for anyone that is interested in creating a personal, club, or group website and/or blog using WordPress. This class will teach you the basics of WordPress. Visit our Blogging Campus to learn more.

Check out our complete selection of online classes!

*FREE TUTORIALS*

• Understanding Directories and Paths
• Basic HTML Page
• Dreamweaver Extension Manager
• *Mac* Basic IRCle Tutorial
• Basics of mIRC
• Saving and opening PDF files
• Screen Captures with Photshop CS
• Screen Captures with IrfanView
• How to Set File Permissions
• Text Editors
• Create Thumbnail Images
• Windows XP Compression
• Winzip Tutorial
• WS-FTP Tutorial
• Visit the Free Tutorial Page for more information!

Posted in Announcements, Registration | No Comments »

Writing Your Memoirs: Journaling to Essay to Memoir

April 5th, 2011 lvs

Gain knowledge on how to maintain a journal, write a personal essay from a journal entry idea, and develop a memoir from the personal essay, plus the completion of a total of six journal entry, personal essay, and memoir writing assignments.

Writing Your Memoirs: Journaling to Essay to Memoir provides you with step-by-step instructions on how to maintain a journal, draw ideas from your journal entries to create a personal essay, and transform your personal essay into a memoir.

During the five-week course, handouts will be provided to assist you in completing your weekly writing assignments and enhance your memoir-writing skills.

Writing Your Memoirs: Journaling to Essay to Memoir is instructed by Mary Cox-Pace.

Posted in In The Spotlight | No Comments »