Author: Bruce Elgort

You’ll find this technology professor – an award-winning instructor at Clark College – working hard to inspire and challenge his students with meaningful web development and programming experiences. With a skinny vanilla latte (no foam) in hand, Bruce loves to tinker and test the boundaries of existing and emerging technologies, to then guide hungry minds through memorable, educational journeys to showcase with passion the ever-evolving innovations of society. An industry leader, Bruce is known for co-developing Elguji’s IdeaJam software, and is recognized by IBM as an ‘IBM Champion’ for being an innovative thought leader in cloud technologies.

Accessibility Is for Everyone: Reflections on GAAD

Thursday, May 15, 2025, marks the 14th anniversary of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD).

This day is all about sparking conversations, encouraging reflection, and promoting learning around digital inclusion and access for people with disabilities.

Thank you to those who design and build physical and digital things that make the world more accessible for everyone.

At Clark College, accessibility isn’t just an add-on; it’s woven into the foundation of every course in our Web Development program.

#GAAD #GlobalAccessibilityAwarenessDay #A11y

Turning It In Isn’t the Starting Line

We must discuss whether you’re waiting until the assignment due date to care about your work.

Learning to prioritize is part of school and an essential learned skill. I want all my students to understand this: the due date isn’t the day to start working on your assignment. It’s the day you finish it. By the time you hit submit, you should have already asked questions, gotten help, made revisions, and made an effort to complete the assignment.

Students often turn in an assignment and then ask for feedback. This will not make a good impression in an employee/employer relationship. Don’t hand your boss, customer/client, or anyone else relying on you a half-baked project; expect them to be happy with it.

School is your opportunity to learn real-world solutions. It is where you learn to manage your time, advocate for yourself, and build standards of expectation. It is your chance to learn good management practices before facing the expectations and consequences of employment.

My advice is to treat your assignments like they matter before you submit them. Ask questions early, get help, and don’t wait until the last minute to care.

Respect Where It’s Due: Care Workers, This One’s for You

Let’s give it up for the care workers in facilities everywhere. The real MVPs hold it all together while the rest complain about bad Wi-Fi.

You show up. You stay late. You deal with things most people couldn’t handle for five minutes. And you do it with heart, humor, and patience that deserves a medal.

CNAs, nurses, therapists, custodians, and kitchen crews make it all run. You see people at their most vulnerable and still show up with respect and humanity.

So yeah, thank you for your quiet dignity, hustle, and grace. We see you, and honestly, we’d fall apart without you.

More Than Just HTML: Helping Students Believe in Themselves

I teach web development at a community college (Clark College), but let’s be real. Code is only part of the story.

What I teach is confidence, and occasionally, how to stop rage-AI-ing “why won’t my CSS center” at 11 p.m.

Many students show up thinking they’re not “tech people.” They doubt themselves before they’ve even typed <!DOCTYPE html>. Somewhere along the way, someone told them coding is only for hoodie-wearing geniuses or teenage YouTubers building apps in their sleep. I spend most of the quarter showing them that it is nonsense.

Yes, I teach HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Git, PHP, SQL, all the classics. But I also teach you how to fail forward, debug with a rubber duck, use vibe code when the plan falls apart, and not let a missing bracket ruin your day.

We talk about AI a lot because it is not going away. My students know it will not write their code for them, not if they want to pass, but they also learn how to ask it questions, get unstuck, and use it responsibly, like a teammate who never sleeps but sometimes gives wildly wrong advice with full confidence.

My favorite moments are when a student who started the class whispering, “I don’t think I belong here,” ends up staying after to help a classmate debug a form, slice of pizza in hand, casually explaining the event.preventDefault() as if it is no big deal.

Confidence is not something they walk in with. It is something they build: one messy project, one late-night aha moment, and one pizza-fueled study session at a time.

I just hand them the tools. And the duck. They do the rest.

From 48 to 62: A Teacher’s Journey Through Time and Tech

I’ve been thinking a lot lately as I get ready to turn 62 in July.
Thirteen years ago, at the age of 48, I began teaching Web Development at a community college. Back then, the age gap between my students and me didn’t seem like such a big deal. We connected easily. I was an experienced industry professional who still understood them.

Now? The gap feels wider. They’re teenagers and young adults, and I’m well, approaching retirement age. I’ve noticed that building trust, belief, and respect with students has become increasingly challenging. Not impossible, but different. I’m unsure if it’s me, them, the world, or how time works. Probably a little of all of it.

That said, I still see wins. I still have students who light up when they finally “get it,” who stick around after class to ask questions and tell me, months later, that something we discussed had a real impact. Those moments mean everything.
I’m sharing this because I know I’m not alone. If you’re a little (or a lot) older and working with younger generations, have you felt this too?

How are you bridging the gap? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Now available! The Clark College Events Browser Extension

Drowning in event emails? Yeah, me too.

Working at the college means being constantly bombarded with emails about events, most of which get buried in our inboxes before we can even recall what they were about. So, I decided to put an end to the madness.
After carving out an hour (okay, maybe two), I built a Clark College Events browser extension that does one thing really well: shows you all of today and tomorrow’s events in one clean, easy-to-read place.

No more digging through email threads or clicking through scattered webpages. I discovered that each of the event pages has an RSS feed, so I connected the dots and bundled them up. Now, you can see everything in one tidy view.

Click on any of the events to access the corresponding event page on the website.

It’s simple, practical, and yes, it’s free. It’s also accessible.

Install it now

https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/clark-college-events/kmafihepapkgalfjdgogcgloamkdlkpk?authuser=0&hl=en

My Winter 2025 Teaching Schedule at Clark College

Here are my courses and teaching schedule for the Winter 2025 quarter at Clark College. If you have any questions about these courses, please get in touch with me.

CTEC 127 – PHP with SQL 1 (Monday and Wednesday)

This class will have mandatory attendance at Clark College Room SHL 124 from 10:30 AM to 12:50 PM on Mondays and Wednesdays.

The following days meet, in person and have mandatory attendance:

  • Monday, January 6th (Week 1)
  • Wednesday, January 22nd (Week 3)
  • Wednesday, February 5th (Week 5)
  • Wednesday, February 19th (Week 7)
  • Wednesday, March 5th (Week 9)
  • Monday, March 15th (Finals Week)
  • All other scheduled class meetings will take place via remote learning on Zoom.

CTEC 270 – Web Interface Design 1 (Monday and Wednesday)

This class will have mandatory attendance at Clark College, Room SHL 124, from 3:00 to 4:50 PM on Mondays and Wednesdays.

The following days, meet in person and have mandatory attendance:

  • Monday, January 6th (Week 1)
  • Wednesday, January 22nd (Week 3)
  • Wednesday, February 5th (Week 5)
  • Wednesday, February 19th (Week 7)
  • Wednesday, March 5th (Week 9)
  • Monday, March 15th (Finals Week)
  • All other scheduled class meetings will take place via remote learning on Zoom.

CTEC 121 – Intro to Programming and Problem Solving (Tuesday and Thursday)

This class requires mandatory attendance at Clark College Room SHL 125 on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:30 to 12:50 p.m.

The following days, meet in person and have mandatory attendance:

  • Tuesday, January 7th (Week 1)
  • Thursday, January 23rd (Week 3)
  • Thursday, February 6th (Week 5)
  • Thursday, February 13th (Week 6)
  • Thursday, February 27th (Week 8)
  • Thursday, March 13th (Week 10)
  • Tuesday, March 16th (Finals Week)
  • All other scheduled class meetings will take place via remote learning on Zoom.

CTEC 122 – HTML Fundamentals

This class if entirely online and never meets.