

Coding for motor system help - parriaza

I'm trying to integrate a small electrical motor into a project that I'm working on. The basic idea is that the motor will control the flow of fluids coming out of a valve that will be released when the motor is turning.  I want to have the motor connected to buttons that correspond to varied timers so that one button causes the motor to turn for a longer time than another button and so forth.  I don't have any real experience coding though. What's a good place to start (i.e. what language to code in, suggested hardware, etc.)? Anything would be helpful.  Thanks!
======
cd34

      Arduino: http://arduino.cc
      Motor Shield: http://www.ladyada.net/make/mshield/

