Course goal: To master philosophical, psychological
and technical skills in designing functional and effective websites,
paricularly as related to education, teaching and learning.
Course description: Within
this course, interwoven with technical coding skills and educational
and design theory, students will create a highly developed website
with educational application. In this class, students will
explore the use of tags in HTML coding, reporting their functions
and attributes;
study the functions of a website authoring program, in particular
Dreamweaver;
assess, analyze, and discuss the interactive functions of
website design;
plan and design a storyboard for an educational website;
incorporate features from auxillary website design programs,
such as Fireworks and Flash; and
design, upload and test a website demonstrating the above
discoveries.
This project-based course is taught through
a combination of lecture, discussion, demonstration and hands-on
practice.
Course objectives: Students will:
understand, decipher and implement HTML coding;
understand functions of a website authoring program, in particular
Dreamweaver;
understand interactive functions of website design;
understand the function of design and navigaiton in website
creation;
understand and use auxillary website design programs such
as Fireworks and Flash; and
design, upload and test a website demonstrating the above
understanding.
General guidelines:
Attend every class. If you don't, you will miss
important information. I am willing to work with students during
office hours, but for the purpose of addtional assistance and
not as a subsitution for missing class.
If you are ill or have an unavoidable conflict,
let me know ahead of time.
Pay attention in class. You can read your email
before or after class. Typing is distracting to others.
Participate in class discussions. Discussion
time is to listen to classmates, join in the conversation and
not working on the computer.
Avoid talking to others during presentations.
Even quiet whispering can be very distracting for others.
Make every attempt turn work in on time. Let
me know if technical difficulties are interferring with your
timeline and then get back on track.
Come talk to me. Come see me at my office, email
me or call me. Contact information is at the bottom of each
webpage.
Plagiarism policy: Much of the work we
do in this class involves using online electronic text as a resource.
If you use information you have found online, you are expected to
paraphrase and make it your own. If you use another writer's words,
you must put those words in quotation marks and cite where they
came from. If you cut and paste without crediting your source, you
are plagiarizing. This applies to images also. All work will be
assessed on the basis of originality and creativity. Plagiarism
is unethical and can lead to a failing grade.
Criteria for assessment:
Demonstrated ability to identify HTML tags,
their functions and their attributes.
Demonstrated ability to strengths and weaknesses
of a variety of website layouts.
Demonstrated ability to deliminate different
and numerous webpage coding documents into a unit.
Demonstrated ability to use interactive behaviors
within a webpage.
Demonstrated ability to manipulate databases
from client-end computers.
Demonstrated ability to discover and include
coding from auxillary programs and sources.
Demonstrated ability to incorporate the numerous
techniques of designing a website into a functional and effective
website.
Textbook and Resources: There is no specific
required textbook for this class, however the student is required
to acquire one or more reference books related to Dreamweaver, Fireworks
and Flash. Check the Resources webpage
for details and examples.
While it would be ideal to include on this
class website extensive details required tags, coding in auxillary
programs and sample coding, the Internet is already filled with
such information. Links to several useful websites are included
in the Resources webpage.
Writing: To continue to emphasis writing
skills among all students, and particularly international students,
to achieve a high level of writing proficincy by the time they prepare
and write their professional project, the final project in their
Masters program, weekly writing will be required. These assignments
are due at the beginning of the class period on the date due. The
writing will be at least three paragraphs in length including an
opening statement, a body fully stating the position of the writer
and a closing summary paragraph. All writings will be double spaced
and will fill approximately one page. Students are strongly encouraged
and in some cases required to use the Writing Center. Students will
also have opportunities to strengthen their presentation skills
by giving several short presentations throughout the course.
Grading:
Weekly assignments @ 5
Class participation @ 2
Final project
Total
50 points 20 30
100 points
A
B
C
D
F
90-100 80-89
70-79
60-69
below 60
Office hours: Tuesday - noon-4:00PM
Wednesday - 8:00AM-noon
Thursday - noon-4:00PM
Also by appointment and drop-ins
