Design a Website Syllabus

Design a Website Syllabus: Department of Interactive Arts and Media

Main Office Contact Number 312 344 7578

Main Office Address

Office suite 600,
624 S. Michigan Ave
http://iam.colum.edu

Instructor contact info:

Brian Nielsen
312 344 6883 (office)
brian@iam.colum.edu

Class Website: http://imamp.colum.edu/mediawiki/index.php/Design_a_Website
Office Hours:
You can find me around the department Monday – Friday, 9 – 5
I recommend calling ahead to make sure I'll be in my office.

Sections: Summer 2007
Tuesday, Thursday, 1:00PM – 4:00PM

Course Description

Students create and post a web site Using Macromedia Dreamweaver, the industry standard software in web design. The course covers basic web design, layout skills and technical requirements for images. Students will understand how HTML and CSS are used to code web information, but will use the software to create code for their own sites. Creativity and design are as important as technical aspects. Storage media and other materials will be required. A materials list will be reviewed in class. PRE-REQUISITE: Adobe Photoshop experience.

I'm not sure who wrote the description for the course catalog (quoted above) but in my experience the industry standard for web design is coding their own, or customizing a CMS. WYSIWYG editors such as Dreamweaver turn out sloppy code that does not validate against W3C standards, making it harder to consider these tools a standard. This class will focus on coding standards and why we have them. Editors may be used for most projects, including the final, but I expect the code to validate.

Course Objectives

• Optimizing media for the web
• Layout techniques
• Basic XHTML understanding
• Basic CSS understanding

Required Texts

none

Assignments and Projects

• In class work
• Web Project 1
• Web Project 2
• Final Project
• You do not need to be able to code a website from scratch, however, you should understand code well enough that you can use online references to build a site from scratch.

All assigned readings in the syllabus are from the required texts unless otherwise noted

Required supplies: IAM Website

ATTENDANCE

Attendance and participation in class are required and expected. Three unexcused absences will result in a failing grade for the class.

Two late arrivals equal one absence. You are expected to be in class on time, attendance is taken at the beginning of class. Two absences (even excused absences) may result in a failing grade. Three absences and you FAIL- NO EXCEPTIONS. If an absence cannot be avoided, it must be discussed with your instructor ahead of time. Medical and other emergency leave of absences follow a different policy. Please contact your instructor if such a situation arises.

Departmental Archival Policy

On the final day of class you must submit all work and documentation (including proposals) on 2 CD-Rs. One you will keep for your own archive, the other the department will keep. Class Website Policy

As part of this class you will be expected to create an maintain a class portfolio website. This website should showcase all of your in class and homework assignments. It is your responsibility to maintain links to all of these projects. These links will be used for grading the projects and a missing link will be considered the same as a missing assignment.

Grading Policy

Final grades are based upon:

---

Abrev	Assignment	Points
inCl	In class work	30
proj1	Project 1	20
proj2	Project 2	25
Final	Final Project	25
EC	Extra Credit	15

Late assignments will lose at least 1 point per class. It is expected that students will turn in their own work and maintain honest academic practices. Failure to do so may result in a failing grade. Grading Guideline

94-100A
90-93 A-
      above average and outstanding work, no more than one absence, 
      active participation in class and excellent scores
      on exams and projects 
87-89 B+
84-86 B
80-83 B-
      above average work, no more than two absences, and active 
      participation in class and above average scores on exams and projects
77-79 C+
74-76 C
70-73 C-
      average work, no more than two absences, and/or average scores
      on exams and projects
69-60 D
      below average work, no more than two absences, and/or below
      average scores on exams and projects
59 and below F
      anything below and including 59% - failure to turn in assignments, three
      or more absences, and/or failing grades on exams and projects
      can lead to an F

Grades will be posted on oasis. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CHECKING YOUR OASIS EMAIL PERIODICALLY THROUGHOUT THE WEEK!

Course Site is on Oasis and http://imamp.colum.edu/mediawiki/index.php/Design_a_Website

This syllabus is subject to change.

Academic Integrity

It is expected that students will turn in their own work and maintain honest academic practices. Failure to do so may result in a failing grade. All students are expected to be familiar with (and follow) the CCC Student Code of Conduct. If you haven't read it, you can download a copy here: http://www.colum.edu/student-affairs/PDFs/The_Student_Code_of_Conduct.pdf The Student Handbook states: "Academic Honesty is a cherished principle in the life of the College community. Students are expected to adhere to this principle by understanding the nature of plagiarism, and by not plagiarizing materials, by refraining from the use of unauthorized aids on tests and examinations, by turning in assignments which are products of their own efforts and research, and by refusing to give or receive information on tests and examinations. Persons who violate these principles of simple honesty risk embarrassment, course failure, or disciplinary action."

Departmental Attendance Policy

Three absences will result in a grade of “F” for the course - NO EXCEPTIONS. If an absence cannot be avoided, it must be discussed with your instructor ahead of time. Medical and other emergency leave of absences follow a different policy. Please contact your instructor if such a situation arises. In the event of an absence it is the student’s responsibility to find out what material was covered during the class and what work was assigned.

Tardiness

Two late arrivals equal one absence. You are expected to be in class on time; attendance is taken at the beginning of class.

Week by Week Break Down

07/02/2007 - 08/02/2007

Class 1 Tuesday, July 2nd

• Class Overview
• Technology Definitions lecture
• In Class - Hello World Wide Web

Class 2 Thursday, July 5th

• HTML History
• Saving images for web from photoshop & Gimp
• In Class - Make a site with some links and pictures

Class 3 Tuesday, July 9th

• XML history lecture
• In Class - Make a site with some lists

Class 4 Thursday, July 12th

• CSS lecture
• In Class - Stylize previous in class projects
• Project 1 assigned – a website about something you care about with XHTML and CSS

Class 5 Tuesday, July 16th

• Advanced CSS Techniques lecture
• In Class – More Stylizing

Class 6 Thursday, July 19th

• Dreamweaver lecture
• In Class - Code comparison

Class 7 Tuesday, July 23rd

• Client side programming lecture
• In Class - Javascript tricks & resources
• Project 1 due
• Project 2 assigned – improving project 1

Class 8 Thursday, July 26th

• Server side programming lecture
• In Class - php tricks & resources

Class 9 Tuesday, July 30th

• flashplayer usage

Class 10 Thursday, August 2nd

• Final exam (build a site, in class, quick and dirty)
• Present final project
• Potluck?

see wiki for updated information

This syllabus subject to change