| |
RECOMMENDED TEXTS
Barbara K. Kaye and Norman J. Medoff, The World Wide Web: A Mass Communication Perspective 2001 Update, Mayfield Publishing, 2001.
Robin Williams and John Tollett, The Non-Designer’s Web Book, 3rd edition, Peachpit Press, 2005.
SKILLS TEXTS
As references, look at any of the tutorials/handbooks on the various design programs. The best are those produced by Peachpit Press – Visual Quickstart Guides and the H•O•T: Hands-On-Training; those produced by Adobe Press – Classroom In A Book; and those by Thomson Course Technology – The Web Collection Revealed and Adobe Photoshop CS2 Revealed. You can borrow them from me or buy them. Also, you can always go online for tutorials.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course gives you the opportunity to learn how to write and design for the web and to customize content for a specific purpose. It also serves as an introduction to the new forms of communication engendered by the web, as well as to legal and ethical issues unique to the Internet. The course is meant to be a self-directed collaborative learning process, so that you set your own goals for learning (of HTML, design, search strategies, image manipulation, etc.) and also learn from each other.
COURSE BENEFITS
• Provide you with an understanding of the steps and procedures needed to create, design, organize, and post a website for a specific client and for a targeted audience.
• Provide tools to critically examine and critique websites.
• Develop a website that incorporates several forms of content, including text and photographs, and incorporate effective site navigation.
• Develop and apply introductory skills in Dreamweaver and Photoshop.
• Develop an understanding of the Internet as a form of communication from practical and theoretical perspectives.
• Develop an understanding of the legal and ethical issues presented by the Internet.
COURSE METHOD
This course will consist of lectures; class discussions; quizzes on lectures and the texts; lab assignments; in-class critiques; a class presentation; a completed online resume; a completed prototype of a client website. Class time will be devoted to presenting web project ideas; learning about the web; learning about who uses the web and why and how; developing strategic designs to fit the identified audience; developing information goals; analyzing ongoing projects; sharing code and websites of interest. The presentation gives you the opportunity to research a theme or concept of interest to you; these can take the form of tutorials or the exploration of an issue or theme. The resume site will provide a venue to showcase your background and experience. The client site will give you the opportunity to interact with content with a specific purpose.
EVALUATION
Your grade in this course will be based on your performance in class, on quizzes, on your presentation, and on your two projects. Your websites will receive a grade based on effectiveness, to what degree they meet the intent of the site, viewer interest, appropriate organization and structure, creativity, technical mastery, and evident ability to work effectively with a client. Your grade will also be based on participation: preparing a mini-lecture on one of the class topics, regular attendance, helping other students, locating and offering information about website design, and offering constructive criticism during critiques. You are encouraged to submit your sites to the AEJMC annual competition, and will get extra credit if you do so, but of course, they must be “worthy.”
10% quizzes 15% in-class assignments 20% online resume
10% participation 15% in-class presentation/tutorial 30% client project |
