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wcu english

Mary Adams, Instructor
TR 3:30 in Forsyth
Office Hours TR 1:30-3 or by appointment

Who should take this course and what should they learn?
  • This course is aimed at students who would like to learn how to design a web site and write content for the web. It assumes no previous web page experience. Because we spend several works learning basic page design, this course may not be suitable for advanced programmers. I will expect anyone taking this course to complete all the assignments, no matter how basic.
  • By the end of this course you should have published a career site you will have collaborated on a larger class site. You will have some background in writing articles and designing usability tests for web sites. You will know how to use "Web Style," to create a style sheet, to design and work from a page template, to create basic graphics, to use web colors, and to manipulate file size. You will also learn enough HTML to use scripts written by others, but you will not learn how to make your own scripts.
Texts 
  • Niederst, Jennifer. Learning Web Design (Purchase) required--needed right away.
  • Hot Text. (Rental) 
  • domain name purchase (strongly recommended--will cost about $25); or CD rewriter, or USB jump drive
Online resources
Assignments 
  • Class exercises 5% 
  • Personal Web Page 20% 
  • Revised Web Site 10% 
  • Participation in Group Project 25% 
  • Quizzes 10% 
  • Online article 10%
  • Usability test and critique 10%
  • Final Exam 10% 
Attendance
  • After four absences your grade will be lowered one letter. After eight absences, you will receive a failing grade for the course. 
Computer and software policy 
  • In this class, some communication will be done on e-mail, and papers may be turned in electronically. If you do not have access to a network computer at home or in the dorm, you will need to use one on campus. If you do not know how to use your e-mail account or if you have forgotten your password, you must see the computer center (basement of Forsyth) immediately. You are responsible for keeping up to date on last-minutes changes in assignments (posted on e-mail), communicating with your group and the class on e-mail, and learning how to post letters and presentations to the net. 
  • In-Class, you should be paying attention to lecture, class discussion, examples, and/or assignments. Anyone found "surfing" or checking email during class work or lecture will be asked to leave and will be assigned an absence for the day. 
  • Other software packages. After the first html lessons, you can use html or a page editor like Netscape Communicator. If you own them, you can use Dreamweaver or an Adobe package. You should NOT use a Microsoft package or any online templates. If in doubt, ask. Use of these packages will result in an automatic F for your assigment.
  • Publishing. A basic part of site design is publishing, and you need to understand the basics of web publishing to pass this course. You should use WS-FTP or another FTP software package to publish your pages. Do not use the publish feature in Netscape communicator. It is unreliable.
  • Word and WordPerfect are useful for generating text. However, do not use the "save as html" features in these packages. Instead, copy and paste the text into your html document and format it there. 
  • Web site. You will need a place to publish your site. Use a free site without ads or buy a domain name (strongly recommended) for your site.
Criteria for grading and academic dishonesty policy
  • First of all, sites are no good if they aren't published or don't work. So the first criteria I'll use will be useability. You should learn the basics of publishing web pages to the server, managing your site, and testing your pages and links. 
  • Good writing reflects well on you and your client. Your writing should be grammatically consistent, clean, concise, and accurate. It should be easy to read. 
  • People read online material differently than they read printed material. You should pay close attention to use of tables, consistent design, page size, attractive graphics, quickness of loading, ease of navigation. 
  • Only after you meet the above three criteria will I consider the "extras": forms, frames, multimedia use, or fancy html work. I value this kind of work, but I only give credit for it if you've learned the basics. 
Academic integrity 
  • All work submitted must be your own. Please review WCU policy regarding Plagiarism and the Academic Honesty Policy in the student handbook. If I find a student cheating, fabricating, or plagiarizing another's work from any source (print, media, internet, etc.), that student will receive an "F" for the assignment and perhaps the course. I also notify your department head and dean.
  • What's cheating for this class?
    • Getting help from a friend, classmate, or any other person to write your content, design your site, publish your pages, or take your exams.
    • Using copyrighted material (text, graphics, scripts) without permission.
    • use of material without correctly citing, paraphrasing, or reproducing it.
    • anything else that violates WCU's Academic Honesty Policy.
 
Dr. Mary Adams, instructor
last updated 6-nov-03