Welcome

Mary Adams, Instructor
M-F Coulter 105

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 weeks learning basic page design, this course may not be suitable for advanced programmers. If you have taken English 303 with me, you will be repeating some content, but we will try to get through the basic stuff quickly. 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 a personal site, a client site as well as several individual assignments. You will have some background in writing articles and designing usability tests for web sites. You will know how to use "Web Style," which governs the design and appearance of web sites, as well as Yahoo style, which governs spelling and writing practices. You will be able to use HTML5 and CSS. You will know how to 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 basic scripts written by others.

Texts

Robbins, Jennifer Niederst. Learning Web Design, 4th Edition. O'Reilly Media. (Purchase) required--needed right away.
Redish, Janice. Letting Go of the Words.
Web style guide
Yahoo style guide (supplied)
A free or paid web site: http://www.biz.nf/ is recommended for free sites
Jump / flash drive

Online resources

Interactive Resume Tutorial and Plain Text Resume Tutorial
Resume Tips and Samples

Assignments

Individual coding assignments 10%
Group site 25% (Site grade and individual grade factored together)
Quizzes 15%
Writing and Editing Assignments 40%
Final exam 10%

Technology

We will learn to code web sites using HTML5 and CSS; after that I will be teaching web design using the Adobe Design package (in particular, Dreamweaver, Fireworks, Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat, and Illustrator). You will be expected to use the computer language and software I assign. You may not use a pre-made web siteds or online web design packages.
I am a Windows user and will be teaching using that platform; if you wish to use a Mac platform, I will try to help you but make no guarantees.

Attendance

After two bsences your grade will be lowered one letter. After four absences, you will receive a failing grade for the course.

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.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities:

Western Carolina University is committed to providing equal educational opportunities for students with documented disabilities. Students who require reasonable accommodations must identify themselves as having a disability and provide current diagnostic documentation to Disability Services. All information is confidential. Please contact Disability Services for more information at (828) 227-2716 or 144 Killian Annex. You can also visit the office’s website: http://www.wcu.edu/12789.asp.

Academic integrity

All work submitted must be your own. Please review WCU policy regarding Plagiarism and the Academic Honesty Policy:
Turning in work not your own will result in failure for the paper without the opportunity to revise and may also result in failure for the course. I will also place a letter in your files and make a formal report to the Head of the English Department and the Dean of Student Affairs. Below is WCU's most recent academic honest policy:

Western Carolina University, a community of scholarship, is also a community of honor. Faculty, staff, administrators, and students work together to achieve the highest standards of honesty and integrity. Academic dishonesty is a serious offense at WCU because it threatens the quality of scholarship and defrauds those who depend on knowledge and integrity. Academic dishonesty includes the following:
1. Cheating. Using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic exercise.
2. Fabrication. Falsification or invention of information or citation in an academic exercise.
3. Plagiarism. Representing the words or ideas of someone else as one’s own in an academic exercise.
4. Facilitation of Academic Dishonesty. Helping or attempting to help someone else to commit an act of academic dishonesty, such as allowing another to copy information during an examination or other academic exercise.
The procedures for cases involving allegations of academic dishonesty are:
1. Instructors have the right to determine the appropriate sanction or sanctions for academic dishonesty within their courses up to and including a final grade of “F” in the course. Within 5 calendar days of the event, the instructor will inform his or her department head in writing of the academic dishonesty charge and sanction.
2. The department head will meet with the student to inform them orally and in writing of the charge and the sanction imposed by the instructor within 10 calendar days of written notice from the instructor. Prior to this meeting, the department head will contact the Office of Student Judicial Affairs to establish if the student has any record of a prior academic dishonesty offense. If there is a record of a prior academic dishonesty offense, the matter must be referred directly to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs. In instances where a program does not have a department head, the Dean or Associate Dean of the college will assume the duties of department head for cases of academic dishonesty.
3. If the case is a first offense, the student can choose to accept the charge and sanction from the instructor by signing a Mutual Agreement with the department head or can choose to have a hearing with the Academic Integrity Board. Within 10 calendar days of the meeting with the student, the department head will 1) report the student’s choice of action in writing to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs, 2) file a copy of the Mutual Agreement (when applicable) with the Office of Judicial Affairs, and 3) inform the student of the sanction or sanctions to be imposed under the Mutual Agreement or inform the student of the procedure for requesting a hearing with the Academic Integrity Board if the Mutual Agreement is not accepted. Mutual Agreements are final agreements not subject to further review or appeal.
4. In instances of second offenses, or when the student chooses a hearing, the Office of Student Judicial Affairs will meet with the student to provide an orientation to the hearing process and to schedule a date no less than 10 and no more than 15 calendar days from the meeting for the hearing. The student can waive minimum notice of a hearing; however, extensions are at the sole discretion of the Office of Student Judicial Affairs. Should the student choose not to attend the orientation meeting, a hearing date will be assigned to the student.
5. The hearing procedures will follow the same format as stated in the Code of Student Conduct (Article V.A.5). The hearing body (Academic Integrity Board) will consist of 2 students from the Student Judicial Affairs Student Hearing Board and 3 faculty members. The faculty fellow for academic integrity will be one of the faculty members and will serve as the chair. The other two faculty members will be chosen by the Director of Student Judicial Affairs from a pool of eight faculty hearing officers. Each academic year, each college dean will appoint two faculty members from their college to comprise the pool of eight faculty hearing officers. When a student fails to attend the hearing for any reason, the hearing will be held in a student’s absence . The hearing body may impose any sanctions as outlined in Article V.B. in the Code of Student Conduct. Students given a sanction of probation for academic dishonesty will remain on probation at Western Carolina University until graduation.
6. Following a decision from the Academic Integrity Board, the Office of Judicial Affairs will inform the student of the sanction or sanctions to be imposed upon the student and of the student’s right to file an appeal with the University Academic Problems Committee. The appeal is limited to those rules and procedures expressly mentioned in the Code of Student Conduct (Article V.D.2) and is limited to the existing record. If the student does not file an appeal with the University Academic Problems Committee within 5 calendar days, the sanction or sanctions from the Academic Integrity Board will be imposed. The decision of the Academic Problems Committee may be appealed to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. Any decision of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs may be appealed to the Chancellor.
7. Upon final resolution of a case involving suspension or expulsion, the Director of Student Judicial Affairs will inform the appropriate dean, department head, and the administrator in the One Stop Office who is responsible for University Withdrawals of the sanction.
  An Act of academic dishonesty, including a first offense, may place the student in jeopardy of suspension from the university. A repeated violation or more serious first offense may result in expulsion. Disciplinary records for any act of academic dishonesty are retained by the Department of Student Judicial Affairs for at least five years from the date of final adjudication. These records are available to prospective employers and other educational institutions in accordance with federal regulations.
  Note: Resolution of academic honesty complaints will be handled according to the provisions of the Academic Honesty Policy. Records of academic dishonesty cases are maintained in the Office of Student Judicial Affairs.
  For specific information on procedures for cases involving allegations of academic dishonesty, see relevant sections 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.