Course Syllabus

instructor information

Professor: Elizabeth Lane Lawley
Office: 70-2545
Phone: 585-475-6896
Email: ell at mail dot rit dot edu
Office Hours: Mondays, 4-6pm; Tuesdays 2-4pm

Teaching Assistant: Eric Willis
Office: 70-2518
Phone: 475-5033
Tutoring Hours: TBD

required books

The following books are required for the course. The edition matters—older editions of these books will not provide all of the information you will be expected to know in class and in exams.

course objectives

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

  • Identify key figures and events in the development of the Internet and the World Wide Web.
  • Successfully search for and gather information from the Internet.
  • Understand and use basic Internet technologies, including telnet, FTP, electronic mail and conferencing, and the WWW.
  • Perform basic file and directory management tasks in the UNIX environment.
  • Understand digital imaging concepts, including file formats, resolution, color models, and compression methods.
  • Create graphic elements for the Web using both bitmap and vector-based software tools.
  • Create web pages, using valid HTML and basic principles of graphic and information design, and publish them on RIT’s server.
  • Understand basic typography for the web, and use of CSS for text formatting.
  • Incorporate basic interactivity into web pages, such as rollovers or embedded audio/video.
  • Utilize the Macintosh operating environment for file management and application tasks.

grading

15% Participation (includes attendance, in-class exercises, homework)

45% Projects:
* Paper (15%)
* Web Site 1: Wireframe Implementation (15%)
* Web Site 2: Graphics Implementation (15%)

15% Midterm Exam

5% Mid-quarter Practical Exam

20% Final Exam

There will also be a final practical exam, which is pass/fail; those who do not pass the final practical do not pass the course. (You have one opportunity to retake the practical if you do not pass the first time.)

A final letter grade will be assigned from points that you have accumulated. (e.g. A = 90-100%, B = 80-90%, etc.) Grades are not curved; if every student does “A” work, every student gets an A. (Or a D, as the case may be…)

It’s important to understand that if you complete all the requirements for an assignment, that is only sufficient for a grade of “B” (i.e. “satisfactory work”). To receive an A for an assignment, you must go beyond the basic requirements, and show some creativity, initiative, and excellence—the grade of A is intended for work that is superior, rather than average.

Assignments submitted after the due date/time, without prior approval from the instructor, will lose 10% (one letter grade) for each day that they are late. If you know that a situation will prevent you from turning something in, contact me in advance of the deadline to make alternate arrangements.

If you wish to dispute your final course grade, you must do so before the end of the quarter following this one; after that, documentation of your work may be discarded.

prerequisites

Students should be able to use a web browser and word processing program.