19 May 2008
Group Project 2: Final Site & Presentations
Final project presentations will take place during our exam week meeting.
Your entire group should be there, ready to present a version of your site that has the full information architecture implemented, with content on the main page, any second-level (main topic) pages, and at least one set of third-level or below (specific content) pages implemented, as well. More is better, of course, but it's possible to get a good grade without all content being completed.
I'm not going to provide a laundry list of technologies to implement on the site--your use of technology should be to facilitate the user experience, rather than to meet a set of arbitrary criteria. That said, effective and appropriate use of the technologies we cover in class--from client-side scripting to back-end scripts--is expected.
Your final project grade will be based on three components:
- Design Document (20%)
- Final Site and Presentation (40%)
- Peer Evaluation (40%)
As you can see, the peer evaluation is a significant component of your final project grade, so if you haven't been pulling your weight in the project up to this point, now would be a good time to step up to the plate and prove your worth to your groupmates. :)
Here's the peer evaluation:
409peereval.doc14 May 2008
Today's Topic: Practical Exam
The final (pass/fail) practical will be given during our last class; you must receive a grade of 70/100 in order to pass the class. If you fail the exam, you will have an opportunity to take a second version during finals week, but will need to receive an 80/100 in order to pass. If you do not pass the second practical, you will not receive a passing grade in the course.
12 May 2008
Today's Topic: Practical Exam Review
In class today we'll review concepts that I expect you to have mastered for the practical exam. The exam will require you to create a web page much like this one:
7 May 2008
Today's Topic: Studio Session: Dynamic Sites and CGI
In today's studio session you'll work on the two CGI studio exercises.
5 May 2008
Today's Topic: Introduction to CGI and PHP
An introduction to server-side programming, including basic CGI and basic PHP.
30 April 2008
Today's Topic: Studio Session: Server Side Authentication & Includes
Today we'll work on server-side authentication and includes.
28 April 2008
Today's Topic: Server-Side Authentication and SSI
Today we'll discuss basic web server operation--what gets sent back and forth between a client and a server, and what's the order of operations.
Then I'll cover how to create an .htaccess file to restrict access to a directory on your site (server side authentication), as well as to create a custom 404 error page, or change the way the server handles various file types.
We'll also discuss methods for including dynamic information on your pages, particularly Server-Side Includes (SSI).
23 April 2008
Today's Topic: Studio Session: AJAX Libraries
In class today we'll experiment with open source Javascript and AJAX libraries that provide a variety of functionality for web sites.
21 April 2008
Today's Topic: Introduction to AJAX and "Web 2.0"
Web 2.0 is all the buzz these days, and AJAX is the technology that drives it. We'll talk about it today.
16 April 2008
Today's Topic: DHTML: Studio Exercise
Today you'll be building DHTML menus using the Suckerfish Dropdowns tutorial on A List Apart.
If you'd like to try your hand at multi-level dropdown menus using the same approach, you should take a look at Son of Suckerfish Dropdowns on the HTML Dog site.
As your CSS becomes more complex, you may find this CSS Selectors guide useful. There's also this CSS Hacks page.
I've also linked to a number of DHTML and Javascript resources over on del.icio.us.
14 April 2008
Today's Topic: DHTML
We'll talk more about Javascript, and how it can be used to create dynamic HTML pages.
9 April 2008
Today's Topic: Studio Session: Javascript, DOM, and HTML Forms
You'll have a series of exercises practicing with forms and basic Javascript today, and some tutorials that help you to better understand the DOM (document object model).
7 April 2008
Today's Topic: DOM, Javascript, and HTML Forms
This is where we switch gears from design to implementation. We'll start with client-side programming using JavaScript, which is used for everything from simple rollovers to complex calculators.
To make JavaScript work consistently, you need to understand the Document Object Model, or DOM, that the browser uses to represent objects to be manipulated (images, form fields, etc).
2 April 2008
Today's Topic: Studio Session: Accessibility and Usability
Today you'll work through a series of exercises designed to help you be better attuned to usability and accessibility issues for your websites.
Bring headphones to the lab!
31 March 2008
Today's Topic: Accessibility and Usability
Closely related to the topics of standards and appropriate coding is the topic of web site accessibility. We'll talk about different kinds of accessibility, the reasons for building accessible web sites, and some techniques for making sure sites are accessible to all users.
Usability and accessibility are connected, but not the same thing. Usability addresses a wider range of site design components, and builds on information architecture as well as standards and accessibility.
Videos from class:
- The Science and Art of User Experience (Google) (captioned)
- Web Accessibility Video (Quicktime link; other formats available on the Web AIM site.) (captioned)
- Ted Talks: David Pogue (not captioned)
26 March 2008
Today's Topic: Studio Session (Required): Information Architecture
We'll work through some information architecture exercises today, focused on your group project architecture.
This is a required studio session.
24 March 2008
Today's Topic: Information Architecture
The best web sites start with careful planning, and avoid the "Winchester Mystery House" style of on-the-fly architecture.
One significant difference between the introductory web class (320/741) and this class is that in the introductory class we focus on how to build pages while in this class we talk about how to build sites. That's what we'll talk about this week: how to effectively organize and present a set of information online in a way that's useful to the intended audience.
19 March 2008
Today's Topic: Studio Session: CSS and Visual Design
Today's exercises will give you practice implementing a variety of CSS properties.
17 March 2008
css tips & tricks site
The "24 Ways" sites for 2005 and 2006 have a lot of really nice tutorials on nifty effects for your web site, most of which involve CSS.
Today's Topic: CSS Positioning and Visual Design
The table-based approach to layout that you learned in 320/741 (or on your own) was cutting edge back when David Siegel pioneered it back in 1997. But browsers have come a long way since then, and markup has evolved to match that.
Using tables for layout has two major problems. The first is that it ties together content and presentation, which are two components that are best left separate. The second is that it results in bloated, slow-loading code.
We'll discuss the importance of separating content and presentation, as well as the specifics of the CSS box model and cross-browser challenges for CSS-based positioning.
12 March 2008
Today's Topic: Studio Session: HTML, XHTML, and CSS Formatting
This studio sessions is for students whose HTML, XHTML, and/or CSS skills are rusty. We'll work on some simple web pages, with and emphasis on standards and guidelines for valid X/HTML and CSS.
10 March 2008
Today's Topic: Course Overview, Web Standards, CMS Systems
We'll review the course web site, including the syllabus and the course outline. We'll also do introductions, and talk about my expectations of students in this class (including a discussion of prerequisite classes and knowledge).
Then we'll talk about web standards--HTML, XHTML, and CSS. We'll cover the HTML standards development process, existing HTML and XHTML standards, problems with existing standards, and browser support for standards. We'll also discuss the issues surrounding separation of presentation and content, and the importance of CSS in standards-based, flexible, and accessible web development.
Finally, we'll discuss the use of weblogs and other content management systems, both in this class and in web site implementation more broadly.
Welcome!
This will be where I post readings, assignments, and information about the class. The only exceptions will be copyrighted readings, and the gradebook, both of which will be in myCourses.
Use the menu at the top to navigate to specific sections (like the syllabus and the course outline), and the calendar on the left to find materials related to a specific class meeting date.
