Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "CS 130-3"
COURSE NAME: "Web Design I"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring Semester 2012

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Scaramastra Marco
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: TTH 16:00-17:15
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS: tba

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The rapid development of increasingly sophisticated Internet web sites has made it necessary that students’ professional development should include a sound knowledge of Internet web page design.

The course provides students with the technical knowledge and skills required to design and build web site using HTML and HTML Editors, Web editors, CSS and Javascript

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

Students will cover the following units:

1 Introduction: history and essential standards of the World Wide Web. How the Web works. References online: the W3C tutorial and other reference material.

2 Web building primer. What is hypertext, a basic web page. Building blocks of a web page, adding colours, images, links and tables, HTML writing standards.

3 Usability and the art of Web design. Fonts, colours, cascade style sheets, page layout. Role, goal, target and audience of a web site.

4 Tools for Web design: Web editors, HTML Editors, Web publishing.

5 Elements of interactive site: XHTML forms, feeds and Javascript

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

On completion of the course students should be able to

1. Write web pages using HTML directly or in combination with a HTML or Web editor.

2. Make web pages available on the web using file upload programs.

3. Use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to make web content attractive and comfortable to update.

4. Distinguish between "static" and "dynamic web pages", explain the role of both "client-side" and "server-side" technologies.

5. Use JavaScript and/or other online applications to create simple "client-side" dynamic content of various kinds.

6. Demonstrate principles of good file and directory management, in the context of Web applications.

7. Understand and implement the principles of web page/content/site design and usability

TEXTBOOK:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments	Format	Local Bookstore	Online Purchase
Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML	Elisabeth Freeman, Eric Freeman	O'Reilly Media	978-0-470-25931-3

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments
W3Schools HTML & CSS Tutorials	W3 Schools		w3schools.com

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
Attendance and class assignments	The weekly assignments are used to encourage students to continuously study throughout the course	10%
Portfoglio	The portfolio will require the student to develop a web site in two steps (tasks): the first task must be ready for the midterm exam and the second one for the final exam. The design features and aesthetic quality of the web pages in the portfolio are expected to increase progressively throughout the course. The weigh of the two portfolio’s tasks is 25% each. Students will discuss their work during the exams’ sessions and the grade will be based upon the following: coding ability, page design and structure, content design, site design	50%
Exams	<p>Both mid-term (20%) and final exams (20%) are aimed to test student learning against the course learning outcomes. </p> Midterm and final exams will take the form of an essay paper, following a scheme outlined by the teacher, to be delivered at fixed deadlines. Students will have access to the Internet and the possibility to make use of the class material	40%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
Outstanding A             95-100
A-                              90-95
Above avergae B+      85-90
B                                80-85
B-                              75-80
Average C+                70-75
C                               65-70
C-                              60-65
Below average D        55-60
Failure F                      0-55

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Attendance is mandatory as all lessons will be held in the computer laboratory and will be a combination of theory and practice. Students spending most of the class time using smart-phones or the like will be marked absent.

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

Week	Topic	Assignments
1	Introduction to the internet: the language of the web. How the web works: web servers and web browsers HTML; a simple html page; Styles: content separated from presentation. First example.
2	Hypertext. Adding hyperlinks to html and non-html locations Structure of a web page. Publishing a web site. FTP. URL. HTTP.	Weekly assignment
3	Inserting images into html documents: dimensions; captions; size; types; labeling Using images as links: thumbnails; image editing	Weekly assignment
4	HTML standards. HTML Validation. Meta tags. The semantic web. XHTML 1.0 Adding a little more style. CSS external files.	Weekly assignment
5	More about CSS and style	Weekly assignment
6	Midterm week: review	Portfoglio task 1
7	Midterm exam
8	Portfolio Task I Q&A session Portfolio presentations
9	XHTML elements. Advanced web page structure elements	Weekly assignment
10	Advanced Web construction	Weekly assignment
11	HTML editors: WYSIWYG or not?	Weekly assignment
12	Tables. Box model
13	Layout Embedding multimedia into html documents Portfolio Task II Q&A session	Portfoglio task 2
14	Google applications What is RSS? Feedzilla Submit Portfolio Task II
15	Final exam