ATCM 2335.503 - Internet Studio 1

Welcome!

This is ATCM 2335.503 - Internet Studio 1. I am your instructor, Ken Starzer. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this course.

Ken Starzer
Lecturer
The School of Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication

          

Office hours: by appointment

Syllabus The shape of things to come

Course Description

Increasingly, jobs require a basic understanding of the core technologies behind the internet. This course will provide you with a working knowledge of HTML, CSS, domain registration, web hosting, JavaScript, server-side scripting, FTP, and more. We will explore these technologies and work toward designing a functional, user-friendly website.

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to meet the following learning outcomes:

  Design Process

Follow the creative web site design process from concept through production.

  Creative Code

Construct web site architecture to organize information and display content effectively.

  Aesthetic Design

Apply visual aesthetics and hierarchy for enhanced web site usability.

  Future Proof

Develop and maintain standards-compliant web sites.

What I Expect of You

  • Attend all classes † Check in weekly via Blackboard.
  • All assignments need to be completed on time ‡
  • All students need to participate individually and as a contributing member of the class, especially in sharing discoveries with one another

Classroom Conduct

  • Students are to focus their attention on the subjects at hand in the classroom, i.e., lectures, presentations, discussions, and set aside all other activities.
  • All open communication (talking) should be relevant to the subject at hand and have value to the class as a whole.
  • Competitiveness between students will be friendly and encouraging at all times.
  • All other rules of behavior will be discussed and agreed to by the class on the first day

† Attendance and Tardy Policy — Attendance is mandatory. Lack of attendance will affect your grade because absences will not only leave holes in understanding of the lesson contents but also degrade the benefit to other students in regard to discussions and work sessions. Coming to class late or leaving early will also be counted as absences without prior approval from the instructor.
‡ Late assignments — Assignments/Midterm Project not turned in on time (7:00pm on the due date) will be docked 15 points. Assignments not turned in by 7:00pm one week after the due date will receive a 0.

Grading

Because this course builds on concepts learned week-to-week, it’s important that you participate individually and collectively to insure that everyone has a successful leaning experience. You’ll be evaluated on:

  • Attendance After April 1, all students will be counted as present
  • Participation in class, online through Blackboard discussion groups
  • Assignments, and
  • Quality of work completed from week to week.

Assignments will be discussed throughout the course, with specific requirements spelled out.

Grading Scale

A 91-100 Excellent
B 81-90 Above Average
C 71-80 Average
D 61-70 Poor
F 0-60 Failing

Grading Weights

20% Attendance (16 Classes) †
30% Assignments (13) ‡
20% Midterm project (Due March 25 April 1)‡
30% Final Project (Due May 6)

Required Supplies

There is no textbook for this course. Required supplies for this class include:

Course Outline

1/15 Class 1 Course Overview, Intro to HTML
1/22 Class 2 What the Web is Made of: An Introduction to HTML, CSS, JS. Essential HTML (1 of 5)
1/29 Class 3 Essential HTML Building Blocks (2 of 5). Introduction to CSS (1 of 5).
2/5 Class 4 Essential HTML (3 of 5) and CSS (2 of 5). Sitemapping.
2/12 Class 5 Essential HTML (4 of 5) and CSS (3 of 5)
2/19 Class 6 Essential HTML (5 of 5) and CSS (4 of 5). Project Checkpoint
2/26 Class 7 Domain Naming. Essential CSS (5 of 5)
3/4 Class 8 Essential WordPress (1 of 4): Intro, Setup and Basics
3/11 Class 9 Essential WordPress (2 of 4):
3/18 No Class Spring Break
3/25 Class 10 HTML/CSS Frameworks
4/1 Class 11 Essential WordPress (3 of 4)
4/8 Class 12 Essential WordPress (4 of 4)
4/15 Class 13 Wordpress Customizations. Project Checkpoint.
4/22 Class 14 Wordpress Customizations
4/29 Class 15 Lab Time to Work on Final Projects
4/29 Class 16 Website Projects and Showcase. Final Project Due

Browsers

Text Editors

FTP Clients

Developer Extras

  • Web Developer Toolbar - Adds a menu and a toolbar with various web developer tools.
  • Firebug - allows you to edit and debug CSS, HTML, and JavaScript on a liveweb page.
  • Colorzilla - Advanced Eyedropper, ColorPicker, Page Zoomer