Course Catalog Description
This is a six-week course, beginning mid-semester. The course will address both technical and humanistic aspects of web site design, focusing on the interaction between the site and its intended users. In addition to mastering specific techniques, including programming in the object-oriented language JavaScript, students will be expected to learn and apply good design principles to the sites they build. Group interaction will be fostered through cooperative projects and commenting.
Texts
Primary text: DHTML: Learning by Example, by Robert Mellor (Franklin Beedle & Associates)
Alternate texts: DHTML and CSS for the World Wide Web: Visual QuickStart Guide by Jason Cranford Teague (Peachpit Press). Web site; and Javascript for the World Wide Web (Visual Quickstart Guide) by Tom Negrino & Dori Smith (Peachpit Press). Web site.
Also recommended: Web Style Guide: Basic Design Principles for Creating Web Sites, Second Edition, by Patrick J. Lynch, Sarah Horton (Yale University Press).
These are available in relatively inexpensive paperback editions (both at the campus bookstore and at online booksellers), and are well worth owning if you plan to continue doing web design.
Lynch & Horton's style guide and another reference (Dynamic HTML : the Definitive Reference, by Danny Goodman) will be placed on reserve in the science library.
Requirements
The course meets three times a week, with two lectures plus a lab. Students will complete two significant projects in the course, and will be expected to participate in group discussions on their own work and that of the other students in the class. There will be a final exam.
The two design projects will together make up 60% of the course grade. Lab assignments will count for 10%, and an open-book self-scheduled final exam will make up the remaining 30%. Meaningful participation in class discussions (particularly when others are presenting their work) is expected of all students. An exceptionally high or low degree of participation may result in a corresponding adjustment to the final grade. Students are encouraged to review the instructor's grading policies.
Collaboration policy: Because the details of each student's project will differ, consultation on technical aspects of web site creation is permitted and encouraged. Similarly, consultation with fellow students during lab exercises is allowed. However, one student may not create content for submission under another student's name, and any work submitted must accurately reflect the understanding of the student(s) who submitted it. Abuses of this policy will result in a referral to the Honor Board.
Staff
Co-Instructors: Eitan Mendelowitz, Nicholas R. Howe
CS Roving TA Hours (McConnell 104):
- Stephanie Gibbons: 1-5 & 7-9 Sunday; 7-9 Monday; 8-9 Tuesday; and by appointment.
- Jordan Crouser: 7-10 Monday, 8:30-10:30 Tuesday/Thursday.
Schedule
Monday & Wednesday, 9:00-10:20 AM, Seelye 212.
Look here for a list of topics by week. (Note that this is merely a projection and subject to change as the class progresses.)
Consulting Hours
TBA.
Office hours for Professor Howe are available here.
Additional Considerations
We want everyone to succeed in this course. Students requiring special accommodations due to disability or other factors are encouraged to contact one of the professors at their earliest convenience so that any necessary arrangements may be made.