Computer Science (CSC) 274
Web Design Practicum

Course Syllabus

Course Information

Credit hours:              3
Semester:                   Fall 2000
Day & Time:              As arranged
Room:                         Mac Hall 15B

Instructor Information

Instructor:                   Kent Palmer
Office:                         Mac Hall 15B
Office Hours:              Monday 8:30-9:30 PM
                                     Tuesday 2:00-3:30 PM
                                     Wednesday 10:00-11:30 AM
                                     Thursday 8:30-9:30 PM
                                     Friday 10-11:30 AM
Office Phone:              (217) 479-7102
Home Phone:              (217) 245-7675
E-mail:                         kpalmer@mac.edu
Home page:                 http://www.mac.edu/~kpalmer 

Required Material

Siegel, David. Secrets of Successful Web Sites. Indianapolis, IN: Hayden Books. 1997. ISBN:      1-56830-382-3

Computer Lab Hours

Sunday:         2:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Monday:        8:00 AM – 7:00 PM, 8:30 PM – 11:00 PM
Tuesday:        8:00 AM – 9:30 AM, 12:20 PM – 6:00 PM, 9:00 PM –11:00 PM
Wednesday:  8:00 AM – 11:00 PM
Thursday:      8:00 AM – 9:30 AM, 12:20 PM – 7:00 PM, 8:30 PM –11:00 PM
Friday:           8:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Saturday:        11:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Required Material

Goals

Objective:

The goal of this course is to develop skills so that the students will be able to design Web sites that effectively communicate.  Students will become familiar with concepts of design, project management, and usability that produce effective Web sites.

Course overview:

Students will learn about HTML and Web site design by redesigning and maintaining the Routt High School Web site. Students will also design personal Web sites for this course. Students will format Web pages and create necessary graphics for both sites.

Students will examine other sites with the idea of locating material that might enhance the Routt High School site.  The course will also cover literature related to Web site design and management of Web Projects.

After completing this course a student should be familiar with:

Course Expectations

Academic Honesty: Students are referred to the policy outlined in the student handbook (The Maggie).

Grading Scale

Grade

Percentage

A

90 – 100%

B

80 – 89%

C

70 – 79%

D

60 – 79%

F

0 – 59%

Grade Distribution

Component

Percentage

Routt Project

50 %

Article reviews

20 %

Other assignments

20 %

Final exam

10 %

Exam Schedule

Time

Exam

Topics

As arranged

Final Exam

This exam will be comprehensive

Approximate Schedule

(Page references are to: Siegel, David. Secrets of Successful Web Sites. Indianapolis, IN: Hayden Books. 1997.)

Day

Page

Topics covered

August 31

16-23

Land Rover Site

September 4

24-33

Pyramid Breweries Site

September 7

34-39

HIVinsite

September 11

40-49

Convomania

September 14

50-57

Salon

September 18

58-65

Lucent college recruitment

September 21

66-73

Stolichnaya

September 25

74-85

National Geographic

September 28

86-93

Doonesbury

October 2

94-101

Fabric8

October 5

102-111

Virgin Records

October 9

112-121

RREEF

October 12

 

Break

October 16

122-129

Porsche

October 19

130-137

Hamptons

October 23

138-150

Women’s Wire

October 26

151-158

Clients are from Mars, Contractors are from Venus

October 30

159-168

The value of design

November 2

169-180

Partnering

November 6

181-192

Partnering

November 9

193-204

Setup

November 13

205-224

Project site

November 16

225-240

Survey and tactics

Nov 20-23

 

Break

November 27

241-256

Development and design

November 30

257-268

Production

December 4

269-282

Launch/maintenance

December 7

283-288

The continuing adventure

December 11

 

 

As arranged

 

Final

Online Journal

All assignments (other than the Routt project) will be completed by posting them on a personal Web site as an online journal.  The Web site can be hosted on the MacMurray server or elsewhere. 

A typical entry in the journal would be a 500 word review or summary of an article or chapter. Some of the questions are based on material in the text, you should look for material elsewhere as well.  Be sure to cite any material used. The student should include a full citation using the style in Allen Metcalf’s Research to the Point for any material used.  If the material is online, the entry should include an HTML link. 

Day

Topics covered

Once a week

Find a recent article on the Internet (or print source) about Web design.  Write a short review of the article.  Include a bibliographic citation, which contains a URL of the article.

September 4

Try to buy (you do not have to complete the purchase if you do not want to) the following book on the Web: Siegel, David. Secrets of Successful Web Sites. Indianapolis, IN: Hayden Books. 1997. ISBN: 1-56830-382-3

(a)     How easy was the book to find?

(b)     What was the price range?

(c)     How difficult/confusion was the ordering page?

(d)     At what point did the merchants site let you know what you were spending on shipping (ignore the fact that dealpilot, bestbookbuys, etc. reported it to you in advance if you used those services)

September 11

Review the Crayola Web site.  Be sure to state who you think the target audience of this sites is.

September 18

Review the Jacksonville High School Web site.  How does it differ from Routt’s?

September 25

Review the Pleasant Plains High School Web site.  What do you think of the menus?

October 2

Review the www.dilbert.com Web site.

October 9

Look at the following shopping services: www.schoolpop.com, www.shopforschool.com , www.schoolsupport.com (ignore this site if you have difficulty connecting), & www.schoolcash.com .  Should Routt High School subscribe to one of these services?

October 16

Review the www.thinknic.com Web site.

October 23

Review Mac’s Web site.  What is the primary audience of this Web site?  How could this site be improved?

October 30

How is Web publishing similar to desktop publishing for print publications.  How does publishing for the two mediums differ?

November 6

How does partnering for clients differ from partnering for contractors?

November 13

How would you go about setting up a project site?

November 27

Why do company Web sites frequently look like the company’s brochures?  Is this good or bad?

December 4

What problems could be encountered in a launch of a Web site?

December 11

What is the most challenging part of designing Web sites?

MacMurray College Homepage

Department of Computer Science Homepage

 Kent Palmer Homepage  
e-mail instructor

Revised: September 03, 2000 .