Course Information
Session/Year: Winter 2009
Section/Meeting Time: Section A. Monday, January 12, 2009 to Monday, March 23, 2009, from 8 a.m. – 12 noon, room 611. Punctuality is expected. Points are deducted for excessive (more than 2) tardies.
Course Prerequisites: FS122 Image Manipulation
Recommended Textbooks:
Dreamweaver CS3 Bible by Joseph A. Lowery (Wiley Publishing), Copyright 2007. ISBN: 9780470122 **note we are now using Dreamweaver CS4.
Website Optimization by Andrew B. King (O'Reilly Publishing), Copyright © 2008 Andrew B. King. All Rights Reserved. ISBN: 978-0-596-51508-9.
The Best-Practice Guide to XHTML & CSS by Patrick Griffiths (New Riders Publishing), Copyright © 2007 by Patrick Griffiths. ISBN: 0-321-31139-6.
Technology Needed: Access to a computer with an Internet connection and installed software. Storage media to save work.
Course Description:
Focused on the design of web pages, this course covers the fundamentals of encoding techniques and designing features for web pages. Students learn to construct a web page with dynamic media content.
Core Course Competencies:
Upon successful completion of this course, the student should be able to:
Design for specific delivery platforms
- Describe advantages and limitations of delivery platforms.
- Describe effects of delivery platforms on a variety of integrated media, including color, resolution, speed and composition.
- Create project performance specifications for a variety of platforms.
Construct a web page with dynamic media content.
- Apply encoding techniques for dynamic web pages.
- Utilize software applications for web page construction.
- Design a web page with appropriate text and graphics.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the advantages and limitations of the delivery medium.
Download Microsoft Word version of syllabus
Student Evaluation Methods of Assessment:
- Tardies, as well as attendance, will affect your grade.
- Class time will be spent in a productive manner.
- Grading will be done on a point system.
- Points for individual activities will be announced.
- All work must be received by the set deadlines.
- Late work, if accepted, receives partial credit. Please discuss any inability to meet the posted deadlines with your instructor.
- On-time projects may be redone with instructor approval.
- ABSOLUTELY NO WORK WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THE FINAL CLASS MEETS WEEK 11.
Instructor Name: Sharon Kaitner, M. Ed.
Instructor Contact Information: skaitner{at}aii.edu or Sharon{at}casabasa.com
Instructor Availability Outside of Class: Tuesdays at noon, room 015, or immediately following class. Please let me know if you need additional assistance. I may leave for lunch if no students appear (by 12:15).
Grading:
| Grading Scale | ||||
| 25% | Professional Conduct: Class Attendance, Discussion, Participation and Teamwork | |||
| 45% | Lab Assignments and Homework | |||
| 15% | Midterm Project/Test | |||
| 15% | Final Project | |||
| A | 100-93 | C | 76-73 | |
| A- | 92-90 | C- | 72-70 | |
| B+ | 89-87 | D+ | 69-67 | |
| B | 86-83 | D | 66-65 | |
| B- | 82-80 | F | 64 or below | |
| C+ | 79-77 | Late work, if accepted, 50% or less | ||
DF2254 Weekly Schedule
Weeks: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Week 1: Monday, January 12, 2009
Complete the student survey. Review of the school’s emergency evacuation procedures. Overview of class.
Lecture: Introduction to the Internet. What is the Internet and how does it impact me? Where is it going and what does that mean to you as a designer? Terminology. The Basic Web Page: Tags, Structure, Formatting, Headings and Images.
Lab: HTML exercises. Create your OLS account. Be sure to save your work. Uploading to the Internet
Homework:
- Upload a homepage to your OLS account.
- Read www.webpagesthatsuck.com.
- Find 3 examples EACH of good and bad sites, as they relate to your major. Compare and contrast what makes the site good/bad, using your reading to help you critique. Write a review based on the readings below and save as a Microsoft Word document. Be sure to critique each site. Due next week. Because next week is a holiday, please email me your homework by next Monday. Then use the time at home on Monday, researching your homework below.
- Bring digital photo to class next class.
Week 2: Monday, January 19, 2009
Lecture: Holiday - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Lab: none
Homework: Research sites that pertain either to your major, or to a personal interest. Bring examples of what you liked/didn't like for discussion in class next week. I will expect you to have something to say.
Links of Interest: Some are filmmakers personal sites, some are production companies and others sites for individual movies.
- http://www.brunofilms.com/
- http://www.jayrosenblattfilms.com/
- http://www.grottofilms.com/
- http://www.katahdin.org/films/index.html
- http://bravermanproductions.com/
- http://www.andersongoldfilms.com/
- http://www.followingsean.com/
- http://www.lateralfilms.com/keyofg/
- http://www.lynnesachs.com/
- http://www.takingtheheat.com/
- http://www.nodumbquestions.com/
- http://www.walking-iris.com/
- http://www.johnnysymons.com/- This is one of the professors in DFVP
- http://www.blinddogfilms.com/
- http://www.skylightpictures.com/
- http://www.emergingpictures.com/honeydripper.htm
- http://honeydripper-movie.com/on-honeydripper/
- http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=150929240
- http://www.geechee.tv/
Links of Interest: For my graphic design and artist students, examples of portfolio sites:
- http://www.scarletmuse.us/
- http://unfinisheddream.com/
- http://robbybelmes.com/
- http://cvk371.aisites.com/
- http://jah376.aisites.com/
- http://www.jek2k.com/
- http://www.alexbuga.com/v8/
Week 3: Monday, January 26, 2009
Lecture : Creating logical files and directory structure. Review of what makes a good portfolio site. Designing a web site – suggested layouts. Review of what makes a site good or bad. Coding rapper. Tips for saving using a Mac: http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_do_i_save_html_files_from_textedit.html
Lab: Working with Cascading Style Sheets. Introduction to Dreamweaver. Linking web pages, graphics and files. Creating your artist profile page.
Homework: Complete 3 sketches for proposed web page layout.Week 4: Monday, February 2, 2009
Lecture: Graphics for the web. Optimizing graphics for the Internet.
Lab: Review of webpage layouts. Creating thumbnails for digital movies.
Important update for inserting Flash: Read Adobe's Technotes. Using Flash Video Encoder.
Homework: Complete in class assignment.Week 5: Monday, February 9, 2009
Lecture: Optimizing - Graphics, the Internet and why they need to play nice together. Tool review. GIFs. JPGs. JPGs vs. GIFs. How graphics affects download time. Midterm Exam
Lab:
- Templates.
- Apply more complex images to website and note changes in download time – optimize and time again.
- Bringing a movie file into a Flash Video Encoder software.
- CSS Styles: http://www.thenoodleincident.com/tutorials/box_lesson/boxes.html
Week 6: Monday, February 16, 2009
Lecture:
- Site Architecture, the foundation of your house of HTML. Organizing your materials. Grouping content areas. Naming conventions. Hierarchy. Modularity. Updateable. Searching.
Lab:
- Web Gallery. Uploading and maintaining your site.
- Dynamic Drive.
- Frames
Week 7: Monday, February 23, 2009
Lecture: Web Site Development. Site objectives. Accessing client needs. Determining target audience. Who will be using the site? Site architecture. Driving traffic flow.
Lab:
- Create a slice based navbar (bonus) in fireworks
- Developing a production company name/identity.
Homework:
- Work on final project
Things you need to know to pass this class:
- Consistent navigation. Navigation is visible and easily understood. Each main section is listed on each main page. There must be a minimum of three states: up, over, and down. No page within site is more than one or two clicks away; I can reach each page from any other page no more than one or two clicks.
- Clear branding of your logo and style. Every element carries your theme.
- A named anchor to a specified section of another page.
- Home page directed to your target audience, and answers 3 main questions within 5 seconds of opening: "Where am I?" "What does the site have to offer?" "Where can I go from here?".
- Title on every page. NO UNTITLED DOCUMENTS. Title must state what the page is about.
- Text on each page so search engines can find you. No misspelled words. In Dreamweaver, use Text > Check Spelling.
- Meta keywords and description on every main page. In Dreamweaver, Insert > HTML > Meta > Description (Keyword)
- A portfolio section. All graphics must be properly optimized for the web. No page should be more than 100kb total (including graphics.)
- Within the portfolio section, videos that have been properly optimized. If you want to show a longer video, first show a smaller version, with the option to see the full-length version second.
- An about us section (or about the artist). This introduces your company and should include the skills, services and resources you offer. Make me care.
- A hook section designed to attract an audience to your web site. This may contain material not directly to your web site, but may be used to gain attention. It should have an association to what you are serving in your site. Ideas are lists of favorite movie sites, an inventory of professional organizations, a game you designed that plays off of a movie/video theme, free buttons and backgrounds, etc.
- A relative link to open a new window that measures 320 pixels wide by 240 pixels height. This can be your movie.
- Alt and a Title tag on every significant graphic and anchor, especially any graphic navigation elements.
- An absolute link that will open a new browser window.
- <address></address> or <footer></footer> tag with site's absolute URL, date last revised, your email address, copyright with the ©, located on the bottom of all main web pages. Please make text smaller than the body text.
- Spry menu (or similar use of DHTML) navigation somewhere within site.
- A Conditions of Use page.
- Submission to a Search Engine.
Week 8: Monday, March 2, 2009
Lecture: Web Site Development, continued. Adding forms to your web site. Instead of using the mailto: tag, you can use the PHP form mailer from my OUT box in my faculty file. As an option, here's a link to a free PHP form mailer that does it for you.
Lab: Creating a design document. What should be included? Together, we will write, proof, edit and upload the documentation for our site. Be sure to email me once you have uploaded to your site.
Homework: Complete in Class assignment. Work on final project and Design Document.Week 9: Monday, March 9, 2009
Lecture: Site Aesthetics. Form follows function.
Lab: Review of filmmaker's site. Group critiques of web site to date.
Homework: Complete final project and design documentation.Week 10: Monday, March 16, 2009
Lecture: Review of materials from weeks 5-9. Add a form to your site.
Lab: Final Project due by end of day, today.
Homework: Check your grade for final project. If you don't like it, you have this week to improve
your grade.
Week 11: Monday, March 23, 2009
Lecture: [Final Exam]
Lab: Presentation and critiques of projects.
Homework: back up web sites onto a CD.
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Student Information
Click on this individual score link to access scoring information on your completed projects. Enter your name and id (password) exactly as you provided in the student survey.
I upgrade my grades every Sunday, usually no later than 2 p.m. I may update points for work received after this time, but before 7 p.m. only.
If there are any questions at all, please feel free to email me. I usually respond the same day and sometimes immediately, or at least within the hour.
If you have any problems, email me.
Class Standings
The point system below does not correlate in numerical listing to the names above. The standings score is sorted to create the order.
| ID | T | Abs | Final Grade | |
| 211796 | 2 | 0 | 99.4% | A+ |
| 273534 | 0 | 0 | 92.8% | A- |
| 296035 | 5 | 0 | 92.0% | A- |
| 273688 | 0 | 4 | 88.1% | B+ |
| 219144 | 0 | 1 | 87.3% | B+ |
| 277713 | 0 | 1 | 86.7% | B |
| 189788 | 2 | 1 | 84.2% | B |
| 210169 | 0 | 1 | 82.9% | B- |
| 313719 | 0 | 1 | 76.0% | C |
| 263842 | 1 | 1 | 73.4% | C |
| 316985 | 0 | 2 | 70.5% | C- |
| 121907 | 6 | 2 | 70.2% | C- |
Student Web Information
Winter 2009
Student Name
Website
Fall 2008
Website
Summer 2008
~ peace, polka and piwo