CIS 212: Schedule

January | February | March | April | May
Week 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

Revised December 5, 2009

The schedule shows assignments listed by date. Since links can change throughout the semester, be sure to start by looking at this page each time you work on class assignments.

Week 1: Course Orientation, Internet Review
Week 2: HTML, Dreamweaver Introduction
Week 3: Site Management, Dreamweaver Basics
Week 4: Text, Linking
Week 5: CSS
Week 6: TYPOGRAPHY, IMAGES
Week 7: CSS LAYOUT, Final Project Overview
Week 8: TABLES
Week 9: SCREEN DESIGN, FORMS
Week 10: TEMPLATES & LIBRARIES
Week 11: BEHAVIORS
Week 12: FLASH, VIDEO, & OTHER APPLICATIONS
Week 13: CODE
Week 14: MANAGING SITES
Week 15: FINAL PROJECT
Week 16: FINAL PROJECT, FINAL REVIEW

Week 1: January 26 Course Orientation, Internet Review

Log in to Moodle and DO Online Orientation (see Moodle > Assignments > Week 1, 1-4 hours, due next week). See 30 second movie or tutorial for login instructions (username=first.last, password=6 digit birthday). Orientation includes
- Moodle Discussion 1: Orientation Discussion
- Moodle Quiz 1: Orientation
SKIM How Web Servers Work (1 hour)
While reading, consider the following questions:
- What is a URL?
- What are the 3 parts of a URL?
- What is the Internet? How can a home computer link to the Internet? What does ISP stand for?
- What is a server? What is a client? What are some of the services provided by servers?
- What does FTP stand for?
- What is an IP address?
- What is a domain name?
- What is a DNS -- what does it do?
- What if someone like your non-technical grandmother asked you how the web works? Could you draw a picture that would help explain it? Could you explain how a Web developer gets her page on the Internet?
- What questions do you have about the Internet and the Web?
SUBSCRIBE to Lynda.com (available January 31). Please see the INSTRUCTIONS so you can get the student rate.
WATCH Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS4 Getting Started (40 minutes)
READ Introduction & Chapters 1-2 of Don't Make Me Think (2nd Edition) (1 hour)
While reading, consider the following questions:
- Usability really just means ________________.
- What is Krug's first law of usability? What does it mean to you as a designer and as a user?
- What are some examples of things that make users think? As you use the web this week, notice what seems confusing to you.
- Why is usability so important?
- What do people ACTUALLY do when browsing web pages?
- What does Krug mean by satisficing? Why do users satisfice?
- Why do we tend to muddle through instead of figuring things out?
- Can you imagine some things that might be important for making a web site usable?
ONLINE STUDENTS: If you haven't already done so, install Dreamweaver on your home computer or arrange to use a computer with high bandwidth Internet and Dreamweaver CS4.

Week 2: February 2 HTML, Dreamweaver Introduction

DUE Tuesday: Orientation (includes Moodle Discussion and Quiz)
check Moodle grades weekly to make sure you are caught up
TAKE QUIZ 2 on Moodle (15 minutes, covers everything from week 1, due Tuesday of Week 4)
DO PROJECT: HTML Coding (2-3 hours, due Tuesday of next week). Refer to Lynda.com XHTML Essential Training as needed.
WATCH Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS4 Essential Training: Introduction, 1. Getting Started, and 2. The Dreamweaver Interface. (1 hour)
Be sure you can answer these questions:
- MOST IMPORTANT (sure to be on quiz!): What are rules for naming files? What happens to the URL when you include spaces in the file name?
- IMPORTANT: What is an index page? Explain what the URL (web address) has to do with folder and file names.
- Are HTML and XHTML vastly different? What is the main reason for using XHTML?
- How does CSS save time? What can you do with it?
- What kinds of things can DHTML/Javascript do that plain HTML cannot? Are Java and Javascript the same?
SKIM Dreamweaver CS4 Visual Quickstart Guide: Introduction, 1. Introducing Dreamweaver
READ Chapters 3-5 of Don't Make Me Think (2nd Edition) (1 hour)
While reading, consider the following questions:

What 5 things should designers do to make sure users understand the site?
What helps make a clear visual hierarchy?
Why is conventional design useful?
According to Krug, 3 mindless, unambiguous clicks equal _____________.
Why eliminate (or at least reduce) "happy talk" and instructions?

DISCUSSION. Post at least 1 question, comment, or answer to Moodle Discussion. You will get 1-5 points based on the usefulness of your message and you need 50 points by the end of the semester, so strive to post at least 1 useful/thoughtful message each week.

September 3 : Last Day to Add, Last Day to Drop Classes Without a "W" Appearing on Your Record, Last Day for Refund

Week 3: February 9 Site Management, Dreamweaver Basics

DUE TUESDAY: PROJECT: HTML Coding
Watch Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS4 Essential Training: 3. Site Control, 4: Creating New Documents (1 hour)
While viewing, consider the following questions:
- Why should you manage files within Dreamweaver?
- How do you create or delete a new folder or file within the Dreamweaver files panel?
- How do you move files within Dreamweaver files panel? What does Dreamweaver do to local links when you move a file?
- How can you upload (put) files to your web site?
SKIM Dreamweaver CS4 Visual Quickstart Guide: 2. Starting Your First Site & 3: Building Your First Page
READ AND FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS in Site Management handout (1 hour, VERY IMPORTANT because the setup is specific to our server)
Assignment: UPLOAD your HTML folder (30 points, due by Tuesday of next week). See Moodle Week 3 for instructions and to submit URL (need instructions on how to submit URL?)
PRACTICE by experimenting with Dreamweaver. Create a folder in local_root named 212practice. Inside this folder, create a folder named week3. The follow your textbook to create pages, insert text and images, add a title, create links, preview in a browser, set page properties, insert keywords meta tags, upload, view the files on the server, delete locally, delete from the server, etc. You do not have to turn this in to Moodle.
Read Chapter 6 of Don't Make Me Think (2nd Edition) (1-2 hours) While reading, consider the following questions:
- Do you tend to be more "search dominant" or "link dominant"?
- What navigation cues are missing in Web space? (No sense of _____, ____, or ____)
- What are the obvious and overlooked purposes of web navigation?
- What are the basic elements of web navigation?
- Describe persistent navigation. What are the 5 elements of persistent navigation? 2 exceptions?
- WHat is the function of the site ID/logo. WHere should it be located on the screen for English sites?
- What does Krug mean by sections and utilities?
- What are Krug's guidelines for designing the search interface?
- WHere should a page name be located? Should it stand out? Why should the page name match what I clicked?
- Describe breadcrumbs navigation
- What is the trunk test?
DISCUSS. Post a question, comment, or answer to the Moodle discussion.

February 13-16: Presidents' Holiday Weekend

Week 4: February 17 Text, Linking

DUE TUESDAY:
- upload HTML Coding project (submit URL to Moodle)
- QUIZ 2
LAB: Week 4 Practice (save in your local root, you will eventually link to this from another page)
WATCH: Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS4 Essential Training: 5. Adding Text and Structure (20 minutes), 9. Creating Links (30 minutes)
SKIM Dreamweaver CS4 Visual Quickstart Guide: 4: Adding Text To Your Pages, 6: Working with Links (SKIP pages 169--171 & 179-181)
Read Chapter 7 of Don't Make Me Think (2nd Edition) (1 hour)
Quiz 3: Lynda.com 1-4, Don't Make Me Think 1-6 (DUE Tuesday of Week 6)
Begin CIS 212 Portfolio Project (due Tuesday of week 6)
Post a question, comment, or answer to the Moodle discussion.

Week 5: February 23 CSS

Begin with Lab: Week 5 Warm up
Here is a fill-in-the-blanks CSS Notes handout to help you organize what you learn about CSS
NOTE: you do NOT need to turn this in)
WATCH: CSS Overview videos (Powerpoint summary)
WATCH: Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS4 Essential Training: 6. CSS Foundations (1 hour)
While viewing, TRY things on your own and consider the following questions:
- What is meant by CASCADING in CSS?
- Why use CSS? Why use EXTERNAL CSS?
- What are the parts of a CSS rule? What are the parts of a declaration?
- What is a quick way to set page properties (font face, background, etc.)
- How can you move embedded styles into an external style sheet?
- How can you use the CSS styles panel to create, edited, and manage your styles?
- Describe 5 selectors (tag, class, id, compound, pseudo), how they work, and when to use them.
- Show how to change link attributes using pseudo-class selectors
SKIM Dreamweaver CS4 Visual Quickstart Guide: 7: Styling Page Content, 9: Managing Styles
finish, upload, test, and turn in CIS 212 Portfolio Project (submit URL to Moodle in Assignments > Week 4, due next week) (need instructions for submitting URL?)
Read Chapter 8 of Don't Make Me Think (2nd Edition) (30 minutes)
Post a question, comment, or answer to the Moodle discussion. By now you should have 15 discussion points.

September 24 : Last Day to Apply for P/NP (CR/NC) for semester length classes

Week 6: March 2 TYPOGRAPHY, IMAGES

DUE TUESDAY:
- Quiz 3
- CIS 212 Portfolio Project - submit URL to Moodle Assignments
LAB: Week 6 Warm up
WATCH: Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS4 Essential Training: 7. Controlling Typography, 8. Working with Images (2 hours viewing, 2 hours practice)
While viewing, TRY things on your own and consider the following questions:
- Why use CSS instead to style text?
- If you change fonts in the Property Inspector , how does Dreamweaver code it?
- Why is it important to use heading (h1-h6) tags for headlines instead of just increasing the font size?
- What is the most efficient way to define the appearance of tags like h1?
- What are the advantages of using ems for font measurements? How about pixels?
- Why are font sets used instead of single fonts?
- Why choose common font faces for your web site?
- What is the advantage of the Verdana font face?
- How can you align text? Can you align a single sentence within a paragraph?
- What happens when you align and image to the left or right?
- How can you create a numbered or bulleted list?
SKIM Dreamweaver CS4 Visual Quickstart Guide: 5: Including Images and Media
begin Graphics Project (due Tuesday of week 8)
READ Chapter 9 of Don't Make Me Think (2nd Edition) (1 hour)
continue to post a weekly (or more) question, comment, or answer to the Moodle discussion until you are notified that you have 50 points

REMEMBER!

NO SPACES or illegal characters in file names (including graphic files, anchors, and links to documents)
include titles on all pages
include alt text for all img elements (for blind users who use text readers)
use common, legible fonts

Week 7: March 9 CSS LAYOUT

Lab: Images (link to this from 212portfolio.htm)
SKIM Dreamweaver CS4 Visual Quickstart Guide: 8: Positioning Page Content
Lesson: CSS Layout Video and Notes
WATCH Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS4 Essential Training: 10. Controlling Layout with CSS (1 hour)
Lab: CSS Layout (link to this from 212portfolio.htm)
Read Chapters 10-12 of Don't Make Me Think (2nd Edition)
Quiz 4: Don't Make Me Think (2nd Edition) 7-12 (due week 9)
Read about choosing a final project topic and then post your FINAL PROJECT topic idea(s) to the Moodle discussion for approval (10 points, due next week). Please also submit your topic via this form to make it show up on the students page.

Week 8: March 16 TABLES

DUE TUESDAY:
- Final Project Topic - posted to Moodle discussion
- DUE: Graphics Project
WATCH Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS4 Essential Training: 11. Working with Tables (1 hour)
While viewing, TRY things on your own and consider the following questions:
- What are tables used for?
- What do the tr, th,and td tags do?
- How do you create a table in Dreamweaver?
- How can you add content to a table?
- How do table cells behave as you add content if table or cell width is not specified?
- What key jumps you from cell to cell?
- How can you select a table, a column, and a row?
- How can you change the table border?
- What is   and @copy;
- How can you color a table or cells ?
- How can you align cell content ?
- How can you set table and column widths? What is the difference between using number of pixels and %?
- How can you add or delete a row or column? (hint: select and right click)
SKIM Dreamweaver CS4 Visual Quickstart Guide: 10: Inserting Tables
Read Final Project overview and begin final project proposal (proposal due at the beginning of week 10)

October 15 : Last Day to Apply for Fall 2010 Degree/Certificate

Week 9: March 23 SCREEN DESIGN, FORMS

DUE TUESDAY: Quiz 4
subscribe to 2nd 8 weeks of Lynda.com (I'll send an email and post an announcement when this is ready)
Screen Design Presentation (pdf or ppt or pptx, 30 minutes)
OPTIONAL: make CSS Rollover buttons using Listamatic buttons as a starting point. CSS buttons load quickly and are easier to create and edit than the rollovers that use 2 images per button.
SKIM Dreamweaver CS4 Visual Quickstart Guide: 11: Using Forms and Fields
WATCH Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS4 Essential Training: 12. Working with Forms (optional, 1 hour)
Hobby Project (due Tuesday of week 11)
finish final project proposal (proposal due at the beginning of week 10)

Week 10: March 30 TEMPLATES & LIBRARIES

DUE TUESDAY: final project proposal (submit URL to Moodle > Assignments > week 8)
WATCH Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS4 Essential Training: 13. Building Templates (optional), 16. Automating Efficient Workflows (1-2 hours)
SKIM Dreamweaver CS4 Visual Quickstart Guide: 15. Making Life Easier: Using Templates, Libraries, and Snippets
Finish, upload, and turn in Hobby Project
Begin Final Project (Prototype Draft due in 3 weeks)

April 6-10 : SPRING RECESS

Week 11: April 13 BEHAVIORS

DUE TUESDAY: Hobby Project (submit URL to Moodle Assignments > Week 9)
~~Quiz 5: Dreamweaver (due week 12)~~
WATCH Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS4 Essential Training: 14. Adding User Interactivity (optional, 1 hour)
SKIM Dreamweaver CS4 Visual Quickstart Guide: 13: Using Behaviors and Navigation Objects, 14: Building Dynamic Pages with Spry (just skim enough to familiarize yourself with basics)
Final Project (Prototype Draft due in 2 weeks)

Week 12: April 20 FLASH, VIDEO, & OTHER APPLICATIONS

~~DUE TUESDAY~~~~: Quiz 5~~
WATCH Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS4 Essential Training: 15. Working with Flash and Video (optional, 25 minutes)
SKIM Dreamweaver CS4 Visual Quickstart Guide: 16. Working with Other Applications
work on Final Project - prototype (home page and at least one sub page) must be finished and uploaded by NEXT WEEK in order to participate in peer review (worth 50 points). You must submit your URL to Moodle AND via this form
read the final project scoring rubric

NOTE! The end of the semester will be here before you know it, so accomplish as much as possible early. Don't get distracted! Do the important parts first and keep moving!

November 12 : Last Day to Drop Class

Week 13: April 27 CODE

DUE TUESDAY: TURN IN Final Project Prototype Draft by submitting URL via this form . Check the students page to make sure your link to the final project works.
WATCH Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS4 Essential Training: 17. Coding in Dreamweaver (25 minutes)
SKIM Dreamweaver CS4 Visual Quickstart Guide: 17. Editing Code
DUE TUESDAY: Final Project Prototype Draft
work on Final Project
Peer Review (due next Tuesday - see email for instructions)

Week 14: May 4 MANAGING SITES

DUE TUESDAY: Peer Review
WATCH Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS4 Essential Training: 18. Managing Sites (20 minutes)
SKIM Dreamweaver CS4 Visual Quickstart Guide: 18. Managing Your Site
work on Final Project (due week 16)
Finish 212portfolio.htm (upload and submit URL to Moodle) - this should link to all labs and projects including
- All projects (html coding, graphics, hobby, final project proposal, final project)
- All labs (CSS layout, images, practice labs)

Week 15: May 11 FINAL PROJECT

DUE TUESDAY: 212portfolio.htm (upload and submit URL to Moodle)
Finish, upload, & test Final Project (due next Tuesday)
review the final project scoring rubric

Week 16: May 18 FINAL PROJECT, FINAL REVIEW

DUE TUESDAY: Final Project - upload and make sure link on students page works
Test Final Project on server and make any last-minute changes. You may continue to make changes until I grade it (probably during finals week)
Review for Final Exam
Next week you will have 2-5 minutes to present your final project. You may attend class Tuesday or conference online Tuesday evening. Worth 25 extra credit points. Presentation tips:
- start on your home page
- tell us about your topic and why you chose it
- show a few subpages
- describe your challenges and "aha" moments
- tell us what you might do differently
- DON'T show every page in your site
- DON'T click links to other web sites

May 26 - 31 FINALS

FINAL EXAM (to be completed online)
FINAL PROJECT PRESENTATIONS - You'll have the opportunity to share your final project either face-to-face or online. 25 extra credit points for presenting.