January | February | March | April | May

Revised November 17, 2008

This will be updated during the semester, so begin here each work session & check with your teacher before getting ahead of schedule.  This has NOT YET BEEN UPDATED for Spring 2009.

Schedule
Date
Assignments
 Due
Week 1:
January 28
  • View Web site tour (3 minutes, swf)
  • DO ASSIGNMENT: Online Orientation (1-4 hours, DUE next week-- click the underlined link for detailed instructions). Orientation includes
    • Blackboard Discussion 1: Introduce Yourself
    • Blackboard Quiz 1: Orientation
    • Assignment 1: Screen Shot
  • 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 usabilty? 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?
    • How 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?
  • REVIEW - make sure you are comfortable with skills covered in CIS 212, View CIS 212 video demonstrations as needed
  • VIEW Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS3 Beyond the Basics: Introduction and 1. Dreamweaver Workflow Techniques (2 hours -- just do the free part for now).
    NOTE: If the code movies are unfamiliar, don't worry -- just watch so you can get a feel for what can be done with code view. I don't expect you to understand all of this. Quick tag editor and find & replace are very helpful to know.
  • Take the On Course self-assessment to discover strengths and weaknesses that will affect your ability to stay on course to the success you want to create in college (and in life). Read the choices of successful students. Consider what you learned by taking this assessment. Did anything surprise you? Email your results to your instructor and to yourself by February 11 for 10 points.
  
Week 2:
February 4
  • SUBSCRIBE to Lynda.com. Please see the INSTRUCTIONS so you can get the student rate.
  • If you don't already know how to make an external style sheet that redefines the body tag, please review the CSS video demonstrations. You can also review the CSS section in Dreamweaver CS3 Essential Training if necesseary.
  • download & uncompress the exercise files (this may take a while - maybe do overnight?)
  • VIEW Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS3 Beyond the Basics: 2. Working with Style Sheets (1-2 hours).
  • PRACTICE CSS (1-2 hours). You may wish to review other Lynda.com CSS videos
  • Follow the directions in the Dreamweaver Site Definition handout (1 hour)
  • PROJECT 1:  Homework Page (2-3 hours, DUE Wednesday of week 3)
  • READ Chapters 3-5 of Don't Make Me Think (2nd Edition) (1 hour)
  • Post a question, comment, or answer to the Blackboard discussion
September 5 : Last Day to Add, Last Day to Drop Classes Without a "W" Appearing on Your Record, Last Day for Refund

DUE

Feb 7: Online Orientation
Week 3:
February 11
  • QUIZ 2 on Blackboard: Dreamweaver Interface & Site Control (30 minutes, DUE Monday of week 5)
  • VIEW Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS3 Beyond the Basics: 3. CSS Layout (2-3 hours)
  • PRACTICE CSS (2-3 hours)
  • Project 2: CSS (2 hours, DUE Thursday of week 5)
  • Read Chapter 6 of Don't Make Me Think (2nd Edition)  (1-2 hours)
  • Post a question, comment, or answer to the Blackboard discussion
    February 15-18: Presidents' Holiday Weekend

DUE

Feb 11: On Course self-assessment

Feb 13: Homework Page
Week 4:
February 18
  • QUIZ 3 on Blackboard: CSS, Don't Make Me Think 1-6 (DUE week 6)
  • VIEW Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS3 Essential Training: 13. Forms
  • VIEW Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS3 Beyond the Basics: 4. Working with Forms (1 hour) NOTE: you can skim the CSS accessibility information
  • PRACTICE forms (1 hour)
  • PROJECT 3: Forms (2 hours, DUE Week 7)
  • Read Chapter 7 of Don't Make Me Think (2nd Edition)  (1 hours)
  • Post a question, comment, or answer to the Blackboard discussion
    February 15-18: Presidents' Holiday Weekend
  
Week 5:
February 25
  • VIEW Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS3 Essential Training: 16. Templates and Library Items
  • VIEW Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS3 Beyond the Basics: 5. Building AJAX Pages with the Spry Framework (2 hours) NOTE: some of this doesn't work in IE, but perhaps it will work in the next version. I'm not having you do any of this in a project, so you can "skim" the last 7 videos..
  • OPTIONAL: VIEW Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS3 Beyond the Basics: 6. Extending Templates (2 hours)
  • Read Chapter 8 of Don't Make Me Think (2nd Edition) (30 minutes)
  • Post a question, comment, or answer to the Blackboard discussion
September 26 : Last Day to Apply for P/NP (CR/NC) for semester length classes

DUE

Feb 25: Quiz 2

Feb 28: Project 2: CSS
Week 6:
March 3

DUE

March 3: QUIZ 3
Week 7:
March 10
  • VIEW Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS3 Beyond the Basics: 10. Publishing and Collaborative Tools (1 hour)
  • Read Chapters 10-12 of Don't Make Me Think (2nd Edition)
  • Begin PROJECT 5: ASP
  • continue to post a weekly (or more) question, comment, or answer to the Blackboard discussion until you have 50 points

DUE

March 13: PROJECT 3
 

March 17-22 : SPRING RECESS

  
Week 8:
March 24
October 17 : Last Day to Apply for Fall 2008 Degree/Certificate

DUE

March 24: PROJECT 4

Week 9:
March 31
  • VIEW Lynda.com Dreamweaver CS3 Dynamic Development: 1. What are Dynamic Applications? (30 minutes)
  • Review Accessibility Notes (2 hours)
  • Quiz 4: Don't Make Me Think 7-12, Database Introduction (30 minutes, DUE week 11)
    NOTE: you may be asked about DSN & ODBC. DSN stands for Data Source Name - it is a shortcut to the database. ODBC is a control panel that the server administrator uses to create the DSN.
  • Do Training from the Source Lessons 2-4 (3-5 hours)
    NOTE - you do not have to set up a local environment or define a site. You can move files into your existing site and use your existing site definition. Also, you do not have to follow every step exactly as long as what you do works.
    NOTE - you may skip the PHP & ColdFusion sections for this textbook

DUE

March 31: PROJECT 5 -ASP
Week 10:
April 7

 

Week 11: April 14

DUE

April 14: Quiz 4
Week 12:
April 21

November 14 : Last Day to Drop Class

DUE

April 21: Project 6:  Dynamic Data
Week 13:
April 28		 DUE May 1: Project 7:  Dynamic Data List
Week 14:
May 5		 DUE May 12: Project 8:  Insert & Update
Week 15:
May 12		  
Week 16:
May 19		 DUE May 23: Final Project

Finals week:
May 27-31
  • FINAL EXAM (to be completed online - due by May 31)
  • final projects & pizza
    Thursday, May 29
    6:00 pm in H113
 DUE May 31: final exam
 

Have a great summer!