The Class

Schedule and Topics

Email me at any time: webdesignprof@gmail.com

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

  • Design a Web site that caters to a specific audience.
  • Employ flow chart organization, intuitive navigation, and link icons/buttons.
  • Organize a flow chart and story board for the Web site with a logical order of pages and information.
  • Develop a visual theme based on a targeted audience.
  • Apply software functions for specific needs of a Web site.

—ALL ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE BY 9AM THE FOLLOWING WEDNESDAY—

  1. 8/27: My qualifications to teach you web design, Chapter 1: Getting Started with Dreamweaver, What makes a website good or bad?
    • Assignment: Good/Bad Sites
    • Reading: Ch 1: Project Builder 1 and 2, Portfolio Project
  2. 9/3: Prerequisite Check.  Review what makes a good site?, Developing a Web Page, How to draw a Wireframe Layout and a Site Map Plan.
  3. 9/10: Introduction to HTML, hand coding index page. In Class: Complete your index page
    • Assignment: Customize your Index Page by adding your name, an image and links of your choice, have it ready to upload in the next class.
    • Reading: HTML Primer or What is HTML
  4. 9/17: Chapter 6: Site Management (Lessons 2 & 5),
  5. 9/24: Chapter 3: Working with Text and Images
    Demo: Site content in text file, building the HTML version of your wireframe
    See: Site Planning Document

    • Assignment: Draft your site’s content in a text, Word or HTML file, save it as a PDF or HTML and post it to your site, create a link from your homepage to it.
    • Reading: Ch 3: Project Builder 1 and 2, Portfolio Project
  6. 10/1: Chapter 4: Working with Links, Usability and Accessibility, Copyright
    • Assignment: Create 5 web pages  and populate them with the text from your content document from last week (ex: home, about, links, product, gallery) add navigation, link all pages from your home page.  They DO NOT need to be fully designed- just text is ok.
    • Reading: Ch 4: Project Builder 1 and 2, Portfolio Project
  7. 10/8: Positioning Objects with CSS and Tables (in CS3 book – Using HTML Tables to Lay Out a Page) Demo: Easy Navigation using CSS and a bullet list
  8. 10/15: Chapter 6 (all but lesson 2): Managing a Web Server and Files, Demo on Divs: Curved Corners and Drop Shadows
  9. 10/22: GUEST LECTURER: Tom Cappelletti!!  Chapter 7 : Using Styles and Style Sheets for Design, Demo: Redesigning a Flash webpage in HTML
    • Assignment: Add CSS styling to your 5 pages, prepare for midterm design review
    • Reading: Ch 7: Project Builder 1 and 2, Portfolio Project
  10. 10/29: Midway Review: Portfolio Design Critique, Q and A Session
    • Assignment: Apply lessons learned in critique to improve your site
    • Reading: Review the 5 Page Site Grading Rubric for the final.
  11. 11/5: Using CSS divs on id’s to control content, Demo: Positioning Objects with Divs Using CSS
  12. 11/12: Review Div-based layout.  Blogs, Servers, Embed Fun, Demo: Blogs & Embed Fun
    • Assignment: Embed something onto a page within your site
    • Reading: Ch 11: Project Builder 1 and 2, Portfolio Project
  13. 11/19: Chapter 10: Adding Media Objects, (Were skipping Ch 8-9), CSS review, DEMO: Create a Printable HTML Page with CSS!
    • Assignment: Create a single clean external style sheet (with tag, class and div used), then create a Printable variation of it and apply it to your page.
    • Reading: Ch 10: Project Builder 1 and 2, Portfolio Project
  14. 11/26: Thanksgiving Holiday—- No class!
    • Assignment: Get caught up and ready for the final!
    • Reading: Review the tools section of this site.
  15. 12/3: Talk about Templates and Demo: Image Rotation using Javascript
    • Assignment: Try the image rotation on a page, link to the page via your index page.
    • Reading: TBA
  16. 12/10: Final Review, in class work session
    • Assignment: Grade your site against the Rubric turn it in next class
    • Reading: TBA
  17. 12/17: Final: Peer review of portfolio site
    • Assignment: Final Portfolio due by Monday December 21 at 9am!

Syllabus

Other Sections of This Class (on TV!)

Check out Tom’s section of the class on TV, Broadcast live on Channel 17 (Comcast & Surewest) Thursdays: 3:00 pm – 4:40 pm, Call in live: (916) 650-2906.  Episode archives are here, although we do not follow exactly the same schedule, we are using the same book so his lectures may be helpful.  Tom has numerous resources and handouts as well: http://www.tomcappelletti.com/361/home.html

FTP connection details

FTP Host: at.scc.losrios.edu
Host Directory: GC361/Student##/
Login: SCC/GC361-Student##
Password: Something@ You were given…
URL: http://at.scc.losrios.edu/gc361/

Picture:

ftp-screenshot

Use the blue arrow to”put” the files onto the server. Watch: http://www.adobe.com/designcenter/video_workshop/?id=vid0163
W account password reset form is located at http://lradp.losrios.edu/
SCC’s HelpLine: (916) 558-2222 or scchelpline@scc.losrios.edu

Required Software

Dreamweaver CS3 or CS4
A robust graphics editing program like Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks
Firefox web browser and one other web browser software (Safari, Chrome, Explorer, Mozilla, Opera etc.)

Required Text

Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 Revealed, by Sherry Bishop ISBN: 1-4283-1964-6
OR Adobe Dreamweaver CS4 Revealed, by Sherry Bishop. ISBN-13: 978-1435482609

Grading

Grading is somewhat subjective – if you contribute in class, complete the in-class and homework assignments, successfully adhere to visual theme in your work, create user-friendly navigation, stick to a design grid, and incorporate other design topics covered in lecture, you will receive a good grade. Super creative solutions will receive a higher grade than simply satisfying the parameters of the assignment. Please keep in mind that super creative work is determined and graded by the instructor.

There will be few homework assignments in this class but it is recommended that you complete the Project Builder Assignments in the book in order to more fully comprehend the skills covered. Your grade will be determined mostly by the semester-long assignment — a fully functional Web site with a minimum of 5 pages on a topic of your choice. Your grade on this project will be determined by how well you met the guidelines in the 5 Page Site Grading Rubric. You will grade the project yourself and I will review and possibly modify that grade.

Final grades are determined using this scale:

A = 90-100% of total points
B = 80-89%
C = 70-79%
D = 60-69%

Design Lab

The Advanced Technology Design Lab is equipped with brand new Apple iMacs loaded with the latest software. They are for you to use for class projects —please treat them with respect. Every time you use the computer lab you MUST sign-in at the computer near the door using your student ID number. The lab attendance records generate funds for new equipment and software. The lab coordinators and tutors are available for assistance if you are experiencing difficulty with the homework. They have been asked NOT to hand-feed you answers. They are there to help you learn and remember the material. There should always at least one lab employee close by to help you, but do not use the help as a crutch or you will not learn the material. I also recommend that you bring your text book to the lab as reference material, especially during busy hours when one-on-one help is harder to get.

Class Policies

At the beginning of each class, there will be an attendance sheet for you to sign next to your name. If you miss THREE OR MORE classes, and have not discussed these absences with me, I may drop you from the class. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate discussion with the instructor regarding illness, planned absence, or other situations like dropping the class.

Except for special, prearranged circumstances, no guests are allowed in class lectures. If you are planning on missing a class (vacation, etc) you need to let me know in advance so that we can make appropriate arrangements for missed
lessons/tutorials.

NO active cellular phones/beepers (turn the ringers OFF) in class or lab.phones/beepers (turn the ringers OFF) in class or lab.

Please raise your hand to ask questions or speak up if I’m not looking! Your questions are very important for me to answer and if I don’t have an immediate answer, I’ll let you know the following session.

Feel free to tape record lectures, but your recording device must be compact and you must come to class early enough to set it up without disturbing the class—do not bring in your boom box to record lectures and do not interrupt the class to set up your recorder.

Please e-mail or call my voice mail number for questions about class. Do not wait until you see me again if it will affect your grade. Only extreme circumstances warrant a grade of “incomplete.” An incomplete grade is reserved for those who meet all of the following criteria:

  1. Student experiences an extreme situation which is unexpected. (Death in family, serious illness requiring student to miss several classes, employment loss)
  2. Student’s grades are passing (C or higher) at the time of extreme situation.
  3. Student notifies instructor within 10 days of occurrence mentioned in item A.  (Home computer failure is not an acceptable excuse since the lab at SCC is available to everyone.)

Avoid Plagiarism

Plagiarism in any form is unacceptable and will be dealt with accordingly. The punishment for academic dishonesty will vary according to the seriousness of the offense. Sacramento City College’s Student Code of Conduct provides for the following possible consequences of dishonesty:

  • Receiving a failing grade in the course
  • Having a course grade lowered
  • Receiving an “F” in the course
  • Being placed on disciplinary probation or suspension
  • Being expelled from Sacramento City College

GCOM LECTURE AND LAB (TBA) EXPECTATIONS

(GCOM Workload Expectations PDF)

Most of the Graphic Communications courses contain several components: Lecture, Lab, and Homework/study.

The classroom lecture or LEC portion of the class is where the instructor provides explanation and demonstration of the concepts and skills for that particular lesson. Students are encouraged to actively engage and to ask questions to ensure concepts and skills are understood.

The laboratory or LAB portion of the class is the student’s opportunity to acquire and practice the skills and concepts demonstrated in the lecture, and to receive coaching and feedback as needed. The LAB component in most GCOM is TBA (To Be Announced).  This means it is completed on the students’ own time, outside of the Lecture. Several GCOM classes have scheduled LAB time with an instructor, but even those classes have an additional TBA expectation as well. Each course has a required amount of LAB time per week (see below). Students are expected to spend this amount of time each week of class in Advanced Technology Design Lab (TEC-109). Students who have their own computer and applications have the flexibility of doing additional LAB time off site, but are expected to use the Design Lab on a weekly basis as well. The Design Lab is open 7 days a week and is staffed with instructors prepared to answer questions.

Students will sign in and out of the lab to document the time spent. INDEPENDENT STUDY, HOMEWORK and ASSIGNMENTS. This is the work you as an individual, need to complete independently in order to be successful in the class.

Homework and assignments are given by the instructor, are evaluated by the instructor and you are provided with feedback. A general estimate of this time is an average of 2 hours per 1 hour lecture.  You are expected to come to LEC and LAB prepared, having read all required course materials.

Full Term Lecture-only Courses:

54 hours listed for lab = 165 total minutes in Design Lab each week

Full Term Lecture & Lab Courses:

54 hours listed for lab = 75 total minutes in scheduled Lab

90 total minutes in Design Lab each week

8 week:

27 hours listed for lab = 170 total minutes in Design Lab each week

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