CIS 58.51A - Summer 2009

Course Overview

This course is designed for the beginning student who wants to create Web pages for the World Wide Web. You need to be familiar with the basics of computer usage, be reasonably proficient in file management and feel comfortable using the Internet. If you do not have these skills I recommend you enroll in an Introduction to the PC (or Mac) class, and the Introduction to Internet course.

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is the basis of all the lessons in the course. For students who are considering a career in Web design or programming, it is essential that you master HTML. If you want to create a home page for yourself or others as a hobby, you may want to consider a course in Dreamweaver, GoLive, PageMill, or FrontPage. These software packages create Web pages without requiring that you learn HTML.

In addition to memorizing HTML codes, you will be asked to develop skills in organizing information; writing clearly and concisely; using colors and graphics which are effective and pleasing to the eye; and presenting your finished Web project to an audience. In short, there is more to Web design than knowing HTML.

This seven-week course will not provide you with all you need to know to become a "Webmaster" however, it will help you get started!

Text Book

Required - Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML by Freeman and Freeman, published by O'Reilly. The ISBN is 0-596-10197-X. You may purchase the book at the SRJC bookstores or online at http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596101978/?CMP=ILC-hf1st.
HTML 4.01 Specification - available online at http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/
XHTML™ 1.0: The Extensible HyperText Markup Language - available online at http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/
Recommended (But you REALLY, REALLY want to get it.) - CD Creating Web Pages with HTML notes and video http://www.ccnow.com/cgi-local/cart.cgi?videogeeks_01M_continue-page (2006 edition)

Homework

All assignments will be turned in using email must be received by 11 PM (Pacific) on the due date (unless otherwise noted). Reading assignments are to be done in preparation for class. See the class home page for the assignment and reading schedule.

Online Quizzes

Quizzes are given online, which means they are open book, open notes. You can get to the quizzes from the class home page and the individual weekly assignment pages.
You may want to print out the quiz before you take it so you can read over the questions and research the answers when necessary. However, the quizzes randomly pull questions from a pool and only give you a selection, each time you visit the quiz page you will get different questions.
When you have finished taking the quiz online, you will press the submit button. This will grade your quiz, tell you if you got any answers wrong and give you the right answers.
You can only submit the quiz once.

These are the percentages for grades:

100%-90%	A
89%-80%	B
79%-70%	C
69%-60%	D
less than 60%	F

Grading

Class begins on Tuesday of each week, and all assignments and quizzes are due the following Wednesdaynight (1 week + 1 day). All of your work will be submitted electronically, it usually takes me a few days to grade all incoming work.

Please note - late work will only be accepted 1 week after due date and a 20% deduction will be imposed. Assignments turned in more than 1 week late will receive no points. EXCEPTION - Part of Lesson 8 must be turned in by 11 PM July 4th.

If you are taking this course to complete one of the web development certificates you must take the class for a letter grade.

IMPORTANT!
It is your responsibility to officially drop this class if you are not going to complete it. Failure to do so will result in a grade of "F" on your transcript.

Lab & Lab Policy

The CIS department provides several computer labs including :

CIS Lab - Maggini Hall 3rd floor
BCL Lab - Maggini Hall 2nd floor
PET Lab - Petaluma Center

These labs all have Macs and PCs which contain Firefox and IE as well as HTML editors and graphics software. We have zip drives, scanners, color printers, and laser writers as well. You may also use your home computer.

The lab printers are for printing class assignments only! Please do not use the printers to print out class notes or large web sites which can consume several printed pages. No printed assignments will be accepted for this class.

Getting Help:

My job is to help you learn. I expect that most of our communication will be via e-mail, but you can also come to see me in person by appointment. You don't need an appointment to contact me via Yahoo! IM during office hours. I am online during normal business hours (I have a day job) and will answer quick questions via Yahoo! IM. For bigger issues we can schedule a time to go into depth on the subject.

For class subject questions, I do want you to post your questions, problem HTML code and links on the class Message Board. When you have a question, there is a good chance that another student has the same question and will benefit from my, or another student's, answer. Private email to me is for personal correspondence (grades, sickness, etc.). The Message Board is for class content questions. If a question that applies to the class content is recieved via email, I WILL take that question and post it to the message board. I will also remove any private questions from the Message Board and answer them privately via email.

You are not required to do any of your work in the computer lab at school, but, if you are having trouble, that's the place to go. If I am not available, most of the other instructors and lab assistants will be able to answer your questions.

CIS 58.51A - HTML & CSS 1