Syllabus

Week 1 - An introduction to the course and the tools to be used, including Web browsers, search engines, LIAS, a Web editor, word processor and the search engines in Yahoo.

- Along with the specific content for each week we will have an on-going discussion about current events in Internet community.

Reading: HTML: The Definitive Guide, Preface, pp xi-xvii, Ch. 1, HTML and the World Wide Web, Ch 1, pp. 1-15.

Week 2 - A discussion of how to develop a research project and an introduction to HTML, the imaging programs and scanner.

First assignment: 500 to 1000 word research project.
Find a modest topic that interests you, research it on the Web and in the library. Write a two to four page paper concerning it and save as a word processing document. (Microsoft Word and Word Perfect are the most widely available word processing programs.)

Reading: HTML: The Definitive Guide, Ch. 2, HTML Quick Start, pp 16-37.

Week 3 - Basic HTML and the use of a Web editor. Go through the tutorial for HTML and the material provided by Macromedia about Dreamweaver and Allaire about HomeSite. Take the first assignment and make it ready for posting on the Internet.

Reading: HTML: The Definitive Guide, Ch. 3, Anatomy of an HTML Document, pp 38-53; Ch. 4, Text Basics, pp 54-102.

Week 4 - Posting files by ftp to the server. Learn to use WS-ftp and Fetch: how to put files up, how to modify them and how to delete them. To do this you have to have your own Web space: Application for a Web Space Account

For Thursday of this week look at these Web site as models of research based sites:
typoGRAPHIC
Joseph Cornell: a Digital Monograph

Second assignment: post first project to the web for review by the class.

Week 5 - In class review of the first project. You will present your site to the class and the other students will comment on it and make suggestions about it. Then you will revise and re post it.

Reading: HTML: The Definitive Guide, Ch. 7, Links and Webs, pp 179-230.

Week 6 - Introduction to bit-map imaging. You will begin to learn how to use Adobe Photoshop so you can introduce graphics and photographic images to your work.

Reading: HTML: The Definitive Guide, Ch. 5, Rules, Images and Multimedia, 5.2 Inserting Images in Your Doucments pp 110-137.

Week 7 - Introduction to vector graphics using Adobe Illustrator.

Third assignment: make a graphical heading and scan a photograph for your first research project and add them to the site.

Week 8 - An overview of more advanced tools and techniques for the presentation of information on the Web, including: Cascading Style Sheets, XML, Java script, XSL and DHTML.

Be sure you have looked the O'Reilly updates and corrections after you have done the reading.

Reading: HTML: The Definitive Guide, Ch. 9, Cascading Style Sheets, pp 251-296.
Reading: HTML: The Definitive Guide, Ch. 13, Executable Content, pp 392-418.

Fourth assignment: Create a Style Sheet file and apply CSS to your first research project. Change the CSS file at least once and apply again.

Week 9 - Ethics and the Internet. A discussion of what is proper to include in research, the status of fair-use and copyright law. Where do we draw the line between free access and use of information and the rights of the owner?

Look up the following people on the Web and be prepared to discuss the work they do and what they have to say about computers, the Internet and the future:
Tim Berners-Lee, Esther Dyson, Jean-Louis Gasseé, Jakob Nielsen, Linus Thorwalds, Ellen Ullman and Dave Winer.

This discussion will continue for the next three weeks.

Reading: HTML: The Definitive Guide, Ch. 12, Frames, pp 371-387

Week 10 - Clarification of the requirements for your major research projects and an introduction to animation on the Web using Macromedia Flash.

On-going discussion of ethics and the Internet.

Fifth Assignment: A major research project - 2000 to 4000 words, or their equivalent, and will include graphics. The execution of this assignment will take the next four weeks. The project must be international and intercultural in scope.

Week 11 - Drafts of sections of project should be posted and be available for review by members of the class.

On-going discussion of ethics and the Internet.

Reading: HTML: The Definitive Guide, Ch. 14, Dynamic Documents, pp 425-432.

Week 12 - The more drafts of projects will be posted this week for the whole class to review and criticize. Members of the class are required to review all the projects.

On-going discussion of ethics and the Internet.

Reading: HTML: The Definitive Guide, Ch. 15, Tricks, Tips, and Hacks, pp 436-450.

Week 13 - Continue the review of the research projects in class.

Week 14 - Continue the review of the research projects in class.

Week 15 -Visit revised sites and general discussion of some of the problems, intellectual, moral and practical, of research and learning on-line.