LA 399-UH201: Web Design-Visual Rhetoric Fall 2010
2:45 - 6:05 WEDNESDAY
058 Library annex - Mac lab
INSTRUCTIONAL TEAM
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND RATIONALE of the COURSE
The original LA 399 course was developed to train a team of students to help Liberal Arts faculty learn to use technology in their teaching and teaching-related work, and to help maintain and develop college web pages. Although Wright State's Center for Teaching and Learning and CaTS offer a number of academic support services and technology workshops, the college has often needed more customized support. Students interested in the skill set but not the intern program are also admitted, since web design may be of interest and use for personal and professional reasons.
In fact, the phenomenal growth of the Internet, including its use on a wide variety of display devices, has made it a major medium for visual rhetoric, language that informs and persuades by means of images and graphic design. Even makers of web sites that consist mainly of text, with minimal graphic elements, include visual rhetoric in subtle but important layout, spacing, and text variation details. The web has an expanding influence on the way we read, and more and more of our reading takes place online, so the shape, the navigation elements, the ordering of parts, all affect our expanding digital literacy.
This is only a one-term course, however, that pulls together several skill areas. The course will get you going, but you will not become a skilled web designer in one term. Rather, you will:
- understand the concepts and know whether you are interested enough to go further in web design
- be able to troubleshoot some html and css code, the two main "languages" we use in the course, and find and understand resources that will help you learn more
- know enough to learn and customize a sophisticated blogging design tool like WordPress
- be able to use Dreamweaver and Photoshop in practical ways (again, these are large-scope programs that are not mastered in one term)
- begin learning to apply rudimentary css and html skills to customizing WordPress themes in the new
Key topics and activities will include:
- studying web pages, observing their uses of visual rhetoric and style
- preparing digital images for web use
- learning the basics of XHTML and CSS coding to create web pages with the help of Dreamweaver as an editing tool
- using Photoshop for web graphic basics: logos, backgrounds, photo galleries
- beginning to create Web pages that are useful, well-edited, esthetically pleasing, accessible to the largest number of users, respectful of intellectual property rights
- developing appropriate, web-style text content for the design project
- using a tool like WordPress as a design base that shifts design focus to customizing themes
Weekly agenda files and other course resources will be posted here in Course Studio, in the combined course page, Visual Rhet: Web Design. (Your My Courses home page should have a My Consolidated Courses link located to the upper right of the page.)
- See Weekly agenda files for detail on current week.
REQUIRED TEXT & MATERIALS:
- CSS: The Missing Manual - McFarland, David Sawyer, Pogue Press - ISBN# 978-0596802448 -- new edition!
- Flash drive for saving and transporting multiple files and folders between classroom and other computers where you may work on your projects.
- Classroom browser to use = FIREFOX (Safari is problematic with PDF file downloads; requires removal of an Adobe program file, not practical in our networked classroom.)
COURSE WORK - CLASS FORMAT AND MAJOR FOCUS
Most class time will be devoted to the following key areas:
- Working through tutorials to absorb how HTML uses CSS as a major design/layout tool.
- Photoshop, basics and intermediate work in manipulating and creating graphics.
- Skill-building exercises (maybe) that focus on partial re-designing, or improvement of segments of Liberal Arts web pages.
- Applying learned skills to development of personal web site.
- Examining WordPress templates to see how Content Management Systems have modernized web design, but still rely on CSS as the key styling language, but use a more dynamic means of organizing and manipulating web content.
The class will officially meet 7 times, but hands-on help and conferencing opportunities (sometimes mandatory) will be available every week, for students who need assistance to make progress before the next class meeting. DURING THE WEEKS WHEN WE DO NOT MEET, YOU WILL HAVE ASSIGNED WORK, WHICH INCLUDES CONTACTING THE INSTRUCTOR ABOUT YOUR PROGRESS AND SCHEDULING AN APPOINTMENT FOR INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS.
Formal class in 058 Dunbar Library (basement, across from Writing Center schedule is as follows:
Week 1 Jan 5- CLASS - Intro, basics of XHTML and CSS and some introductory Photoshop work.
Week 2 Jan 12 - CLASS - Continuing XHTML and CSS; more photoshop; textbook tutorials; begining work with CSS and WordPress.
Week 3 Jan 19 - Work independently/ CONFERENCE privately - Physical sketching out of project wish list
Week 4 Jan 26 - CLASS - Tutorial work & help with major project designing; Wordpress continuation.
Week 5 Feb 2 - CLASS - More CSS skills focus, Photoshop skills; review of tutorial work; project development.
Week 6 Feb 9 - Work independently: get help from a teaching team member; review posted material on WordPress.
Week 7 Feb 16 - CLASS - original project work; WordPress investigation
Week 8 Feb 23 - CLASS - Reconsider navigation and positioning problems: how do limitations (or not) in old and new web design work compare?
Week 9 Mar 2 - Work independently: work on two problems in old-style web project; continue new-style WP project.
Week 10 Mar 9 - CLASS - Work on finalizing designs; present progress to class; evaluate course. Final Web Project requires index plus 3 sub-pages. We may make the final project a choice between a more complete old- or new-style project. For old-style, materials drawn from Chapters 1-9 should be part of the work. Those who can, will incorporate techniques from Ch 11-12. All must do the tutorials for Ch 11 & 12. For new-style, we will develop the criteria as we explore WordPress together.
Week 11 Mar 16 - Final project work due; Final Essays due for those taking that option for WI credit.
On weeks that we do not formally meet, assistance can be scheduled during the "regular" class time slot, or by appointment on other days.
GRADING
Grading is based on the following:
- 40% - weekly work: earn an A/B here by attending required meetings and showing and sharing regular progress on web tutorials
- 60% - personal web page project in two forms, the old-style html-css version, and a WordPress version of the same site: earn an A/B here by showing sufficient completed work by the end of the term, incorporating new learning from the class in obvious ways, and creating a "personal best effort" which represents clear progress beyond the level of skills with which you enter the class. Writing throughout the course should be well-edited to earn the higher grades.
ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION
Attendance is mandatory, with each 3 1/3 hours covering a significant portion of course material and involving workshopping and important peer and instructor interaction. All students are encouraged to contact Jane, Micah, Adam for assistance with any LA399/UH201-related learning concerns.All students should check WSU email regularly for possible correspondence about the class. For computing resource access while on campus, the campus computer classroom schedule lists classroom locations, times occupied by classes, times open for general student use.