Transcript Web Design I. Introductions - Purchase College Faculty Web Server

Creating Web Documents:
Introductions
Background
Administration
Course overview
Assignment: CourseInfo survey. Find
1 good & 1 bad web site. Reading.
Introductions
• Jeanine Meyer
– Associate professor, Math/Computer Science & New
Media
• Pace University; IBM (research, manufacturing staff,
education, grants); Staff development for New York City
schools
• Third book in process: creating web databases
– Also teaching: Programming games
– Son teacher SUNY/Cortland, daughter working at
Institute for Cancer Prevention Research
– Hobbies/interests: origami, cooking and eating, reading
novels, aerobics (ugh), flute, travel
• student technical assistant: ?
• You?
Background
• Web design has technical aspects and
aesthetic/strategic aspects.
– Web pages are constructed for a purpose and
with an audience in mind.
– Information & the experience of the
viewer/browser/visitor/user/customer/client in
sensing the information are all-important.
Content Content Content
REPEAT
• Websites are developed for a purpose
• … and for an audience
not ‘write-only’, not personal expression only,
not private diary.
Audience
• We are different and our perceptions and
interests concerning Web sites will be
different.
• Some in class may have more training &
skills than others in art, design, film, etc.
• …we can all observe and articulate our
observations of ourselves and others.
Technical topics in course
• Produce HTML pages
– NotePad and then other tools. Compare tools.
• Acquire images: produce original drawings and
modify images using Paint Shop Pro (Photo
Shop okay), scanner, downloading from Web
• Create animation (animated gifs) using
Animation Shop. Create image maps (NotePad)
• Record (mix?) audio files (wav) using Sound
Recorder
• Program (script?) JavaScript for handling forms,
calculations, handling cookies, image swaps, etc.
Also use of styles.
Course structure
• Readings and homework every week.
– Reports on ‘experiments’, seminar-type presentations
– Postings to Discussion Forums
• Projects (1 small, 2 large[r]). May be done by
teams: you need my approval on topic and team.
Team projects must be significantly better in
quantity and quality!
• Midterm and Final
• CourseInfo: http://courseinfo.purchase.edu
• Web site for student work
Origin of Web
• Goal: decentralized support for
collaboration by scientists (share
information and programs and
communicate).
– Funded by DARPA (Arpanet) and also by
governments & universities around the world,
most notably CERN.
Technical ‘big ideas’
• Logical design for presentation
• Hypertext (hyperlink)
• Multimedia
• Client / server
All implemented by open standards so materials
delivered efficiently by stateless system to be used
cross-platform
but this poses significant challenges to design.
Texts
• Technical text: HTML for the World
Wide Web by Elizabeth Castro 5th Edition
REQUIRED
• On-line sources
• Start reading. See on-line schedule.
– Historical article by Vannevar Bush
http://www.theatlantic.com/unbound/flashbks/computer
/bushf.htm
Assignments
• Sign-on to courseinfo.purchase.edu. TAKE
SURVEY. Read schedule. Look at forums.
• Find 1 good and 1 bad web site. Define what
makes each good or bad, including identifying
audience & purpose. Prepare 1-2 paragraphs on
each (use word processing program with spellcheck) (write down URLs).
• Lab activities: Introduction to HTML. Paint Shop
Pro. Discuss sites. Use observations and readings
for 1st HTML project due in one week.