JTC 472 - Advanced Web Design and Development

Course Description

JTC 370 is a successor class to JTC 372 - Web Design and Development. Its focus will be on web markup, styling and scripting languages used commonly in developing rich content for visual narratives, at an advanced level appropriate for prospective communication professionals.

Special attention will be paid to advanced HTML5 markup and CSS3 styling as it relates to accessibility, image preparation and delivery, search engine optimization and responsive layout techniques.

Students will work with Wordpress , a widely-used Content Management System.

Introductory programming techniques will be introduced in a segment that will incorporate scripting in Javascript.

Finally, a Data segment of the class will explore issues related to the acquisition, analysis and visual presentation of data in web documents.

Registration Details

Spring 2022
1 pm - 2:50 pm
Tuesday/Thursday
Clark C235

Section 1 (CRN 19409)
(Credits: 3)

Prerequisite: JTC 372 - Web Design and Development

Topics

Topics covered in the course include:

Web Segment:

Advanced HTML5/CSS3

  • Accessibility techniques
  • More semantic elements
  • Advanced image elements and formats
    • WebP image compression format
    • HTML5 <;picture> element
  • Multimedia
  • Advanced selectors
  • CSS Positioning
  • Advanced flex
  • CSS Grid
  • HTML forms - layout

Advanced SEO

  • Rich snippets
  • Structured Markup
  • Schema
  • Other techniques

JS/jQuery

  • Intro
  • Interactivity with jQuery

App language(s)

  • PHP/ Ruby on Rails

SQL

  • MySQL (MySQL Server, GUI tool on lab machines)
  • Applications with database back end

Frameworks

  • Bootstrap

Content Management Systems (CMS)

  • Wordpress

Data segment

Numeracy

  • Basic numeracy concepts

Statistics review

  • Basic terms (mean, median, standard deviation, etc.)

Spreadsheet techniques

  • Downloading from web
  • Working in Excel, Google sheets

Data cleanup

Data formats

  • CSV
  • JSON
  • Other

R languate introduction

  • Requires R and R Data Studio on lab machines

Python Introduction

  • Django/Python

Data Visualization

Mapping

Phone Policy

Cell phones are to be silenced and put away during lecture. Failure to observe this policy will result in the following, and in each case the student will be asked to either place silenced phone on center table or leave the classrom:

  • First infraction: Loss of participation credit for one week
  • Second infraction: Loss of one letter in course grade (e.g, B becomes C)
  • Third infraction: Student fails course

Assignments and Grading

Grading will be based on a point scale for each assignment. Course letter grades will be the standard A = 90%+, B = 80-89, C = 70-79, and so on. +/- grading will be applied.

Assignment Weights
Assignment Percent
Class participation 10%
Lab Exercises 30%
Class Presentation 30%
Final Project 30%
Total 100%

Textbooks

All course readings will come from various on-line sources. There will be no course textbook.

Policies

Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. There is a very strong correlation between attendance and project grades, since this is a lab course and the vast majority of the material you need to know and the techniques you need to develop in order to complete your project will be covered in class. If you miss class more than twice or you are habitually late, it will be reflected in your final grade. If you work efficiently, you should be able to develop your project and complete your reports in the lab time given.

Readings: It is required that you read the assignments as the class exercises will reinforce the concepts required in the readings. Your reports will require that you address the concepts presented in the readings and your project will be evaluated based on the principles in the readings. Additionally, concepts discussed in the readings will be covered on the test.

Class behavior: Web surfing, texting and checking email during class is also not acceptable. Discussion of relevant subject matter during lab time is acceptable, but please keep conversations to a minimum. Lab time is to be devoted toward exercises and your project.

Honor Pledge: The course will adhere to the Academic Integrity Policy of the Colorado State University General Catalog and the Student Conduct Code.

Instructor

Ben O'Connor is a contract web designer/developer. He has developed dozens of web sites for corporate clients. In addition to his contract work, Ben worked for a startup internet company, Cybercrop.com, and assisted in the development of an agribusiness web-based trading application.

Ben is intimately familiar with design concepts, graphic design and optimization, Cascading Style Sheets and coding in HTML. He also has extensive experience in developing database-driven sites using Lucee, PHP and MySQL, and in administering web servers using Apache.

Some recent web sites Ben has worked on:

For more of Ben's designs, see www.benoconnor.com/websites.

Ben is also a working musician who plays 80-100 dates in an average year in the Rocky Mountain region.

Contact

Office Hours: By appointment
Course Web site: www.jtc472.net

Other Notes

This syllabus is subject to change. An updated version will always be available at the course web site (www.jtc472.net). A printable version of this syllabus is available at www.jtc472.net/jtc472-syllabus.php.