Course Syllabus
instructor information
Professor: Elizabeth Lane Lawley
Office: 70-2545
Phone: 585-475-6896
Email: ell at mail dot rit dot edu
Office Hours:
course description
This course builds on the basic aspects of HTML, web design, and multimedia programming that are presented in 4002-320 & 230/330 (230/330 is not required for students who took 320 prior to 991; it is a prerequisite or corequisite for students who took 320 from 991 on). It provides an overview of web design concepts, including usability, accessibility, information design, and graphic design in the context of the web. It also provides an introduction to important and emerging web site technologies.
Important note for non-IT students: This course is not intended for students wanting a one-course introduction to web site design. All prerequisite knowledge listed above applies to all students. Non-IT students wanting a web design elective should take 4002-320 (Introduction to Multimedia), not 4002-409.
grading
Your grade will be based on your individual assignments (40%), your group project (40%), and your attendance, participation, and attitude in class (20%).
There will be a practical exam given in class during the last week of classes. You must pass the practical to pass the class. This will not be a difficult exam, but it is intended to ensure that you’ve learned the basic concepts presented in the class. If you don’t pass it the first time, you’ll have an opportunity to retake it during finals week.
Assignments submitted after the due date/time will lose one full letter grade for each day that they are late. If you know that a situation will prevent you from turning something in, contact me in advance of the deadline to make alternate arrangements.
If you wish to dispute your final course grade, you must do so before the end of the quarter following this one; otherwise documentation of your work may be discarded.
textbooks
The two required texts for the class are:
- Information Architecture: Blueprints for the Web, by Christina Wodtke. New Riders, 2002 (ISBN: 0735712506)
- Webmaster in a Nutshell (3rd Edition), by Stephen Spainhour & Robert Eckstein. O’Reilly & Associates, 2002 (ISBN: 0596003579)
In addition to the text(s), online readings will be assigned in class, and linked from the relevant items in the course outline.