Course Description

ART / COM 311 is a studio/performance-oriented course that is an advanced web design and production class that will address the history and culture of the Internet and explore the World Wide Web as a domain for publication and expression for online producers. Special emphasis will be placed on defining the differences between client-side and server-side creations, and how these affect the content and presentation of the information on the web. It will also emphasize on the evolution of multimedia into hypermedia through the usage of client/server tools, web services, programming languages and databases.

Process and Strategy

The goal of this class is to understand the Web as a self expression tool through a series of personal and collective projects. The projects are intended to prepare the students for the real world web design processes.

Readings / assignments / requirements

• www.w3schools.com -> XHTML / CSS / HTML 5 / Javascript / DOM / DHTML / jQuery

• HTML for the World Wide Web with XHTML and CSS: Visual QuickStart Guide, 6th Edition, Elizabeth Castro, PeachPit // http://www.elizabethcastro.com/ ( OPTIONAL )

• Internet Art, Rachel Greene, Thames&Hudson ( OPTIONAL )

You will be required to purchase your own server space and domain name for this class AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Make sure it allows you to work on PHP and MySQL. There are plenty of very inexpensive and efficient options on the web such as Dreamhost

All your assignments will be posted on your web sites, and they will gradually build your online portfolio.

Make sure you check and empty your ut webmail account regularly. We will use Blackboard permanently to post the grades and communicate.

Short readings will be distributed throughout the semester. Most of the information will be provided by the professor or will be found freely online. Critiques will frequently be initiated from various topics covered in the readings. In order to participate effectively you will need to have read the required texts and be able to articulate your responses to them within the context of class discussion and critique.

Use your own portable hard-drives or iPods, and JumpDrives such as Sandisk or others in case you have any, to store your work. Do not rely on the CAS LAb student server, it is not secure and you might lose your data. the most secure storage is your own remote web server.

Grading 

There will be several projects throughout the course, including papers, assignments, quizes and others. Each one of them will be a part of the final 70% of the grade. If necessary I will do some pop quizes, depending on the students' participation and motivation, and depending on how certain classes work, I might add an extra work not listed in the syllabus. The final project will count for 30% of the final grade. The grades posted on BlackBoard may not reflect the final grade on SpartanWeb

Possible last-minute changes

Although unlikely, it is possible that last-minute changes might be made to the dates for all assignments or class meetings, excepting only the final exam. In this unlikely event, I'll make all possible efforts to inform students with sufficient lead-time.

I reserve the right to modify this syllabus for any reason at any time.