Creating Web Documents: Introductions

1
Creating Web Documents Introductions

• Background
• Administration
• Course overview
• Assignment CourseInfo survey. Find 1 good 1
  bad web site. Reading.

2
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?

3
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

4
REPEAT

• Websites are developed for a purpose
• and for an audience
• not write-only, not personal expression only,
  not private diary.

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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.

6
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.

7
Course structure

• Readings and homework every week.
• Reports on experiments, seminar-type
  presentations
• Postings to Discussion Forums
• Projects (1 small, 2 larger). 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

8
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.

9
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.

Miracle
10
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/comput
  er/bushf.htm

11
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
  spell-check) (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.