January 15, 2019
Northern Virginia Community College - Annandale Campus
ITD 110 - Web Page Design TTh 2:00PM - 3:15PM CT 0116, Spring 2019 (3 credits)
Web Site for Class: www.billpegram.com
Course Content
The primary emphasis of ITD 110, as I will teach it this semester, is on HTML and CSS, that is, the basic coding used in web pages. Lesser emphasis will be on the process of developing a web site, web design principles, page layout, image formats, accessibility, and copyright issues. Coding is done in a text editor. There will be nothing on server-side programming and very little, if any, on client-side scripting such as JavaScript.
ITE 170, Multimedia Software, which is also a 3 credit course, covers the same topics as ITD 110. But since ITE 170 also teaches the use of four Adobe programs - Dreamweaver, Animate, Photoshop, and Premiere Pro - the ITD110 topics are covered in less detail in ITE 170.
Software
Text editors such as Notepad or Notepad++ (Windows), Brackets, Atom, or Sublime Text (Windows and Mac) are free downloads and are available on some campus computers.
Textbook
Web Development & Design Foundations with HTML5, 8th Edition, Terry Felke-Morris, Pearson, ISBN 13: 978-0-13-432275-9, 2017. We will do at least 10 of the 14 chapters in this book and most of the homework will be exercises from the book. Although I will be making PowerPoints of the chapters available on Blackboard, they aren't a substitute for reading the text. I used a very similar book by the same author for ITE 170 from fall 2013 - spring 2018 and thought it was very good.
When I visited the bookstore on 1/7/19, I did not see any new copies of the text. Renting the book might be advisable both because it is much less expensive than buying the book, new or used, and because the 9th edition of the book is now out and thus your ability to resell the 8th edition to the bookstore at the end of the semester may be limited. The bookstore indicates that they will price match online retailers - their policy is at https://bnc.pgtb.me/MMt77F.
Homework
Homework assigned will generally be due 6-8 days after the homework is assigned. This will permit you to work on the homework during the week, get any questions resolved in the next class, and submit the homework on time. Late homework will not be accepted but your two lowest homework grades will be dropped; this policy of dropping the two lowest two grades is designed to cover illness, computer problems, work or family responsibilities, etc. so exceptions to this policy will not be granted.
You must submit your homework so that the files can be read on a Windows machine. Thus if you are using a Mac, you must do any necessary conversion of the files. If you are required to submit a zipped folder, make sure that whatever you submit can be opened by WinZip.
Grading
60% tests (at least a midterm and a final), 40% homework which will include a final project.
Attendance:
If you miss class, please check the schedule page on the class website and Blackboard for material covered that day and any changes to the schedule, including new assignments.
Office Hours Schedule
Office hours will be held in the classroom. I expect this will be as follows, but the final schedule will be announced on Blackboard once the classroom availability at these times is confirmed.:
MW 3:15 in CT230 at the conclusion of ITE 170
TTh 3:15 in CT116 at the conclusion of ITD 110.If these times are not convenient, please email me to arrange a mutually agreeable time
Communication with Instructor:
In addition to office hours, most class periods will have time for one-on-one questions with the instructor. Asking questions in this way is generally more efficient than email.
Required Email Address
I will email you at the email address on my class list which is your VCCS email address unless I am responding to your email from a different address. If you do not check your VCCS address frequently, I would recommend you set it up for automatic forwarding to an email address you do check more frequently. I will show you how to specify a forwarding address.
Please remember to include your name and class in all emails to me.
Academic Integrity
On homework assignments and projects, students may ask for and receive some assistance from others, unless otherwise directed by the instructor. Yet those helping a student should avoid "doing the work" for the student.
Unless specifically stated in the assignment, students may work together to complete an assigment. However my experience is that students who turn in essentially identical work on an assignment tend not to do well on subsequent tests either because they have not learned the material or are too reliant on another person.
No assistance is permitted on exams and your use of the computer may be monitored. The college policy on student conduct is found at www.nvcc.edu/students/handbook/conduct.html. Students will be requ;ired to show a student ID for exams.
Cheating on a test will result in a grade of 0 on the test. Cheating on a subsequent test will result in a grade of F for the course. Cheating may be reported to the Division Dean and the Annandale Judicial Affairs Officer.
Dropping and Withdrawal from the Class:
Tuesday, January 29th is the last day to drop a 16 week class and get a tuition refunds (use NovaConnect) or to switch to audit (which requires my signature). Sunday, March 24th is the last day to withdraw without grade penalty in a 16 week course. The award of W after the last day to withdraw REQUIRES official documentation and the Dean's signature which is very difficult to get..
Classroom Conduct
Sustained talking during lecture is extremely distracting to the instructor and to other students. During hands on instruction where we are all coding together, it is appropriate to ask me to repeat what I said or briefly ask your neighbor if you don't see where to click, etc. However, if I've moved onto another topic, it's better for everyone concerned if you move on as well, and then deal with the issue later. If you wish to use your computer during class for things other than viewing PowerPoints or following along during in-class coding exercises, please sit where this will not be a distraction to other students. Do not do homework during lectures; you should be focused on learning the new material being presented..
Student Success Tips
- Books - Buy or rent the required book.
- Come to class - Although I do not grade on attendance, some of what I say isn't in the texts and it may be easier for you to understand something if you hear me explain it, instead of just relying on other sources.
- When you come to class, pay attention - the class is in a computer classroom so resist the temptation to multitask by looking at Facebook, games, or other material during lectures. If you want to do so, sit in a location so as to not disturb other students. Studies of students who try to multitask indicate that students don't do this very well.
- Don't procrastinate - If you are having a problem logging in or transfering files to your website, fix it or email me. Do the homework. If you need help, ask.
- Keep your files organized in folders - perhaps one folder for each class session or homework assignment. The file and folder structure on your website should be the same as on your computer or flash drive, and uploading files is a good way to back them up. When you are working in the classroom, don't have some files on your flash drive and some on the computer - keep them all in one place. Google Drive would be a good place to put them.
- Pay attention to the dates to drop and withdraw from the class.
- As long as you attend class once, I will not drop you from the class. It is therefore important that you check your email (various methods will be discussed the first day of class) from time to time. If you do poorly on the midterm, you need to decide whether to withdraw from the class before the deadline or to continue in the class. If you continue in the class, you need to continue to come to class, to do homework and to take the final, otherwise you will likely fail the course.