Week 1 (8/24)
Topics
- Overview/Introduction to the Class and Syllabus
- Introduction to the Web and a little Internet History
- Self publishing
- Introduction to blogging for the class
- Setting up your own blog (on Blogger or WordPress or Tumblr)
Links and Resources
About Blogs and Blogging
Blogger
- Blogger
- Blogger Getting Started Guide From Google
- How to Create a Blog on Blogger (YouTube Video)
- Blogger Buzz
Wordpress Tutorials
Tumblr and Tumblr Help and Tutorials
History of the Internet
- The History of the Internet in a Nutshell (article)
- History of the Internet (short animated film)
- http://www.computerhistory.org/internet_history/ (Online exhibit/article from the Computer History Museum)
- The Birth of the World Wide Web (video from the Computer History Museum)
Other Links and Resources
- The best price on the software: http://store.collegebuys.org
- The recommended textbook at Amazon
- Web Developer Toolbar
- Firefox and Chrome Inspectors
- Index of Video Tutorials (Lecture and Demo Review)
Exercise #1: Blogging for the class (blog setup and first post Due 8/31)
Set up your own class blog at blogger.com or wordpress.com or tumblr.com and e-mail me the address (URL) of the blog you create. You'll use this blog to respond to the blog topics listed on the class blogs page. Responding to one of the first two blog topics listed, write your first post to your blog.
After the first week and your first post, this blog becomes an ongoing exercise in the class without specific due dates. Updates to the class blogs page will occur weekly with new blog topics. Pick and choose those topics that interest you and write about them in the class blog that you setup. Each blog topic will be assigned a point value (generally from 10 to 40 possible points). You will have the opportunity to respond in writing to the blog topics in your own course blog, and will earn points based on the quality of your postings. Your blog will count for 10% (100 points) of your course grade. You do not need to write about each topic listed, but can choose those topics that interest you to ultimately earn full credit for the blogging assignment (100 points). In general, it will likely take 3-4 blog postings to earn full credit, but this depends on the point-value of the blog topics you choose. Although, after the first week, there are not any specific blogging due dates, do not wait until the end of the semester to get this done. It is recommended that you make at least one post every 3-4 weeks to keep up with this class blogging assignment.
In addition to writing in your own blog, you are encouraged to read the blog postings of your classmates and leave comments on posts that you like or found useful. Leaving such comments demonstrates "class participation" in the class. Each students' blog address will be linked to in the "Student Blog Roll" on the right side of the class blogs page or you may wish to set up an RSS feed to aggregate the student blogs into one place.
LAB /HOMEWORK / ONLINE
- Set up your blog and e-mail me the address (URL)
- Make your first post to the blog
- Get the book (optional/recommended) and begin play/experimentation
- Review HTML and CSS Basics at HTML Dog and/or W3 Schools