ART-259 : COMPUTER GRAPHICS FOR WEB DEVELOPMENT

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Computer Graphics for Web Development provides an introduction to Adobe Dreamweaver CS3. Dreamweaver is the most widely used WYSWYG (What You See is What You Get) Web-page editing software, popular among professional web developers and hobbyists. Using Dreamweaver, students will learn to create simple web pages as well as dynamic and comprehensive web sites.

PREREQUISITE
ART-126 Introduction to Computer Graphics

TEXTBOOK
“Visual Quickstart Guide Dreamweaver CS4” By Tom Negrino and Dori Smith
Peachpit Press
SBN-13: 978-0-321-57352-0     ISBN-10: 0-321-57352-8

MATERIALS
A portable USB Drive with at least 2.0 GB of memory. You must back up all of your work.

LEARNING GOALS

Students will be able to:

• use the tools, interface and capabilities of Dreamweaver.
• Identify key components of animation and multimedia production.
• critically evaluate (aesthetically and technically) your own work and the work of others.
• design and create a website.

PROCEDURES

• Lectures, discussion, demonstrations
• Reading technical manuals
• Practicing with Dreamweaver to acquire hands-on experience
• Explore web resources
• Projects in class and homework
• Independent projects
• Expect to spend at least 4 hours outside class in free time labs and/or on home workstations

GRADING POLICY
Assignments and class participation are evaluated based on achievement of technical and creative concepts, thoughtfulness, attention to detail, effort and originality of approach.
If you are concerned about your grade please do not hesitate to contact me.
Generally grades follow these criteria:
A =  Student whose work and work ethics display exceptional effort and care
B =  Student displays good work ethic, completes assignments with thought and care
C = Average work and average effort
D = Student presents below average work and displays little effort in completing assignments
F = Student does not complete assignments and/or attend class

For final grading purposes:

• Homework and class projects  25%
• Participation in discussions, critiques and attendance 25%
• Mid-Term Project  25%
• Final Project 25%

ATTENDANCE
Attendance will be taken during each class period. Success in a studio art class is dependent upon the student's participation in the studio activities and interaction with other students. Skill and knowledge is acquired as much by doing and participating as it is by reading and responding. This cannot occur if a student is not in class. Therefore, three unexcused absences will result in the lowering of a full letter grade at the end of the semester. Late arrivals and early departures will be noted and count as a half of an absence. Frequent absence and/or tardiness will result in the failure of the course.

*Due to my commute from Brooklyn there may be times when I am unavoidably late due to traffic or weather. Fortunately our class is 4 hours per session. In the event that I am late, I will notify the Arts & Communications office located on the second floor. You are required to attend class and work until I arrive. If I am more than 20 minutes late please check with the Arts and Communications Office for information. If the class is cancelled the office will notify you.

DEADLINES
Finished projects will be due at the beginning of class on the day of the deadline.  Every week that the project is late it will lose a letter grade.

TIPS

• Don’t leave projects until the last minute – it takes time to develop ideas and produce the results you intend.
• Make more than the minimum assigned number of projects. Projects develop with practice and feed on each other, so, the more effort you put in the better the results will be.
• Keep up with the reading in order to fully participate in class discussions.
• The weekly schedule may change as the semester goes on. If you miss a class it is your responsibility to contact me or another student to get class notes and to be prepared for the in class projects. Exchange phone numbers with classmates at the beginning of the semester.
• PLEASE email or call me with any questions or needs you may have.
• If you have to miss a class let me know IN ADVANCE so we can work something out.

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

NOTE: Weekly schedule may occasionally change due to the pace of projects and topics. It is your responsibility to check with me or other students to get information you may have missed and to be prepared for the next class.

WEEK 1	Introducing DREAMWEAVER: Becoming familiar with the application
WEEK 2	Design: Analyzing Websites - Website Design and Architecture Dreamweaver Layout: Pages with text and images Dreamweaver: Links from text and images: Relative, Absolute, Mailto:, Anchor, Image maps and Hot Spots
WEEK 3	Dreamweaver: Site Management
WEEK 4	Dreamweaver: Tables, Rollovers Design: Navigation
WEEK 5	Design: Color and Typography
WEEK 6	Dreamweaver: CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
WEEK 7	Dreamweaver: AP Divs (Layers), using Tracing Images, Photoshop Slices
WEEK 8	Work time for Mid-Term
WEEK 9	Dreamweaver: AP Divs (Layers)
WEEK 10	Dreamweaver: Behaviors and Other Fun Stuff
WEEK 11	Dreamweaver: Layout: Frames
WEEK 12	Dreamweaver: Forms and Fields
WEEK 13	Dreamweaver: SPRY Navigation
WEEK 14	Flash: Intro
WEEK 15	Publishing a Website Securing a Domain Name and Hosting