Tasks
- Short Quiz on HTML
- Choosing Your Software
- Site Planning
- Learning Graphics Formats and Placement
- Small Groups
- WebQuest Part 2
- Readings and Lab Work
HTML Quiz
I will (finally) be posting a quiz on HTML. You may take this quiz as often as you like, but must pass it. The quiz will be posted and announced in Blackboard.
Choosing Your Software
From this point on you will be free to choose any Web authoring software
you wish. I will be using Dreamweaver 4. for my examples, and am sure
that will translate to the newer Dreamweaver MX fairly well (
I'm
using MX now, and find the examples work well). A short talk on software
is posted in Blackboard under Course
Material
- eLectures, blogged, and linked below.
Site Planning
- Krug Reading Notes from Chapter 6 and 7 (pdf)
- Tollette and Williams Chapter 7
You have read important sections in Krug about writing for the Web. This site is one of my favorites on the topic:
Learning Graphic Formats and Placement
We will learn about graphic creation later in the semester. For now, there are a couple of things to know about pictures and Web sites; standard graphic formats and placement of images
Formats
Graphic files must be compressed to make them small enough to be practical on the Web. This is so important that browsers will not display uncompressed graphics. Currently there are two standard formats for graphics compression on the Web - gif and jpeg*.
gif is used for simple graphics such as logos and solid drawings. It only allows the use of 256 colors and is best for smaller, uncomplicated images. Files use the .gif extension.
jpeg is used for more complex images such as photographs and larger files. It allows the full color palate. Files use the .jpg extension.
All graphics files we use will be one of thee two formats.
Placement of Images
Generally, use the <p> tag to align images. For instance:
- <p align="center"><img src="../../../graphics/garlic01.gif"></p> gives this
You also have the option of getting a sort of text wrapping by using the align attribute in the img tag. For instance:
- <img src="../../../graphics/garlic01.gif" align="left"> in a paragraph gives:
A
graphics that has text flowing to the left.
Note that paragraphs will continue to appear until the bottom of the
graphics or you use <br clear="left">
Which puts the text here.
This is just a quick idea about images if you want to start working with them. We will go into much greater detail after Spring break.
*A new format called png has been developed
to replace both of these compression schemes, but full acceptance has
been slow. For now we will stick to gif and jpeg. 
Small Group Work
Use your knowledge of planning and see how the different WebQuests are organized. Follow the link below and take the Web Quest about Web Quests. You will be asked to rate the sites - do this and report to your small group area.
Then try charting out how they work by following various links. The idea here is to use William's method of site planning (post-it notes or a computer chart program like Inspiration) to see how the author did things.
Also, note how their content has been organized, how the site architecture supports the site purpose, and what consistent elements exist.
Post at least 2 messages to your small group about the sites you all have looked at.
WebQuests
Now that you have an idea of what a WebQuest is and what subject you would like to explore, begin work on the product using this page as a guide:
Assignments due week of October 11
Readings
- Krug Chapters 7 and 8
- Chapter 7 Reading Notes
- Chapter 8 Reading Notes
- Tollette and Williams Chapter 7
- Chapter 7 Reading Notes
- Castro Chapters 5 - 6
- Chapter 5 Reading Notes
- Chapter 6 Reading Notes
Lab Work
- Post reviews of site structures to small groups
- Work on WebQuests
Last modified
Thursday, April 13, 2006 9:56 AM
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