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Web Design 2 is a 1 semester course in the Business/Marketing/Technology Department. Students completing it successfully will earn 1/2 credit in Occupational Education.
DESCRIPTION
This course is a continuation of Web Design 1, for students who wish to pursue the field in greater depth.
Students in this course will conceive, research, design, develop, and operate a functioning website for a real client or user community. The website focus and goals, chosen by the student, are first developed in a project proposal. Once the project is approved, students are expected to work with a high degree of independence and self-direction to bring it to fruition, emphasizing good planning, documentation, communication, design, technology, and usability. Team projects are encouraged, as web design is a highly collaborative and multidisciplinary endeavor.
In addition, a number of topics that go beyond those covered in Web Design 1 will be explored. These topics will be customized to student interest, and may be drawn from areas such as rich media (images, video, animation, etc.), interactivity, scripting, social media, and database management.
Students in Web Design 2 are expected to be highly independent, capable of taking responsibility, with guidance, for crafting their own learning goals and plans. Since Web Design 2 students share a class period with Web Design 1, they will also serve as peer tutors and provide assistance as necessary for Web Design 1 students.
PREREQUISITES
Web Design 1
OBJECTIVES
Upon successful completion of this course, students should:
- Know how to develop a complete website for a client, including project planning and management, user research, site design and implementation, beta testing and site refinement, and portfolio documentation.
- Develop expertise in some advanced web design techniques of their own choosing.
- Become adept at supporting, tutoring, and helping other students in the field.
TOPICS
A summary of the units of study and topics for the course is listed below. Detailed information about assignments and assessments may be found on other pages of this site.
| Unit | Topics | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Website Development | Project Proposal Market Survey Client Selection User Research Site Design Site Prototype User Testing Site Development Client Review Project Portfolio Project Presentation |
12 weeks |
| Advanced Techniques | TBD — possibilities:
|
6 weeks |
MATERIALS
There is no textbook for this course, although there will be reference books available in the classroom. Most of the teaching materials (handouts, presentation slides, resource lists, assignments, etc.) will be found online, either on a website that I have developed specifically for this course (see below), or other public website resources.
Please be sure to have a composition book for the class (as well as writing instruments, of course), as you will need it for notes and keeping a journal. If you intend to work on your projects outside of school, you will need a flash drive to transport digital files back and forth.
We will be using many different software tools in the course. All of them are installed on the computers in the lab. Most of the software is “open source,” which means it is free and available for anyone to download and use on their own computers. So you can also work at home or anywhere else you have access to another computer.
COURSE WEBSITE
You have obviously found the course website online, since you are reading this text.
I intend to use the website, with its announcements blog, as the main source of all assignments, reference materials, and communications. Grades will be posted on the Source, but I won’t be posting detailed information about assignments there.
ASSIGNMENTS
This course is based primarily on the philosophy of project-based learning. This means that students will learn by designing and implementing website projects.
The final project is an investigation of what it means to develop a website for a client. This project will require the the development of a full-featured website and focus as much on the process of web design as the technologies used to create websites. A large part of the process will involve finding and engaging with a real client, and learning project management skills as well.
There will be some short assignments developed for the exploration of the advanced topics. Students will help to develop their own program for this part of the course.
Finally, a component of all Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses is a demonstration of professionalism. Students are expected to actively participate in class, show leadership, and exhibit responsible behavior in preparation for life beyond high school. There will be activities and tasks in the classroom that emphasize these skills.
GRADES
Grades will be based on the components as shown below.
| Client Project | 60% |
| Professionalism | 25% |
| Assignments | 15% |
Grades will be posted on the Source, generally within two weeks of the due date of the assignment.
LATE WORK
This course is structured so that you can accomplish all of the required work during class sessions, because much of it requires software and supplies that are in our lab and not generally available on other school computers.
But things always come up, from absences to illness to just needing extra time. Late work will be accepted, without regard to cause, because I would rather have you do the work and learn the material we cover than not.
However, to be fair and to encourage you to keep up with the work, late assignments will be marked down 10%. You can submit late work not more than two weeks past the due date, without extenuating circumstances.
POLICIES
A complete list of general course policies can be found on the “Course Policies” page of this site.
SUPPORT
I will be available most days during lunch periods and after school for extra lab time or individual help. Email (ahdavidson@seattleschools.org) is also a great way to get in touch with me for questions or problems.
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