L571: Information Architecture for the Web Syllabus: Spring 2007

Topic Outline, Reading Schedule and Assignment Due Dates

Select any date and see:

the topics that will be covered;

the readings that have been assigned;

the assignments that will be discussed; and

the assignments that are due in that class.

Schedule of classes

Select any date to see readings, assignments, and due dates	January 8	January 15	January 22	January 29
	February 5	February 12	February 19	February 26
	March 5	March 12	March 19	March 26
	April 2	April 9	April 16	April 23

NOTE: The URLs for the readings were last checked on January 5, 2007. Also, web readings will open in a new browser window.

Also: the class will meet in L002

January 8

Introduction: Information architecture for the web

Topics:

Overview of the course
Web development for clients
Review of basic HTML: UNIX, fonts, lists, links, tables

Readings:

Rosenbaum, H. (2004). HTML Markup Demonstration Pages

http://www.slis.indiana.edu/hrosenba/www/Demo/DemoCon.html

Assignments:

Critical response essay assignments discussed

Markup assignments discussed: tables assignment explained

The in-class table assignment is here

Final project, project documentation report (including pre-design analysis) and presentation discussed

Additional resources for refreshing your knowledge of basic HTML

Return to Schedule of classes

January 15

No class today: Dr. Martin Luther King Day

Working with tables

Readings:

Castro 1, 2, 16

Benda, G. (2002). Debate - WYSIWYG: a Web Designer's Dream. Sitepoint.

http://www.sitepoint.com/article/wysiwyg-web-designers-dream

Gugliuzza, M. (2002). Debate - Hand Coding: the Ultimate Freedom. Sitepoint.

http://www.sitepoint.com/article/hand-coding-ultimate-freedom

HTML Goodies. (2007). Tables Tutorial. JupiterMedia

http://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutorials/tables/

Pollack, J. (2006). HTML Tables Basics. Sitepoint.

http://www.pageresource.com/html/table1.htm0

Zeldman, J. (2002). Fix your site with the right DOCTYPE!. A List Apart.

http://www.alistapart.com/stories/doctype/

Additional resources about tables

Assignments:

Critical response essay #1 description due (emailed to instructor)

Response received from instructor within 48 hours

The second table assignment is here

Tables assignment due January 18

Return to Schedule of classes

January 22

Client-centered website development and web page design

Topics:

Pre-design analysis
    Clients
    The business
    Competitors
    Users

Beginning layout

Readings:

Castro 21, 22

Danzico, L. (ND). Case Studies. Bobulate: An IA Portfolio.

http://www.bobulate.com/case_studies.html

Gillespie, J. (2002). Building a better web page. Web Page Design for Designers.

http://www.wpdfd.com/editorial/wpd0202.htm#feature

Lynch, P. and Horton, S. (2002). Web Style Guide, 2nd edition.

http://webstyleguide.com/index.html

Nielsen, J. (2007). Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design. Alertbox.

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html

Powazek, D. (2006). Home Page goals. A List Apart. #221

http://alistapart.com/articles/homepagegoals

Shumacher, A. (2001). Cheaper Over Better: Why Web Clients Settle for Less. A List Apart.

http://www.alistapart.com/articles/cheaper

Additional resources about web page design and working with clients

Assignments:

Email client project topic description to instructor

Receive confirmation of your topic from the instructor within 48 hours

Design rationale report discussed in class

Return to Schedule of classes

January 29

Thinking about design and layout

Topics

Introduction to information architecture
    Conceptual Design
    IA and ethics
    Working with content

Working with images and imagemapping

Readings:

Castro 5, 6

Barker, I. (2005). What is Information Architecture? KM Column.

http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/kmc_whatisinfoarch/index.html

Bogaards, P.J. (2004). Info Design / Arch Deliverable Schemas.

http://www.bogieland.com/infodesign/resources/misc/iadelschemas.htm

Burns, J. (2007). So You Want A Client-Side Image Map, Huh?. HTMLGoodies

http://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutorials/image_maps/article.php/3479741

Information Technology Systems and Services. University of Minnesota at Duluth. (2005). Information Architecture.

http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/support/Training/Online/webdesign/architecture.html

Morville, P. (2003). International Information Architecture. Semantic Studios.

http://semanticstudios.com/publications/semantics/000012.php

Additional resources about the basics of information architecture and conceptual design

Assignments:

Critical response essay #1 due

Return to Schedule of classes

February 5

Advanced layout options with HTML 4.01

Working with tables and frames
Readings
Castro 15
alt.html. (2004). Frequently asked questions: Why are frames so evil?: http://www.html-faq.com/htmlframes/?framesareevil
Fletcher, D. and Brookman, A. (2002). Making Joining Easy: Case of an Entertainment Club Website. American Institute of Graphic Arts: http://www.slis.indiana.edu/hrosenba/www/L571/pdf/fletcher_accessibility.pdf
Sullivan, D. (2005). Search engines and frames. SearchEngineWatch.: http://searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/article.php/2167901
Web Design Group (2005). Guide to frames usage. SearchEngineWatch.: http://www.htmlhelp.com/design/frames/
Web Design Group (2005). Web Authoring FAQ: HTML Frames. SearchEngineWatch.: http://www.htmlhelp.com/faq/html/frames.html; Markup assignment #1 (frames and tables) discussed; Critical response essay #2 description due (emailed to instructor); Response received from instructor within 48 hours

Return to Schedule of classes

February 12

Interactivity in web architecture and design

Topics

Working with forms

Introduction to PHP for forms

Readings:

Castro, 17

Clark, J. (2002). Building accessible websites: Forms and interaction.

http://joeclark.org/book/sashay/serialization/Chapter12.html

Gowans, D. (2001). Part 6 - PHP With Forms. PHP Turorial

http://www.freewebmasterhelp.com/tutorials/php/6

Tizag.com (2002). Using PHP With HTML Forms.

http://www.tizag.com/phpT/forms.php?=Paint

W3schools.com. (2005). HTML Forms and Input.

http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_forms.asp

Ullman, L. (2001). HTML Forms and PHP.

http://www.peachpit.com/articles/article.asp?p=22294&rl=1

Ullman, L. (2001). PHP for the World Wide Web. Chapters 1 and 3 [available in SLIS library]

Additional resources about interactivity, focusing on forms and PHP

Assignments:

Pre-design analysis report due

Markup assignment #2 (forms and PHP) discussed

Return to Schedule of classes

February 19

Information architecture II and XHTML

Topics

Components of information architecture
    Information organization, navigation, and labeling
    Page layout
    Interface design
    Site design

Transitioning to XHTML

Readings:

Castro, 3, 4

Kaufman, J. (2005). Information Architecture as an Extension of Web Design. Digital Wenb Magazine

http://www.digital-web.com/articles/ia_as_an_extension_of_web_design/

Levine, M. (2006). In Search of the Holy Grail. A List Apart #211

http://alistapart.com/articles/holygrail

Lindgaard, G., Fernandes, G., Dudek, C. and Brown, J. (2006). Attention web designers: You have 50 milliseconds to make a good first impression! Behaviour & Information Technology. 25(2), 115-126.

http://bert.lib.indiana.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&an=19277458
Then check for availability

Maya. (2005). Carnegie Library | Dynamic Information Environment.

http://www.maya.com/web/what/clients/what_client_clp_dyninfo.mtml

Download their User Experience Week 2005 presentation.

http://www.maya.com/web/what/what_sightings_speaking.mtml#uxw2005

Peck, N. (2003). XHTML Web Design for Beginners - Part 2. Sitepoint.

http://www.sitepoint.com/article/xhtml-web-design-beginners-2

W3Schools (2003). XHTML Tutorial.

http://www.w3schools.com/xhtml/

Additional resources about the information architecture, design, and XHTML

Assignments

Critical response essay #2 due

Site structure graphic requirement for final project document discussed

Download powerpoint presentation from class

Return to Schedule of classes

February 26

Cascading style sheets I

Topics: Basics of CSS
    Rules, selectors and declarations
    Font control and lists
    Images
Readings:

Castro, 7, 8, 9, 10

Teague, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Andrew, R. (2003). Style Web Forms Using CSS. Sitepoint: http://www.sitepoint.com/print/1166
CSS Basics.com. (2003). Learn everything you ever wanted to know about the basics of CSS.: http://www.cssbasics.com/
Mako. (2003). CSShark - The Basics.: http://www.mako4css.com/Basics.htm; http://www.slis.indiana.edu/hrosenba/www/Workshops/CSS/Demo/csshome.html
Additional resources about CSS
Assignments: Critical response essay #3 description due (emailed to instructor); Response received from instructor within 48 hours; Markup assignment #3 (CSS) discussed

Return to Schedule of classes

March 5

CSS II

Topics: Basics of CSS
Using CSS to structure space
Using CSS for absolute and relative positioning
Readings:

Castro, 11, 14, 15

Teague, 6, 7

Hall, M.. (2004). CSS Positioning. Brainjar.com.: http://www.brainjar.com/css/positioning/
Manno, F. (2004). CSS Image Maps.: http://frankmanno.com/ideas/css-imagemap/
Piperoglou, S. (2001). Tutorial 18: CSS Positioning, Part I. WebReferecne.com: http://www.webreference.com/html/tutorial18/
Piperoglou, S. (2001). Tutorial 19: CSS Positioning, Part II. WebReferecne.com: http://www.webreference.com/html/tutorial19/
Robertson, S. (2003). Night of the Imagemap. A List Apart. #166: http://alistapart.com/articles/imagemap
Schmitt, C. (2002). Web Page Reconstruction with CSS.Digital Web Magazine: http://www.digital-web.com/articles/web_page_reconstruction_with_css/; http://www.w3schools.com/css/css_positioning.asp
Additional resources about CSS
Assignments: Markup assignment #2 due; Design rationale report due

Return to Schedule of classes

March 12

S P R I N G B R E A K

Of course you will spend the break working on your HTML!

Just kidding.

Return to Schedule of classes

March 19

Accessibility, Interactivity II: javascript

Topics

Designing accessible web sites

Basics of javascript
    The document object model (DOM)
    Elements of javascript
    Modifying scripts

Readings:

Castro, 19, 20

Teague, 12

Clark, J. (2002). Building accessible websites: How do disabled people use computers?. Building Accessible Websites

http://joeclark.org/book/sashay/serialization/Chapter03.html

Hellman, C. (2005). 10 Reasons Clients Don't Care About Accessibility. Digital Web Magazine

http://www.digital-web.com/articles/ten_reasons_clients_dont_care_about_accessibility/

Rosenbaum, H. (2002). Javascript Pages.

http://www.slis.indiana.edu/hrosenba/www/Demo/Demo18.html

Seeman, L. (2000). Designing Web Sites to be Disability Friendly

http://www.wdvl.com/Authoring/Design/Friendly/

Watchfire. (2000). WebXact

http://webxact.watchfire.com/

W3C. (2005). Evaluating Web Sites for Accessibility: Overview. Web Accessibility Initiative.

http://www.w3.org/WAI/eval/Overview.html

WebAim. (2005). Creating accessible tables.

http://www.webaim.org/techniques/tables/

WebTeacher. (2007). JavaScript for the Total Non-Programmer.

http://www.webteacher.com/javascript/

Additional resources about accessibility and javascript

Additional resources about web standards

Assignments

Critical response essay #3 due

Markup assignment #4 (DHTML) discussed

Return to Schedule of classes

March 26

Dynamic HTML I

Topics: Working with DHTML
Learning about environments
Learning about objects and events
Readings:
Castro, 12
Teague, 11, 13, 14, 15
DHTMLGoodies.com (2007). A library of DHTML and AJAX scripts.: http://www.dhtmlgoodies.com/index.html
Dynamic Drive (2007). DHTML Scripts for the Real World.: http://www.dynamicdrive.com/
Gardner, D. (2001). DHTML Intro Tutorial. HTMLcenter.com: http://www.htmlcenter.com/tutorials/tutorials.cfm?id=115
Icarus. (2002). Rough guide to the DOM (Pt 1and 2) Sitepoint.com: http://www.sitepoint.com/article/rough-guide-dom
Kyrnin, J. (2006). Dynamic HTML Guide picks: http://html.about.com/msubdhtml.htm; http://www.slis.indiana.edu/hrosenba/www/Workshops/CSS/Demo/cssdhtml.html
Teague, J.C. (2003). DHTML and CSS for the World Wide Web: http://www.webbedenvironments.com/dhtml/
W3Schools.com. (2005). DHTML Tutorial.: http://www.w3schools.com/dhtml/default.asp
Additional resources about DHTML
Assignments: Markup assignment #3 due; Usability requirement for final project discussed

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April 2

Web site usability, evaluation and maintenance

Topics

Introduction to usability
Heuristic evaluations
Usability testing

Web site management
Change management
Managing web teams

Readings:

Deshpande, Y., Chandrarathna, A. and Ginige, A. (2002). Web Site Auditing - First Step Towards Re-engineering. Proceedings of the 14th international conference on Software engineering and knowledge engineering.

http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/568760.568886

Information and Design. (2006). Web Evaluation materials.

http://www.infodesign.com.au/usabilityresources/evaluation/webevaluation.asp

Morris, B. (2000). Managing Commercial Web Sites. Web Developer's Journal

http://www.webdevelopersjournal.com/articles/managing.htm

Nielsen, J. (2003). Usability 101.

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html

Rosenfeld. L. (2004). Information Architecture Heuristics.

http://www.louisrosenfeld.com/home/bloug_archive/000286.html

Society for Technical Communication (2006). Usability Toolkit.

http://www.stcsig.org/usability/resources/toolkit/toolkit.html

Usability.gov (nd). Your guide for developing usable and useful websites. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

http://www.usability.gov/

Additional resources about usability, evaluation and web site management

Assignments

Markup assignment #1 due

Presentation times assigned

Usability report discussed in class

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April 9

DHTML II

Topics: Integrating DHTML into site design
Moving objects
Working with browser windows
Readings:

Teague, 16, 17
Javascript Kit. (2006). Adding Generated Content in CSS2.: http://www.javascriptkit.com/dhtmltutors/cssgenerate.shtml
Javascript Kit. (2006). Rotating regular HTML content via DHTML.: http://www.javascriptkit.com/dhtmltutors/dhtmlrotate.shtml
W3schools.com. (2001). Welcome to DHTML School.: http://www.w3schools.com/dhtml/default.asp
Weiss, A. (nd). An Introduction to Dynamic HTML (DHTML). IDM Web Development: http://www.intranetjournal.com/articles/200003/dhtml1_index.html
Additional resources about DHHTML techniques
Assignments:: Usability report due

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April 16

DHTML III

Topics: DHTML and site design
Using DHTML for layout
Using DHTML for navigtion
Readings:
Teague, 21, 22, 23
Builder.com. (2004). DHTML - Dynamic HyperText Markup Language: http://builder.com.com/1200-31-5087750.html
Codetoad. (2005). Home > DHTML > Navigation: http://www.codetoad.com/dhtml/navigation/
Dynamic Drive (2007). Menu and Navigation Scripts.: http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex1/
Simplythebest.net. (2006). Ready-to-go DHTML scripts & JavaScripts: http://simplythebest.net/scripts/DHTML_scripts/
Additional resources about DHTML
Assignments:: Presentation of student work; Markup assignment #4 is due

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April 23

Presentations of student work

Assignments:: Final project due (email URL to instructor)

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