Introduction to Web Publishing

Course Introduction

If you're like most of the hundreds of people who have taken my courses, you're not interested in learning Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) as a hobby. You don't plan to sit around your home on rainy afternoons handcoding documents that will reside on your home computer or maybe taped as a printout on your refrigerator.

You're more likely thinking of acquiring some handcoding skills as a professional or career development option. Maybe you already use an HTML editor (like FrontPage, Dreamweaver, or Cold Fusion) and want to know how to tweak it "under the hood." Maybe you have inherited a Web-based project at work. Or perhaps you volunteer with an organization that's deciding to create a Web presence.

If any of these—or a dozen other reasons—sound familiar, you're really setting out on a journey to become a proficient member of a new industry: Web development and content deployment. You probably also have job, family, or other responsibilities making claims on your time and energy. You want to learn the ropes, and get some experience under your belt. You want to know that by the time you get finished with this class, you'll have enough foundation to go on to more challenging areas of Web design and development.

You will.

Getting the Big Picture

And you'll have more: You'll have a grasp of where "new technologies" fit into the big picture of information technologies, and how they relate to their historical antecedents.

Just as critical, you'll also know about the nuts and bolts (and wires and protocols) that the Internet and the World Wide Web (and your telephone) exist in and run on. It's the biggest machine ever built by humankind! You'll learn the evolution of markup from its most ancient roots in writing technologies to its adoption and application in online content as markup. You'll see how academic Tim Berners-Lee's fairly simple set of tags that comprised the early versions of HTML were expanded unilaterally by browser manufacturers to the improvement (and endangerment) of the Web as a medium for content dissemination. And you'll see how those very basic forms of HTML are with us still in the hot new age of wireless computing and communications.

You'll investigate technologies that work with HTML to make Web site maintenance easier, to make presentation of content more uniform, and to liven up pages by adding interactivity. Along the way, you'll acquire some tips and tricks to make working "behind the scenes" easier. Style sheets will help your development work more efficiently. And you'll see how programming languages, scripting, and databases can expand your Web pages. Because technologies don't evolve in vacuums, we'll discuss eXtensible Markup Language (XML) and see how commercial interests drive innovation and standards debates and decisions.

By the end of the course, you'll have handcoded Web pages that will display on the wide variety of browser platforms that exist around the world today. You'll have experience in the UNIX environment, which is the backbone of the Internet (and before it, the telecommunications network). You'll know how to get your Web files off the computer on your desk to the Web server that will provide your Web pages to the rest of the world. In addition to the handcoding and getting acquainted with UNIX (and its useful relations, Pico—a text editor—and Lynx—a non-graphical browser) you'll learn about accessibility, information architecture, and project management, and how technologies evolve from good (or bad) ideas to international standards. By the end of the course, you'll be more than just a beginner who knows how to handcode HTML.

You'll be a worthy, knowledgeable new member of an exciting, amazing community: those of us who live, work, and play in the global communications infrastructure of the Net!

Course Goals and Objectives

By the end of this course, you will understand

• the role and development of information and communication technologies across human history;
• the physical and logical aspects and configurations of computing and communications networks and their hardware and software;
• aspects of accessibility and associated legal requirements;
• aspects of information architecture and usability;
• issues of privacy, security, and information ethics;
• basics of project management; and
• the socio-technological landscape: the Semantic Web.

You will gain familiarity with

• working in a command line environment;
• the UNIX/Linux network operating system and its utilities (Lynx, ftp, pico);
• creating documents in text editors (Notepad is a text editor in the Windows OS; TextPad is the Macintosh version);
• handcoding HTML 2.0-3.2-4.0, XHTML 1.0, and XML.

You will be able to

• demonstrate in writing your thoughts on materials online and in the readings, your comprehension of the technological aspects of the Net, your understanding of how your desktop computer relates to the larger networks of which it is a part, and your clear understanding of client/server network architecture;
• create a concise argument supporting or opposing the Semantic Web initiative;
• evaluate the accessibility (or lack of accessibility) of existing Web pages and incorporate accessibility following national and international guidelines in your own Web sites;
• use basic principles of information architecture as you design a Web site;
• establish a working UW student e-mail address and Web URL;
• navigate your own home directory, find a public_html directory, and create, move, and remove files;
• upload and download files to and from UW campus system to your public_html directory;
• create simple text content using the Unix text editor (pico), open, revise, and save it in your UNIX account space;
• view Web pages and navigate through them using keyboard and commands;
• create an HTML template;
• create HTML pages that include a variety of fonts, headers, formats, styles, tables, and forms, and whose code is XHTML-compliant; and
• find and assess the usefulness of Web-based tech tutorials on emerging technologies.

Required Textbooks

• Katie Hafner, Where Wizards Stay Up Late: The Origins of the Internet, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998). ISBN: 0684832674
• Wendy Chisholm, and Matt May, Universal Design for Web Applications Web Applications That Reach Everyone, (O'Reilley & Assoc., 2008). ISBN : 0596518730
  
• Ian Lloyd, Build Your Own Web Site The Right Way Using HTML and CSS, 2nd Ed., (SitePoint, 2008). ISBN: 980455278
• Tom Standage et al., The Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-Line Pioneers (Penguin, 1999). ISBN: 0425171698

Recommended (optional, not required!) Texts

• Peek, Jerry, Grace Todino-Gonguet, and John Strang: Learning the UNIX Operating System, 5th ed. O'Reilly Media. ISBN: 0596002610. Available on Safari (see below).
• If you are completely new to any kind of Internet/Web technology and this is your first adventure, you might consider Freeman and Freeman: Head First HTML with CSS & XHTML (O'Reilly; ISBN 0-596-10197-X). Material is presented very interactively and in an informal style. This is a good book for absolute beginners, but it has less long-term potential.
• Robbins: Web Design in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition (O'Reilly, ISBN 0-596-00987-9) is an excellent resource, adding coverage of JavaScript and DOM scripting, multimedia and Flash Web content, and good coverage of CSS 2x (with appropriate caveats for non-compliant browser implementations). Not the best choice for an absolute beginner, but useful once you're past that awkward stage. Available on Safari (see below).
• Those who plan to work with XML should consider Erik Ray's Learning XML, 2nd ed. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly & Associates, ISBN 0596004206. Available on Safari (see below).
• Other useful books: I recommend any of the Peachpit Press Visual Quickstart Guides; there are several, including guides to HTML, DHTML, XHTML, and XML. If you like a show-and-tell instructional resource, these guides are perfect: They use screen shots and short chunks of text to describe how to perform various tasks. Any of the Quickstart Guides is worth having on hand if you're doing a lot of solo learning; they're a kind of "TA in a book." Maran Graphics puts out a similar series: Teach Yourself Visually. Of the two series, the Maran Graphics books are glossier and more colorful, and have less text. The Peachpit Press books are black and white, with more text. Either series is worth looking at; your choice depends on the kind of presentation you prefer.

Safari Online gives you access through UW Libraries to a wealth of tech books online. Most of the O'Reilly Web design and development titles are available, so you do have the choice of buying the O'Reilly titles or accessing them online while you need them. (Far be it from me to suggest that you not buy books—I've got an ever-expanding collection of dead trees in my tiny apartment taking up more floor space than the wall-to-wall carpeting!)

Before you buy any of the tech books, take a look through them and get an idea of whether you think you'll need any of them beyond the ones required. As for the required books, feel free to get them from the University Bookstore, or anywhere else. Standage and Hafner have been in print for quite a while and there are plentiful used copies around. Musciano and Kennedy has just been updated (October 2006), so there aren't going to be a lot of used copies available. You can use the 5th edition if you like, but there will be dated content that may cause you frustration if you follow book examples using outdated processes.

Lessons

There are 13 lessons in this course, each on a topic I feel is important that you know about as preparation for working in Web design and development. Some lessons are narrowly focused and technical. Others are not. Each lesson has required reading, an assignment, and a lab. Each lesson includes terms that are important to the concepts you will learn in the lesson and are intended to serve as guides to your study; these terms are boldfaced and italicized where they appear in the text, and are also shown in a sidebar. You will not be held responsible for key term definitions per se, but you will be expected to use the terms in your written work and presentation material whenever possible. You will find the terms defined either in the lesson commentary, the assigned readings, the course glossary, or all three.

Self-Study Activities

Each lesson contains Study Questions, which are "self-study activities." You don't have to submit answers to these Study Questions, they are included to help you focus on the lesson content. Look for answers to the Study Questions as you read the lesson and the assigned chapters from your textbook.

Assignments and Labs

Each lesson has an associated assignment and lab. Some of these labs and assignments will be more closely associated with its lesson topic than others. For example, the lab in Lesson One has you set up your UW NetID, while the assignment is an essay on the Standage book. The assignments and labs are located intentionally; just work them as you encounter them and trust that all will make sense at the end of the course!

You must submit work for all Assignments and Labs. Instructions on whether to e-mail a given assignment or lab to the instructor or upload it to your Web space are included in each assignment and lab. If you have questions about whether you need to submit something, please ask!

Activity	Evidence of Satisfactory Completion	Evidence of Non-Satisfactory Performance (or Non-Performance)
All Required Work	You submit assignments and labs as required regularly, in a timely manner. If necessary, you ask questions.<	You do not submit required work. You get stuck and do not ask the instructor for assistance. You submit all required work at one time near or after your course completion deadline. (DO NOT DO THIS!)
Online Tutorials	You can do the tasks covered in the tutorial(s).	You can't do the tasks covered in the tutorial(s).
Exercises/Labs	You can do the tasks covered in the exercise(s).	You can't do the tasks covered in the exercise(s).
Short Answer Essay Questions	You answer the question correctly in the format requested (for example, "2-3 sentences" or "a short paragraph." Your work is spelled correctly (use spell checkers!). You provide references when necessary.	You do not answer the question asked correctly within the requested parameters.
Semantic Web Discussion	You read and analyze the required articles. You compose your thoughts in response to the questions posed in the assignment. You provide your opinion logically stated and free of technical errors (such as misspelled words or incorrect punctuation).	You do not read the required articles. You do read the article, but fail to answer the required questions.
Final Project	You follow all the project specifications as required, and your page works when your instructor types the URL into a browser.	You do not follow the project specifications as required. All the specified items must be included in your Final Project.

Is This Course for You?

This course is designed for people who

• want to acquire or improve their handcoding skills in HTML;
• may have some experience with HTML editors (such as Dreamweaver, FrontPage, PageMill, ColdFusion Studio, and so on) and want to know what's going on "under the hood"; and
• want to begin or expand their skills in Web-related technologies.

To succeed in this course you must already have

• familiarity with personal computers (any platform: Windows, Macintosh, UNIX/Linux, and so on);
• ability and willingness to access and use Web and print resources for assignments;
• familiarity with e-mail;
• familiarity with Web surfing;
• ability to work independently; and
• willingness to proactively seek assistance when needed.
• You must also have access to a personal computer (any platform) with
  • a Web browser;
  • a text editor (such as NotePad or TextPad);
  • a floppy drive OR read/write CD-ROM) OR a USB travel drive; and
  • Internet access.

Course Materials

UWICK Connectivity Kit: Throughout this course you will be working on the University of Washington's network, in a UNIX environment. (If you don't yet know what that is, don't worry. You'll be learning about UNIX in Lab Two). In order to access the network and the campus computing resources, you'll need to download and install the University's tool for remotely using the on-campus machines: the UW Internet Connectivity Kit (UWICK). Once you have created your UW NetID, you can download UWICK, or purchase it on CD/DVD from the University Bookstore (it's about $1). When downloading UWICK files, be sure to select the right files for your computer and Internet service. The UW computing environment offers students a variety of resources, and it is very secure. Directions for using the dial-up software are included in the UWICK package. If you are still having trouble dialing in, contact UW's Computing and Communications Helpdesk for assistance.

When you set up your UW NetID, read the directions carefully! You'll be configuring your user profile to permit you to do e-mail and to create Web pages on the Dante server. (If you are UW staff or faculty, you may need to talk to the helpdesk to set up a Dante account.)

The Online Environment

Your online course offers several advantages to the traditional classroom, including a comprehensive Online Learning Student Handbook, the ability to communicate electronically with students and with your instructor, and links to a rich array of online resources.

Online Student Handbook

This handbook answers questions about your online learning course, such as how to purchase your text, schedule an exam, obtain a transcript, and get technical help if you need it. The handbook also provides additional resources, such as how to order books or journals from the library and how to study for an online course

Communication with Your Instructor and Student Peers

Email is the quickest and most efficient way to communicate with your instructor about feedback you've received on an assignment. ITA 340 students are subscribed to the webpub listserv when the instructor has been notified of their registration. This listserv is an online community of all currently enrolled ITA 340 students (there are about 50 on the list at any given time). E-mailing questions to the webpub listserv lets you interact with other students and often gets you a fast answer! Using an archived list (this one is) lets students benefit from the experiences of former students as well as browse informational postings that accumulate over time. In fact, many online students comment that they get more support and individual attention about assignments in their online class than in a traditional classroom. When you have a general question about the material, you may post it to the list. The instructor reads the list regularly, and will respond to questions as well as post other information. Other students are encouraged to respond to questions and post information they find useful or interesting. You may find other students' responses to your question helpful. You should not post labs or assignments (direct these to your instructor) or ask questions about your grade, requests for extensions, or those dealing with registration.

Online Resources

As an online student, you have access to a wealth of Web resources compiled to provide fast, easy access to information that supports your online learning experience. Online Resources links you to sites with help for writing and research, language learning, and library reference materials. All links have been assessed for credibility and reliability, and they are regularly monitored to ensure their usability.

Assessment

The required assignments and labs in this course are designed to benefit you and help you develop your thinking or your skills. You are required to complete all of these. Each assignment or lab you turn in is worth 10 points, and you will earn all 10 points for each submission that fulfills the stated requirements. Since this is a credit/no credit course, the instructor only notes that you have completed the work, but provides these points for your benefit; you can use the points as a low-level way to track your own progress. At its core, this course (although it includes a lot of content that isn't hands-on coding) is designed to get you the information and skills you need to move to the next level of sophistication in Web development. To get there, you will need to absorb a lot of information that is not directly handcoding HTML; of course, you will also need to absorb a lot of technical competence in coding various bits of HTML. The course has, therefore, both "lecture" and "lab" type material and activities. The purpose of doing the activities, including exercises and online tutorials, and the Final Project is to help you cement your accumulation of knowledge and skills.

Following are general standards for the various activities you'll be involved in during this course. A major aspect of your learning in the course is strengthening your independent learning skills (aka autonomy). In IT, you often have to learn new skills long before there are textbooks or courses available. Some of your coursework is designed to address this reality. Your instructor will grade all the assignments, including Short Answer Essays and the Semantic Web Discussion, labs, and your Final Project.

Activity	Evidence of Satisfactory Completion	Evidence of Non-Satisfactory Performance (or Non-Performance)
All Required Work	You submit assignments and labs as required regularly, in a timely manner. If necessary, you ask questions.	You do not submit required work. You get stuck and do not ask the instructor for assistance. You submit all required work at one time near or after your course completion deadline. (DO NOT DO THIS!)
Online Tutorials	You can do the tasks covered in the tutorial(s).	You can't do the tasks covered in the tutorial(s).
Exercises/Labs	You can do the tasks covered in the exercise(s).	You can't do the tasks covered in the exercise(s).
Short Answer Essay Questions	You answer the question correctly in the format requested (for example, "2-3 sentences" or "a short paragraph." Your work is spelled correctly (use spell checkers!). You provide references when necessary.	You do not answer the question asked correctly within the requested parameters.
Semantic Web Discussion	You read and analyze the required articles. You compose your thoughts in response to the questions posed in the assignment. You provide your opinion logically stated and free of technical errors (such as misspelled words or incorrect punctuation).	You do not read the required articles. You do read the article, but fail to answer the required questions.
Final Project	You follow all the project specifications as required, and your page works when your instructor types the URL into a browser.	You do not follow the project specifications as required. All the specified items must be included in your Final Project.

Grading

This is a credit/no credit course, so no number grades (0.0-4.0) are assigned. Generally speaking, if you successfully complete the assignments at a satisfactory level, you get credit for the course. The assignments plus the Final Project make up the required work. The specifications for the Final Project are absolute; your Final Project must meet them or it will not be accepted. If your Final Project is unsatisfactory, you will not receive credit for the course until it is.

About the Course Developer and Instructor, Zoe Holbrooks

After working in telecommunications for 20 years, I took a corporate buyout and went back to school to complete my undergraduate and graduate degrees. Since graduation, I have worked on information design, retrieval, and browse/search projects for a dotcom start-up, established IT corporations, and clients in the government, non-profit, and education sectors. In addition, I teach classes and workshops in Web technologies through educational and professional organizations. Some of the projects I've been involved in include an XML-based corporate intranet; Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia indexes; search engine development; designing and building a Web site for the Veteran's Administration EPIC team; creating browse and search taxonomies, thesauri, and online indexes for intranet and Web portals; and research for and development of an educational outcomes assessment database for the State of Washington. I've been an officer or board member of several organizations involved in community technology, including the Seattle Chapters of Webgrrls and Digital Eve, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR), Seattle Community Network (SCN), and the American Indian Library Association. In 2004, I joined the National Science Foundation's Research Coordination Network on avian endocrinology and ecology at the UW Department of Biology as the manager of its Web site, listservs, and IT-related projects.