Session 1 Sept. 27
Session 2 Sept. 29
Session 3 Oct. 6
Session 4 Oct. 13
Session 5 Oct. 18
Session 6 Oct. 20
Session 7 Oct. 25
Session 8 Oct. 27

Skills: Understanding the Language of Online Publishing; Setting Up Public_html Directory; Creating Course Web Page

Assignment:

	1.	Determine how you will save your work (using portable media, such as a flash drive, zip disk, or CD; or using the network.)
	2.	Basic: Work on a first draft of your homepage and your ENGL209 page. Your homepage will be called "index.html" and will be uploaded to your public_html directory. Your ENGL209 page will be a separate page called "ENGL209.html" and will be linked to your homepage.  Advanced: Create an ENGL209 page, and add a link from your homepage on the Mason server.

Student Information Sheet

Due Date: Due Session 2, Thursday, Sept. 29

Resources:

• Activate Mason Cluster Account or 
  reset password. You will need to know 
  your G Number (or SS number) and your 
  6-digit GMU PIN. 
  web: https://mason.gmu.edu/ISO/SysEng/Mason/account.html
  Mason/account.html
• telnet / ssh:
  http://mason.gmu.edu/~dtaciuch/webdev/activate.html
  webdev/activate.html
• Set up public_html directory
  http://mason.gmu.edu/~dtaciuch/webdev/webspace.html
  webdev/webspace.html
• ITU software download for home use
  http://itusupport.gmu.edu/downloads/index.asp
  You can find ssh/telnet programs here, and Netscape (use 7.2) 
• Computing Dictionary: http://www.computing-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/ 
• Entering and Formatting Text in Composer 
• Create Homepage 
• Create ENGL209 Page

Skills: Evaluating Technologies and Standards; Uploading Files and Communicating with the Server; Learning to Distinguish Between Static and Dynamic Content Websites.

Assignment: Link and upload your homepage (index.html) and your ENGL209 page (ENGL209.html). Your ENGL209 page should include the following:

	1.	Your name;
	2.	Your homepage (linked);
	3.	A discussion of your experiences with writing, including web authoring (one paragraph, 150-75 words);
	4.	A discussion of what you hope to learn about web authoring, including specific tools and technologies (one paragraph. 150-75 words).

Your paragraphs should use specific examples and concrete details; avoid generalizations or vague references.  Your writing must also show proficiency in wording and grammar.

Due Date: Due Session 3, Thursday, October 6

Resources:

• Linking Pages
  http://mason.gmu.edu/~dtaciuch/webdev/link.html
• How to create a link in Composer: 
  http://mason.gmu.edu/~scampbel/links.html
• Uploading Pages 
  http://mason.gmu.edu/~dtaciuch/webdev/upload.html
• Web Development Resources at Mason
  http://www.gmu.edu/mlnavbar/webdev/findex.html

Skills: Developing Standards for Website Evaluation; Learning HTML Compliance Standards

Assignment:Basic and Advanced: Read through the criteria provided by the guides listed under resources. Then, choose three websites on one topic -- ideally the same topic as your final project -- to compare; the comparison should be based on both content and design. Choose one website that you judge to be of high quality, one of fair quality, and one of poor quality. Write two paragraphs about each site that justify your evaluation of the site's quality.

Your paragraphs should respond to the following questions for each site. Support all assertions about the sites with specific examples, including direct quotations where appropriate.

	1.	The URL of the site, an explanation of how you found the site (which keywords and which search engines you used), and a two-sentence summary of the information found on it. Advanced: View source and evaluate code.
	2.	An overall rating of the site (e.g., high, fair, or low quality)
	3.	An analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the site based on at least three specific criteria that you name. Make clear which factors most influenced your evaluation of the site's quality.
	4.	Advanced: Which tool(s) were used to create the site? How do you know? What do you think of the choice(s)?

Due Date: Tuesday, October 11 at 10:00 a.m.

Resources:

• Evaluative Criteria 
  http://mason.gmu.edu/~lkoch/ENGL209/webevaluativecriteria.htm
• UCLA Library site: "Thinking Critically about World Wide Web Resources"
  http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/critical/index.htm
• New Mexico State University Library: 
  "The Good, the Bad & the Ugly, or Why It's a Good Idea to Evaluate Web Sources"
  http://lib.nmsu.edu/instruction/eval.html
• Biggest Web Design Mistakes
  http://webpagesthatsuck.com/biggest-web-design-mistakes-in-2004.html
  web-design-mistakes-in-2004.html
• Jakob Neilsen Top 10 Mistakes in Web Design 
  http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html
• W3C HTML Validator
  http://validator.w3.org/

Skills: Comparing Browsers; Learning How to Choose Appropriate Tools; Evaluating, Capturing, and Displaying Images; 

Assignment: Find three electronic images related to your final project topic; the images must be in at least two different formats (e.g., .gif, .jpg, .png). Place the images into a new html page, and record the following information for each image:

	1.	The URL where you found the image.
	2.	Copyright Information:
		a.  List the copyright holder, owner, or licensing authority. b. If the image is owned by you, indicate so.
	3.	Explain how the image relates to your final project.
	4.	If the image was not originally digital, provide the following information as best you can:
		a.  The original source b. The photographer or illustrator  c.  The original date
	5.	Name the format type, and explain why you think the author chose it. Is the format appropriate for the content and for the website?

Due Date: Session 5, Tuesday, October 18

Resources:

• Fair use guidelines for multimedia 
  http://mason.gmu.edu/~scampbel/copymed.html
• TEC Tutorial on image capture 
• Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org/ 
• Digital imaging concepts
  http://www.irc.gmu.edu/resources/findingaid/
  documents/digital_imaging_concepts.pdf
• Optimizing Images
  http://www.irc.gmu.edu/resources/findingaid/
  documents/optimizing_graphics.pdf
• Graphic file types:
  http://www.uwm.edu/~frankkl/540430/graphics.htm

Skills: Using Anchor Tags to Create Hyperlinks; Using JavaScript for Annotations.

Assignment: Construct a short hypertext by annotating a short (500 word/one page) piece of writing.  An annotation is a note that explains or comments on a word, phrase, or idea in a text.  For your online annotation, you will create eight links. Four of them must appear on one of your ENGL 209 pages, and four may be external.

The writing may be:

1.	a literary work from Project Gutenberg or The Online Books Page;
2.	your own writing that has not already been annotated; or
3.	text from a Web site that does not already have links. (It must meet Fair Use Guidelines).

Basic: Create anchor tags for your hyperlinks. Advanced: Use at least two different methods of creating online annotations (e.g., anchor tag, pop up window, div tag using Javascript, tooltip).

Due Date: Friday, October 21 at 10:00 a.m.

Resources:

• Project Gutenberg
  http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/
• Online Books at UPenn
  http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books
• How to insert Targets using Netscape Composer
  http://mason.gmu.edu/~scampbel/link.html
• TEC Tutorial on hypertext annotation 
• Getting Started in HTML 
  http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/Guide/
• Using Div Tags in Javascript & Tooltip http://mason.gmu.edu/~lkoch/ENGL209/DivTags.htm
• Code for popup windows
  http://mason.gmu.edu/~lkoch/ENGL209/popup.htm
  
• Javascript Tutorial
  http://www.echoecho.com/javascript.htm 

Skills: Considering Language and Tone; Appealing to a Target Audience; Using Effective Rhetorical Strategies; Integrating Technologies and Design Elements into a Cohesive Project

Assignment - Final Project:
Create an original hypertext that uses technology to enhance your ideas by constructing a Webpage with a clearly-defined and cohesive subject or theme. The page must use at least five technologies discussed in this course and be appropriate to your skills level. The text must contain at least 750 words. You may develop a text-based project from another class into a hypertext, but you may not use an online project from another course.

Link your project to an explanation page that is two paragraphs long and:

1.	Defines your target audience;
2.	Explains how text and design create a unified theme;
3.	Names the technologies you used and why.

First Draft Due Date: Tuesday, October 25

Skills: Evaluating Projects; Providing and Receiving Peer Feedback

Assignment:
Revise your final project based on peer and instructor feedback from class today. Be prepared to do a five-minute presentation in class on Thursday.

For your presentation, you will lead the class through your webpage

1.	Demonstrating how you integrated text, design, and navigation into a cohesive page for your target audience;
2.	Explaining the technologies you used and  why.

Final Draft Due Date: Thursday, October 27

Skills: Demonstrate Web Project; Ask and Answer Questions about Projects

Assignment:
Revise your final project based on feedback from your in-class presentation. 

Optional Revised Final Draft Due Date: Tuesday, November 1 at 10:00 a.m.