WRT 351 Writing for the World Wide Web
Dr. Charles Lowe
6:00-8:50 Thursday (LSH 114)
Course Website: http://lowech.writing.gvsu.edu/fa07/351/
Instructor E-Mail: cel4145@cyberdash.com
Office Hours: 341 Lake Ontario Hall, Tues. & Thurs. 2:30-4:00 and by appointment
Overview
WRT 351 emphasizes learning rhetorical strategies and design principles for developing documents and websites for the World Wide Web.
Course Objectives
- Analyzing specific audiences and rhetorical situations in the design of websites.
- Gaining familiarity with various social software tools and their application.
- Practicing how to analyze, design, and/or revise websites for effective content management, communication, and community building.
- Employ rhetorical strategies and principles of information architecture and user-centered information design.
- Gaining experience in using professional Web publishing and design tools.
- Learn effective collaboration techniques for working on a Web design team and interacting with clients.
- Understand basic principles of standards-based HTML and CSS.
Required Texts
- David Shea and Molly E. Sholzschlag's The Zen of CSS Design. Available through the campus bookstore.
- Steven Krug's Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability. Available through the campus bookstore.
NOTE: Should you decide to purchase these through Amazon, be sure to select a shipping option that allows you to receive Zen in time for Week 4.
Some additional supplementary reading materials will be provided electronically via the course website.
Recommended Item
USB Flash Drive. While not officially required, a USB Flash Drive is strongly recommended for making backups--an important practice in college--and transporting your work from computer to computer.
An inexpensive flash drive can be purchased locally at Best Buy and other electronic stores or online (for instance, your instructor uses Corsair and Patriot flash drives).
Course Projects and Activities
Internet Technology Paper
You will research and write about an Internet technology.
This project is worth 15% of your semester grade.
Designing with CSS and HTML
During the course of this semester, you will develop two different web design projects:
- Mini Zen Garden. The purpose of this project is to demonstrate what you have learned about effective CSS-based design. Just as with the CSS Zen Garden project, you will be given an HTML document to format with CSS.
- Personal Website. Over the second half of the semester, you will develop your own personal website in your GVSU webspace.
The Mini Zen Garden project is worth 20% of your semester grade; the Personal Website, 20%.
Website Analysis and Recommendation Project
Working with other members of a team, you will find a client to work with and conduct usability studies and genre analysis of their website. At the end of the project, you will submit a final recommendation report for improving the site to both your instructor and the client.
This project is worth 25% of your semester grade.
Class Participation and Reading Responses
Most class sessions will typically involve opportunities for class discussion. Participation is required of all class members and is one way you demonstrate your familiarity with concepts from the readings, contribute ideas to projects, and generally indicate your involvement in the class.
There will also be opportunities to workshop, practice with new technology skills, and do other in-class activities, all of which count toward participation in this class.
In addition to in class participation, you will also demonstrate your involvement in the course through writing reading responses to the assigned readings. Each reading response listed in the calendar has a 300 word minimum requirement.
Class Participation and Reading Responses are worth a combined total of 20% of your semester grade.
Final Exam
There will be no final exam for this course.
Grading
All major assignments will be graded on the standard letter-grade scale:
| A | 100-93 |
| A- | 92-90 |
| B+ | 89-87 |
| B | 86-83 |
| B- | 82-80 |
| C+ | 79-77 |
| C | 76-73 |
| C- | 72-70 |
| D | 60-69 |
| F | 60 and below |
Students must complete all document and design projects and submit a majority of the required weblog posts (reading responses, project logs, etc.) in order to pass this class.
Work that does not meet minimum word count requirements or exceeds maximum word count limits (when specified) will receive zero credit.
Technology Requirements and Responsibilities
In order to participate fully in this course, you should already be able to use the technology platform and applications listed below.
- Word Processing (e.g., Microsoft Word or OpenOffice)
- Web Browser (e.g., Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer )
During the semester, you'll need daily access to the Internet and email. You are responsible for reading and keeping current with all weblog postings on the course home page. You'll be responsible for configuring your system to access course materials, to read course email, and to submit your work.
If at any time you have problems accessing the Internet from home, you'll need to find a public lab or connection point. Problems with computers will not be an excuse for falling behind or failing to complete required assignments. If your computer breaks or the Internet goes down, use another computer. If your printer runs out of ink, use another computer. In other words, find a way to complete the assignments on time. Because computer problems are a fact of life, always work to complete your assignments early and make frequent backups to multiple media.
Attendance
Attendance is required at all scheduled meetings. More than two weeks of absences may result in failure of this course. There are no excused absences. It is the Writing Department's recommendation that you save your absences for when you really need them (e.g., emergencies, sick days, family illnesses, etc.) .
Class will start promptly and finish on time each day. To do your part in keeping this schedule, you must also be present at the beginning of class. If you arrive after the roll has been taken, you can talk to your instructor after class that same day to see whether or not you will be counted present for the day.
Professionalism
Our goal is to make this class and the course website a professional environment in which everyone feels comfortable participating. During this class, you are expected to conduct yourself in a professional manner just as you will when entering the workplace in a few years. This includes all verbal and textual communication. If you know that you have views which are very personally offensive to others, keep them to yourself.
Late Work
I will stick closely to the course calendar -- it is important that you keep up. When possible, you may certainly complete assignments earlier, but you must complete them on time. Much of what you do for this class quickly leads to another assignment. You cannot receive feedback on drafts if you miss assigned deadlines. You will make life difficult for your team members if you are late getting your contributions to them. Finally, meeting deadlines is also an important part of the rhetorical situation of any writing assignment. Expect that late work will rarely--if ever--be given credit without petitioning the instructor prior to a deadline.
Academic Integrity
GVSU students are expected to observe and follow the policies on academic integrity as set forth in Section 223.00: Integrity of Scholarship and Grades and Section 223.01: Plagiarism of the Student Code. Academic misconduct as described in those sections, such as plagiarism or submitting the work of another person, is grounds for failure of the assignment and/or the entire course. If at any time you have any questions regarding how the expectations set forth in the Student Code apply to this class, do not hesitate to ask.