COURSE OUTLINE

GBIS 751

E-COMMERCE & WEB APP DEVELOPMENT

Spring 2011

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course covers client-side aspects and server-side aspects of web development. Specific topics include site design and architecture, XHTML, web graphics, scripting, multimedia applications, server-side database inquiry, the integration of Flash and server script technologies, CSS, XML, and JavaScript coding. Students will code web applications that combine the technologies of XHTML, Flash and PHP. Macromedia DreamWeaver and Flash are utilized in various assignments. Trial versions of these software packages are available for download from the Adobe Macromedia site. Prerequisite: Students must be proficient in Java or C++ programming (GBIS 710 equivalent).

CLASS TIMES

The class meets online from March 9, 2011 through May 3, 2011. A detailed schedule (subject to revision) by week can be found here.

INSTRUCTOR

Jim Miller
jmiller@dom.edu

TEXT

Required text: Creating a Web Site, The Missing Manual, Second Edition by Matthew MacDonal, O'Reilly Media, 2009, ISBN 978-0-596-52097-7.

The required textbook for this course is Creating a web Site: The Missing Manual (Paperback)  by Matthew MacDonald published by Pogue Press (O'Reilly) in 2009 (may say December 2008).

It’s important to get the Second Edition.  You can recognize it because there is a red diagonal banner in the upper right corner of the book that says "Fully=Revised 2nd Edition" ISBN 978-0-596-52097-7


The book on oreilly.com is defintely the current edition but costs $29.99 for the book or $23.99 for the e-book or $32.99 for both.

Here is a link to the book that worked on 04/15/2010

http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596520984

Students may wish to acquire a book on Macromedia Flash but this is not mandatory. The instructor will provide many handouts in the course and the lecture component will include demonstrations of course topics.

OBJECTIVES


In this course, the student will acquire an understanding of

  • XHTML
  • using DreamWeaver
  • basic principles of web page layouts and design issues
  • site architecture and navigation design
  • FLASH graphics and animation
  • Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
  • multimedia applications
  • web form construction and processing
  • database management in web applications
  • PHP
  • integrating Flash and PHP for robust web applications
  • JavaScript coding
  • XML

EVALUATION

Final course average will be based on the following:

 

Assignments

 

Each week an assignment will be posted in the course Blackboard

Assignments section. Assignments are to be submitted electronically using the course Blackboard Assignments section by no later 11 pm (CST) on the scheduled due date. Frequently, the student will also be instructed to upload an assignment to a commerical hosting service. Students will receive appropriate instruction as to how this is to be accomplished. Partial credit is awarded for assignments.

 

30%

120

Quizzes, Mid Term Exam and Final Exam

Tests will be given on Blackboard as shown on the course schedule (subject to change)

 

18.75%

75

Online discussion participation

In the Online Discussion area of the course, students are required to interact with classmates to explore questions and comments related to the content of this course. Discussions will always open on Wednesday at 12:01 am (CST) and close on Tuesday at Midnight (CST). A successful student in online education is one who takes an active role in the learning process. You are therefore required to participate in the discussion areas to enhance your learning experience throughout each week.

 

Online discussions are graded each week (except the final week) based on:

1. Frequency—Number and regularity of your discussion comments, and

2. Content —Content of your contributions

 

Frequency—Number and regularity of your contributions. Students are expected to log into the course Blackboard web site and post (respond) in each of the week’s threaded discussion topics on a minimum of three separate days per week.  Note that there may be two or three discussion topics in a particular week.  You are required to post at least three times in EACH threaded topic that week (so if there are two discussion topics, that would total to a minimum of six posts for the week).

 

Content— points awarded to the content of your contributions. Points are awarded based on strong evidence of reading, reflection, and careful composition.  Maximum points are only awarded to posts which elaborate on previous comments with additional information contribution, or posts which present explanations of concepts or which provide clarifying examples, or posts which provide a URL and an explanation in your own words for a relevant area researched on the Internet.

 

Note: It is impossible to make up discussion points once the week ends. Partial credit is awarded for assignments. Each weekly discussion is worth a maximum of eighteen (18) points. Again, students are required to participate in the online discussions on at least three different days of the week in each of the graded threads identified for the week.

 

 

 

25%

100

Final Project/Presentation

The Final Project consists of a web site presentation created by the student specifically for this course. Failure to do so will result in zero points toward this component of the final grade. Furthermore, all students are required to constructively and confidentially critique all other students’ final projects.

Specific instructions for the final web site project will be provided in Week #5 of this seven week course.

 

26.25%

105

 

At the end of the course the final letter grade will be computed as follows: 400 point total (4 points = 1%)

 

A:

93-100%

A-:

90-92.9%

B+:

88-89.9%

B:

80-87.9%

C+:

78-79.9%

C:

70-77.9%

C-:

68-69.9%

F:

0-67.9%

OUTLINE OF CONTENT

Introduction and overview
XHTML
Using DreamWeaver

Page layout and design issues
Designing a site architecture & navigation systems
Introduction to FLASH
FLASH animation
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
web forms and web form processing
Server application processing using PHP

(Optional) Server application processing using ASP.NET
database inquiry & update in web applications
Integrating components chosen for your class project
Javascript coding
XML – an introduction
enhancing the search success of web pages