Week 1
Tuesday, April 2
class: course overview; Reclaim Hosting setup; Brackets setup; Cyberduck download
assignments:
- Create your account with webhosting and a domain at Reclaim Hosting and download/setup Brackets and Cyberduck.
- Check out this Brackets overview video.
- Email me the URL that you’ve chosen for your website.
Thursday, April 4
class: set up SFTP for your Reclaim Hosting account (full info here); HTML Beginner tutorial at HTML Dog; in Brackets, install the beautify extension: go to File > Extension Manager, click on Available, scroll down or use the search function to find Beautify, click install.
assignments:
- Work through the HTML Beginner tutorial at HTML Dog.
- Complete Exercise #1: create and post a webpage (named default.html) that has a title, paragraphs, headings, an ordered and unordered list, a link, and an image (including a table and a form is optional).
- You can make this a serious page (e.g., an about page with content about yourself that you might eventually use at your website), or you can create a fun page with content about hobbies or jokes or likes/dislikes, etc. (A student once made a webpage about how much she hated mayonnaise. It was hilarious.)
- Note that when you upload this page to your webhost it will (and should) overwrite the current default.html page (the one with the VHS video with your name on it).
- If nothing appears to have changed when you upload your new default.html page, you may need to do a HARD REFRESH.
- HARD REFRESH: A hard refresh clears your browser cache for a specific page, which forces it to load the most recent version of that page. Hold down the Shift key (Mac) or the Control key (Windows) and click the Reload button in your browser; here’s more information about HARD REFRESH.
- Use Cyberduck to upload the file to the public_html folder in your Reclaim Hosting account before class on Tuesday 4/9.
- Sign up for the date for your Multimedia Project presentation at the end of the quarter.
WEEK 2
Tuesday, April 9
class: CSS Beginner tutorial
assignments:
- Work through the CSS Beginner tutorial at HTML Dog.
- Complete Exercise #2: create and post an external style sheet to format the default.html page that you created in the previous exercise (due before class on Thursday 4/11).
Thursday, April 11
class: HTML Intermediate and CSS Intermediate tutorials
assignments:
- Work through the HTML Intermediate tutorial (just read spans/divs and meta tags) and the CSS Intermediate tutorial at HTML Dog.
- Complete Exercise #3: create and post a webpage that uses meta tags, spans and divs, classes and ids, grouping and nesting, pseudo classes for links, shorthand for borders and margins, and a background image; post the new version of this page before class on Tuesday 4/16.
- If you create a new webpage for this exercise–in other words, not default.html–then please send me the link for the new file.
WEEK 3
Tuesday, April 16
class: wrap up HTML Dog tutorials; begin working on the Story template
- Download and unzip the Story template from HTML5Up.
- Name the folder “story” (rather than “html5up-story”).
- Delete the “index-demo.html” file from the “story” folder.
- Upload the “story” folder to the “public_html” folder in your Reclaim Hosting account.
- Open the “story” folder in Brackets (File > Open Folder).
- Modify the Story template, following these instructions for modifying the Story template v1.
- Use Cyberduck to upload the new versions of the files you modified; be sure to put them in the “story” folder to overwrite the old versions.
Thursday, April 18
class: continue work on Story template
- Modify the Story template, following these instructions for modifying the Story template v2 (with correct instructions for Google Material Symbols).
- If we have time, we’ll take a look at the Ronin template and the Opta template (download the zipped file).
assignments:
- Explore the templates available at HTML5 UP!
- Email me a link to the template you’re going to work with for your Professional Website, or the templates you’re considering.
WEEK 4
Tuesday, April 23
class: announcement re: photos for the Multimedia Communication website; look at modifying the Story template v2 with correct instructions for Google Material Symbols; moving your template in FTP; images as backgrounds; image paths; favicons
assignments:
- Work through this handout on more template modifications.
- Continue adding content to your website.
Thursday, April 25–class cancelled (individual conferences)
assignments:
- Continue work on your template using more template modifications v2.
- Read these design considerations for your website.
- Send me your website plans by Sunday 4/28.
- Have a complete draft of your website ready to show in class on Thursday 5/2.
WEEK 5
Tuesday, April 30
class: in-class work on websites; here are all the handouts we’ve worked with so far:
- modifying the Story template v1
- modifying the Story template v2
- more template modifications
- more template modifications v2
- design considerations for your website.
assignments:
- continue working on your website
Thursday, May 2
class: in-class work on websites; enable the contact form (more template modifications)
link to a PDF: <a href="pdfs/story.pdf">My Story</a>
link using an image: <a href="https://sorapure.net/"><img src="images/me.jpg"></a>
link to a new window: <a href="https://ucsb.edu">UCSB</a>
assignments:
- Have a complete draft of your website ready to show in class on Tuesday 5/7.
WEEK 6
Tuesday, May 7
class: check the accessibility of your website using the WAVE Web Accessibility tool; create a GitHub account following these instructions (Part 1 only); peer reviews of websites using this Peer Review form
assignment:
- Complete your website (due Thursday 5/9 before class).
Thursday, May 9: Professional Website Due
When your website is completed, send me an email with answers to these two questions:
- Who is the primary intended audience of your website? Try to be more specific than “potential employer”–what field of employment? what will the employer be most interested in and impressed by?
- What aspect of your website are you most proud of?
class: GitHub presentation; go over Multimedia Project options; install WordPress and begin setting up your WordPress site
assignments:
- Send me the URL for your GitHub website.
- Continue working on your WordPress site.
WEEK 7
Tuesday, May 14
class: in-class work on WordPress: pages, posts, customize, themes, Elementor
assignments:
- Continue working on your WordPress site.
Thursday, May 16
class: exploration of generative AI for multimedia along with other options for the Multimedia Project
assignments:
- Write the proposal for your Multimedia Project and email it to me on Sunday May 19.
WEEK 8
Tuesday, May 21
class: you might enjoy this AI story collaboration: Ghosts, by Vauhini Vara; continue work on Multimedia Project
assignments:
- Continue work on Multimedia Project.
Thursday, May 23
class: work on Multimedia Project
assignments:
- Continue work on Multimedia Project.
WEEK 9
Tuesday, May 28
class: continue work on Multimedia Project; check out these resources on Web writing and blog writing:
- Web Writing Style Guide, by Duke University Libraries
- Mastering the Art of Writing a Blog Post, Nour Eldin (Medium.com)
- How to Write an Awesome Blog Post, Wordstream.com
assignments:
- Please sign up here for an individual appointment to discuss your Multimedia Project
Thursday, May 30–class cancelled; individual appointments instead
assignments:
- Create a near-final draft of your Multimedia Project and be prepared to share it in class on Tuesday 6/4 for peer review.
WEEK 10
Tuesday, June 4
class: peer review of Multimedia Projects
assignment: Complete your Multimedia Project
Thursday, June 6: Multimedia Project Due
For the Multimedia Project, please send me an email with a paragraph or so in which you describe what you’re most proud of in this project.