This course is intended for students who are already familiar with the basics of web page design and coding using Dreamweaver software. In Dreamweaver II, we'll build on that foundation by bringing in other types of media -- such as images, sound, video, and interactive elements -- and incorporating them seamlessly into a media-rich website. We'll also look at ways to bring a website's design, navigation, and management up to a professional level.
In order to store and transport the files you'll be creating in this course, you must buy a USB flash drive (sometimes known as a "stick drive" or "thumb drive"), and bring it with you to every class. You can buy these drives online, at the Chabot bookstore, or at any computer store or office supply store.
The required textbook for this course is Adobe Dreamweaver CS5 on Demand by Steve Johnson and Perspection Inc., Que Publishing, ISBN-10: 0789744449, ISBN-13: 978-0789744449. This book is available either as a standard paperback or a less-expensive Kindle edition from Amazon: www.amazon.com/Adobe-Dreamweaver-CS5-Demand-ebook/dp/B003N2PEGC. If you don't have a Kindle, you can read the Kindle edition on an iPhone, iPod touch, and other device by means of a free downloadable app: www.amazon.com/gp/kindle/kcp, or you can read it in any web browser by going to the Kindle Cloud Reader at read.amazon.com.
Points will not be deducted from your score for unexcused absences. However, if you have an excessive number of unexcused absences, the instructor may drop you from the course. If the last of the unexcused absences occurs after the deadline for withdrawal (see "Last day to drop with W" under "Important dates" at the end of this syllabus), you will fail the course.
An absence may excused if it is for an unavoidable reason (such as illness or family emergency) and you notify the instructor of the reason before or immediately after the absence.
An "excessive number of unexcused absences" is defined as either of the following:
The instructor is under no obligation to help you catch up on material that you missed due to an unexcused absence.
An attendance sheet will be passed around during each class period; please be sure to sign it. Failure to sign may result in an unexcused absence being charged against you.
You are not required to buy Dreamweaver software for this course. In order to complete your homework assignments, you're welcome to come to open lab hours and use the Dreamweaver software that's installed on Chabot's computers. (See "Lab hours," below.) However, if you own a computer, buying the software will give you the convenience of being able to work on your assignments at home. If you plan to use other Adobe applications besides Dreamweaver, consider buying a "bundle" such as Adobe CS5.5 Web Standard, which contains Dreamweaver and several other Adobe applications in one discounted package.
If you decide to buy the software, your status as a student entitles you to buy the educational version. The educational version of Adobe software is just the same as the commercial version, but it's much less expensive. You can get your software at the lowest possible prices from either of the following websites:
These two sites offer Adobe software at a lower price than you'll find anywhere else, exclusively for California community college students.
The software we'll be using in this course is Adobe Dreamweaver CS5.5, the most recent version of Dreamweaver. If you have a recent previous version (Dreamweaver CS4 or later) on your home or office computer, it's okay to use that version for your homework assignments.
Dreamweaver is a cross-platform application; therefore, even if your home computer is a Windows PC, you can move files back and forth between your PC at home and the Macintosh computers used in the classroom.
As long as you're enrolled in this course, you're entitled to use Chabot's computers to do course-related work outside of class hours. The labs are available only to students who are currently enrolled in Digital Media or Music Recording and Technology classes, and only for work on course-related projects. The labs are staffed by volunteers, and open hours change frequently during the semester. For the current open lab schedule, go to http://www.chabotcollege.edu/faculty/mschaeffer/syllabi_s2012/labschedule.html
You'll have many assignments in this course -- at least one per week. The bigger ones will be worth more points, and you'll be given more time to do them. The smaller ones will be worth fewer points and will require less time. Most of the assignments are steps in the creation of a course project: a professional-quality website that you'll develop for a client. Your work on that project will be the primary contributor to your grade for the course.
Developing the website will require a good deal of work and frequent consultation with your client. It's not something you can do all at once at the last minute. For this reason, you'll be required to submit weekly reports on your progress. Because these reports demonstrate your ability to manage your time (a very important skill), they will constitute nearly a third of your grade.
The following is the tentative schedule for assignments. Detailed information about each assignment will be posted on Blackboard at the time the work is assigned. The instructor reserves the right to change the number of assignments, the requirements of the assignments, and the due-dates of the assignments whenever it becomes necessary.
The web pages you create in this course will contain text and images. All text on your web pages must be written by you personally -- you may not copy text from web pages, books, or any other source. For images, however, the rules are different: Because creating digital images requires hardware or software that may not be available to you, you are permitted -- under specific circumstances, described in the following paragraphs -- to use images that you didn't create yourself.
Every time you turn in a homework assignment, you must list the source of each image in a document that accompanies the assignment. If a photograph is your own, say so; if it's an image you scanned from a book, give the title, author, and page number of the book; if you copied it from a CD, identify the CD; if you downloaded it from a website, give the URL of the website. This information is called documentation. Think of it as a bibliography, similar to what you would include in a term paper.
Keep in mind that images created by other people are their own property, and you don't have the right to incorporate those images into your own work unless you have the owner's permission. (In some cases, getting that permission may require paying a fee.) There are many websites and CD-ROMs that offer free photos and clip art for noncommercial use. You're free to use such images in your assignments, as long as you list the source of each image in your documentation, and explain why you have the right to use it. (For example, your documentation might say "I downloaded Image X from www.freestockphotos.com, whose images are free for personal or educational use," or "I paid a licensing fee to www.gettyimages.com for the right to use Image X.") If your documentation does not include this information, or if the information is inaccurate, your assignment may not be accepted.
If you wish, you can type your documentation directly into the Submission box when you submit your homework in Blackboard. Otherwise, you can submit the documentation as a separate file. A documentation file may be in plain text format (for example, a file created in SimpleText or Windows NotePad), or it may be a Microsoft Word document. Other word-processing formats are not acceptable. (It's fine to create your documentation file in a different word-processing program, so long as you save it as a text-only file, a Rich Text Format [RTF] file, or a Microsoft Word [DOC or DOCX] file.)
In many cases, the owner of an image or sound may require that you provide a link to his or her website in exchange for your use of that image or sound on your website. In other cases, the owner may require that you pay a licensing fee. It's always your responsibility to carry out your part of the agreement. Putting the necessary information in the documentation file is not a substitute for carrying out your legal obligations toward the rights-owner.
If you've taken other Digital Media courses at Chabot, your documentation may have had to include a list of the steps you followed to complete the assignment. That won't be necessary for this course.In the last week of the course, all students will have an opportunity to get up in front of the class and present their completed websites. Please be prepared to talk about your website -- what your intentions were, how you achieved them, what technical obstacles you ran into, and how you overcame them. The instructor and your classmates may ask you questions about your work. The quality of your presentation, including your ability to answer questions, will count toward your final grade.
Your grade for the course will be based on a 100-point scale. Depending on how many points you have at the end of the course, you'll receive a letter grade as follows:
Here's what we'll be covering each week. (This outline may change according to the needs of the class.)
If you have questions or concerns about anything in this course, feel free to do any of the following:
NOTE: The Admissions and Records computer sometimes gets confused by short-term courses like this one, and it may change the deadline dates at any time without warning. It's a good idea to check CLASS-Web periodically to see whether the dates are still what you think they are.
If you wish to drop the course, it is your responsibility to submit a withdrawal to the Admissions and Records Office. If you stop attending class, the instructor may choose to drop you from the roster, but you should not rely on the instructor to do so.
If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability or illness, or if you need special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please let the instructor know as soon as possible.
All standard College policies (including, but not limited to, those pertaining to classroom behavior, attendance, plagiarism, discipline, and homework) will apply to this course.