Objectives

You will develop the skills to create a Web page using both HTML and Netscape Composer. You will also learn how to display your page on free Web servers like Geocities or Angel Fire. Your Web page will include:

At least three internal links
At least three external links
At least three graphics including an animated e-mail graphic
At least three different font sizes and headings

Required Text

HTML for the World Wide Web, Fourth Edition, by Elizabeth Castro. Published in 2000 by Peachpit Press. ISBN 0-201-35493. See Web site http://www.peachpit.com/books/catalog/K5950.html

As you use this textbook, you will find these sites, created by the textbook's author, valuable companions to the textbook:
http://beta.peachpit.com/vqs/html4/
http://www.cookwood.com/html4_4e/

Although only the Castro text cited above is required for the course, Mr. Gordon believes you will also find this textbook very helpful: Creating a Web Page, Fourth Edition, by Paul McFedries, published in 2000 by Que.

Curriculum

Mr. Gordon intends to teach as many of the following aspects of Web Page Creation as time permits. On-line course materials including a link to this course guide can be found here:

http://www.gordonrichard.com/fall2000

Page numbers after each item refer to the pages items are introduced in the Peachpit textbook HTML for the World Wide Web, by Elizabeth Castro. No page number next to an item means that the text does not cover this item. Such items will be taught with the help of the instructor’s notes or handouts.

The work on Netscape Composer is not in the textbook, but Mr. Gordon will show you where you can find Web Page tutorials on Netscape Composer that can take the place of having a separate textbook for this aspect of the curriculum.

Time allocation, all approximations, are based on 15 hours of class time. *An asterisk next to an item means that it is optional and will only be covered if time permits. The listing of items is adapted from the Table of Contents of your HTML textbook.

1 Introduction to course (1/2 hour)

Checking student roll, distributing handouts, discussion of course guide, attendance policy, etc.

2 Starting your Web page (1 hour)

Viewing in your browser the source codes of a resume Web page to serve as a model of your own first Web page
Creating a template with the basic HTML codes to apply to new Web pages
Designing your site, p 32
Organizing your files, p. 33
Creating a new Web page, p 34
Starting your Web page, p 35
Creating a title, p 37
Starting a new paragraph, p 39
Saving your Web page, p. 40
Viewing your page in a browser, 42

3 Text formatting (1 hour)

About deprecated tags, p 44
Changing the font, p 45
Making text bold or italic, p 46
Choosing a default size for text, p 47
Changing text size, p 48
Choosing a default color for text, p 50
Creating superscripts and subscripts, p 52
Striking out or underlining text, p 53
Using a monospace font, p 54
Making text blink, p 55
Hiding text (adding comments), p 56

4 Adding graphics (1 hours)

Getting images, 61
Making images smaller, 62
Saving images in different formats, p 73, 76
Making images load more quickly
Creating transparent images, p 70
Inserting images, p 82
Offering alternate text, p 83
Specifying size for speedier viewing, p 84
Linking icons to external images, p 86
Using low resolution images, p 87
Aligning images, p 93

5 Page Layout (1 hour)

Using background color, p 98
Using background images, p 99
Centering elements on a page, p 100
Specifying the margins, p 101
Creating a line break, p 102
Keeping lines together, p 103
Creating Discretionary line breaks, p 104
Specifying space between paragraphs, p 105
Creating indents, p 106
Creating indents (with lists), p 107
Using block quotes, p 110

6 Creating links (1 hour)

Creating a link to another Web page, p 118
Creating anchors, p 120
Linking to a specific anchor, p 121
*Targeting to specific windows, p 122
Using images as links, p 128

7 Creating lists (1 hour)

Creating ordered lists, p 136
Creating unordered lists, p 138
Creating definitions lists, p 140

8 Creating tables (1 hour)

Creating a simple table, p 145
Adding a border, p 146
Changing the border color, p 147
Setting the width, p 148
Centering a table on the page, p 149
Wrapping text around a table, p 150
Adding space around a table, p 151
Adding a cell's contents, p 155
Using background image, p 159

*9 Using frames (1 hour -- optional -- only covered if time permits)

*Creating a simple frameset, p 168
*Creating frames in columns, p 170
*Creating frames in rows and columns, p 170
*Targeting links to particular frames, p 181
*Creating alternative to frames, p 185

*10 Creating a form (1 hour - optional - only covered if time permits)

*Sending form data via e-mail, p 194
*Using a form hosting service, p 195
*Creating text boxes, p 196
*Creating password boxes, p 197
*Creating larger text areas, p 198
*Creating radio buttons, p 199
*Creating checkboxes, p 200
*Creating menus, p 201
*Creating the submit button, p 206
*Using an image to submit data, p 210

11 Introduction to cascading style sheets (1 hour)

Advantages of using style sheets, p 240
Disadvantages of using style sheets, p 241
Creating an internal style sheet, p 244
Creating an external style sheet, p 246
Using an external style sheet, p 247
Formatting text with styles, p 257-272
Layout with styles, p 273-290

12 Publishing and promoting your page on the Web (1 hour)

Using a free service such as Geocities or Angelfire
Testing your page first before uploading to your server, p 330
Getting your own domain name, p 333
Uploading files to your server, p 344
Getting visitors, p 339-348

13 Introduction to HTML editors (4 hours)

This aspect of course is not covered in our textbook, but you will get a list of Web site tutorials covering both Composer and Dreamweaver.

Using Netscape Composer to create a resume and to re-create several of the exercises done in HTML. (Not covered in text)
Quick overview of the html editor Dreamweaver

14 Closing (1 1/2 hours)

Review, exam, course evaluations.

*Optional -- only covered if time permits.

Grading Options

You have three grade options: Letter Grade, Pass/Fail, or Audit. You must tell your instructor your choice within the first class hour. Once you make your choice, you may not change it.

Grading Option One: Letter Grade (A, B, C, D, F).

This choice makes you eligible for one college credit. Here are the requirements you must meet if you select this option.

Complete five required Exercises and the class project.
Be absent from class no more than two hours.
Take the two quizzes and final exam.
Work on the course content or related enrichments materials throughout the course hours.

Regarding item 4, occasionally a student signs up for this course who already is a competent and experienced in creating Web pages, perhaps expecting to coast to an easy credit with a good grade. If you take the course already knowing the curriculum, Mr. Gordon will require you to make constructive use of class time by expanding your knowledge beyond the basic curriculum. You may do so by (1) working ahead on the Exercises or the class Project on your own, and (2) arranging with Mr. Gordon to work on a special Web page project meeting you individual needs.

How letter grade is determined

Five Exercises will be worth a total of 20 points (20%) toward your final grade, 4 points for each Exercise.
The class project, due at the end of class on Sunday, is worth 10 points (10%).
Two short answer quizzes, one given on Friday and the other on Saturday, will be worth 20 points -- 10 points for each quiz. (20%)
Class participation — which includes working on content-related materials throughout the course hours — will count for 10 points (10%) toward your final grade.
Your final exam will be worth 40 points (40%).

5% deduction for each missing homework assignment and additional exercise. In addition to the graded Exercises, class Project, and final exam, your instructor will require that you complete additional Exercises, homework or other assignments. For each missed or unsatisfactory assignment, Mr. Gordon will deduct 5% from your class average.

Extra credit work. You may gain up to 5 points by doing extra credit assignments. Consult with Mr. Gordon about the nature of extra credit work that may be designed to fit your job needs and interests. For example, you may be given the extra credit option for creating a Web page for your club, church, company, or home business

Numerical grade equated to letter grade.

Using the following scale, your instructor will translate your percentage grade into a letter grade for the course:

A=92-100%
B=81-91%
C=70-80%
D=60-69%
F=Below 60%

Grading Option Two: Pass/Fail (S or X)

As in Option One, you may earn one college credit. You will face the same requirements as the student selecting Option One (Letter grade), but instead of A, B, C, or D, you will get the grade P (Satisfactory) for Passing if your average is 70% or above; if below 70%, the grade will be X(Fail). Receiving a P (Passing) grade will give you one credit but will not affect your quality point average.

Grading Option Three: Audit (X)

As an auditing student, you attend classes for informational purposes only. You are free from the requirements of students selecting the Letter or PASS/FAIL options. However, you will not receive a grade nor earn a credit for the course.

Academic Honesty and Behavior

The following statement is from a memo of the college administration. This statement applies to this class:

Computer software and hardware should be used properly. In addition, each student’s behavior in the classroom is expected to contribute to a positive teaching and learning environment. The instructor has the authority to request the student to leave the classroom if the disruptive behavior continues.

Registered Students Only

This statement, too, comes from the college administration and also applies to this course:

Other than in an emergency when specifically approved by the Provost of the Tarpon Springs Center, employees and students shall not bring children to work or class other than for an occasional quick visit, to drop off a paper, pick up materials or other similar activities. In no case is a child to be left unattended on college premises

Attendance

Here, too, is a college administrative statement applying to this course:

Attendance at all ... Computer Institute class meetings/times is mandatory. Permission for an excused absence must be obtained from the ... instructor and must be based on extreme circumstances. Any absence, as determined by the instructor, may result in the student being dropped from the class.

Maximum two-hour absence for credit eligibility. Using this administrative statement as a guideline, your instructor has determined that students may be denied course credit if they miss more than two hours of class time. Understand that your instructor expects you to be in class on time and to attend all class hours. If you anticipate that you will not be able to meet this attendance obligation, you should select Audit for your grade choice. If an emergency arises causing your absence, call Mr. Gordon at 727-771-9328. An unexplained absence will suggest to your instructor that you did not have a serious reason for missing valuable class time.

Missed work must be made up. If you miss class because of an excused lateness or absence, it is your responsibility to get the missing notes, handouts, and to make up the missed work

Safeguarding equipment

No food or drink is allowed in the classroom. A spilled drink or food particles could lead to costly computer repairs. At the end of each class, please be sure to (1) exit properly from all running programs, and (2) turn off your computer, monitor and printer.

Final Exam Question Bank

For the final exam, your instructor will select twenty questions from the following possibilities. You will not know in advance the twenty questions your instructor will choose. Therefore, to be on the safe side, know the answers to all the possibilities.
If you are taking the course for credit, you will take this test under conventional test-taking conditions, without the help of notes or assistance from others. The time limit is 60 minutes. Each question will be worth 1 point for a total possible score of 20, making this test worth 20% of your final course grade.
The page number after each question refers to the pages in your HTML textbook where you can find the answer.
Base your answers on information in your textbook on the cited pages.

What does HTML stand for? p 12
What is the software called that allows us to view a Web page? p 13
Give an example of angle brackets. p 21
How do browsers treat any extra spaces that exist between tags in your HTML document? p 24
What mistake did John make when he named a Web page file this way? INDEX.HTML p 26
Where should your HTML tag first appear in your Web page? p 35
In most browsers, where does the title of your Web page appear? p 37
Why should you choose carefully the title of your Web page? p 37
When would you use these tags <H1></H1>? p 38
When you save a document as a Web page using a simple text editor like WordPad, what extension should you use for your file name? 41
What does it mean if an HTML code is deprecated by WC3? p 43
Why might you be making a mistake if you use Cascading Style Sheets? p 44
If in your HTML code you specify a font that the viewer does not have installed on his/her system, what font will appear on the screen? p 45
How many basefont sizes should you use in a HTML document? p 47
When are the <BIG> and <SMALL> tags used? p 49
Explain the difference between a superscript and a subscript? You can use an example of each in your explanation. p 52
By default what are the two fonts specified in your browser's preferences? p 54
If you use the Blink code and most of you viewers are using Microsoft Explorer, what mistake would you be making? p 55
What are the two most popular formats for graphics on the Web, and what format is gaining in popularity? p 57
What are three ways you can get graphics for your Web pages? p 61
If you create your own images, you should save them at what dpi and what format? p 61
Why would you want to reduce the physical size of your images? p 62
What is special about an interlaced GIF89a graphic? p 73
We won't be making animated GIFs in class, but what is one inexpensive program you can use to create animations? p 74
When is it the best time to check out the size of an image on one of your Web pages? p 77
Why would you want to create a low resolution image? p 78
Within what time limit should you aim to have your Web page load? 82
Why should you offer alternate text with a graphic? 83
How do you figure out the size of an image using Explorer? 84
When is it a good idea to use miniature images? 86
What does the BGCOLOR tag allow you to do? 98
What must you be careful about when using a background image? 99
When would you want to use the BR tag instead of the P tag? 102
Why might you want to use the UL tag? p 107
What is usually the name of the default file in a Web site? 118
How do you create a link to a particular location on a Web page? 119
When are you required to put quotation marks around an anchor name? 120
How is an ordered list different from an unordered list? 135, 137
When should you use an external style sheet instead of an internal style sheet? 244
Why would you use a HTML validator? 323
What is a big advantage of using style sheets? 240
What is the biggest disadvantage of style sheets? 241
How does a comment tag begin? 245
What is the number one problem people face in trying to create Web pages? 323
Why is it important to view your Web pages in both Netscape and Explorer? 325, 326
Why should you avoid saving images in BMP format? 327
What are three things to consider when selecting a Web hosting service? 332
What is a big advantage of having your own domain name? 333

See Course Project and Exercises -- additional sections of the Course Guide

Web Page Creation Course Guide, Fall 2001