Credits: 3

Rationale for Inclusion in Curriculum:

The World Wide Web is the primary tool/ platform for disseminating information/knowledge in today world. Students will be employed by organizations competing in the Information Age which is characterized by rapid change, voluminous data, and complex dynamics.  Therefore, being able to create web contents, to organize the contents on websites to make the contents accessible by users, and to manage websites are necessary skills students need to have as today’s information professionals.

INF6420 requires students, both graduate and undergraduate, to use basic file processing tools and web server infrastructure to create web contents, organizing the contents on the web server, and enabling open access to the contents via the web.  The course focuses on the fundamentals of content markups using HTML, CSS, and additional web server functions in website design. This course advances the web development skills of information science students. Graduate students are evaluated on an advanced level than the undergraduate students are.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

1. articulate the fundamentals of web information dissemination mechanisms
2. organize web contents on web server in logical and user accessible ways
3. incorporate functionality to websites using client-side scripting languages
4. demonstrate the ability of keeping content, presentation and interactivity separate on a web page
5. integrate advanced markup features to make an effective user interface for websites
6. apply and integrate multimedia into websites
7. Use responsive design method to develop mobile websites
8. develop problem-solving skills to troubleshoot, find, and fix errors 
9. develop an avenue for research using the Web resources

Content:  The following topics, at a minimum, will be covered in this course:

1. Structure: utilize standard mark-up elements and CSS3 in order to structure content for display on the Web.
2. Presentation: work with external and internal CSS to control the presentation.
3. Interaction: create forms to support user interactions with a website
4. Script object: integrate additional functions to Websites through the use of client-side scripting. 
5. Responsive Design: use responsive design techniques to create websites for different devices with different display sizes
6. Multimedia: create and subsequently embed multimedia into a Web page and provide an adequate, accessible alternative.

Course Methodology: The course delivery methodology will include:

1. Lectures
2. Discussion boards
3. Demonstrations
4. Supplemental Material
5. Additional Readings
6. Projects

Evaluation of Student Performance: The student’s performance will be evaluated using:

1. Creation of a usable, accessible, standards compliant Web site.
2. Completion of class assignments.
3. Quizzes / Exams

Students will have access to web development software tools and a web server to complete assignments. 

Updated: 4/2024