TIC ’09 Curriculum
Total
day01 6/22
- Lectures
- HTML Basics
- FTP 101
- Exercises
- Create first webpage
- Journal
- How long have you been using a computer/the Internet? What kind of computer do you have at home? What do you usually spend most of your computer time at home doing? What do you hope/expect to learn from this class?
- Homework
- Read Ch.4
- Ch.4 Test Yourself
day02 6/24
- Lectures
- More HTML / Intro to CSS
- What does what on the internet
- Exercises
- Mark up with HTML: class syllabus
- Mark up with HTML: Home Page Goals essay
- Journal
- How are you doing with making webpages so far (i.e. too easy, about medium, difficult?) What seems to be the most difficult thing you have trouble remembering to do when you're starting a new page? Is there anything in Kass' lecture that you want more information about?
- Homework
- Read Ch.11
- Ch.11 Test Yourself, #1-3 only
day03 6/26
- Lectures
- XHTML Standards Compliance
- Exercises
- Standardize all webpages
- Journal
- What do you think of the whole standards issue? Do you think they're a good idea in principle or do you believe it's not worth the extra effort? Ignoring the DOCTYPE and other copy/paste additions, how much of your previous web work was not XHTML standard-compliant? Also, what is your favorite Michael Jackson song and why? :O
- Homework
- Read Ch.8
- Exercise 8-4: The table challenge
- Ch.8 Test Yourself
day04 6/29
- Lectures
- External CSS
- Exercises
- Recreate with HTML/CSS: Transformers
- Journal
- Break down your average daily computer use. About how much of your time is spent doing homework on the computer during the school year? How about e-mail, IM, surfing the web, or computer games? Anything else? How much multitasking do you do? Do you sit down and open up Microsoft Word and do your homework and then have fun, or do both at the same time? If you're multitasking homework with something fun, does it enable you to work longer without getting bored or burnt out? Or does it just keep you entertained and lower your productivity? Be honest- we're not going to tell your parents on you. :)
- Homework
- Read Ch.17
- Ch.17 Test Yourself
day05 7/01
- Lectures
- CSS Part 2: Block vs. Inline, Box Model, IDs/Classes
- Exercises
- Style with CSS to look like this: About Google
- Journal
- What is your handle (screen name) for most sites/IMing/E-mail? Does this internet persona differ much from you in real life? In other words, are you overall the same person online as you are in real life? I know lots of people who are a lot more outgoing and crazy online than they are in real life, and sometimes the case can be the opposite. If this is the case for you, why do you think these differences occur for you? I highly doubt anyone in the class is exactly the same online as offline, so don't you use that answer as a cop out from answering more questions. Are you more creative in one world than the other? What is it about the internet or real life that changes the way you express yourself or your ideas?
- Homework
- N/A
day06 7/02
- Lectures
- N/A
- Exercises
- (Extra credit) Create sample résumé
- Journal
- By being a member of this website, you are part of an online community. The community in this case is made up of mainly students from one of the two internet classrooms who share information on the forums and chat. Almost all of the members of this community have several things in common; the class they attend, their ages, etc. What other internet communities do you belong to? What common bonds exist between the users in those communities? How is information shared? If you don't belong to any other internet communities, what kind of community would you be interested in finding online?
- Homework
- N/A
day07 7/06
- Lectures
- N/A
- Exercises
- N/A
- Journal
- Imagine a world without the internet. How would your life be different? What aspects of your life would be worse without the internet? How might your life actually be better off without it? How many of your friends use the internet on a daily basis? Do you know people your age who still don't use computers at all?
- Homework
- N/A
day08 7/08
- Lectures
- CSS Part 3: Floats
- Exercises
- Create a fluid, 2-column layout
- Create a fixed, centered, 2-column layout
- Create a 3-column layout (any)
- Journal
- Think about how much our world has changed in the last 10 years due to technology. Now imagine what the world will be like 10 and 20 years from now. Write about what you imagine life will be like. What may be better and what may be worse off due to possible advancements in technology?
- Homework
- N/A
day09 7/10
- Lectures
- Photoshop 101
- Painting in Photoshop
- Exercises
- Photoshop exercises
- Create an image of a future president of the United States and put him/her in the Oval Office. Save this as a PNG.
- Superimpose a picture of Alex somewhere scary! Save this as a JPG.
- Place Kass somewhere tropical.
- Make a goofy picture with your TA being the main subject.
- Create a transparent PNG.
- Journal
- Read this article about how an image that was "Photoshopped" made top headlines across the world and write a paragraph in response. A couple questions you might answer in your response: what are your thoughts on using Photoshop to "touch up" or even fabricate images? Is this a positive tool or is it too easily abused?
- Homework
- N/A
day10 7/13
- Lectures
- CSS Part 4: Positioning
- Exercises
- Recreate with HTML/CSS: All Things Being Absolute
- (Extra credit) Recreate with HTML/CSS: Tennis Court
- Journal
- Read this article and answer the following questions: What are some of the pros and cons of attending such a school that the article brings up? What are some other advantages or disadvantages that you can think of on your own? What do you think of online social bonds compared to ones created and maintained in real life? Would e-mail and instant messaging suffice for you, as the article claims it does for most current students? Do you think this school would work for you? Why or why not?
- Homework
- Ch.15 Test Yourself
day11 7/15
- Lectures
- How the Internet Works
- Exercises
- Create a digital postcard (example)
- Journal
- How do you think the world would react to the Internet being completely taken down (i.e. if someone successfully attacked all thirteen root DNS servers)? What aspects of your daily life would be affected? What about the world at large? Do you think we could manage indefinitely or would the collapse of the Internet be a serious issue that hurts everyone?
- Homework
- N/A
day12 7/17
- Lectures
- N/A
- Projects
- Group website project
- Exercises
- N/A
- Journal
- Read this article and write at least a paragraph in response: MySpace or OurSpace? You might have to watch a really brief ad before getting into Salon... just click the "Continue to Salon" link when it shows up.
- Homework
- N/A
day13 7/20
- Lectures
- JavaScript Basics
- Exercises
- N/A
- Journal
- Read this article and write at least two paragraphs in response.
- Homework
- N/A
day14 7/22
- Lectures
- N/A
- Exercises
- N/A
- Journal
- Watch this video and then respond to the questions. (better than reading, right? ::cough::) Is Mining Virtual Gold Exploitative? What do you think of this concept of online game players who spend real money to purchase "in game" money? What do you think of the companies which are conscious of the fact that players are sometimes willing to do this and create a business around it? Do you think Blizzard (developers of World of Warcraft) and other game developers should or should not allow this practice?
- Homework
- N/A
day15 7/24
- Lectures
- Flash Basics
- Exercises
- Create a Flash movie (at least 10 seconds long, with a button) and embed it in a webpage
- Journal
- In the film "The Matrix", the character Cypher betrays the rebellion in exchange for having his memories of the true nature of the world and a new life as "someone important, like an actor". It was his opinion that living in the virtual reality that the Matrix provides is better than living in the real world. What do you think? Do you think you would have preferred living your life in an illusion like Cypher, or would you rather live out the harsh reality? Are there any aspects of your every day life that you think could be replaced by virtual components (i.e. like attending the online/virtual only school)? As technology progresses and we create more and more realistic virtual realities, do you think you will partake in such activities or do you think you'd rather live your adventures out in real life?
- Homework
- N/A
day16 7/27
- Lectures
- N/A
- Exercises
- N/A
- Journal
- The internet is commonly hailed as a positive revolution in the way people communicate with one another: it’s easier, faster, and completely self-empowering. But is it all completely positive? From being dumped on Facebook to theories of what anonymity does to the average internet user, people seem to agree that the bounds of respect and courtesy that individuals are expected to adhere to in public society have seriously deteriorated when it comes to communicating online. What do you think? Does anonymity really make people into jerks or do you think those aspects of a person’s personality are there regardless? Is the internet going to be forevermore a playground to internet flaming) and trolling)? Why do you think so? Do you think anything can be done, individually or en masse, that would help make the Internet a more civilized place? Or do you think the current state of the Internet is an accurate reflection of human society and people should learn to deal with rude people in the same way they must in person?
- Homework
- N/A
day17 7/29
- Lectures
- N/A
- Exercises
- N/A
- Journal
- How much would you say you've learned in this class, honestly? Do you think you'll ever use most of these skills again? How about web design specifically, do you see yourself making another website anytime soon? Why or why not? Do you see yourself taking more advanced computer courses in the future?
- Homework
- N/A
day18 7/31
- Homework
- Have a great summer :)