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What is it? • What do I need to know? • What are the course objectives?
How is the course taught? • What is the textbook? • How can I review the basics?
How much does it cost? • What is a certificate?
What
is it?
The Web Design Certificate Course is designed to provide
a solid foundation for web design and development including the skills
needed to create and maintain web pages and sites.
Topics covered include:
- Information architecture (navigational structure)
- File management techniques (creating, renaming, moving files and folders)
- Creating appealing, useful, and fast loading web pages
- Accessibility issues (is the site usable for someone who is visually impaired?)
- HTML constraints and how to work with and around them
- Effectively using web graphics.
The course is designed for individuals wishing to learn web design by using several popular web software programs such as:
- FrontPage (Microsoft)
- Dreamweaver (Macromedia)
- Fireworks (Macromedia)
- Photoshop (Adobe)
Prior experience with these software programs is not required. Once the basic skills are understood, the student may use any similar software programs.
What
do I need to know?
Learners should enter the program with a strong Windows
and/or Macintosh skill base especially regarding file management and familiarity
with the Internet. In other words, you should know how to create files
and folders, understand file hierarchy, be able to navigate around your
hard drive, and know how to search the Internet. Prior experience with
the software programs introduced in the course is not necessary.
What are
the course objectives?
To introduce the principles of good web design.
- Introduce the principles of good web file management and information architecture, through the use of current standard software programs
- Introduce web terminology
- Use two of the three most popular WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) HTML editors: Microsoft's FrontPage and Macromedia's Dreamweaver to create websites (the third major editor is GoLive from Adobe)
- Understand basic HTML coding
- Understand web graphics
- Understand tables, rollovers, image maps, frames
- Introduce Cascading Style Sheets
- FTP a website to a server
The course is made up of a combination of:
- Lectures
- Hands-on, step-by-step exercises in different software programs
- In-class exercises
- In-class quizzes
- Supplementary readings that are highly recommended, but not required, as well as readings from your textbook
What
is the textbook?
The
Non-Designers Web Book, 2nd ed. by Robin William and John Tollett.
Peachpit Press, c2000. ISBN 0-201-71038-2. (Provided as part of your registration/materials
fee.)
Don't let the title fool you, this book is handy both for the experienced web designer and the person with little or no web design experience.
In addition to the textbook, I have assembled an extensive booklet of handouts including step-by-step instructions, tips and tricks, and text copies of the lectures.
Just a few
other good books
The book that follows The Non-Designers Web Book, and which
I also highly recommend, is: Web Design Workshop by Robin Williams,
John Tollett, and David Rohr. Peachpit Press, c2002. ISBN 0-201-74867-3.
This book is "...intended for the working or aspiring web designer,
someone who already knows the basics, who knows how to create GIFs and
JPEGs and when to use each one, how to build HTML pages, and how to upload
them to a server."--Web Design Workshop, p. x.
HTML & XHTML: the definitive guide by Chuck Musciano and Bill Kennedy. 4th ed. O'Reilly, c2000. ISBN 0-596-00026-X. Excellent resource and very readable guide to HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language). The book was written for anyone interested in learning and using HTML or XHTML. The authors do not expect the readers to have any experience in the language before reading the book.
Dreamweaver and Fireworks Bible by Joseph W. Lowery Hungry Minds, Inc., c2001. ISBN 0-7645-4873-5. Excellent guide to Dreamweaver and Fireworks as well as a good resource for web design tips and tricks.
FrontPage 2002 Bible by David Elderbrock and David Karlins. Hungry Minds, Inc., c2001. ISBN 0-7645-3582-X. A good resource for anyone working with FrontPage 2000 or 2002.
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web by by Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville. O'Reilley, 1998.
Don't Make
Me Think: Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug and
Roger Black. 2000.
How
can I review the basics?
There
are a number of good resources on the web. We will also review these concepts
during the first week of class.
- Free online Windows 98 tutorial presented in question and answer format. Covers the basics of files, folders, and file hierarchy.
- Kristula, Dave. 2000. What is the Internet? What is the World Wide Web? Browser Basics, parts I and II from Dave’s Beginners Guide to the Internet.
- Brain, Marshall. How web servers and the Internet work.
- Frew, Jim. Design basics. WebMonkey design.
- Textbook
chapters:
- What is the world wide web?
- How to search the Internet?
How
much does it cost?
The
cost of the class is $459.00, materials $33.00. Includes textbook and
all handouts. Total hours of class time: 30.
What
is a certificate?
The certificate
is issued by the Department of Community Education at NKU. You must receive
a score of 75 or better to pass. This score includes both the Midterm
and the Final. The certificate programs are intensive, relevant to work
specialties, and designed to document an individual's mastery of a particular
knowledge skill set. The certificate does not earn university credit.
It is not a license of certification, but recognition of your knowledge
skills and learning.
NKU Community Education Home • Northern Kentucky University Home
This page was last modified on March 25, 2003