cas 111d Course Orientation

This course requires you to use Adobe Dreamweaver CS3, the Blackboard interface and the Student Web Server (SWS) proficiently. Dreamweaver is very much a support program to help you manage various Web technologies.

In conjunction with using Dreamweaver, you will also learn general information about:

X/HTML coding
Coding standards
Accessibility
Image optimization
Style Sheets (Cascading Style Sheets – CSS)
Text formatting
Background images
Links
Tables
Absolute Positioning
FTP using Dreamweaver and stand-alone FTP application
Publishing (uploading) web pages
File management
Site management
Design
Navigation
Other skills as time permits

Instructor Note:
To give you a more complete experience, I will provide several overviews of important topics, however, you may want to do more research on your own. There is a wealth of information on the Internet on all of these topics, and I will provide you with useful links as relevant.

About the Software

In this course, we will be using the following software:

Adobe Dreamweaver CS4

There are many similarities between the PC and Macintosh versions of this program. Additionally, the optional textbook accommodates both platforms, so it's possible to use either with this class.

The most recent version of the software prior to CS4 was Adobe Dreamweaver CS3. These two versions are very similar, and students usually can use the earlier version with little or no problems.

Before that, it was Macromedia Dreamweaver 8.0 (aka CS2) -- bear in mind, Adobe bought out Macromedia and incorporated their products and services into Adobe, as well as changing the names and logos of the Macromedia products. The appearance and most of the features of the newest version of Dreamweaver (CS3) are very similar to Dreamweaver 8.0. It may be possible for students to use this most recent version -- with one big exception: version 8.0 does not contain the Spry features, and they are required for some of your assignments. On those assignments, you may have to come to a PCC Computer Resources Center (CRC) lab to do your work.

Earlier versions of Dreamweaver, MX (7.0), 6.0, etc. are not recommended for use with this course. Many of the features of earlier versions are different than the recent version, particularly those that relate to CSS and the placement and names of many menu items. The textbook will be very difficult to use with earlier versions of the software. Also, some features that we will use are not present in earlier versions of Dreamweaver.

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Options for Using Computers to do Coursework

Feel free to use any combination of the following options to do your coursework:

You can use your home computer as long as you have the current software as stated above.
Use the PCC Computer Resources Center (CRC).
Use the Macintosh Multimedia Lab if you are a currently enrolled MM student.
Ask the instructor for other options.

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Blackboard

For those of you in the Web section of this course, If you gotten this far, then you are doing something right in Blackboard. But just in case it's not all making sense, click here to learn more about Blackboard.

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Student Web Server (SWS)

As a student of this class, you already have a folder, user name, and password on the SWS. If you don't know it, then click here to determine your user name and password on the SWS.

After you upload Web pages and assets you will want to view them on the SWS. Click here to go to your User folder on the SWS (you may want to bookmark this to return quickly).

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Internet Etiquette (or Netiquette)

It's important that you use appropriate etiquette (or good manners as my Momma would say) when you communicate over the Internet in e-mail and on forums and discussion boards. Why? Because I assume you want to be taken seriously and you want to succeed in your career (or even have a career!).

If you actively or even accidentally insult people you won't get called back on jobs, you won't get letters of recommendation, and you won't keep your clients. It's personal and professional suicide to alienate people. And the worst thing is if you do insult people, they will almost never let you know -- they will just ignore you and that's that.

So before you hit Send, think about what you are saying and how you might take it if you were the recipient.

Also, be sure to use spell check. I know it may not seem fair or right, but if your e-mail message contains errors, people will judge you negatively. Remember, it may be their first encounter with you, so it is your only chance to make a first impression. So, spell check your writing if you are a bad speller, and spell check your writing if you are a good speller. The best spellers are the ones who make the most obvious spelling errors because they think they don't need to use spell check. Use a word processing program to spell check your writing if your e-mail or messaging programs do not have it, then copy and paste the corrected writing into the text of a message.

Click here for some more useful information about Netiquette.

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Instructor

Hello! My name is Greg Kerr and you can call me Greg. Click here to visit my Web site to learn more about me.

Throughout the assignments and topics, I will leave helpful notes to explain issues or provide my opinion. These notes will appear like this

Instructor Note:
Be sure to follow these instructions carefully. Note how they are highlighted.

I will also often bold due dates and Blackboard functions/Web site tips and reference pages. All assignments are due (uploaded to the server) by the date listed on the individual Week pages or the Schedule page. They will always be due at 11:59pm of that day.

If you are lost on any of the above topics, please contact me immediately. Use the Mail feature in Blackboard (Web classes), or if you are in-class or you are having trouble with Blackboard, you can e-mail me at

I will primarily be checking my e-mail and Blackboard Mail and the Discussions board on weekdays in the afternoon. I will also be grading your work on occasional weekends.

I will be looking for questions on an almost daily basis, so be sure to put the word QUESTION in the subject of your e-mail or Mail message if you want a fast response.

I can also be contacted in my office. Refer to the Syllabus for the most frequent information about my scheduled office hours.

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Design vs. Development

There are two tracks of specialization for Web professionals: design and development.

Design refers to the artistic side, or the style side, or client side, otherwise known as the front end. Designers are the artists who make Web pages look good. They have to have a good knowledge of artistic principles and a solid understanding of CSS. Since JavaScript is a client side scripting language, it's useful for designers to know that scripting language.

Development refers to the technical, or programming side, which relates to the server, or server side, otherwise known as the back end. Developers deal more with scripting or programming languages such as PHP, ASP, ColdFusion, etc. They also deal with database management and with database management systems such as MySQL or Microsoft SQL Server. Databases and server side scripts reside on the server.

At a recent meeting of our Web Advisory Committee, several industry representatives commented that being a specialist in one or the other area is not necessarily the best idea. When they hire Web professionals, they prefer people who are well-rounded.

In other words, if you consider yourself more of a designer, don't neglect the development track, and you may want to consider taking other courses that focus on server side scripting and databases.

Conversely, if you are more of a developer or more technically-oriented, don't ignore design. You may want to take art and multimedia courses that focus on basic design and layout to enhance that skillset.

Being able to articulately refer to both aspects in an interview will separate you from those candidates who have limited themselves to only one track. Being a generalist as opposed to a specialist will improve your chances of landing a job in this growing field.

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PCC Academic Programs

In addition to this course being useful to further your understanding of Dreamweaver and Web technologies, this course is an integral part of three major Academic Credit Programs at Portland Community College: