Information Technology Tools and Applications
INFO 240

Niall McCarthy
E-mail
Office: N/A
Phone: 602.486.5495
Office Hours: Telephone and in-person advising by appointment

We will concentrate on using modular web design techniques with discussion and application in the following areas:

• HTML5
• CSS3
• images and other media
• information architecture
• cultural issues in website design
• accessibility and usability
• responsive, mobile-first web design
• XML/XSLT
• JavaScript/JSON
• PHP

You will be assigned a final website project that will require you to use most of the concepts learned throughout the semester.

Throughout the course, you will be expected to create a journal entry addressing an issue relevant to the lesson's topic of discussion.

Course Requirements

Technology Requirements
Your computer and Internet access must meet or exceed the minimum requirements described on the iSchool Home Computing requirements page.

Letter Graded

Expectations

Students are expected to participate fully in all class activities. It is expected that students will be open-minded and participate fully in discussions in class and debate in a mature and respectful manner. Use of derogatory, condescending, or offensive language including profanity is prohibited. Disagreement is healthy and perfectly acceptable. Expressing disagreement should always include an explanation of your reasoning and, whenever possible, evidence to support your position. In accordance with San José State University's Policies, the Student Code of Conduct, and applicable state and federal laws, discrimination based on gender, gender identity, gender expression, race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or disability is prohibited in any form.

Course Workload

Success in this course is based on the expectation that students will spend, for each unit of credit, a minimum of forty-five hours over the length of the course (normally 3 hours per unit per week with 1 of the hours used for lecture) for instruction or preparation/studying or course related activities including but not limited to internships, labs, clinical practica. Other course structures will have equivalent workload expectations as described in the syllabus.

Instructional time may include but is not limited to:
Working on posted modules or lessons prepared by the instructor; discussion forum interactions with the instructor and/or other students; making presentations and getting feedback from the instructor; attending office hours or other synchronous sessions with the instructor.

Student time outside of class:
In any seven-day period, a student is expected to be academically engaged through submitting an academic assignment; taking an exam or an interactive tutorial, or computer-assisted instruction; building websites, blogs, databases, social media presentations; attending a study group; contributing to an academic online discussion; writing papers; reading articles; conducting research; engaging in small group work.

Core Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes) Supported

INFO 240 supports the following core competencies:

Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Understand the client-server relationship and how to work with a UNIX server.
2. Identify the difference between client- and server-side Web programming languages.
3. Develop conceptual and practical strategies for presenting information on the Web.
4. Create content in XHTML and HTML5 formats.
5. Design interfaces using CSS.
6. Present information on the Web with a consideration for usability, accessibility, and cultural issues.
7. Work with Web 2.0 technologies such as RSS, blogs, wikis, collaborative writing tools, and digital storytelling tools.
8. Examine some simple JavaScript programs.
9. Incorporate interactive forms onto a Web page using a simple PHP program.
10. Build an XML file and access it via an XSLT stylesheet.

Textbooks

No Textbooks For This Course.

Computer requirements

Windows and Apple desktop or laptop computers are recommended. Chromebooks work for most activities but can be limiting.

All of the software used in this class is intended to be free of charge. No subscription costs are anticipated. However, online software providers may change this at their discretion.

Much of the software we use is cloud-based (no downloads required). However, there are options for you to download some apps to enhance your experience and learning.  Information about installing and configuring software will be provided in class.

Google Chrome is the required web browser for this course.

Measuring Student Learning Outcomes

The standard SJSU School of Information Grading Scale is utilized for all iSchool courses:

In order to provide consistent guidelines for assessment for graduate level work in the School, these terms are applied to letter grades:

• C represents Adequate work; a grade of "C" counts for credit for the course;
• B represents Good work; a grade of "B" clearly meets the standards for graduate level work or undergraduate (for BS-ISDA);
  For core courses in the MLIS program (not MARA, Informatics, BS-ISDA) — INFO 200, INFO 202, INFO 204 — the iSchool requires that students earn a B in the course. If the grade is less than B (B- or lower) after the first attempt you will be placed on administrative probation. You must repeat the class if you wish to stay in the program. If - on the second attempt - you do not pass the class with a grade of B or better (not B- but B) you will be disqualified.
  
• A represents Exceptional work; a grade of "A" will be assigned for outstanding work only.

Graduate Students are advised that it is their responsibility to maintain a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA). Undergraduates must maintain a 2.0 Grade Point Average (GPA).

Per University Policy S16-9 (PDF), relevant university policy concerning all courses, such as student responsibilities, academic integrity, accommodations, dropping and adding, consent for recording of class, etc. and available student services (e.g. learning assistance, counseling, and other resources) are listed on the Syllabus Information web page. Make sure to visit this page to review and be aware of these university policies and resources.

NOTE:  This schedule and related dates/readings/assignments are tentative and subject to change with fair notice. Any changes will be announced in due time in class and on the course’s website in the Canvas Learning Management System. The students are obliged to consult the most updated and detailed version of the reading material and syllabus, which will be posted on the course’s website.

Detailed information on assignments, including any rubrics, will be provided on the course Canvas site.