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Journalism and Strategic Media Syllabi Journalism and Strategic Media
2020
JOUR 4500: Web Publishing I: html/css (Syllabus) JOUR 4500: Web Publishing I: html/css (Syllabus)
Jin Yang
The University of Memphis
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Journalism and Strategic Media
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Web Publishing I: html/css
JOUR 4500-001/6500-001/ART4500-001
Spring 2020
Class Meeting: MW 2:20-3:45 p.m., MJ 206
Jin Yang, Ph.D.
Office:
310 Meeman Journalism Building
Office Hours:
M. W.: 3:45 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and by appointment
Email:
jinyang@memphis.edu
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Catalog description
Introduction of web design software and web design concept; basic knowledge of web markup
language html and cascading style sheets (CSS); overview of WordPress as content management
system (CMS); development of website projects incorporating multimedia elements.
Prerequisites
JRSM 3900
Textbooks, Software and Required Materials
Textbook
: Learning Web Design, 5th Edition: A Beginner’s Guide to HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and
Web Graphics, by Jennifer Niederst Robbins. Publisher: O’Reilly Media. ISBN-13: 978-1491960202
ISBN-10: 1491960205
Software: Sublime Text, Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Audacity
Activated Netlify Account
. http://www.netlify.com
Jump Drive
(also called Thumb Drive or Flash Drive) (10 GB capacity) to get the Professor’s
folders: PhotosforWeb, and ExerciseFiles
Classroom format
This course is designed to learn web-related design and production skills. Students will learn techniques
of html and css and web image optimization, and the principles behind web projects. Further, students
will contribute several web projects to their professional portfolio. A typical class session will consist of a
lecture, some discussion and some skill demonstration and assignment/lab time.
Students are required to complete web exercises, mini-projects, final project and any other
assignments throughout the semester. There are some writing assignments as well.
Accessing the course website
1. Go to the University of Memphis eLearn home page: http://elearn.memphis.edu
2. Log in using your University of Memphis username and password.
3. In the Term Year course list available to you, click on the link for JOUR 4500-001/6500-
001 to enter your course and read the instructions on the welcoming page
Primary assignments
Quizzes
Written Assignments
Various Hands-on Exercises
Group Project
Mini-project 1
Mini-project 2
Mini-project 3
Final Project
Grading
Grades to be assigned:
A=90-100; B=80-89; C=70-79; D=60-69; F=Below 60
Grading Philosophy:
A=Outstanding work and would serve as examples of highest qualities for others; B=Good to
excellent work and exceeds requirement; C=Satisfactory work and adequately meets
requirement; D=Barely satisfies minimum requirement and below average quality;
F=Unsatisfactory work and does not meet minimum requirement.
Grade Distribution:
a. attendance, 10% (full attendance will earn 10 points, missing one without excuse will earn
8 points, missing two without excuses will earn 6 points, missing three without excuses will
earn 4 points, missing four without excuses will earn 2 points, missing five and above will
earn 0 points); Note: excused absences may be granted only when you present legitimate
documents to the professor. If there is no document, there will be no excuse. Only within
one week frame of absence, i.e. seven days from the absent date, can the excused
absences be granted. After seven days, there is no consideration of excused absences.
Emails and telephone calls don’t count as documents.
b. Portfolio contribution and Group Project, you will contribute three pieces of work from this
class to your journalism professional portfolio (such a portfolio is required of all journalism
students as a department-wide requirement) including your final project, Group project is
an in-class assignment 5%
c. Web Exercise and various hands-on exercises assigned throughout the semester 10%
d. Written assignments (critiques of websites, drafts of project proposals, technology essay)
10%
e. mini-projects (mini-project1, mini-project2, mini-project3) 30%
f. quizzes, 10%
g. final project 25% (finalized proposal 10%; presentation 10%; project 80%).
Special Note to Graduate Students: You have to write a 1000-word essay on web related technology
which is 10% of your grade. The total would be 110% for graduate students, not 100% as undergraduate
students.
All projects and assignments are mandatory and must meet deadline specified.
Late work is not
accepted.
COURSE SCHEDULE
(Note: The syllabus is subject to changes any time throughout the semester. Please log in on
elearn.memphis.edu for the detailed and timely adjustments of the class schedule.)
Week 1 Syllabus and Intro & Web, Software, Concepts (Chapters1,2,3) (Assign Technology Essay)
Week 2 Sizing & optimization (Chapters 23,24 ) & Creating Simple Pages (Chapter 4)
Week 3 GIF optimization (Chapters 23, 24) & More html elements (Chapter 5)
Week 4 PNG (Chapters 23, 24) Marking up Texts Continued (Chapter 5)
Week 5 Animated Gifs, Uploading WebExercise to server & Adding Links (Chapter 6) (Assign
MiniProject1)
Week 6 Header Creation & Adding Images (Chapter 7)
Week 7 Audio (Chapter 10), CSS Orientation (Chapters 11) & Formatting Text (Chapter 12)
Week 8 Spring Break
Week 9 Formatting Text (Chapter 12) & CSS Box Concept (Chapter 14) & Floating (Chapter 15)
(Assign Miniproject2)
Week 10 CSS Float and Positioning & Introduce Unordered-List Menu (Chapter 15) (Work on in-
class Group Project)
Week 11 CSS Page Layout (Chapter 14, 15) & Photo Gallery using CSS (Assign Miniproject3)
Week 12 Reinforce the two-column layout learning with a different technique (Chapter 15) &
Audio & Video Multimedia Elements on the page (Chapter 10)
Week 13 Drop-Down Menu Review (Assign Web Critique) & Vertical Navigation bar and One-on-
One Meeting (Assign Final Project & Proposal Draft)
Week 14 CSS Page Layout| Text Rules| Color Rules | Image Creation (Various Chapters Review)
Week 15 Final Project Work Week
Week 16 Final Project Presentation (May 6: 1:00-3:00 p.m.)
ASSESSMENT AND OUTCOMES
Five Pillars in JOUR 4500/6500
• Critical Thinking: Students are trained to have a critical eye for professional works and
demonstrate an understanding of the target audience that are likely to view and get exposed to
their web projects. They must have a final project proposal approved before being allowed to
work on the project
• Media Literacy: Students are exposed to the vocabulary and tools of computer technology and
internet technology. Students learn how web projects are produced by doing real web projects in
groups or on their own.
• Multimedia: Students incorporate photographs, images, audio and video elements as part of their
web projects.
• Professionalism: Students learn the professional standards of the web design and publishing by
discussing and preparing wire frames, writing 10-element proposal, and learning web vocabulary
and web design and production skills.
• Writing: Students produce original text content for web projects. Students also write a
web critique, a technology essay and a final project proposal
Professional Values and Competencies in JOUR 4500/6500
• Demonstrate an understanding of the history and role of professionals and institutions in
shaping communications,
• Demonstrate an understanding of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and, as
appropriate, other forms of diversity in domestic society in relation to mass
communication
• Demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of people and cultures and of the
significance and impact of mass communication in a global society
• Understanding concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and
information
• Demonstrate an understanding of professional ethical principles and work ethically in
pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity
• Think critically, creatively and independently
• Write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for the communication
professions, audiences and purposes they serve
• Critically evaluate their own work and that of others for accuracy and fairness, clarity,
appropriate style and grammatically correctness
• Apply basic numerical and statistical concepts
• Apply current tools and technologies appropriate for the communication professions in
which they work, and to understand the digital world
How professional values and competencies will be met
Cognitive objectives to be mastered (ability to explain, analyze, understand, think critically)
• Upon completion of this course, students will be able to analyze and assess mass media
websites, considering issues of the target audience, navigation facility, web organization
structure, design principles, ethics of photo use and importance of original content
• Students will be able to design websites with these concepts in mind
• Students will have a solid understanding of basic web design principle
• Students will have a basic understanding of web production tools
• Students will have a basic understanding of the hypertext mark-up (HTML) and CSS
languages
Performance standards to be met (demonstrable skills, abilities, techniques, applied competencies)
• Upon completion of this course, students will be able to plan web site construction
incorporating navigation, design treatments, mock-up of web pages, etc.
• Students will be able to do web testing and identify potential problems and solve them at
an early stage
• Students will be able to design web pages using Photoshop and Dreamweaver: setting up
the basic web page structure, defining local root folder and produce necessary structural
html elements and style the html elements using CSS syntax
• Students will be able to upload the web project to the server, identify any associated
problems and troubleshoot the associated problems
• Students will be able to create web projects by deadline
• Specific skills and tools covered include but not limited to: html elements, CSS layouts,
rollovers effects, background images, transparency in web images, optimization process,
unordered lists, positioning, floating, and box model, fonts’ relative sizes and absolute
sizes, color use, typography, and image sizing
How assessment of student learning will be met
Awareness
• Becoming aware of ethics of using images and Photoshop images on the web and professional
standards of web development.
Understanding
• Understanding the process of web production, essential web design principles and latest html
and CSS standards.
Application
• Creating web projects and managing web projects using various tools and techniques.
JOURNALISM AND STRATEGIC MEDIA POLICIES
Portfolio requirement
All students in the Department of Journalism and Strategic Media are required to develop and maintain
an active portfolio of their work. Undergraduate students are to begin the portfolio in JRSM 3900 and
graduate students are to begin in JRSM 7002. Students are to contribute to it in every skills course
thereafter. The portfolio should contain samples of the student’s work from courses and/or professional
experiences and should develop as the student builds skills. Portfolios will undergo a final, external review
while students are enrolled in their capstone courses.
Students may use any type of web hosting for their portfolios, but it must have an independent and
professional URL. Students may use any content management system, but students are encouraged to
use WordPress, Wix or SquareSpace. Students are encouraged to consider purchasing a URL and hosting
if they plan to use the portfolio for a long term, but they must keep the portfolio active for six months
following graduation from the University of Memphis.
Students should have a professional email address they plan to use throughout their professional lives,
via a common email service, such as Gmail.
All portfolios must contain the following items:
• Samples of work from courses and/or professional activities. (Example: Broadcasting students
must include a video reel)
• A current résumé
• A personal profile
• Contact information/means of contact
• Social media links
Students might wish to include a blog, video reels, photograph galleries, SoundSlides presentations,
design PDFs, audio files and writing pieces as examples of professional work. The professional work
should ultimately be tailored to the career the student seeks after graduation. Thus, each student’s
portfolio should show a unique blend of work.
Email
Students must have their UofM email accounts activated. Students using another provider, such as
Google, are required to have all UofM email forwarded to that account. Students should go to the
http://iam.memphis.edu
website to implement forwarding of UofM email. Students are required to check
their email daily. They are responsible for complying with any email sent to by professors or others in the
University.
Electronic devices
Some classes require a tablet, laptop or a smartphone. Others do not. Instructors will set the policy for
their specific classes.
Attendance
Class attendance is mandatory in Journalism and Strategic Media. Students may be assigned a failing
grade for the semester for nonattendance or habitual late arrival. No late work will be accepted without
prior arrangements with the class professor. Students may not be permitted to make up any missing work
unless it is for an absence because of illness or other catastrophic emergency, such as a death in the
family that can be documented (e.g. with a doctor’s note or a copy of the newspaper obituary).
Journalism and Strategic Media is a professional program, and students are expected to understand and
comply with deadlines. Students who have some problem making it to class on time should make
arrangements to correct the problem or consider taking another class. Students should consider this class
as a “job” in the educational process and be on time just as they would elsewhere.
Course repetition
Majors and minors who fail to earn the minimum passing grade (“C-”) in a class required by their program
of study in Journalism and Strategic Media more than three times will be dropped from the program.
Students may not use or submit work from a previous course, even if it is the same course being
repeated, to fulfill requirements for assignments in another course. If students wish to substantially
rework the original submission, or to work with the same general idea, that may be permissible upon
discussion with and written approval from the professor of the current course. All written work will be
checked for policy adherence via TurnItIn.com. All creative work will be checked for policy adherence by
the professor, and judged against previous submissions. The only exception to this policy is the student’s
online portfolio and its attendant pieces (for example, the résumé and logo).
Academic integrity
In addition to University-wide policies stated in the Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities, the
Department of Journalism and Strategic Media considers making up quotes from sources, turning in
substantially the same assignment for credit in two different courses or students receiving any assistance
from others for work assigned to be done on their own, as acts of cheating punishable to the degree
determined appropriate by the course instructor and department chair. Punishment may include grade
reductions or seeking dismissal of the student from the University.
Further, as this is a journalism and strategic media class, students are expected to comply with copyright
law and must have sufficient permission to use any copyrighted materials used in creative projects, unless
otherwise informed in cases of exercises or reproduction.
Your written work may be submitted to Turnitin.com, or a similar electronic detection method, for rating
originality of your ideas. Also to evaluate proper use and assignment of sources. As part of this process,
you may require to submit electronic as well as hard copies of your work. Other instructions to follow
may also be given. By taking this course, you agree that all assignments may undergo this review process.
The assignment may be included as a source document in Turnitin.com's restricted access database. It is
solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism in such documents. Assignments not submitted according
to the instructor's procedures may be penalized or may not be accepted at all. (Office of Legal Counsel,
October 11, 2018)
Online SETEs
Students are urged to complete the SETEs evaluation of this course. Once the instructor has posted
grades, student can immediately see that grade, provided they have completed a the SETE for that class.
To access evaluation forms, students should log in to MyMemphis using their UUIDs and email
passwords; click on the gray “Student” tab; complete an evaluation for each course listed and hit the
“Submit” button at the bottom of the form. Completing the SETE will only take a few minutes. Faculty
take the evaluations very seriously and use them to improve courses and instructional quality. Student
feedback is essential and is appreciated.
Deadlines
All deadlines are firm. This is journalism and strategic media. Students needing an extension on an
assignment must receive approval from the instructor. Exceptions will be made for reasonable
circumstances if the student notifies the instructor prior to the due date.
AP Style and grammar
All written work in this class must follow the AP Stylebook and accepted rules of grammar and
punctuation. Students are responsible for learning these rules and checking their work for errors.
Disability and accommodations
Students who need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Office for
Disability Resources for Students at 901-678-2880 in 110 Wilder Tower Hall to coordinate reasonable
accommodations for students with documented disabilities.
Diversity and inclusivity
Students are required to respect the differences of others and treat all persons with respect.
Discriminatory, derogatory and threatening language or behavior will not be tolerated. Further, students
are expected to consider their work through a diverse mind. Media reach a mass audience, and students
should be aware of how those messages are received by a diverse audience.
Weather policy
Always check with local media and the University of Memphis website regarding inclement weather. If
the University is closed or classes are canceled, this course will not meet. However, students will still be
responsible for that day’s work.
Student support
Student who are experiencing personal or academic challenges including, but not limited to food or
housing issues, family needs, or other stressors, should visit the Office of Student Accountability,
Outreach & Support page to learn about resources that can
help:
https://www.memphis.edu/saos/sos/crisis-resources.php
. Any student who faces personal
challenges including, but not limited to securing their food or housing and believes this may affect their
performance in the course is urged to contact the Office of Student Accountability, Outreach &
Support (901-678-2187) located in the University Center, Suite 359 for assistance. Students may also talk
with course instructors about the challenges they are experiencing. Instructors may be able to assist in
connecting with campus or community support.
