Author Archives: Thomas

Rapid Prototyping Lab Wrap up

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Today you should finish working on your rapid prototype. Once you have a good representation of the wireframe you developed, I’d like you to find and implement a theme for the prototype. Below are a few resource to get you started but feel free to some additional research. On Thursday we will share a few of the implementations and begin our discussion on responsive media techniques.

Assignment

Complete and theme your Bootstrap mockups and send to me no later than the beginning of class on Thursday.

Site Planning and Prototyping

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Assignment

Refine your site concept and create a preliminary sitemap for the site/app using a service discover in class. Experiment with one of the prototyping tools we discussed in class and build a prototype of the desktop and mobile views of your new site. This only needs to an outline.

Use Kuler or a similar tool to generate a color scheme for your web site. You should make note of the hexadecimal color values of your scheme. If you need more information check out the following post on deciding on good colors.

You should have a wireframe of the homepage in both desktop and mobile views before class on Thursday. We will use it in class please come prepared to work.

Creating and Optimizing Site Imagery

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Assignment

Create Banner image for your sample page in Fireworks. The image should be as wide as your container div and between 80px and 200px tall and less than 40kb in size. Emailed tswallace@ualr.edu before class on Tuesday. Have fun with this. You can make an image for anything. It could be a company, an event, a hobby etc. I’d like to see the following elements present in your design. Typographical Element, some sort of photographic element or vector artwork, and a consistent color scheme (Try Kuler).

Next class I’ll show you how to integrate this image into your template page properly. Please bring the file to class.

HTML5 Video and Audio Elements

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Assignment

Provide a working example of both an Audio and Video implementation using HTML5. This should be cross browser.  In addition, I’d like you to implement one of the many prebuilt video/audio players.  Using the video/audio files provided build a working demo leveraging one of these players. Be prepared to discuss the implementation in class on Tuesday. Included on the page should be the url of technique you used and a list of browsers and devices you were able to support.

Working With Photography

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Working with Photography

Image Optimization

Assignment

Email me the completed optimized samples of the images you created in class. Due when we return from Spring Break.

Introduction to JavaScript Libraries

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Assignment

Read the following Article on Progressive Enhancement. Write a blog post explaining progressive enhancement in your own words. Please discuss why it is important to use progressive enhancement and include a link to another article you found and read relating to the topic. Due before class Thursday.

Mobile Resume Show and Tell and Peer Feedback

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  • Show and Tell
  • Class Activity: Peer Feedback

Assignment

In this activity I’d like you to partner with a classmate (or someone outside of class with web development experience) and ask them to use your site. The should evaluate on Mobile and Desktop. I’d like the to provide you with something they like and 3 constructive criticisms. Your home work will be to address the issues identified by your reviewer and resubmit you page to me with an email that outlines the criticisms/suggestions you received and what you did to address them. This is due next Tuesday.

Introduction to Image Editing

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  • Fireworks Workspace
  • Creating Shapes
  • Working with Typography
  • Cropping and Resizing

Assignment

Complete the following tutorials and submit the folder icon you create in the 3rd tutorial.

You should email this icon to me before class this Wednesday. Late submissions will not be accepted. I do not expect you to perfectly replicate the icon in the tutorial but I would like to see a solid effort from each of you. This is a challenging assignment so I encourage you to not wait until the night before it is due. Good Luck! If you’d like you can download a 30 day trial of Fireworks on your own computer so you can work off campus.

Responsive Resume Wrap Up

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I’d like you spend today’s lab building out a desktop view to the mobile resume we created in class. If you need help in creating the proper media queries make sure to reference this article. This assignment is graded and should be submitted to me by Monday  so I can look it over prior to class on Tuesday. Be prepared to share your work with the class. We will be demoing these next week. I’d like to see at a minimum of two media queries addressing tablet and  desktop view. Please send the url to the project and remember to make this your own. It doesn’t need to look exactly like the initial resume we built. Personalize it. This might be someones first impression of you.

Introduction to Image Editing

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  • Review Positioning Exercises
  • Fireworks Workspace
  • Creating Shapes
  • Working with Typography
  • Cropping and Resizing

Assignment

Complete the following tutorials and submit the folder icon you create in the 3rd tutorial.

You should email this icon to me before class next Wednesday. Late submissions will not be accepted. I do not expect you to perfectly replicate the icon in the tutorial but I would like to see a solid effort from each of you. This is a challenging assignment so I encourage you to not wait until the night before it is due. Good Luck! If you’d like you can download a 30 day trial of Fireworks on your own computer so you can work off campus.

Site Planning

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Site Planning

Working with HTML5 Boilerplate

Individual Web Site Project

Assignment

Watch the HTML5 Boilerplate Video | Download the Files (If you haven’t done so already) Review the HTML and CSS Documentation while looking through the boilerplate files. Be prepared to discuss on Thursday.

Begin thinking about a topic for your individual web project. By next Tuesday I should have a planning document and site map for the new site.

Responsive Resume Lab (Tablet / Desktop View)

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  • General comments about Mobile First Implementations
    • Body Padding
    • Remove Design Time Styles

I’d like you spend today’s lab building out a desktop view to the mobile resume we created in class. If you need help in creating the proper media queries make sure to reference this article. This assignment is graded and should be submitted to me by Monday  so I can look it over prior to class on Tuesday. I’d like to see at a minimum of two media queries addressing tablet and  desktop view. Please send the url to the project and remember to make this your own. It doesn’t need to look exactly like the initial resume we built. Personalize it. This might be someones first impression of you.

 

Peer Review Exercise

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Segway Q & A with your Partner

  • Open Discussion / Review Techniques

Assignment

Watch the HTML5 Boilerplate Video | Download the Files (If you haven’t done so already) Review the HTML and CSS Documentation while looking through the boilerplate files. Be prepared to discuss on Thursday.

Begin thinking about a topic for your individual web project. By next Tuesday I should have a planning document and site map for the new site.

Introduction to Media Queries

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Assignment

Begin the mobile first styling of you resume using this module for guidance. I’d like you design to reflect your own taste and not replicate what we did in class. Please read the following Article and be prepared apply the concepts included within to your work in lab on Thursday. Next Week you will have a lab in which you add a desktop view to your site using media queries.

Web Forms

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Web Forms

Assignment

  1. Implement a contact form solution on your Segway Project. If necessary create a contact page.
  2. Solicit feedback from a classmate regarding the design and implementation of your Segway Project. I’d like you to spend the next week incorporating the suggestions from this critique into your project. When critiquing others keep in mind that we are all at different places skill-wise. Be constructive in your criticism and remember to also include what you like as well.
  3. Due next Thursday (2/25) – Email me an update on the Segway project. I’d like to hear about what you improved/fixed based-on what your reviewers recommended. There should also be a working version of a contact form implemented.

Hosting Wrap Up and Introduction to Media Queries

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Assignment

Begin the mobile first styling of you resume using this module for guidance. I’d like you design to reflect your own taste and not replicate what we did in class. Please read the following Article and be prepared apply the concepts included within to your work in lab on Tuesday. Next Week you will have a lab in which you add a desktop view to your site using media queries.

Working with Chrome Dev Tools – Out of Class Activity

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Spend today’s allotted class time reviewing the article located at:

https://developers.google.com/web/tools/chrome-devtools/?hl=en

I know that you all have varied levels of experience with the inspector, but there should be something new here for everyone.

Be prepared to discuss and  demo something you learned on Tuesday. Don’t feel intimidated if you do not understand all of the information covered in the article. Becoming familiar with this tool will greatly increase your productivity and ability to identify and troubleshoot problems.

Publishing to the Web

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Assignment

  • Create and Validate a prototype HTML document that includes examples of all HTML elements covered thus far. For a list of requirements view this page.
  • You can email the html document to me or for additional credit upload to the server and send me the url. Send to tswallace@ualr.edu before 2.17.16.
  • Reading Assignment: CSS Basics

The Flexible Grid

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Reading Discussion

  • Class Feedback

Grid-Based Design

The Flexible Grid

Converting Static Grids to Responsive Grids

Assignment

Read Chapter 3
Create your own grid based page using the sample html we generated in class. You should use different dimensions and gutters for this assignment. Use the approach we covered in class to make sure you understand the process. Please upload the assignment to your web space in a directory on your web space and send me the url. If you need a bit of help here is the general workflow…

  1. Create directory structure and base html
  2. Generate a Grid ( Experiment with Different Tools )
  3. Implement grid on the sample html file using pixels
  4. Convert to percentage-based grid
  5. Publish

Working with HTML5

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Assignment

Read the following resource as a review. We’ll have a quiz next week over all of the reading and discussion so far. – Getting to know HTML

Microdata Wrap Up

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Grid-Based Design

Files

Clearfix

Assignment

Read Chapter 2  – Responsive Web Design:  The Flexible Grid

Read Chapter 4 in Responsive Design / Experiment implementing your own grid on the example html we worked with in class. Try using one of the grid-generators we examined in class. Be prepared to review in class on Tuesday.

 

Microdata

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Development and Debugging Tools

Prepping a Document for Mobile

Microdata

In-class Lab – Please Complete the following Tutorial and submit your online Resume to me via Email.

Note: If you are uncomfortable with sharing any personal information with me  (or Google!) feel free use fictitious information. You may skips steps 8-10 if you’d like.

For more information on the subject check out the following resources

The goal of this exercise is familiarize you with the proposed Microdata Spec and to get your brain wrapped around its use. Don’t spend too much time playing with the CSS. We are going to restyle the resume in coming exercises.  Be prepared to discuss in class on Tuesday. Submit the url of the completed resume prior to class on Thursday. We will continue to build off of this assignment in the coming weeks. Failure to complete could impact your ability to complete those assignments.

Working with Images

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Assignment

Please read the following article on image optimization and write a short blog post discussing three takeaways from the article.

Review the HTML & CSS concepts covered last semester and bring questions/need for clarification to class on Thursday. We’ll begin a web design project on Tuesday. If you need some review this site covers a good chunk of what we discussed last semester.

Creating Site Imagery

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Assignment

Create Banner image for your sample page in Fireworks. The image should be as wide as your container div and between 80px and 200px tall and less than 40kb in size. Emailed tswallace@ualr.edu before class on Thursday. Have fun with this. You can make an image for anything. It could be a company, an event, a hobby etc. I’d like to see the following elements present in your design. Typographical Element, some sort of photographic element or vector artwork, and a consistent color scheme (Try Kuler).

Next class I’ll show you how to integrate this image into your template page properly. Please bring the file to class.

Introduction to HTML5

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  • Staying Engaged through student Organizations
    • Society of Computing and Information Science (SOCIS)
      • Facebook Page
      • Subscribe to the Mail List
        • Send Email to listserv@ualr.edu. Subject Blank, In the body write subscribe socis@ualr.edu
    • UALR eSports

Assignment

Create a Codepen Account and experiment with it’s features.

Read Semantic XHTML (Quiz Material) & Read Chapter 2.

What is new in HTML5?

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In Class Assignment

Visit 10 Websites / Services you frequent. For each you should provide me with the site url, declared doctype, and a list of linked resources with the relationships. Only include the relationship information for elements we have not discussed. I’d like for you to discover as many new relationship types as possible. There is no need to list all relationship attributes for the site, only ones that are new to you. Once completed select one of the new relationship types and provide me with an explanation of its purpose.

Please email this assignment to me prior to class on Tuesday.

Homework Reading

Structure, Content, Design, & Behavior

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Assignment

Evaluate your favorite web site based on our discussion of Structure, Content, Design, and Behavior. This is a written assignment that should be emailed to me (tswallace@ualr.edu) no later than 1-25-16. Make sure you discuss the following elements: Site URL, An assessment of the Structure, Content, Design, and Behavior of the site, Things you like about the site, Things you would change.

Introduction to Fireworks

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Working with Photography

Image Optimization

Assignment

Post optimized samples of the images you created to your blog with an explanation of the tools and approach you used.