CIS 120 Introduction to Web Development

Course Details

  • Course title: CIS 120 Introduction to Web Development
  • Catalog course description: This class introduces the technologies behind web development. Students will learn HTML and CSS to target web sites for web, mobile, and print media. Students will learn about usability, color theory, layout, and internationalization. Students will also learn to collaborate with other students by communication in meetings, documents, and by using version control. Students will learn to manage files and deploy websites onto the cloud. COLLABLDR. Four credits. Offered every fall.
  • Course level student learning objectives (SLOs):
    • Learn and use Distributed Version Control Systems (DVCS)
    • Use to collaborate with multiple people using DVCS
    • Learn and use HTML
    • Learn and use CSS
    • Learn and use to navigate file systems
    • Learn and use basic command-line for Windows and Linux
    • Learn the theory behind application servers
    • Learn and use single server and cloud hosting for web sites
    • Learn how the Domain Name System (DNS) works
    • How to create high-performance websites
    • Learn and use Content Management Systems (CMS)
    • Learn and use static content generators
  • Textbook: https://web-development-class.readthedocs.io/en/latest/semester_1/index.html

Note

There are many different areas of web development. We will be just scratching the surface of the subject. We will cover the main types of technical web development, except for programming. Programming for the web is covered in the second semester.

Note: Most people find this class starts out hard and gets easier.

We will cover:

  • Version Control (hard)
  • Server/Cloud Setup (hard)
  • HTML (medium)
  • CSS (medium)
  • Content Management Systems (easier)
  • Static Content Generators (easy)

Just like a survey course in Sports, History, or Religion, you may find there are parts of this that you like and wish we covered more, and others less. Imagine you got to teach a course labeled “Sports” in college. What sports would you cover? And in how much depth? What sports would you have students try out?

Instructor

Schedule

Class meets Tuesday and Thursday from 9:40 am until 11:10 am.

Final is Tues., Dec. 14, 2021, 8:00am - 10:00am

Academic Calendar

Fall Semester 2021 Date
Classes Begin Aug-31
Convocation Sep-01
Last Day to Add/Drop Sep-06
Labor Day: Regular class day Sep-06
Fall Break Oct 14-15
Midterm Oct-19
Homecoming Oct-23
Last Day to Withdraw Nov-08
Thanksgiving Break Nov 24-26
Last day of class Dec-09
College Reading Day Dec-10
Final Exam Week Dec 13-16

For a day-by-dayfull schedule, see: https://web-development-class.readthedocs.io/en/latest/semester_1/schedule.html

Student Assessment

Assignment Submission

  • Assignments must be submitted on-line via Simpson’s Scholar website.
  • Assignments are not accepted via e-mail.
  • Source code will be checked into GitHub.
    • This will require a free account on GitHub.
  • A live web server must be maintained using Amazon Web Services.
    • This will require an AWS account linked to a credit card. AWS offers one year of very basic level service free. If you are past that year there will be a nominal charge.
    • Make sure you shut down your servers at the end of class so you don’t keep getting charged.
    • See the instructor if you are not able set up your own server.

Grading

Grades will be calculated on a percent scale. The percentage is calculated by total points earned, divided by total points possible. If there is an attendance penalty, then that is subtracted next.

Danger

Simpson’s Scholar/Moodle site shows can show the wrong grade, for the two reasons below.

  • Scholar will not show any attendance penalty. You can look up your attendance on Scholar.
  • If there is a missing grade that hasn’t been set at zero, then Scholar will not show that in the average. For example, if there are 10 assignments, each worth 100 points, but one is missing, Scholar will show your average as 100 instead of 90. I do try to go back and enter zero on missing assignments so Scholar shows the correct grade, but sometimes that isn’t practical.

If you want to calculate your grade, total up your points, divide by the total possible. Then take into account any attendance policy penalty. See the attendance policy.

Appealing an assignment grade: Please do this within a week or two of the grade being posted. Please regularly check for missing assignment grades. After final grades are posted, I’ll only re-examine assignments turned in during finals. I’m not going back to look at early assignments. Turning in tech assignments can be more complex than turning in a paper, so it is critical to notice right away if you are missing a piece.

Appealing your final grade: If you believe your final grade is in error, please go through the effort of calculating the grade yourself. Total up points earned and the total points possible. Calculate the percentage. Check your attendance. Include that information when contacting the instructor.

Grading Scale

Grades are not rounded. For example, 92.99% is considered an A-, and 93.00% is an A.

Percent Grade
100-93% A
92-90% A-
89-87% B+
86-83% B
82-80% B-
79-77% C+
76-73% C
72-70% C-
69-67% D+
66-63% D
62-60% D-
59-0% F

Late-Work/Make-up Work Policy

  • All work must be turned in on-time.
  • Late work is usually not accepted, unless approved ahead of time by the instructor. (If it is just a few minutes or hours late, you might be ok. Depends on when I check.)
  • All work must be turned in by the end of the time scheduled for the class final. No extensions beyond this date/time are given unless you have a form filled out and signed for an “incomplete.”
  • Extra-credit / make up work is not offered.
  • If you need to use the lab for doing work, make sure to understand when the lab is open. The McNeill lab is usually closed on Sunday nights, and if an assignments is due Monday morning that can be bad. Not knowing when the lab is open is not accepted as an excuse.

Attendance/Participation Policy

A student may miss three classes unexcused without penalty. After three unexcused absences, a student’s final grade will be lowered 3% for each class missed, not including the original three. So missing five classes will be a 6% penalty on the final grade.

Excused absences are those approved by the Academic Dean, or by prior permission of the instructor. Absences for sporting event functions are normally run through Dean’s office. E-mail me that you will be gone so that I can check you off as excused.

Danger

To be counted as attending class, the student must be present when the instructor takes attendance. Showing up to class 10 minutes late does not count towards attendance. Therefore continually showing up to class late can really hurt a student’s grade. If a student leaving class early with prior permission will be counted as absent.

COVID-19: Absences due to Covid-19 are excused, but you need to let me know, along with health services.

Assignments

Assignments are usually worth 100 points, and quizzes worth 50 points. The assignments and quizzes will be:

  • Assignment 1 - Basic HTML
  • Assignment 2 - DVCS
  • Assignment 3 - CSS
  • Assignment 4 - Bootstrap
  • Assignment 5 - Project Finalization
  • Assignment 6 - AWS assignment
  • Assignment 7 - Using PHP “include” (We might skip this assignment)
  • Assignment 8 - DNS and Web Site Performance
  • Assignment 9 - WordPress Install
  • Assignment 10 - WordPress
  • Assignment 11 - Static Content Generators
  • Assignment 12 - Collaborative Leadership Reflection
  • Quiz 1 - HTML
  • Quiz 2 - DVCS
  • Quiz 3 - CSS
  • Quiz 4 - Command Line
  • Quiz 5 - Amazon Web Services
  • Quiz 6 - DNS and Cloud Hosting Quiz

Due dates will be listed out on the class website.

Course Assessment

Engaged Citizenship

Collaborative Leadership (CL)

The Collaborative Leadership component increases students’ confidence in working in groups for a shared goal and helps students develop skills and dispositions like team building, delegation, conflict resolution, and effective communication. This skill is essential in a world where problems are complex and interdependent, and where teamwork is often required to unite diverse groups behind a shared goal.

Through completion of a CL course, students should be able to articulate the skills and dispositions necessary to achieve a shared goal apply the skills and dispositions necessary for effective collaboration explain how their strengths and weaknesses in collaboration affect the outcome of a collaborative leadership process.

A student who completes a CL course will be able to…

Student Learning Objective (SLO) Class activities directly relating to this SLO Student work to be evaluated for this SLO
CL SLO1. Articulate articulate the skills and dispositions necessary to achieve a shared goal Lecture, quizzes, labs Reflection
CL SLO2. Apply apply the skills and dispositions necessary for effective collaboration Lecture, quizzes, labs Assignment 5 - Finalize Lab
CL SLO3. Explain explain how their strengths and weaknesses in collaboration affect the outcome of a collaborative leadership process Lecture, quizzes, labs Reflection

Student Learning Outcomes for the Major

CIS Major SLO #1: Apply and manage computer systems to meet business objectives.

CIS Major SLO #2: Create and manage computer systems utilizing a variety of information technologies.

Contact Hours and Learning Time

CIS 120 meets two times per week. Class covers 14 weeks, with two days off due to break, giving a total of 25 classes. At 90 minutes per class, that’s 37.5 hours of meeting time.

There are a total of 12 assignments. Each assignment should take approximately eight hours of work. This will add up to about 96 hours of work.

Total time spent on the class should be about 134 hours.

Policies and Procedures

Course Continuity Plan

Should the normal instructional activity on the campus be shortened or interrupted by a campus-wide closing, students will receive information from the instructor or other representative of the college about when and if the course might be continued or completed via Internet, telephone, or United States mail.

Academic Integrity

Simpson’s Statement: In all endeavors, Simpson College expects its students to adhere to the strictest standards of honesty and integrity. In keeping with the College’s mission to develop the student’s critical intellectual skills, while fostering personal integrity and moral responsibility, each student is expected to abide by the Simpson College rules for academic integrity. Academic dishonesty includes (but is not limited to) any form of cheating, plagiarism, unauthorized collaboration, misreporting any absence as college-sponsored or college-sanctioned, submitting a paper written in whole or in part by someone else, or submitting a paper that was previously submitted in whole or in substantial part for another class without prior permission. If the student has any questions about whether any action would constitute academic dishonesty, it is imperative that he or she consult the instructor before taking the action. All cases of substantiated academic dishonesty must be reported to the student’s academic advisor and the Dean for Academic Affairs. For further guidance on these rules and their sanctions, please see the college catalog.

My addition: Students are strongly encouraged to work with one another on homework; however, blatant copying of assignments will be considered cheating.

If I get two assignments that are the same thing, both people will get zeros. Guard your homework carefully, so it is not used as a source for cheating. Don’t e-mail it to a friend so they can ‘use it to learn’ or ‘as a template’. Don’t allow someone to simply read off what you have on your computer screen. By allowing someone to cheat, that will allow the person to get behind in what they understand, and they will never catch up.

A student caught cheating will either get a zero for the assignment, have his/her over-all letter grade reduced, or be flunked from the course. Cheating students may be required to do extra work.

The instructor keeps a database of prior assignments and assignments commonly found on the Internet. The instructor will periodically run scans to look for duplicate assignments. We catch students cheating every. single. year. Don’t do it.

Regardless, cheating is like paying for a gym membership, and then sending someone else to work out for you. It doesn’t make sense. You aren’t going to get stronger that way.

Accommodations for Students with Accessibility Needs

I want everyone in this class to be successful. If you have a physical, sensory, learning, or psychological disability that can interfere with your learning, I want you to receive the accommodations to which you are entitled by law. In order for me to do provide accommodations to a student, the student’s disability must be documented with the Student Accessibility Office. I cannot assist a student with accommodations that I don’t know are needed, so if you need something, please make sure that you either contact me or that you ask Simpson’s Student Accessibility Coordinator, to do so on your behalf. If you have any further questions on the policies and services for students with disabilities, please refer to the academic catalog or go to http://simpson.edu/academics/student-accessibility/

Inclusive Explanation Statement

In this course, each voice in the classroom has something of value to contribute. Please take care to respect the different experiences, beliefs, and values expressed by students and staff involved in this course. We support Simpson’s commitment to diversity, and welcome individuals of all ages, backgrounds, citizenships, disabilities, sex, education, ethnicities, family statuses, genders, gender identities, geographical locations, languages, military experience, political views, races, religions, sexual orientations, socioeconomic statuses, and work experiences.

Sexual and Relationship Misconduct

Simpson College strives to create an environment free from sexual or relationship misconduct of any kind; and in which those who have experienced sexual misconduct get the help and support they need. Simpson’s Sexual and Relationship Misconduct Policy outlines expectations the college has students and employees, including faculty. In order to do all that we can to maintain a safe campus community, and in compliance with Federal law, all employees of the college are expected to report knowledge of alleged sexual misconduct to the Title IX Coordinator. Therefore, if you reveal to me, in conversation, writing, class discussion, or in any other manner, that you have experienced sexual misconduct it is my obligation to share that information with the Title IX Coordinator on our campus. Please know that if this is a step that needs to be taken, I will do my best to involve you in that process so that you know what to expect as a result of the communication with the Title IX Coordinator. To learn more about the expectations the college has of you with respect to sexual misconduct, you can find the full policy here:

http://simpson.edu/sexual-and-relationship-misconduct-policy/

Special Covid Additions

Thanks to COVID here are some additional elements:

Wearing Facial Coverings in Classrooms is Required

To help mitigate the transmission of COVID-19, it is required that all students, faculty, and staff wear masks in classrooms, laboratories, and other similar spaces where in-person instruction occurs. This requirement is for all individuals regardless of COVID-19 vaccination status. The masks must cover both nose and mouth and be worn for the duration of class. Consumption of food or drink will not be allowed inside classroom spaces. Mask requirements (both within the classroom and inside campus buildings) will be linked to Simpson College COVID-19 Color Phases and will be evaluated frequently. Please note that Color Phases are heavily influenced by the vaccination rate on campus. You can find more information at COVID-19 Plan. Non-compliance regarding masks may result in students being asked to leave the class, disciplinary action from the academic dean, or failure of the class as outlined in the Student Handbook Standards of Classroom Behavior.

COVID-19 Health-Relates Class Absences

Please evaluate your own health status daily and refrain from attending class if you are ill. Students who miss class due to illness will be given opportunities to access course materials and will not be penalized for not attending class in person. Please work with instructors to either reschedule or electronically/remotely complete exams, labs, and other academic activities as you are able. You are encouraged to seek appropriate medical attention for treatment of illness. In the event of contagious illness, please do not come to class or to campus to turn in work. Notify me by email about your absence as soon as practical so that accommodations can be made. Please note that documentation (a doctor’s note) for medical excuses is NOT required.

Additional Contingency Plans

Should the normal instructional activity on the campus be shortened or interrupted by a campus-wide closing, students will receive information from the instructor or other representative of the college about when and if the course might be continued or completed remotely.

Recording Policy

Recording: Class meetings may be recorded by the instructor for student use. To respect the class community, there shall be no other audio or video recording of class activities and no sharing or disseminating recordings or images (including screen shots) of class activities without the permission of the instructor and other members of the class.