Course Objectives

By the end of the course, students should be able to demonstrate the following knowledge and skills:

Subtopic Knowledge Objectives Skill Objectives
1. Using the Internet and the Web
  • Describe Internet hardware components and their interaction, including server and client computers, hubs, switches and routers.
  • Compare different guided and unguided media used to transmit Internet communications.
  • Describe network types, topologies and structural arrangements.
  • Describe the organisation and access of files, including directories and URLs.
  • Describe different data formats and file types available on the Internet.
  • Describe Internet software components and their interaction, including clients and server software for web and e-mail.
  • Compare features of different Internet navigation tools.
  • Compare features of different Internet communication tools.
  • Describe categories of individual and organisational Internet users and their values and goals.
  • Describe Internet providers and compare ways individuals and organisations obtain connections to the Internet.
  • Describe Internet-related careers and professions and the roles taken by members of a large web development team.
  • Navigate information on the Internet and search for, identify, download, decompress and view useful information using web browsers, search engines, FTP, gopher, telnet and other software.
  • Communicate with others asynchronously using electronic mail, attachments, newsgroups and listservs, and in real time using chat, talk, video conferencing and other software.
2. Web Page Authoring and Publishing
  • Compare plug-ins such as Flash, Shockwave, QuickTime and RealAudio.
  • Describe client-side scripting technologies and compare JavaScript and VBScript.
  • Describe server-side programming technologies and compare CGI/Perl, PHP, Active Server Pages, and Java Server Pages.
  • Compare the structure and function of markup languages including HTML, XHTML, DHTML, SGML, and XML.
  • List features of common web servers such as Apache and IIS.
  • Author web pages and sites using text editors, word processors, HTML editors and WYSIWYG web page editors.
  • Use common HTML tags, attributes and parameters for common page elements, including document sections, text formatting, lists, images, image maps and links.
  • Create formatted tables using HTML to organise content and page layout.
  • Create HTML forms using push buttons, radio buttons, check boxes, pull-down and multiple-select menus, text boxes, and text areas.
  • Use frames, image buttons and textual links to create navigation.
  • Use internal and external cascading stylesheets (CSS) to consistently format elements on a page or group of pages.
  • Scan, create and modify text and images for use in web pages using text and image scanning and editing software.
  • Create simple animations and other dynamic effects using gif editors, CSS, Java and JavaScript.
  • Publish web pages to a web server and test using different browsers and platforms and testing tools.
  • Submit a site to search engines and use meta tags that will help users find the site.
3. Web Design and Architecture
  • Describe some common goals of website development. Characterise the web as a hybrid of art and engineering and contrast functional and aesthetic design goals.
  • Describe usability and principles of user-centred design and development.
  • Describe differences in renderings of pages based on different browser versions and versions of HTML they support, and portability techniques for designing a site that works well for multiple browsers and screen resolutions.
  • Describe accessibility standards and ways to design for people with disabilities or limited browsers.
  • Describe ways to design pages to load fast for users with limited bandwidth and to test loading speed.
  • Describe principles of visual and graphic design, including page layout, navigation elements, typography, colour palettes and schemes, and image size, type and resolution.
  • Describe the difference between physical and logical formatting, and describe ways to separate format (presentation) and content (meaning).
  • Describe how writing for the web should differ from writing for printed publications.
  • Describe processes and tips for structuring web sites to be useable and maintainable and for choosing file and folder names.
  • Describe the importance of evaluation and testing and ways to evaluate website effectiveness.
  • Analyse the target audience to identify characteristics and needs.
  • Identify user and content goals of the proposed web site.
  • Select development tools and identify technical capabilities and constraints.
  • Create functional and formal design specifications for a site.
  • Create a site outline and site graph or diagram of the site structure.
  • Create a sketch of a page layout template.
  • Design a site navigation structure and user interface elements, including directory tree, site outlines, site maps, navigation bars, table of contents, text and graphic links and form elements.
  • Create and administer a website usability test.
  • Formulate and prioritise evaluation criteria for a given site and evaluate the site based on the criteria.
4. Social Impact and Ethical Issues
  • Discuss the benefits and costs of advertisement and commercialisation of the Internet.
  • Discuss the motivation and harm of anti-social content including pornography, obscenity, flaming, hate, and depiction of violence on the Internet.
  • Discuss freedom of speech and harm of Internet censorship.
  • Discuss privacy issues including privacy, confidentiality, information collection, spam, stalking, and privacy protection.
  • Discuss security issues such as unauthorised access, security threats, attackers, losses, encryption and other security protection technologies and techniques.
  • Discuss the impact of viruses and the use of virus protection software.
  • Discuss information ownership, including copyright, fair use, and plagiarism.
  • Describe software piracy and compare different types of software distribution including commercial software, shareware, freeware, and open source software.
  • Discuss the impact of the Internet on international development, including equitable access, the digital divide and economic/linguistic/cultural imperialism.
  • Discuss the social and ethical issues of a given web page or site.
  • Communicate using appropriate netiquette.
  • Create an Internet use policy for an organisation.
  • Use tools and techniques to prevent and recover from viruses and protect your online privacy and security.
  • Use and acknowledge copyrighted information appropriately.