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CS 205 Syllabus



Web Page Programming and Design



Spring 2019



CIS Department



Saint Vincent College



General Information

  • 3 credits
  • Prerequisite: CS 109 or CS 110
  • Instructor: Brother David Carlson
  • Office: Dupre Science Pavilion, Tenley Hall W217
  • Office hours:
    • Mon, Wed 2:00 pm - 2:50 pm
    • Tue 1:00 pm - 4:30 pm
    • Thurs 8:30 am - 9:50 am, 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm
    • Fri 8:30 am - 10:20 am
    • and by appointment
  • Phone: 724-805-2416
  • Email: david.carlson@email.stvincent.edu
  • The CIS lab in room W214 of Tenley Hall will be available according to this schedule that will be posted at the lab and under the above link. The lab will usually be staffed by tutors, some of whom may be able to assist you with this course.
  • Text: Web Programming and Internet Technologies, 2nd ed., Scobey, Porter and Lingras, Pawan; Jones & Bartlett Learning (2018), ISBN 978-1-284-07068-2. Avoid getting a different edition, especially an international edition of this book, as they can differ a lot. Be sure to get the print version of the text so that you can use it in our open-book, open-notes exams.

Description

This introduction to web development and web programming is intended for both CIS majors and non-majors. Topics include basic aspects of good web design and introductions to technologies that add functionality such as HTML 5, cascading style sheets, JavaScript, the document object model, XML, PHP, Ajax, and the MySQL database.

Why Take This Course

Good web developers are in demand. This course can get you started on a career in web development or add web development skills to what you bring to bear on another type of job.

The Prerequisite

An introductory background in programming, as provided by CS 109 or CS 110, is required to take this course. That is so that you will be able to understand programming in JavaScript, PHP, etc.

The Text

This course covers most of the text, though some sections are covered in depth, while a few are done more briefly.

Core Goals

This course supports the following SVC Core Curriculum Student Learning Outcomes

  1. To form habits of ordered inquiry, logical thinking, and critical analysis
  2. To develop mathematical skills and quantitative literacy
  3. To develop effective communication skills

Relevant CIS Department Student Learning Outcomes

This course supports the attainment of the following student learning outcomes. By the time of graduation, students should be able to:

  • SLO 2. Design, implement, and evaluate a computing-based solution to meet a given set of computing requirements in the context of the program's discipline.
  • SLO 4. Recognize professional responsibilities and make informed judgments in computing practice based on legal and ethical principles.

Course Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  1. apply basic principles of good web design (supports SLO 2).
  2. write good HTML that passes validation (supports SLO 2).
  3. write good JavaScript, PHP, and cascading style sheets, as well as be able to use the DOM, Ajax, and MySQL effectively in web development (supports SLO 2).
  4. articulate how ethical principles sometimes apply in web development (supports SLO 4).

These objectives will be examined mainly through the use of homework assignments, projects, and exams. Informal discussions with students provide additional feedback.

Methods Used to Reach These Goals

Lectures, demonstrations, class activities and discussion are used to assist students in mastering the course material. Homework assignments, including a final project, are designed to allow students to grow in their understanding of the topics at hand. Exams provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate what they have learned.

Course Policies


Note on Flu

Because of the possibility of the flu affecting us on campus, please practice good hand washing, etc. A flu shot is thus strongly recommended. It can give you at least partial protection and helps protect others because you would not be likely to get sick and spread it to other people. If you get the flu, please notify me by phone or e-mail and stay home for 24 hours after the fever and other symptoms have gone. Check with me about what you miss. You will not be penalized for missing class in this situtation. It is better to stay away from class and any part-time job so as to not spread the flu when you are ill. Medications such as TamiFlu can reduce the length and severity of the flu.

Grading

  • First Exam 20%
  • Second Exam 20%
  • Third Exam 20%
  • Final Project 20%
  • Project Presentation 5%
  • Regular Homework 15%

Homework and Exams

Most of the homework will involve creating web pages and related types of files on the department's Linux web server. Working on a live web server is a valuable experience as it takes you beyond what you can learn simply by created web pages on a PC. Letter grades will be given using the scale found in the College Bulletin. Exams will be announced in advance and will be open book, open notes, pencil and paper exams in nature. On exams, only the test paper, the printed text, notes and other papers, calculators, pens, pencils, and erasers may be used. Cell phones, tablets, laptops, and similar devices should be turned off and put away. Calculators may be used on exams but are not to be shared among students. Although the exams are open-book, open notes in nature, you must prepare for the exams as it is not possible to look up answers to everything in the time given, plus some of the particulars of the answers needed may not be in your book or notes.

Producing a Good Class

Both the instructor and students are expected to do their best to produce a good class and to treat each other with respect. This includes many factors, such as listening when someone else is speaking, trying to understand what others are saying, being of assistance to others, etc. It definitely does NOT include making fun of others. On a practical level, do your best to improve your grade: read the course materials, attend class, do the homework, ask questions, and try to answer questions in class! Computer science requires active participation and repeated practice. If you begin to feel lost, consult one of the tutors, see the instructor, or work through the difficulties with the help of another student in the course. Do not let yourself get behind. In fact, one key to academic success is to start early on homework and other tasks. Last-minute miracles seldom work, particularly with software development! Note in particular that attendance is expected. Student performance is bound to deteriorate when classes are missed. In order to emphasize the importance of attendance, the policies outlined after this paragraph will be used.

Specific Policies

  1. If the student does not attain an overall passing test average, a failing grade will be received for the course.
  2. Each unexcused class absence after the first 4 results in 1 percentage point being deducted from the final course grade.
  3. Arriving late for class or leaving early (without a proper excuse) is counted as 1/2 of an absence.
  4. An unexcused absence from an exam results in the failure of the course.
  5. Unexcused absence from more than one-third of the semester's classes results in the failure of the course.
  6. Attendance is used to decide borderline grades at the end of the semester.
  7. Unexcused absence from class results in a grade of zero for any activity done in that class.
  8. Late work is not accepted unless resulting from an excused absence, but partial credit is given for incomplete homework that is submitted on time.
  9. Email me if you must miss class for any reason, whether it is due to an illness or some other issue. It is always best to let me know instead of leaving me to wonder why you are not in class.
  10. Written documentation (such as a note from a doctor's office or coach of one's sports team) is normally required for an absence to be excused. Always bring a copy of such a note to give to your instructor when you can do so. In special circumstances, check with your instructor, as it is not always possible to get documentation.

Make-up Exams

Make-up exams are strongly discouraged. If possible, take the regularly scheduled exam. For an excused absence or other significant reason, the instructor may agree to give a make-up exam. Whenever possible, see your instructor ahead of time if you know you must miss an exam (e.g. due to sports). Normally some type of written documentation is required (such as a note from the coach, doctor, etc.). If the documentation or reason for missing an exam is poor, the student can count on receiving a significantly more difficult exam, if one is given at all! Travel plans are not normally a sufficient reason for missing an exam, as ordinary travel can be planned so as to not conflict with exam times. Do ask about a makeup exam if you have a good reason to miss an exam, even if documentation is not readily available, as it is understood that illnesses and other complications do happen. Students participating in sports teams are required to notify the instructor in advance of games that might conflict with class.

Exam Questions

Exams will ask critical thinking questions that require careful analysis, explanation, and conclusions. For example, you might be presented with a section of a web page, code, style sheet, etc. and asked to trace what it does, to write the documentation describing at a high level what this section does, or to give an alternative implementation of this section. You might also be asked to write a section of code, web page, or style sheet that carries out a particular task such as producing a certain result in a web page. A few multiple choice or true/false questions may also be included.

Type of Homework

Homework usually consists of producing web pages using HTML, style sheets, and programming. You will be expected to write your own HTML and style sheets and to modify existing web pages and style sheets. The total length of a web homework is typically about 1 to 7 pages, including documentation. The final project is likely to be somewhat longer. Programming involves typing code, running it, and fixing it as necessary. Web development assignments normally require careful planning and the use of several hours of out-of-class time. Plan to have each homework or project done early so that there will be time to test it and to fix the problems that testing usually reveals. Engineering a web project requires a development process that cannot normally be done at one sitting. Allot several hours over multiple days to do a typical assignment. Note that it nearly always takes longer than you expect! Last minute attempts are bound to fail. That holds true whether you are working on a huge million-dollar software project or a project in this course.

Students may be assigned to small groups for the purpose of doing a few of the homework assignments. All other homework assignments must be done separately by each individual. The purpose of group homework is to allow students to learn from each other, to enable the creation of larger and more complex web pages and applications, and to provide practice at a cooperative project like those demanded by many job situations. Further information about any group assignments will be provided during the course.

Assignments are normally tested, debugged, and turned in electronically by posting them on our live web server or by producing them on the web server in the first place. The latter is preferred as it will help you to develop valuable Linux skills.

Academic Integrity

Every homework assignment should list all sources that contributed to the solution. This would include the individual student (on an individual assignment) or the students assigned to a group (in a group assignment). It may also include the instructor, a tutor that was consulted, a reference book, a web site, etc. You may consult other students who are not part of your group only to clarify what the homework assignment is asking. If you need assistance beyond simple clarification of the description of the assignment, the best person to consult is the instructor. Tutors may also be able to assist with this, though only the instructor knows the full details of how the homework should work. On an individual assignment you may not look at the homework solution (in whole or in part) for another student in this course or show yours (even a part of it) to another student in the course. You may not work out the design or solution for a homework assignment with one or more other students from the course unless you were specifically assigned a group project to work on together. If you break one of the conditions spelled out in the last two sentences, then this is a case of plagiarism. See the next paragraph for how this gets handled and the possible consequences.

Intellectual honesty is important at Saint Vincent College. Attempts to pass off the work of another as one's own, or group work as one's individual work, etc. will result in action appropriate to the seriousness of the situation. If there is some doubt as to whether or not you solved a homework assignment yourself, you may be asked to explain the solution. If you can do so, that provides good evidence that you did do the assignment yourself. All cases of apparent intellectual dishonesty will be referred to the administration. If the administration does not say what to do about the grades in such a case, the first offense will involve a significant grade penalty (such as a grade of zero) on the assignment, while a second offense may result in failure of the course. In this course, students are expected to do entirely their own work on exams and individual homework assignments. Homework assigned to a group should not include any significant amount of work from a different group. Assignments that are unduly similar (which means that a prudent individual would reasonably conclude that the assignments were done by the same person or collection of persons) will be reported to the administration as likely cases of plagiarism. If you really do your own work, you will not produce something that is unduly similar to someone else's work.

Policy Documents

Be sure to read and follow the CIS Department Policies, available under the CIS Department web site. (This statement covers especially the proper use of departmental computing facilities, policies concerning your web pages, academic honesty, etc.) Be sure to read the Regulations section of the College Bulletin (which covers such things as grading, academic honesty, etc.) and also the appropriate sections of the Student Handbook. Since this is a web development course where you will be producing web pages on a live web server, the following policies also apply:

  1. These web pages are intended to teach students how to create web pages, interactive scripts, etc., and not primarily to allow students to express personal views. Some self-expression is to be expected, but greatly inaccurate, extreme, illegal, or offensive material is not permitted.
  2. In particular, material that is offensive to others is not permitted. What is offensive is governed particularly by the Catholic, Benedictine nature of the college. Offensive material includes (but is not limited to) pornography, hate material, and other material harasses others.
  3. Each student web page must contain the first and last name of the student, clearly identified as the person responsible for the page. For a set of web pages, the name of the student only needs to be on the main web page, as long as the main web page is easily reachable from the other pages.
  4. Commercial activities are not permitted on these web pages.
  5. It is the responsibility of each student to insure that all proper permissions for use of others' work have been obtained from the authors of graphics, sound clips, and other files that are incorporated into the student web page. Note that photos and graphics files are typically covered by copyright law. Photos and personal information about others are not to be included without the consent of the individuals. Each student web page must include credits information for each non-public domain image, sound clip, etc. that is used. This credit information can be on the main page or on a separate page accessible via a well-marked link and should include the author of the file (perhaps as the web address of the person or company that supplied it) and any statement that the author requests (such as "used with the permission of...").
  6. Scripts, interactive web pages, or similar that contain significant security problems will be disabled until the student corrects those problems.

Title IX: Sexual Misconduct and Harassment

Saint Vincent faculty are committed to helping create a safe learning environment for all students and for the college as a whole. If you have experienced any form of gender or sex-based discrimination or harassment, including sexual assault, sexual harassment, intimate partner (dating or domestic) violence, sexual exploitation, or stalking, know that help and support are available. Saint Vincent College has staff members trained to support students in navigating campus life, accessing health and counseling services, providing academic and housing accommodations, and more. The College strongly encourages all students to report any such incidents.

Please be aware that all Saint Vincent employees (other than those designated as confidential employees such as counselors, clergy and healthcare providers) are required to report information about such discrimination and harassment. This means that faculty who are not counselors, healthcare providers, Benedictines, clergy or similar have a mandatory duty to report to the Title IX Coordinator any information received about possible sexual misconduct. This includes information shared in class discussions or assignments, as well as information shared in conversations outside class. The Title IX Coordinator will contact you to inform you of your rights and options and connect you with support resources, including possibilities for holding accountable the person who harmed you. Know that you will not be forced to share information and your level of involvement will be your choice. The purpose of reporting is to allow Saint Vincent to take steps to ensure that you are provided with any necessary resources needed and to provide a safe learning environment for all.

The College's Title IX Coordinator is:
Eileen K. Flinn, Esq.
Saint Vincent College
Second Floor, Alfred Hall
724-805-2897

The College also has confidential resources available, who can provide assistance to those who have experienced sexual misconduct without triggering a mandatory reporting duty. More information about confidential resources is available at https://www.stvincent.edu/student-life/title-ix.

If you wish to speak to a confidential employee who does not have this reporting responsibility, you can contact Campus Ministry at 724-805-2350 or the Wellness Center in the Carey Student Center at 724-805-2115. For more information regarding your rights and options, please see the Sexual Misconduct and Harassment policy which can be found on MySVC portal under Quick Links or on the web at https://www.stvincent.edu/student-life/title-ix.

Disability Statement

Students with disabilities who may be eligible for academic accommodations and support services should contact Ms. Marisa Carlson, Assistant Dean of Studies, by phone (724-805-2828), email (marisa.carlson@stvincent.edu) or by appointment (Academic Affairs-Headmasters Hall). Reasonable accommodations do not alter the essential elements of any course, program or activity. The Notification of Approved Academic Accommodations form indicates the effective date of all approved academic accommodations and is not retroactive.

Class Cancellation

If the instructor needs to cancel class, every effort will be made to send an email message to students' Saint Vincent email accounts.

Maintained by: Br. David Carlson
Last updated: February 01, 2019
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Saint Vincent College - Computing and Information Systems Department
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