Writing Online

Today many of you discovered the wonders of computer code: the computer only does what you tell it to do in the code and not what your brain is telling it to do, and then only 90% of the time! But trust me when I say that the basics are not hard once you spend a little time practicing.

On Thursday, we will split class time up evenly between learning more HTML code and discussing the upcoming web analysis and web page design projects. The web analysis assignment details are up on the blog and the design project details will be available Friday. Please bring your homepage designs back to class on Thursday as our goal will be to learn enough code for you to start laying out your page.  Also begin thinking about what web site you will analyze for your paper and what sort of web site you would like to design.

In the meantime, visit the HTML website (see the previous post) that I showed in class, and practice the tutorials to familiarize yourself with more of the code.  See you Thursday!

Here are the two links we will use in class today in order to practice building web pages:

HTML: http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp

COLOR: http://www.december.com/html/spec/color.html

This timing is pretty good. My goal is to get our class follow-up posts online between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. It is 4:47 as I begin to write this, so I may meet my goal.

We only scratched the surface of we design today, but I think we got some useful thoughts going about creation of a personal image online, usability in terms of navigation (menu bars, links, etc.), and use of screen space (as a group we seemed to prefer uncluttered pages). Keep exploring websites for design ideas: our class examples of ugly and visually pleasing sites are on the “links” in the Writing Studio and the examples of faculty websites are on our course blog. Here are two sites that I think exemplify good use of visual rhetoric:

Wilco

Wilco’s site is extremely simple in its navigation, and uses a monochromatic color palette that doesn’t overstimulate the eye. It also successfully uses white text on a black background, which is usually quite hard to read.

Ninth Letter

Ninth Letter is a literary magazine published at the University of Illinois. The website serves as a companion to the print edition, and is a good example of how a site can combine multiple media without creating cluttered pages and navigation confusion. It uses a neutral color palette for the background and other large areas of space and reserves bright color for text and links.

For homework, complete the short forum post at the Writing Studio and using pen and paper make a sketch of what you would like your homepage to look like. Remember that you are aiming for a page that exhibits sound visual rhetoric: who is your audience for your homepage? What image do you want to portray with your page? What is the purpose for your page–are you looking for a job, applying to graduate or professional school, promoting a skill or expertise?

Have a good weekend and see you next week!

5:17 p.m. Darn.

Hello patient class members!

I got home yesterday all set to update our course blog, and discovered that the Internet was down–something about a cut cable that would take several days to fix!–so I’m just now back in my office playing catch-up.

As we discussed, you can leave a comment to this post about anything that has to do with yesterday’s class–questions, comments, additional thoughts about class discussion. etc. I will create a post after each class session form now on that will briefly summarize what happened in class and clarify any homework instructions or unfinished business. If you leave a comment that adds to the class discussion (i.e., not a question about due dates or other class management business) it will count toward your participation grade. This will allow those who are quiet during class an alternative space to contribute.

So, for class tomorrow, please read the article and explore the websites that are listed on the readings page (scroll the whole way to the bottom of the page). Also, surf the web to find an example of a website you think is really ugly/poorly designed and one that you find visually pleasing/well designed. Be ready to show your examples to the class tomorrow.

As I explained in class yesterday, those of you who completed the technology manifesto forum post before Tuesday’s class have the bonus option to make the necessary small revisions that I will suggest (I’ll send comments via e-mail by Friday at 5:00 pm) and post your manifesto to your blog. You can then skip one blog post during a week of your choosing. If you did not complete the forum post before Tuesday’s class, you should still complete that assignment in order to receive partial class participation credit.

I also created a page the details the guidelines for your blogs that I explained in class yesterday (see page listing in the sidebar to the right.

Have a good evening, and see you tomorrow!