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IGME-110 Introduction to Interactive Media, Fall 2017: Schedule of Topics

Contents

Week 1 (Aug 29/31): Course Overview & Communication Tools

On Tuesday, I will review the syllabus, goals, and requirements for class, as well as methods for accessing course materials on both GitHub and myCourses. On Thursday, we'll discuss communication tools you'll be using in the class, including email, Slack, and Google Docs.

Week 2 (Sep 5/7): Research and Critical Assessment

This week we'll be talking about information--how to find it, and how to evaluate it. On Tuesday, we'll talk broadly about critically evaluating information online. On Thursday, we'll focus on research tools and methods, with a focus on library resources you can use for your research paper assignment.

Your paper topic idea(s) must be submitted to the myCourses dropbox before class on Tuesday, 9/5.

Week 3 (Sep 12/14): Legal Issues for Media Creators

As a creative professional, you need to be familiar with the laws governing the use of creative works--that includes not just copyright, but also trademark and patent laws. It's also important for you to be familiar with how employment and freelance contracts impact your ownership and use of your own creative work.

Make sure you start on the tutorials for week 4 as early as possible; you're going to need to budget at least 4-6 hours for the sections due on Tuesday!

Week 4 (Sep 19/21): Basic HTML & CSS

This week you'll learn how to create basic web pages, using HTML and CSS. In class, I'll provide an overview of how these technologies work, but most of your practical learning will come from the HTML Essential Training tutorial on Lynda.com.

You should complete the Introduction and sections 1-4 of the tutorial before class on Tuesday; the quiz that day will be based on those sections. To complete the tutorials, you will need to use an editor that can create HTML files. If you already have a preferred editor, you're welcome to use it. If not, I highly recommend Visual Studio Code, which is free, cross-platform, and optimized for web development. It's what I'll use when demonstrating things in class, and in the in-class exercises. (Note: You do not need to complete the challenge exercises in sections 3 and 4, but you should be familiar with the concepts they cover.)

On both Tuesday and Thursday I will spend part of the class lecturing, and then will give you time to work on sections 5-7 of the tutorial; you must have those completed by the end of class on Thursday, and you will need to complete the challenge exercise show me or the TA your work on the "challenge" components of each section to receive credit. You should plan to bring headphones to class on both days. (If you forget, there is transcription of the audio provided on the tutorials.)

  • Tuesday: If you haven't already done the Week 4 Prep Exercise, start with that. Then move on to working on the Essential Training tutorials below. (If you have headphones, great. If you don't, turn on captioning or use the transcript.)

  • Lynda.com HTML Essential Training

    • Complete before Tuesday's class: Introduction and sections 1-4;
    • Complete by the end of Thursday's class: Sections 5-7 (bring headphones to class!)
    • Before leaving class, make sure you've shown your work to the professor or the TA.

  • Exercise to Prepare for Week 5: During week 5, you'll be publishing web pages to RIT's web server. This exercise will help you to determine if your RIT web account was properly configured. Make sure to do this exercise before week 5, so that if there are problems you have time to correct them!

Week 5 (Sep 26/28): UNIX, FTP, and Web Publishing

Now that you've learned how to create HTML pages, you need to learn how to publish them online. We'll talk about UNIX, which is the underlying operating system on most web servers. You'll learn how to use a terminal emulation program to connect to the web server and enter commands, and FTP (file transfer program) to transfer files from your computer to the web server.

Week 6 (Oct 3/5): Typography & CSS

This week you'll learn the importance of typographic choices, including font families and formatting. You'll also work with CSS to implement typographic formatting on web pages, and learn how to use HTML entities .

Week 7 (Oct 12): Graphic Design Concepts

We will not have class on Tuesday of this week, because it is a reading day. On Thursday, we will talk about basic graphic design concepts. Please make sure you've completed the readings before class!

Week 8 (Oct 17/19): Web Design and Layout Using CSS

This week you'll learn how to implement graphic design concepts, particularly grid-based layout, on web pages using CSS.

Week 9 (Oct 24/26): Digital Image Concepts

This week we'll talk about the underlying concepts critical to understanding digital images--including resolution, color models, compression, and file formats. This will require you to learn the basics of Adobe Photoshop, so that you can manipulate those aspects of images yourself.

Week 10 (Oct 31/Nov 2): HTML & CSS Review

On Tuesday I'll review some HTML & CSS concepts. If there's time, I'll give you a chance to work on improving your web project. If you are comfortable with your mastery of HTML, you can choose to skip Tuesday's class. However, students who attend class on Tuesday will be given an extension on their web project until 11:59pm on Friday, November 3.

On Thursday I will give a quiz on the HTML & CSS concepts in the readings, and will again provide work time on your projects.

Week 11 (Nov 7/9): Animation Concepts

Week 12 (Nov 14/16): Digital Audio Concepts

  • Tuesday Readings

  • Thursday Homework

  • Thursday Exercise: Audio Narration - In this exercise you will use Audacity to record narration for a PowerPoint presentation, and then attach the narration to the presentation. If you choose to work on this on your own rather than coming to class on Thursday, the completed presentation, with working audio, must be submitted to the myCourses dropbox by the beginning of Thursday's class. If you come to class on Thursday, the exercise is due by 6pm on Saturday, November 18th.

  • Alternate Thursday Exercise: Captioning Video - In this exercise you will create a video from a PowerPoint presentation, and then use YouTube's editing tools to create closed captions for the video instead of audio narration. If you choose to work on this on your own rather than coming to class on Thursday, the completed presentation, with working audio, must be submitted to the myCourses dropbox by the beginning of Thursday's class. If you come to class on Thursday, the exercise is due by 6pm on Saturday, November 18th.

Week 13 (Nov 21): Presentation Skills

This week we'll discuss the importance of good presentation skills, and look at examples of effective short-form presentations. If you will be missing Tuesday's class due to travel plans, you will need to watch the playlist of videos on your own, and complete the "Week 13 Lecture Materials Homework" in the Quizzes section of myCourses. Students attending class on Tuesday do not need to complete the homework, but will have a quiz on the readings.

Week 14 (Nov 28/30): Digital Video Concepts

It's unrealistic for me to think you'll do much reading over Thanksgiving, so there are no readings for Tuesday. :) Instead of giving a readings quiz at the beginning of class, I'll give a lecture quiz at the end of class.

Week 15 (Dec 5/7): Responsible Social Media Use