Constructivist Program of Teaching Web Production

Objectives: This course will introduce you to creating documents using HTML (hypertext markup language), which is the standard for the World Wide Web. You will learn to author basic Web pages and produce a Web site using basic HTML grammar and syntax. Students will also learn to organize and storyboard their sites. You will also learn common mistakes and error patterns, and how to create clean code that can be shared with others.

Methodology: Because we're following the constructivist model, we are going to break down the HTML class into project-based lessons. Since students derive much of their education from experience not merely learning a known, objective truth, we are going to set-up this class so that students will work together to create sites. At first, I will give them some basic instruction on meaning and context of HTML. I will also provide them with many of online and printed resources they can use to look up solutions to their problems.

After a brief introduction to concepts, I will have students get right to work on the project. I will begin most classes by first going over the material that I'm going to teach in a broad way and handing out a study sheet so that they don't have to take a lot of notes during my lecture. As an instructor, you will spend less time at the board teaching while you provide guidance as they do more difficult problems.
For example, if someone's page isn't showing up in the browser, you may ask, "What things did you need to keep an eye on in HTML?"

Although, I try to direct them through difficult tasks, I prefer to get students to ask themselves "who, what, where and how" questions. I don't mind if they ask each other, either, as that explanation will help the other student understand the problem. Ultimately, I'm looking for them to become their own teachers so that they learn how to structure their work.

During the project phase, I often ask students to look at the problem and try to deduct the answer from previous problems that they have had during class. I encourage them to work with each other in the cooperative way, though I think the scripting is more informal than what I'd do for a class in English or Persian.

Schedule: This is an six-week class, where we meet for three hours each week.

LESSON ONE: Working with text
Objectives: Students learn a the common language and structure used in HTML coding, including elements, tags and attributes. Students will use a simple text editor and a browser together to understand the edit/view cycle in constructing their resume in HTML. I will give them a resume to recreate with HTML.

LESSON TWO: Linking and Images
Objectives: Students will learn how to use the three types of linking: mailto, hyperlinking and linking within a document. They will also learn how to bring images into Web pages and how to link them. I will give them a project with all the images and text to help them learn linking and images.

LESSON THREE: Color and Tables
Objectives: Students will learn how to use color in their Web pages. They'll learn basic table tags, which they'll use for their in-class table assignment. I will provide them with a project for them to learn color and tables.

LESSON FOUR: Review and Frames
Objectives: Students will review the HTML information that they've learned up to this point. Then, they will learn about frames and framesets. I will provide them with a project for them to learn color and tables.

LESSON FIVE: Form elements
Objectives: Students learn how to use form elements and understand how they interact with both the browser client and the server. Also, they'll learn how the client side and server side information transfer and processing occurs. I will provide them with a project for them to learn color and tables.

LESSON SIX: FTP and Final Project
Objectives: Students learn how to upload pages to the server. I review any topics that they have questions about up to this point. They will be given a final group project that includes elements from all their lessons. This final group project will last one week.