Var
Institute of Communication, Culture
and Information Technology
Institute Office: Room 3014, CCT Building
Telephone: 905-569-4398
Course Outline
CCT260: Web Culture and Design
Course Code: CCT260H5F
Pre-requisites: CCT100, CCT101: Only the Director
Course Section:
of the CCIT program has the authority to give
Semester Offered: Fall 2010 (20109)
permission to waive course prerequisites.
Course Meeting Time: Tuesday 1-3pm; 3 Lab
Prerequisites are enforced and students without
sections 4-7pm.
required prerequisites will be deregistered from this
Course Location: Sheridan J102, Labs J318
course.
Credit Value: 0.5
Instructor(s)
Professor: Elizabeth Littlejohn
Teaching Assistant(s): Graham
Gentlemen
Contact Information:
Contact Information:
Please email me through SLATE.
graham.gentleman1@sheridanc.on.ca
Telephone: 905.845.9430, Extension 8798
Office Hours: Tuesday 11-12pm
Blackboard/Website:
https://vista.sheridaninstitute.ca/webct/entryPageIns.dowebct
Office Hours: in labs
Course Description
CCT260: Web Culture and Design is a survey course presenting an overview of web culture through the
discussion of a different topic each week. It will explore how the web has influenced culture, how web sites are
designed, and through the analysis of web site case studies, how communities have expanded due to its technical
advancement. The definition of web culture is in constant flux as communities expand and evolve due to the
increasing capabilities of the Internet, and cutting edge web sites will be analyzed to demonstrate these
technological changes.
The history of the Internet, the development of HTML and CSS, web site design and usability will be
demonstrated through hand coding web sites using HTML and CSS during the tutorials. Technical topics will
include how to effectively present text, links and graphics on the web, and how to analyze and troubleshoot
source code.
Web Culture and Design will also examine how the Internet works, its technical and theoretical history, and the
World Wide Web’s intersection of culture and mediated technology by defining how communities are built and
maintained through the good faith and ongoing engagement of its participants.
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Goals and Learning Objectives
The course provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding, skills
and other attributes in the following areas:
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Investigate the history and technical background of the Internet and World Wide Web
Research major topics in the academic discourse regarding the development of the World Wide Web
Write an executive summary which highlights the intention of a proposed paper
Write an issue analysis essay, expanding upon the executive summary, about a course-related topic
Create a six-page web site utilizing hand coded CSS which presents the issue analysis essay
Design a web site utilizing best practices in layout, usability and coding
Utilize colour theory in web site design to ensure accessibility for those who are visually impaired
Course Requirements
You should arrive at class prepared to discuss the readings of the day. You will gain more out of the experience
that way, and can participate more actively in class.
This course has three lab sections. This is a full course - you cannot arbitrarily show up to the lab of your choice.
To comply with safety regulations and to be fair to those who are indeed registered in the correct labs, we have to
control attendance. If there are 50 people in the lab room, the 10 extra will be identified by class lists and asked
to leave. Given doing a roll call disrupts lab time for those who do belong in the room, being asked to leave by roll
call will negatively affect your participation mark.
MLA citation style is commonly used in CCIT and is preferred, although consistent use of any common standard
is acceptable. Refer to the “How Not to Plagiarize” document noted later in this syllabus for instructions on proper
use of citation standards.
There are four requirements in this course, described below.
1. Assignment #1 - Executive Summary (October 5 -10%)
For your first assignment, you will write an executive summary about a web-related topic as discussed in your
textbooks. An executive summary is a short one to two page document that highlights the intention of an existing
or proposed paper. This summary should contain an overview of the topic, highlight key ideas and provide
conclusions for the final essay. This summary will form the basis of your next assignment, a six page web site
hand coded in CSS.
Executive summaries are used to convey a holistic view of outcomes and expectations while giving their reader
the ability to understand complex discussions and enable decision-making. Proper MLA citation, attentive reading,
and referencing peer-reviewed papers will be emphasized.
2. Test #1 - (October 12 - 35%)
There will be two term tests in this course. This test will cover all assigned readings and tutorials covered up to
the test date.
Pay attention to the new iCCIT policy on missing term tests. There will be a makeup exam held for those who
missed the exam for valid reasons determined by the iCCIT committee. Those who do not have a valid reason for
missing a test will receive a zero.
3. Assignment #2 - Issue Analysis Website – (November 9 - 35%)
The purpose of the issue analysis web site is twofold – to write an issue analysis paper about a topic discussed
in-class based on a chapter from either of the two textbooks, and to present this paper in the form of a website.
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An issue analysis paper should present a discussion on a topic, an outline of a clear topic and draw a concise
conclusion, This is not a paper where you produce your own thesis, but rather a collaboration of existing
information from sources to construct a viewpoint on a chosen topic. While this may contain a bias from the
articles you choose to review, it should not contain your own points of view -- although you are allowed to reflect
on your own experiences to connect ideas.
This paper must be:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Approximately 6 pages long, double-spaced at a 12pt, font with one-inch margins
Contain both a cover page and list of references (not included in the 6 pages)
Use correct citation in the MLA format
Reference the original article or chapter from the text
Reference at least two peer-reviewed papers
Be handed in at the beginning of class on the due date
Part Two (Weighted at 15% of the Final Mark):
Utilizing content from the labs and focusing on your expectations from your executive summary, create a website
presentation of your written assignment.
This should contain, at the very least:
•
•
•
•
Separate pages for each section of your paper
A list of references linked to sources on the web (if applicable)
Links and images of pertinent information related to your topic.
Provide a link on this wiki (page to be determined) to your paper for other to review
4. Test #2 – (November 23 - 20%)
This test will cover all assigned readings and tutorials delivered after the mid term test.
Pay attention to the new iCCIT policy on missing term tests. There will be a makeup exam held for those who
missed the exam for valid reasons determined by the iCCIT committee. Those who do not have a valid reason for
missing a test will receive a zero.
Required Materials
There are two required textbooks for this class:
David Weinberger, 2002. Small pieces loosely joined: A unified theory of the web. Perseus Publishing; ISBN 0
738 208 507 (Paperback)
David Gauntlett and Ross Horsley (Ed.) Second Edition, 2004. web.studies: Rewiring media studies for the digital
age. Oxford University Press; ISBN 0 340 814 721 (Paperback)
(N.B.: Please ensure that you purchase the second edition of web.studies as it is has been substantially revised
and updated. Both textbooks can be purchased at the UTM bookstore.)
Online readings to complement weekly lectures are noted below. You are responsible for understanding all
assigned work for the final exam.
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Grading Scheme
Assignment
Weight
Due Date
Type
Assignment #1: Executive
Summary
10%
Oct. 5/10
Individual
Test #1
35%
Oct. 12/10
Individual
Assignment #2: Web Site
35%
Nov. 9/10
Individual
Test #2
20%
Nov. 23/10
Individual
Final Exam
YES
NO
x
Weekly Class Schedule and Readings
Week 1 | [September 7th]
Course Introduction
Introduction to web.studies, second edition
Link to http://www.newmediastudies.com/intro2004.htm to download the first chapter of web.studies to read.
Week 2 | [September 14th]
Communication on the Web
Readings from web.studies by Gauntlett:
chp. 2: Internet Studies in the Twenty-first Century (1990-200) (Gurak)
chp. 3: Developing Methodological Frameworks for Studying the World Web Wide Web
Week 3 | [September 21st]
Web Concepts: space, time, self, knowledge and reality
Readings from David Weinberger’s Small Pieces Loosely Joined:
Preface
chp. 1: A New World
chp. 2: Space
chp: 3: Time
chp. 7: Matter
Week 4 | [September 28th]
Web Life, Arts & Culture
Weinberger:
chp. 4: Perfection
chp. 6: Knowledge
chp: 8: Hope
Gauntlett:
chp. 4: Identity Construction and Self-Presentation on Personal Homepages: Emancipatory Potentials and Reality
Constraints
chp.6: Everybody's Gotta Love Somebody, Sometime: Online Fan Community
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Week 5 | [October 5th]
The Self on the Web
Weinberger:
chp. 5: Togetherness
The Self on the Web
Gauntlett:
chp.5: Masculinities on the Web
chp.7: Web Grrrls, Guerilla Tactics: Young Feminisms on the Web
chp.9: 'Doing it on the Web’: Emerging Discourses on Internet Sex
chp.12: Help Yourself: The World Wide Web as a Self-Help Agora
Assignment #1, Executive Summary due, uploaded onto the ELARA: Worth 10% of mark
Week 6 | [October 12th]
Test #1: 1 hour and 50 minutes
Worth 35% of mark
(N.B. ‘Small Pieces Loosely Joined’ should be read in its entirety before the first test.)
Week 7 | [October 19th]
Web Communities and Equality on the Web
Gauntlett:
chp.13: Fascination and Hospitality: Issues and Implications of Internet Interactions
chp.10: Art in Cyberspace: The Digital Aesthetic
chp. 20: World Wide Women and the Web
Read danah boyd's “Facebook and “radical transparency (a rant)” at
http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2010/05/14/facebook-and-radical-transparency-a-rant.html
Week 8 | [October 26th]
Politics on the Web and the Attention Economy
Gauntlett:
chp.14: Stitching the Web into Global Capitalism: Two Stories
chp.15: The Digital Divide
Goldhaber Attention Economy (1997) ~ http://www.well.com/user/mgoldh/AtEcandNet.html
Week 9 | [November 2nd]
e-Business and the New Economy
Gauntlett:
chp.16: Copyright in Cyberspace: Protecting Intellectual Copy Online
chp. 17: The Music Industry versus the Internet: MP3 and other Cyber Music Wars
chp. 22: Virus Writers: Subculture and the Electronic Meaning of Style
Week 10 | [November 9th]
Education Online and Regulating the Web: legislation, ethics, crime, security
Gauntlett:
chp. 19: The World Wide Web goes to War: From Kosovo to the ‘War’ against Terrorism
chp.21: Continuity within Change: The Cherokee Indians and the Internet
chp. 23 Digital Media Futures
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Online Reading:
The following are two short pages from an online Laval University doctoral thesis called "Strangers in a
Strange Land: Teachers' Beliefs About Teaching and Learning French as a Second or Foreign Language in
Online Learning Environments" by Elizabeth Murphy, published in 2000. Please read them in the order given.
http://www.nald.ca/fulltext/stranger/Chap1/pg4.htm
http://www.nald.ca/fulltext/stranger/Chap1/pg3.htm
Assignment #2, uploaded onto the ELARA and accessible online, due: Worth 35% of mark
Week 11 | [November 16th]
Course Wrap up and Overview of Test #2 Material
Review of Intellectual Property principles.
Week 12 | [November 23rd]
Test #2: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Worth 20% of mark
E-Culture Policy
Only student Utormail accounts should be used for course communication and all emails from students must
include the course code in the subject line and should be signed with the full student name and student number.
Be aware that in any online communication, you’re making an impression to the reader the moment they read
your note. No extensions will be granted without proper documentation.
Our course will be run on SLATE by signing into https://vista.sheridaninstitute.ca/webct/entryPageIns.dowebct
and signing into CCT260.
Please send course-related emails to the professor and the teaching assistant through SLATE.
Late Assignments, Extensions and Missed Term Tests
You are expected to complete assignments on time. There will be a penalty for lateness of 3% deducted per day
and work that is not handed in one week after the due date will not be accepted.
As of September 2010, students are required to declare their absence on ROSI, in order to receive academic
accommodation for any course work such as missed tests, late assignments, and final examinations. In addition
to this policy, students must also adhere to the following CCIT policy after declaring an absence on ROSI.
Deadline extensions will be granted only for a compelling reason and with appropriate documentation and
students should contact instructors immediately, and no later than the due date, if a deadline cannot be met.
Students who miss a term test for reasons entirely beyond their control (eg. illness or accident) must, within one
week of the missed test, submit an official request to the INSTITUTE (not the instructor) by completing a Special
Consideration Form that explains the reason for missing the test. This form can be picked up at any ICCIT Office
and should be submitted to the CCIT Undergraduate Counsellor, Rose Antonio (CCT 3022) along with the
ORIGINAL supporting documentation (eg. a medical certificate, death certificate, etc.). A departmental committee
will review requests and students whose requests are approved will be contacted by the instructor via email to
arrange a date and time for a makeup test.
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Medical certificates or Doctor’s Notes must include the statement: “[Name of student] was unable to write the test
on [date] for medical reasons.” Documentation must show that the physician was consulted within one day of the
test. A statement merely confirming the report of an illness made by a student is not acceptable.
You are responsible for providing an accurate phone number and email address on your Special Consideration
Form. Although the Undergraduate Counsellor and/or Instructor informs you by email, it is your responsibility to
obtain the decision from the department. Claims that a departmental decision was not received will not be
considered as reason for further consideration.
Academic Integrity
From the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters:
“It shall be an offence for a student knowingly:
(d) to represent as one's own any idea or expression of an idea or work of another in any academic examination
or term test or in connection with any other form of academic work, i.e. to commit plagiarism.”
Wherever in the Code an offence is described as depending on "knowing", the offence shall likewise be deemed
to have been committed if the person ought reasonably to have known.
Honesty and fairness are considered fundamental to the University’s mission, and, as a result, all those who
violate those principles are dealt with as if they were damaging the integrity of the University itself. When
students are suspected of cheating or a similar academic offence, they are typically surprised at how formal and
seriously the matter is dealt with – and how severe the consequences can be if it is determined that cheating did
occur. The University of Toronto treats academic offences very seriously. Students should note that copying,
plagiarizing, or other forms of academic misconduct will not be tolerated. Any student caught engaging in such
activities will be subject to academic discipline ranging from a mark of zero on the assignment, test or
examination to dismissal from the University as outlined in the UTM calendar. Any student abetting or otherwise
assisting in such misconduct will also be subject to academic penalties.
Students are assumed to be informed about plagiarism and are expected to read the handout, titled "Plagiarism
and Reference Format". How Not to Plagiarize (http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/using-sources/how-not-toplagiarize) written by Margaret Procter. It is a valuable and succinct source of information on the topic. You are
also supposed to be familiar, and considered as being familiar, with the Code of Behaviour on Academic Matters
(see UTM Calendar: Codes and Policies or http://www.governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/policies/behaveac.htm) and
Code of Student Conduct (http://www.governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/policies/studentc.htm), which spell out your
rights, your duties and provide all the details on grading regulations and academic offenses at the University of
Toronto.
Classroom Management
Students are expected to come to class on time, turn off cell phones and pagers and to use laptops in class for
note-taking only (not for web surfing, email, viewing movies etc.). As CCT260 is a highly technical course,
attendance is strongly recommended.
Religious Observance
Information about the University’s Policy on Scheduling of Classes and Examinations and Other Accommodations
for Religious Observances is at
http://www.viceprovoststudents.utoronto.ca/publicationsandpolicies/guidelines/religiousobservances.htm.
Other Resources
AccessAbility
The University accommodates students with disabilities who have registered with the AccessAbility Resource
Centre. Please let me know in advance, preferably in the first week of class, if you will require any
accommodation on these grounds. To schedule a registration appointment with a disability advisor, please call the
centre at 905-569-4699 or e-mail at: access.utm@utoronto.ca.
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http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/access/
Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre
Students can visit the Academic Skills Centre to consult with one of its strategists about understanding learning
style, developing study plans for upcoming tests/exams, or discussing papers. Special Diagnostic Assessments
are also offered and are designed to help you learn exactly where you stand with respect to critical academic
skills.
http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/asc
UTM Library (Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre)
The University of Toronto boasts the biggest academic library in Canada and the second biggest in North
America. Various services are available to students at the UTM Library and across the UofT library system.
Services include borrowing, interlibrary loans, online references, laptop loans and the RBC Learning Commons.
For more information, visit http://library.utm.utoronto.ca.
Every attempt will be made to follow this syllabus, but its contents are subject to change, according to the rules as
outlined in the UTM Instructor’s Handbook, section 3.2.2.
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