DaveStanton.us

About the Course

A new class, titled "Content Management, Data and APIs," came about as I heard what former students were telling me regarding their day-to-day workflows. The goal isn't necessarily to build geeks but instead to have the students/professionals gain a very useful toolset and understand there are many more pieces to the online puzzle than HTML/CSS.

I'm not assuming any base knowledge other than HTML/CSS skill to build a basic personal site. And I'll be doing some crash refreshers at the beginning of the semester.

Databased content, CMS systems and Application Programming Interfaces can make your job faster, easier and more rewarding. You can use all of you new-found free time to gather content and tell better stories.

Everything will be streamed and recorded for students working during the day. All of the necessary URLs for screencasts and video feeds will be linked by the first day of class.

Course and University Policies

Objectives

1. Each student will install, configure and maintain a content management system (CMS) with individual Web hosting. Students can choose to make this a publication, a blog or something else. Basically, learn how to build and maintain an online publication.
2. Implement JavaScript libraries. I'm planning on basic JS logic/syntax and using jQuery and Prototype to build user interface components for sites. All news sites are using shared spaces, carousels and accordions. We'll build from straight JavaScript if we have extra time. Or at least I'll show some demos.
3. Use APIs from Google, Yahoo, Flickr, etc. to build with data. Definitely will do some dynamic maps and visualizations. The key is to understand how to leverage existing services to process your data for you. Stuff like charts, maps, timelines, etc.

Attendance and Attitude

Because of the nature of this course, much of your grade will be based on your participation and contributions to discussion.

Deadlines

Late assignments will not be accepted. Advance notice and documentation of illness or personal emergency is the only exception to the deadline policy.

Academic Honesty

Dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated. Cheating hurts you, hurts our college and hurts the industry. Any dishonesty will be reported to Student Judicial Affairs, and the student will receive a failing grade for the course. The university's Academic Honesty Guidelines provide additional details. You are expected to know and understand these guidelines completely. You are encouraged to ask the instructor for clarification if you are in doubt.

Students with Disabilities

Reasonable accommodations will be made for any students with disabilities. If you have a disability, the Dean of Students Office will give you official documentation. You must provide this to the instructor. More information is available at the Dean of Students Office's Disability Resources page.

Book Requirements

There are no required books for this course, but I will incorporate material from several. If you have a further interest in specific course topics, you can see these recommended books for more detail:

Bibeault, B. and Katz, Y. (2008). jQuery in Action. Greenwich, CT: Manning. ISBN: 1-933988-35-5

Purvis, M., Sambells, J. & Turner, C. (2006). Beginning Google Maps Applications with PHP and Ajax. Berkeley, CA: Apress. ISBN: 1-59059-707-9

Grading Criteria

For descriptions of the assignments, see Required Work

Total: 100 points

Assignments

25 points — Site Progress
25 points — Final Site
25 points — Case Study Paper
25 points — Participation

Grading Scale

90 – 100 : A
88 – 89 : B+
80 – 87 : B
78 – 79 : C+
70 – 77 : C
68 – 69 : D+
60 – 67 : D
Less than 60 : F

Links for Course Content

SmugMug

Most of the tutorials will be served by SmugMug. This service lets me deliver high-quality screencasts. Recorded lectures will be hosted on a UF server and available for download.

Twitter

Follow "jou4930" to receive course updates. I generally post any schedule updates on the course site as well, but I wanted to use push technology.

Yahoo! Live

Yahoo! Live will be used for chat and video discussions. I might not have a video feed at the same time as lecture in an effort to keep your computers from being overloaded.

Course Schedule

Required Work

Site Progress

On June 30, I will make an evaluation of the current progress of your site. You should have a functioning site driven by Textpattern. Design can be a little rough. I want to see you understand the fundamentals of Textpattern for building a publication.

Final Site

On August 4, I will evaluate your site for the final time. Design should be polished and stable across browsers. Code should be semantic, logical and streamlined. You should have several Web services integrated into your site.

Case Study Paper

Read the case study of Monocle. Then write a prospectus for a Web publication your intend to build or a post-mortem for an existing site. Include design, staffing and work-flow considerations. Think how you can utilize databased content, feeds and Web services to deliver the best user experience possible. Also include your strategy to keep the site flexible and adaptable for scaling, technical innovations and bug fixes. I'm not a fan of required word counts, but I'm expecting something in the 5- to 10- page range. Write succinctly. If you can be thorough in 4 pages, I'm all for it. If you want to get crazy detailed and compose a 20-page white paper, that is fantastic as well. E-mail me your manuscript by August 6.

Participation

We have an unusual and blessed situation to have journalism students, professional Web designers and working journalists. This collection of people should provide a tremendous opportunity to share ideas and critique varied real-world applications. Many of you are out of town and obviously not expected to attend midday meetings. Students in Gainesville should attend live meetings unless they have a compelling reason to miss. And everyone should attend evening video discussions.

You are expected to have read and comprehended assigned readings before attending class. Much of our time will be alloted to discussion. If you are not prepared to discuss, I will be disappointed, and your participation grade will suffer.

Participant Biographies

Al Kirby

Al Kirby has worked in Web design for more than a decade. A Web geek and designer for the University of Florida Web Administration Office, Kirby received his associate of arts degree from Indian River Community College and a bachelor of fine arts degree in graphic design from UF. Kirby spent the first two years after graduation working as art director and Web designer for Digi-Net Technologies in Gainesville. In 1999 he went to work as a Web designer and producer for UF's Office of Public Relations, then returned to Digi-Net as a Web designer. In 2001 he launched his own Web design firm, OMTC in Gainesville, where his clients included Digi-Net and Shands at the University of Florida. Kirby returned to UF again in 2001. In his current role, he has assisted with such major project as redesigning and rethinking UF's Web presence, and redesigning UF's home page to enhance the UF web identity. Kirby also assists other campus Web developers with building their own sites and has helped create CSS templates for other campus departments to use. Follow me: Del.icio.us, Twitter

Brett Roegiers

I'm a multimedia journalist at CNN.com in Atlanta. I studied online journalism, design and computer science at the University of Florida. For three semesters, I gave up my weeknights to lead online operations at The Independent Florida Alligator. I've also worked as an online producer at The Miami Herald. Follow me: Del.icio.us, Twitter

Bruce Floyd

I am a web and user interface designer for the Office of Web Administration at the University of Florida. Although my primary job now is as a designer and project manager for the web, I have had experience as a: front end loader operator, musician, custodian, admissions officer, construction worker, computer salesperson, bartender and sandwich artist. Follow me: Twitter

Chris Hayes

Chris Hayes is a senior majoring in online journalism. He hopes to pursue a career producing online media as well as writing. Also, despite the similarities in their photos, he is not related to Matt Gonzalez in any way. Follow me: Del.icio.us, Twitter

Cory Monteiro

Currently, I do graphic design at the University of Florida's Career Resource Center. I love working on art, music, and video projects on my computer; but, lately I have found working in my yard a bit more fun and rewarding. I love digital media and I love all things analog. Cats are cool, and so are thrift stores. Satchels pizza is great. Go see live music, support things local, and don't just download music... BUY IT.

Erin Green

My name is Erin Green and I am a Journalism senior. Coming into UF I thought I wanted to write, but then I fell in love with photography....so I'm not really sure what I want to do when I graduate. I took Carlson's 3260 class on a whim and believe or not but I actually enjoy sitting for hours writing code. Right now I'm just trying to take as many online media classes as I can before I graduate. I work my butt off at the mall as a sales girl to try to pay my way through school, and I have zero experience in the computer world, unless working a cash register counts? Follow me: Del.icio.us, Twitter

Gary Ritzenthaler

At the moment I am a doctoral student in mass communication at the University of Florida. My current research explores the ways people use online social networks, in particular those online communities where there is frequent interaction between members of an online community across both virtual and physical spaces. I have studied several different subjects in my academic career, doing undergraduate and graduate study in interactive media, information science, art history and design, and philosophy. My study of interactive media has a long history and some of my work in online journalism on the Web goes back to the beginnings of the Web. Follow me: Del.icio.us, Twitter

Jenna Hodgkiss

I graduated from UF in 2006 with a Journalism degree and currently work as a technical producer with The New York Times Regional Media Group in Tampa. I work mostly with HTML and CSS within SaxotechOnline, the content management system used by the 16 papers in the regional group. Follow me: Twitter

Justin Abrotsky

Hi there. I'm Justin L. Abrotsky, an associate online producer at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. I work mostly with handling incoming content and making it look pretty, tightly packaged and optimized for search engines or influential sites in a quick and concise manner. I have had a decade of experience with HTML, am fairly comfortable with CSS (despite a tendency to use too much absolute positioning) and have working knowledge of various online-related programs and technologies. I was a part of Newszine's groundbreaking Spring 2006 team. Follow me: Del.icio.us, Twitter

Ken Schwencke

I am a 4th-year journalism student currently learning the ropes of this whole "online media" thing. As the managing online editor for the Alligator, I get to use what I learn in real-life situations to figure how to get news and information out to the web-using public. I've been programming since middle school, but gave up the idea of computer science for fear of the math requirements. Finally, a guest lecture on online journalism and blogging from Mindy McAdams sparked my interest in the field, combining my love of news and data with my love of telling computers what to do. Follow me: Del.icio.us, Twitter

Matt Gonzalez

I am a ready-to-graduate senior in the College of Journalism and Communications at UF. I am concentrating on online media, but have also completed minors in Portuguese and Latin American studies. I am currently working for the Office of Web Administration at the university and playing assistant to the managing editor of online media at The Alligator. Follow me: Del.icio.us, Twitter

Mauri Mohler

I am a journalism senior concentrating in online media. I came into the college with a focus in photojournalism, but am interested in learning all I can about online media and design as well. I hope to be well-rounded and truly enjoy what I'm doing when I graduate. Follow me: Twitter

Melissa Garcia

I am an online news producer and interactivity/blogs editor for The Fayetteville Observer in Fayetteville, North Carolina - home of Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base. While I am a Texas native (originally from Houston), I am also a recent graduate from UF, where I studied Journalism, Design, Online Media and English Literature. I've been creating Web sites since 1997 for my own leisure and through the good trends and the bad, but took a serious interest in coding and design principles after entering the J-school. I also have a pretty solid background in traditional print design. Currently, my job involves Web site maintenance, blogging, graphics and updating breaking news online. People think that I am weird because I love studying the English language and grammar. People also think I'm weird because I love typography and coding HTML. I'm an avid email-checking, text-messaging, social-networking product of the Information Age and proud of it, but I am also a big fan of crafts, such as knitting, crocheting and sewing. So, ideally, I'd like to consider myself a technological artisan. Follow me: Del.icio.us, Twitter

Ryan Moulton

I'm a senior majoring in online journalism and design. I'm currently doing political cartoons for the Alligator. Some of my previous projects have included helping redesign the Alligator's website, a short documentary about the Great Underwear Dash and trying to draw a portrait every day.

Sanam Dolatshahi

I'm a journalism and women's studies master's student at UF, graduating this December. I'm the online managing editor of the Persian Netherland-based "Radio Zamaneh" website. I've done a few Soundslides and videos for my online journalism projects. I'm intermediate in HTML, CSS, and Flash, but I don't know anything about programming, (yet!). Follow me: Del.icio.us, Twitter

Stephanie Garry

I'm a general assignment/cops reporter for the St. Petersburg Times based in the downtown office. I grew up in Citrus County and graduated from UF in December 2007 with degrees in journalism and English. My coding skills are nonexistent, but I realize the importance of web-driven journalism and hope to do a little catch-up. I'm really excited about how the Web can change the way newspapers deliver information, but it seems that so far, many sites are floundering in the new environment. I recently had my bike stolen. I'm still grieving. Follow me: Twitter

Stephanie Rosenblatt

Follow me: Del.icio.us

Will Pafford

My name is Will and I am a fresh graduate from UF. I started taking online media classes when I suddenly realized I would actually be graduating and needing a job, my senior year. Since then I've taken as many classes as I can and tried to build up a portfolio of work. I'm currently moving to Texas where I may be working with video or just freelancing in Austin trying to get my foot in the door. Follow me: Del.icio.us, Twitter