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Exploring the Internet

Boston College of Advancing Studies Course MT340

Website: http://www2.bc.edu/~nagelh/exploring.the.internet
Location: O'Neill 245
Meeting Time: Tuesdays 6:30 - 9:00pm
Instructor Information: H. Nicholas Nagel, Ph.D.
nagelh@bc.edu

Course Description

This course comprises a survey of various Internet technologies and protocols. It's purpose is to introduce students to a range of languages and techniques used in World Wide Web (WWW) development thereby enabling them to publish content to the Web and discover information to suit their individual needs. The objectives of this course are...

  • To introduce and familiarize students with various Internet protocols and technologies
  • To endow students with knowledge and skills enabling publication of content to the World Wide Web
  • To introduce ethical and security related issues related to the use of the Internet

Class Format

This is a hands-on course ~~ meaning that students are expected to spend much time experimenting with the techniques and concepts presented in class. Consequently, class time will be divided between lecture and lab where students can use the classroom facilities available, or, alternatively, personal computers to practice techniques learned in class. Due to the nature of the material, some classroom sessions may (at the discretion of the instructor) be carried out remotely (i.e., using live, on-line techniques for remote delivery).

Course Materials

Required

The required text and supporting materials for this course take the form of a Web-based Workbook entitled: Exploring Internet Development. This workbook is available on-line for purchase for a nominal fee. It contains conceptual material, a large number of example documents, and exercises designed to reinforce the conceptual material and build Web-development knowledge and skills.

The workbook may be purchased via credit-card transaction from Web3DBooks.com. Access codes will be distributed only when all registered students have purchased the workbook for the semester.

Optional

Those students who intend to continue their web-development efforts beyond this course may also wish to purchase reference texts for their personal libraries. The following texts are optional, but are excellent desktop resources to have on hand for Web development/authoring.

    • Chuck Musciano
    • Bill Kenedy
    O'Reilly
    ISBN:0596527322

    An excellent desktop reference on HTML/XHTML and CSS.

    • David Flanagan
    O'Reilly
    ISBN:0596101996

    A great resource covering both core and client-side Javascript

Course Requirements

The following requirements must be met for successful completion of the course...

  • Students will be responsible for learning the material presented in class each week. Weekly assignments designed to reinforce the material will be announced in each class. All students will be responsible for completing all the assignments -- if you miss a class you are still responsible for the material covered and completing the assignment.
  • In addition to the assignments, a formal project entailing the creation of a website using a combination of techniques learned from the course will be due in the second half of the semester. Students will present their Websites to their classmates at the penultimate class meeting.
  • Finally, two exams will be given over the course of the semester; a midterm and a final. All students must sit for both exams ~~ no exceptions. The dates and format of the exams is TBA.

Grading Policy

Course grades will be determined according to the following weighted components:

  • Major Project: 40%
  • Assignments: 20%
  • Midterm Exam: 20%
  • Final Exam: 20%

Course Topics

  1. Introduction

  2. Overview of the Internet -- How the WWW Works

    • History of the Internet and World Wide Web

    • Internet Protocols

  3. World Wide Web Development, Part I: Markup Languages

    • HTML

    • Intro to XML
      • XML Core
      • DTD
      • xHTML
      • Rudementary XSLT*

  4. World Wide Web Development, Part II: Cascading Style Sheets

  5. World Wide Web Development, Part III: Scripting and Programming

    • JavaScript

    • Java

    • Embedding Multimedia Content

  6. Assorted Topics

    • Internet Security

    • Data Storage and Retrieval: Searching the Internet

    • Peer to Peer

This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.

All website content and style authored by: H. Nicholas Nagel, Ph.D. (unless otherwise noted). Copyright (c) 2003-2007, all rights reserved.