CSC 360 Web Applications
Summary
Students design an interactive application following the
user-centered design process and implement it using the
Model-View-Controller architecture. Topics include usability
engineering, event dispatching, multi-threaded programming, GUI widget
toolkits, frameworks and customization.
Course Goals
By the end of the quarter, students will be able to:
- Apply user-centered design methods including those for user
research, wireframing and usability evaluation.
- Develop interactive user interfaces.
- Program in JavaScript using the jQuery framework.
- Effectively employ event-driven programming for handing user interactions.
- Develop applications applying the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architecture.
- Use references to learn how to implement new widgets, user events,
programming constructs.
Tentative Assignments and Projects
- Two small programming projects (individual projects).
Program in JavaScript and jQuery to develop two applications.
- User research (team project). Synthesize interviews
with prospective users.
- Wireframing (team project). Develop wireframes
that document how users interact with your design.
- Evaluation (team project). Conduct usability
tests for identifying problems and revising your design.
- Implementation (team project). Develop the user
interface of your app using JavaScript and jQuery.
Texts
Required Text
Designed for Use
by Lukas Mathis
ISBN: 978-1-93435-675-3
Optional Texts
The first two texts are available online as Safari books.
JavaScript: The Good Parts
by Douglas Crockford
ISBN-13: 978-0-596-51774-8
JavaScript & jQuery: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition
By: David Sawyer McFarland
Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Pub. Date: October 21, 2011
Print ISBN-13: 978-1-4493-9902-3
Murach's JavaScript and jQuery
by Zak Ruvalcaba and Mike Murach
ISBN-13: 978-1890774707
Grading
| 15% (30 points) |
Individual Programming Projects |
| 10% (20 points) |
Quizzes (2) |
| 40% (80 points, 20 per project) |
Team projects (4) |
| 20% (40 points) |
Final exam |
| 15% (30 points) |
Individual contribution |
Students receiving more than 90% of possible points are guaranteed at
least an A-, more than 80% at least a B-, more than 70% at least a C-,
and more than 60% at least a D.
All submitted work (e.g. project reports, peer reviews, online
discussions) must be original work unless its source is clearly
referenced. Failure to clearly attribute quotes or designs from other
people's work constitutes plagiarism. Violations will generally
receive no credit for a given submission.
The score for individual contribution to class and team projects is
based on contributions to class activities, documented contributions
in team reports, observed team activities (in class, email or group
message boards) and team member reports at the end of the quarter.
Students who make solid contributions to their team projects and
regularly participate in class (i.e. weekly contribution) receive at
least 90% of the contribution points. Exceptional contributions
receive more than 90%.
Team presentations occur in the last week of class. At the end of the
quarter every student is expected to submit a
completed evaluation
form for each group member.
Team projects will generally be completed in groups of three or
four. To form groups, students review individual project proposals
and submit preferences to work on them. Groups will then be formed
based on the preferences.
All group members are
jointly responsible for the entire assignment, although the group may
assign primary roles to each group member. Generally, each group
member will receive the same score on each project. However, in some
cases, additional credit may go to those who make an exceptional
contribution to a project and reduced credit to those who contribute
little to a project. Any adjustment will be based on a variety of
indications including group participation in class, contribution
summaries in reports, and student feedback at the end of the quarter.
Prerequisites
SE 350 is the prerequisite to this course.
Course Policies
Students are expected to attend every class and be responsible for
the material presented in class.
Quizzes and exams can be made up with a serious documented excuse
(e.g. illness, death in the family) and must be arranged as soon as
possible. Arrangements involving other excuses require prior
permission from the instructor.
Late assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late, with a 1 point
penalty. Assignments submitted more than 3 days after the due date
will not be accepted without an excused absence cleared
by the dean
of students office (see forms for submitting an excused
absence).
Additional assignments for extra credit will not be offered.
All grade challenges must be submitted in writing and include an
explanation why the given score or grade should be reconsidered.
Tentative Schedule
| Week |
Topic |
Reading |
Assignment or Exam |
| Jan 6 & 8 |
Course overview, Review UCD process, Intro to HTML/CSS/JS |
Mathis introduction |
? |
| Jan 13 & 15 |
User Research; HTML/CSS details |
Mathis ch. 1-2 |
Proposal ideas |
| Jan 20 & 22 |
Personas; JavaScript and jQuery details |
Mathis ch. 3, 4 |
Programming assignment 1 |
| Jan 27 & 29 |
Structuring content; Advanced JavaScript and jQuery
| Mathis ch. 5, 8, 22 |
Quiz 1 (Thursday) |
| Feb 3 & 5 |
Mental models and OO design; Wireframing |
Mathis ch. 9, 10 |
User Research Report |
| Feb 10 & 12 |
JavaScript UI Development |
Class notes |
Programming assignment 2 |
| Feb 17 & 19 |
Prototyping and Evaluation
| Mathis ch. 10-11, 27-29 |
Wireframes |
| Feb 24 & 26 |
MVC Framework
|
course notes |
Quiz 2 (Thursday) |
| Mar 3 & 5 |
Other frameworks |
TBD |
Evaluation |
| Mar 10 & 12 |
Presentations, Review |
TBD |
App Implementation |
| Mar 17 |
? |
? |
Final Exam (8:45 AM to 11:00 AM) |
This syllabus is subject to change as necessary during the quarter. If a change occurs, it will be thoroughly addressed during class, posted under Announcements in D2L and sent via email.
Evaluations are a way for students to provide valuable feedback regarding their instructor and the course. Detailed feedback will enable the instructor to continuously tailor teaching methods and course
content to meet the learning goals of the course and the academic needs of the students. They are a requirement of the course and are key to continue to provide you with the highest quality of teaching. The
evaluations are anonymous; the instructor and administration do not track who entered what responses. A program is used to check if the student completed the evaluations, but the evaluation is completely
separate from the student’s identity. Since 100% participation is our goal, students are sent periodic reminders over three weeks. Students do not receive reminders once they complete the evaluation.
Students complete the evaluation online in CampusConnect.
This course will be subject to the university's academic integrity policy. More information can be found at http://academicintegrity.depaul.edu/ If you
have any questions be sure to consult with your professor.
All students are expected to abide by the University's Academic Integrity Policy which prohibits cheating and other misconduct in student coursework. Publicly sharing or posting online any prior or current materials from this course (including exam questions or answers), is considered to be providing unauthorized assistance prohibited by the policy. Both students who share/post and students who access or use such materials are considered to be cheating under the Policy and will be subject to sanctions for violations of Academic Integrity.
All students are required to manage their class schedules each term in accordance with the deadlines for enrolling and withdrawing as indicated in the University Academic Calendar. Information on enrollment, withdrawal, grading and incompletes can be found at http://www.cdm.depaul.edu/Current%20Students/Pages/PoliciesandProcedures.aspx.
Students who feel they may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately to discuss their specific needs. All discussions will remain confidential.
To ensure that you receive the most appropriate accommodation based on your needs, contact the instructor as early as possible in the quarter (preferably within the first week of class), and make sure that
you have contacted the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD) at:
Lewis Center 1420, 25 East Jackson Blvd.
Phone number: (312)362-8002
Fax: (312)362-6544
TTY: (773)325.7296