Digital Learning Center : Sample Online Course Syllabus

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Digital Learning Center
Distance Education & Instructional Development

Sample Online Course Syllabus

CISW 370: Designing Accessible Web Sites

Prof. Stephanie Low Office: Room B221b

Email: lows@scc.losrios.edu Voice mail: (916) xxx-xxxx

Office Phone: (916) 650-xxx
Catalogue Description:
Units: 1.0
Prerequisite: CISW 300 with a grade of "C" or better, GCOM 361 with a grade of "C" or better, or equivalent experience designing Web pages.
Advisory: Prior experience designing Web pages with any markup language, such as hypertext markup language (HTML).
Course Transferable to CSU
Hours: 18 hours LEC
Catalog Description: This course provides an overview of the methods that are used to design Web sites for people with disabilities. Current legal requirements for accessible Web sites, especially the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are emphasized.

Course Objectives: As a result of taking this course, a student should be able to:

Describe the current legal requirements for designing Web sites for people with disabilities.

Evaluate the accessibility levels of various types of Web sites.

Formulate coding strategies for generating accessible Web sites.

Interpret accessibility standards and guidelines such as the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI).

Locate disability and Web accessibility resources.

Test specialized browsers and other Internet software for people with disabilities.

This course is based on the Curriculum for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0: Course Outline developed by the Education and Outreach Working Group of the Web Accessibility Initiative. Prepared for the WAI by Chuck Letourneau, Starling Access Services, and Geoff Freed, National Center for Accessible Media. [Accessed on June 23, 2003 at: http://www.w3.org/WAI/wcag-curric/]. Copyright © 2000 W3C (MIT, INRIA, Keio), All Rights Reserved.

Course Requirements:
This syllabus is considered a contract between you and the professor. It includes the "rules" for taking the course, including the professor's expectations of your performance and behavior during the course. In return, the professor will honor the specifications of the course as outlined in this syllabus. No changes will be made without a class discussion and agreement. However, the class cannot vote to change the syllabus without the full agreement of the professor.
Students with documented disabilities will be given reasonable accommodations. Contact the Disabilities Resource Center at (916) 558-2283 for more information. Documentation must be provided in the first week of classes.

What you need to take this course:

Textbook: Slatin, John M. & Rush, Sharron. (2003). Maximum Accessibility - Making Your Web Site More Usable for Everyone . Addison-Wesley. [ISBN: 0-201-77422-4]

You must have access to a computer that connects to the Internet. The course materials are only accessible online by logging in to http://blackboard.losrios.edu - your student identification number is required. If you do not own a computer, the computer labs on campus will be open during this semester.

You must have a working e-mail account. Your first assignment will be to update your e-mail address on the course Web site. Instructions are online at http://blackboard.losrios.edu - you must log in to see the course materials. Please note:
Because of e-mail viruses, Prof. Low does not accept e-mail from unknown sources. Therefore, you must use the subject CIS W370 and your full name typed in the message, or the e-mail may be ignored.
It’s impossible for Prof. Low to be familiar with every e-mail software application on the market, so please don’t ask for technical assistance.

You must check your e-mail account regularly throughout the semester. Official announcements will be made by e-mail, and on the course Web site at http://blackboard.losrios.edu.

You are responsible for saving all assignments correctly, so you can turn them in electronically. You should be comfortable using word processing software, and have reasonable keyboarding skills. All assignments will REQUIRE you to use word processing or text editing software. No assignments will be accepted in handwritten form.

In order to complete Projects 3 and 4, which are worth 75% of the course grade, you will need a Web site composed of at least 4-5 Web pages. The site does not need to be your original work, but you must be familiar with developing and/or modifying the code to meet these requirements:
If the site does not already comply with XHTML 1.0 Transitional guidelines, Project 4 will require conversion or additional effort from you. Formatting must be accomplished using cascading style sheets (CSS). No use of the ←font→ code!

If the page layout is done with tables, you will have some additional work to do in order to achieve compliance with the accessibility guidelines. Eliminating the table-based layout is strongly recommended.

Although it does not have to be fully functional, at least one form is also required.

Supplies: Although you will be publishing (uploading) your assignments, it's a good idea to keep copies of everything. If you don’t have a Web site or page that is currently uploaded to a server, send an e-mail to lows@scc.losrios.edu, with CISW 370 student account in the subject line. You will be given the username and password to a temporary account on the CIS Web server, to use while you are taking this course.

Grading Policy:
Academic honesty is expected. You are expected to do your own work, unless the assignment is specified as a group assignment. You will receive a grade of zero on any assignment for which you do not do your own work or when unauthorized resources are used. The matter will be referred to the Business Division Dean and Campus Discipline Officer for appropriate action.

The Introduction Assignment and Projects will each have a point value based on degree of difficulty.
• Introduction: 10 points
• Project 1: 30 points
• Project 2: 20 points
• Project 3: 80 points
• Project 4: 100 points
• Total: 240 points

Your grade for the course will be determined by the percentage of possible points that you have earned for all assignments, and letter grades will be awarded according to these standards.
90-100% = A
80- 89% = B
70- 79% = C
60- 69% = D
0- 59% = F

Attendance Policy:
Orientation is optional for students who need help using Blackboard. Date and time are listed in the class schedule as well as in the course Web site. You are responsible for all material covered and all assignments given, regardless of personal illness, family emergency, or computer system failures.
Although this is an online course, it is not self-paced. Reasonable deadlines have been set to insure that you have adequate time to complete all assignments within the current session. Active participation in this class is required. Anyone who misses two due dates in a row, or more than three due dates, without communicating with the instructor prior to the due date, will be withdrawn from the course by the instructor.
All assignments will be due by midnight, Pacific time, on the announced due date. Late penalties will be applied as follows:
• -5% for each day past the due date and time
• Up to -25% maximum penalty
• No assignments will be accepted if submitted more than two weeks past the announced deadline, or after the last day of the current session.

Course Structure
The course is divided into three modules:

Module 1: Introduction to Accessibility Issues

Introducing Web Accessibility

Legal Requirements, Policies and Standards

Identifying Web Accessibility Barriers

Module 2: Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Guidelines

Using Standards and Guidelines

Priority Levels

Matching Checkpoints to the WAI Guidelines

Module 3: Implementing the Checkpoints

Using the WAI Example Set

Creating Accessible Web Sites

Testing and Validation

Assignments
Due dates and detailed instructions for all assignments are online at the course Web site. Students will log in at http://blackboard.losrios.edu. Students are responsible for all changes made during the course, which will be announced in the course Web site. The printed syllabus will not be updated.

In addition to a mandatory Introduction Assignment (see below), you will complete four Projects.

Project 1: Discussion Forum about Accessibility Issues

Project 2: Experience Accessibility Barriers

Project 3: (33% of course grade)

Analyze the accessibility of an existing Web site and identify the WAI Guidelines that were violated.

Project 4: (42% of course grade)

Using the WAI Guidelines, Checkpoint Set, and Example Set, develop a Web site that complies with the WCAG Priority 2 Level. Part of this assignment will be to review a classmate’s Web site for accessibility.

Introduction Assignment, due by Wednesday, September 28, midnight (Pacific Time) Failure to complete this assignment on time will be interpreted to mean that you do not intend to complete the course. You will be dropped! This assignment is worth 10 points.

Log into the course Web site at http://blackboard.losrios.edu.

On the Welcome page, use the link to Personal Information (in the Tools area under the “Welcome” tab). Choose “Edit Personal Information” and be sure your e-mail address is accurate. You can also change your first name here—to use a nickname, for example. Please do not change your last name, unless it has been officially changed in college records.

Enter the course Web site, and go to the Communication area, then into the Discussion Boards. Under “Introduction Assignment”, introduce yourself to the class, including:

Why are you taking this course?

A link to an example of a Web site or page you created. If you don’t have a Web site or page that is currently uploaded to a server, send an e-mail to lows@scc.losrios.edu, with “CISW 370 student account” in the subject line. You will be given the username and password to a temporary account on the CIS Web server, to use while you are taking this course. Upload your work to that server, and then provide a link from the Discussion Board to your Web site or pages.