Fall 2007 week 10: 11/21

Hello everybody, I hope that I haven't disappointed you by not putting up the blog posting until now. I figured that I'd give you a break this week with regard to homework because of the holiday. So, this week there won't be any official homework that I will check. I will recommend, however, that you do continue to work on the site that is due in just a few short weeks. The next two classes will cover what I call case-studies which give examples of pages to create and how to create them. The two classes will deal primarily with how to create a pleasing layout in a web-page. At this point in the course I have covered all that I am going to cover in both XHTML and CSS. The rest of the term is going to be geared toward practical application of what we have learned in this class about CSS and HTML and how we can get them to work well together in a design so that it is pleasing. Basically, for the rest of the class I will be teaching you real design for the first time, and this is not something that you can get in a step-by-step fashion the way that I have given you all other material up until now. You will have to come to class for it and talk to me individually about your own project. Therefore, this blog will from now on will not recap a tutorial of each week's class anymore, but will simply serve as a place to read anything that I might need to tell you, for updates on the class, to find out what the homework is, and to get all the information about the final project. Carter-

1. HOMEWORK —Final Project, Part III: Starting two weeks ago, the homework for each class has been part of the final project. It has not been extraneous to what you will be required to do and what will be due the last day of class. If you produce your homework during these last two weeks, you will be largely finished with the project well before it is due.
   So far you should have completed part A below by last week. This week, although I will not check it for credit, you should at least start on part B for class on Wednesday of this week, and I will look at it if you wish. Then try to have both B and C complete for next week.
   1. Create the Introductory Page for the final project website—page 1 of the site;
   2. Create the Two (2) Form Pages for the final project website—pages 5 & 6 of the site:
      1. Page 5: FORM I PAGE—Mailing List (form) The elements required for this form are as follows:
         • title (ms./mrs./ms.)—radio buttons;
         • first name—text box;
         • middle initial—text box;
         • last name—text box;
         • address—text box;
         • city—text box;
         • state—drop-down menu;
         • zip code—text box;
         • day telephone number—text boxes;
         • evening telephone number—text boxes;
         • email address—text box;
         • submit button—button;
      2. Page 6: FORM II PAGE—Order Information (form) The elements required for this form are as follows:
         • which books you wish to order—radio buttons;
         • title (ms./mrs./ms.)—radio buttons;
         • first name—text box;
         • middle initial—text box;
         • last name—text box;
         • age—text box;
         • address—text box;
         • city—text box;
         • state—drop-down menu;
         • zip code—text box;
         • day telephone number—text boxes;
         • evening telephone number—text boxes;
         • email address—text box;
         • credit card type—radio buttons;
         • credit card number—text box;
         • credit card expiration date—drop-down menus;
         • credit card security code—text box;
         • submit button—button;
   3. Create the His Books Page for the final project website—page 2 of the site; see below all the information that this requires.
2. FINAL PROJECT
   • LINK   click here for information about the Final Project, or read below. Starting this week we will be working on the final project which is a website for a Children's Book Writer, Bruce Goldstone. Please read the information provided, and click on the links to download additional information and the images.
   • LINK   images 1 click here and below to download images. PLEASE NOTE These are very large files.
   • LINK   images 2
   • LINK   images 3
   • LINK   images 4
   • LINK   images 5
   • LINK   images 6
   1. CONTENT REQUIREMENTS: 
      1. Page 1: INTRO PAGE—this page includes some kind of appropriate imagery of your choice with a series of links: About Bruce, His Books, Image Gallery, Mailing List, Order Form . In this page, you should establish the color scheme that you will use throughout your design for this site. You should also establish ‘the look’ you are going for with the sort of imagery you choose and the fonts you select.
         1. In addition to the imagery here, and the links, we should also see the name of the website Bruce_Goldstone.com.
         2. It should say somewhere that he is a children's book writer.
         3. You should also place an image from his new book (all the images that I gave you are from the same book—Great Estimations).
         4. Also necessary, is the the title of the new book, Great Estimations.
         5. And finally, in addition to all of this in the Intro page, you also need to mention that it is available in bookstores everywhere.
      2. Page 2: 'ABOUT BRUCE' PAGE—this page includes one image of the author, and text about him (to be furnished at a later time). The main thing you need to know about him right now to start your site is that he is a children’s book author.
      3. Page 3: 'HIS BOOKS' PAGE—This page includes a thumbnail image of each book (all of which you can download online; and, the thumbnail should also be clickable to get to a larger image that pops up in a different window) along with the following text.
         • Great Estimations (his latest book)—thanks to jaw-dropping color photos, the author, Bruce Goldstone, lays out a mixed assemblage of toys, pipe cleaners, marbles, peanuts, and other small items. He helps viewers train themselves to estimate the size of groups of about 10 things on sight, then goes on to present similar, often fetchingly arranged, materials by hundreds and (!) thousands. He also describes "clump counting" and "box and count" methods, offering pages chock-full of plastic bugs ("It isn't gross--it's a gross."), dog and cat stamps, a penguin colony, tiny rice grains, a bowl of jellybeans, and more. Including hints for each exercise, and frequent reminders that the goal is a "reasonable estimate," not an exact number, this book lends itself equally well to skill building and to casual reading.
         • The Beastly Feast—The centerpiece is arranged and the table is set, ready for The Beastly Feast. Fishes bring knishes, puffins come bearing muffins, and mosquitoes bring burritos as the guests prance and zip across the pages to this deliriously raucous food fest. Young readers will delight in the chaos that ensues when the flies' pie crashes onto the festive table loaded with parrots' carrots, antelopes' cantaloupe, and other potluck dishes. They also will find it hard to resist manipulating the delicious word pairs and adding their own silly rhymes. Goldstone has created a rhyming story with a minimum of words that may remind readers of Bill Martin's Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (S & S, 1989) in its exuberant beat and topsy-turvy outcome. It is Lent's fabulous illustrations, however, that place this book in its own unique class. The artist made his own paper and then printed it with colorful patterns using cut cardboard and linoleum. The resulting lively collages and layout convey a sense of movement and excitement. The rich visual details nicely balance the simple words and add complexity to an otherwise straightforward plot. This collaboration is cause for celebration; The Beastly Feast will give youngsters lots of reasons to rejoice.
         • Ten Friends—"If you could ask 10 friends to tea, tell me who your friends would be," begins Goldstone's rollicking, rhyming approach to addition and multiplication. In each of 10 spreads, the unseen narrator suggests different combinations that add up to 10, which Cahoon (Word Play ABC) interprets in vibrantly saturated spreads of an anthropomorphized menagerie. A rose-hued stage scene featuring a sextet of flamingos en pointe, partnered with four leaping frogs, for instance, illustrates the equation 6 + 4; while 8 + 2 translates into eight mouse tailors cavorting among spools and thread, joined by two plunger-toting elephant plumbers. Whenever the equations lengthen beyond two addends, the rhyming text takes on jovial patter-song silliness: "How about 1 prince, 1 painter, and 2 potters, 1 diner, 1 miner, 1 major, and 3 otters?" Finally, the book offers up the cumulative possibility of what would happen "if ALL your friends show up": it's the number 100, the magnitude of which is driven home by a page filled with thumbnail portraits of every one of the participants. Exuberantly stylish, this painless introduction to the power of 10 should prove to be many aspiring mathematicians' cup of tea.
         • Bip in a Book—Marcel Marceau's genius for the art of silence has astonished and delighted audiences of all ages for more than 50 years. Bip is Marceau's beloved alter ego, a hapless clown with unlimited curiosity and compassion. Since his debut in 1947, Bip has bravely explored every imaginable location, from a skating rink to a lion cage. But he has never been trapped inside the pages of a book... until now. In Bip in a Book, this richly evocative drama is reinterpreted for a new generation. Once again Marceau's famous innocent is trapped, but this time he is confined not by an imaginary cage, but by a page. Dressed in his signature striped pullover and battered opera hat, Bip is happily oblivious to his plight until he walks smack into the right edge of the page. As the reader turns the pages, Bip's imaginative exploration of this unexpected situation is told through 32 vivid photographs, each underscoring Marceau's outstanding gift of expression. Anyone who loves the theater will cherish these playful photographs of a modern master at work, but even readers who have never seen Bip will be drawn to the creativity and suspense of this one-of-a-kind story.
         • Why is Blue Dog Blue?—for years Blue Dog's bold blueness has captivated adults. Now children get to join in the fun when they open this vibrant book, which finally answers the question we've all wondered about since we first met Blue Dog's riveting stare: Why is Blue Dog blue? Blue Dog's creator, George Rodrigue, takes readers on a playful tour of his unique color world. In it, he combines preposterous puns with all-new whimsical Blue Dog silkscreens to go where other color guides are too yellow-bellied to tread. Readers of all ages will giggle as Blue Dog changes color from red or green to auburn or chartreuse. By the end of the book, they will see that the artist's reasoning is both logical and magical: Blue Dog simply had to be blue.
         • A Gnome’s Christmas—When a mysterious greenwood box is discovered in the rafters of an old barn in northern Finland, it is found to contain tiny bundles of paper, each revealing remarkable descriptions of the Christmas rituals of the gnomes. In every gnome home around the world, Christmas lasts an entire month, and it signals the coming of a new year, which the gnomes ring in with a blessing: "May this year be full of proud deeds and silly games, beautiful songs and hearty feasts, clever jokes, loving friends, and enough surprises to keep us on our toes."     Following in the tradition of Gnomes (which sold one million copies), The Complete Gnomes, and The Secret Lives of Gnomes, A Gnome's Christmas is the latest study on the lives and cultural habits of gnomes. This delightful book features songs, stories, games, and recipes for holiday treats, as well as captivating artwork by celebrated artist Rien Poortvliet. Including a special holiday ornament, A Gnome's Christmas is a must-have for gnomeophiles and Christmas fans of all ages.
      4. Page 4: IMAGE GALLERY PAGE—a whole series of photographic images used in his latest book placed in a thumbnail gallery. These thumbnails should be clickable to get to larger versions of the same images that pop up in a new window.
      5. Page 5: FORM I PAGE—Mailing List (form) Page, specific form elements to be given at a later date.
      6. Page 6: FORM II PAGE—Order Information (form) Page, specific form elements to be given at a later date.
       
   2. DESIGN REQUIREMENTS: 
      1. Color Scheme—you must choose a color scheme for your web-site that you can show to me or describe to me. My suggestions are to keep it simple, easy, non-complicated. Keep in mind who your audience is and what the subject matter is.
      2. Page Layout—you must use CSS and/or tables to lay out all pages in a pleasing way. If you are not certain how to do this, consult our past classes and me for assistance.
   3. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: 
      1. XHTML—ALL CODE for this site must be typed using STRICT XHTML standards. This means the following:
         • that all tags and their attributes must be typed in lower case;
         • that all attribute values must be typed in quotes and with units;
         • that the DTD for strict XHTML must be typed at the top of the document;
         • that all empty tags must be typed with the slash at the end, such as with the <br/> tag;
         • that none of the deprecated inline tags are to be used, such as the <font>, <b>, <u>, or <i> tags;
         • and, in addition, that the <tbody> and the <thead> tags, as well as the height attribute for the <table> and <td> tags, are not permitted.
             If you are uncertain about something, you can consult the requirements at the w3schools site (LINK), or you may ask me. Furthermore, the use of DreamWeaver is permitted; however, please note that DreamWeaver does not create strict XHTML. Therefore, you will have to go through the code and edit it yourself to make certain it follows strict standards.
      2. CSS—ALL STYLING must be done using CSS. We have used it extensively in this class, so it is a requirement that this site use CSS for the styling of the page. All three levels of styles may be, and are encouraged to be used. Please consult me if you need additional assistance with this.
      3. Frameset—EVERYONE must utilize a frameset for this site with at least TWO FRAMES, one for content and one for navigation.