This document provides information for an Information Architecture for the Web course offered in the summer of 2006. It includes the course instructor's contact information, required and recommended textbooks, an introduction to the course content which will cover HTML, CSS, XHTML, and web design principles. The document also outlines assignments, grading policies, a course schedule, and additional resources. The course aims to teach students basic web development skills and an understanding of information architecture and usability.

1. L571:
Information Architecture for the Web
Summer 2006 (ES 2116)
Wednesday: 5:30p-8:15p
Bill Helling [web@cdpl.lib.in.us ] and [whelling@indiana.edu]
765-362-2242 ext. 100
765-362-4788
[Introduction]
[Grading policy]
[Assignments]
[Course outline]
[Additional resources]
Required class text:
Rosenfeld, Louis and Peter Morville. (2002). Information architecture for the
world wide web, 2nd edition. O'Reilly & Associates.
Suggested class text:
I provide handouts and links to several sites that offer all you need to know about
our level of HTML and CSS. However, if you wish to have a book or reference
guide, consider any text that covers HTML 4.01 as well as CSS 2.0 (Note: One
book does not need to cover both topics). For example:
Castro, ELizabeth. (2002) HTML for the World Wide Web with XHTML and CSS:
Visual QuickStart Guide, Fifth Edition.
Introduction
The Internet is unlike anything that humankind has seen before. It is global in its
reach: With the proper equipment, the Internet can extend into any corner of our
world. It is robust in its architecture: Because it has no central control, the
Internet can't be totally stopped without every single connection being reached. It
is enabling: Any person or machine has the capability to communicate almost
instantaneously with another person or machine. It fosters free speech: Except
on very local levels, the Internet can't be completely censored or filtered. It

2. continues to grow: The Internet is growing and expanding at such a rate that the
keeping of statistics on this movement often seems to be based on conjecture.
This course emphasizes the development of certain basic skills that will allow you
to create web documents. This course also explores design, organization,
navigation, and interactivity aspects of web site creation. The study of these
aspects will allow you to appreciate the way that the Internet is changing the
nature of communication. You will then be able to understand better and perhaps
manage more efficiently this impact. You will do the following this semester:
• review current HTML markup
• develop proficiency in Cascading Stylesheets (CSS)
• explore the basics of DHTML (HTML+CSS+JavaScript)
• explore XHTML and prepare yourself for future directions in web authoring
• gain a better understanding of web page layout, design, labeling, and
navigation
• gain a better appreciation of what it takes to make a web site usable and
accessible
• understand how to organize a nd present digital information on the web
Through your grasp of technical skills and your understanding of the Internet as
an organizational challenge, you will be in a better position to recognize the role
that you or your organization can play in an info rmation network.
Grading Policy
To receive a passing grade in this course, you must turn in all the assignments
and the term project and do your presentation. You cannot pass this course
without doing all the assigned work. Note: Turning in all the work is not a
guarantee that you will pass the course.
Grades of I (Incomplete) may be assigned in this course only after discussion
with the instructor.
All assignments must be submitted on the dates specified in this syllabus. If you
cannot submit an assignment or cannot deliver a presentation on the date it is
due, it is your responsibility to discuss your situation with the instructor,
preferably in advance. Arrangements for the completion of the outstanding work
can be made only at the discretion of the instructor. Work turned in after the
assigned date will reflect a penalty, of course, applied at the discretion of the
instructor.
Criteria for evaluation

3. To receive a passing grade in this course, you must turn in all the assignments.
You cannot pass this course without doing all the assigned work. Note: Turning
in all the work is not a guarantee that you will pass the course. Grades of I
(Incomplete) may be assigned in this course only after discussion with the
instructor.
All assignments must be submitted o n the dates specified in this syllabus. If you
cannot submit an item on the date it is due, it is your responsibility to discuss
your situation with the instructor, preferably in advance. Arrangements for the
completion of the outstanding work can be made only at the discretion of the
instructor. Work turned in after the assigned date will reflect a penalty, of course,
applied at the discretion of the instructor.
Indiana University and School of Library and Information Science policies on
academic dishonesty will be followed. Students found to be engaging in
plagiarism, cheating, and other types of dishonesty will receive a failing grade for
the course.
Grade Computation:
A (4.0) Outstanding achievement
Student performance demonstrates full command of he course materials and
evinces a high level of originality and/or creativity that far surpasses course
expectations.
A- (3.7) Excellent achievement
Student performance demonstrates thorough knowledge of the course materials
and exceeds course expectations by completing all requirements in a superior
manner.
B+ (3.3) Very good work
Student performance demonstrates above-average comprehension of the course
materials and exceeds course expectations on all tasks as defined in the course
syllabus.
B (3.0) Good work
Student performance meets designated course expectations, demonstrates
understanding of the course materials and is at an acceptable level.
B- (2.7) Marginal work
Student performance demonstrates incomplete understanding of course
materials.
C+ (2.3) Unsatisfactory work
Student performance demonstrates incomplete and inadequate understanding of
course materials.
C (2.0) Unsatisfactory work
Student performance demonstrates incomplete and inadequate understanding of
course materials.
C- (1.7) Unacceptable work
Coursework performed at this level will not count toward the MLS or MIS degree.

4. For the course to count towards the degree, the student must repeat the course
with a passing grade.
D+ (1.3) Unacceptable work
Coursework performed at this level will not count toward the MLS or MIS degree.
For the course to count towards the degree, the student must repeat the course
with a passing grade.
D (1.0) Unacceptable work
Coursework performed at this level will not count toward the MLS or MIS degree.
For the course to count towards the degree, the student must repeat the course
with a passing grade.
D- (1.7) Unacceptable work
Coursework performed at this level will not count toward the MLS or MIS degree.
For the course to count towards the degree, the student must repeat the course
with a passing grade.
F (0.0) Failing
Student may continue in program only with permission of the Dean.
Note: If you are a student with a special need, please feel free to discuss it with
me.
Academic Misconduct
(Taken from Academic Handbook, 2001and the Code of Student Rights,
Responsibilities, and Conduct)
http://www.indiana.edu/~deanfac/acadhbk/acad_handbk_2001.pdf
1. Cheating
A student must not use or attempt to use unauthorized assistance, materials,
information, or study aids in any academic exercise, including, but not limited to,
the following:
• A student must not use external assistance on any "in-class" or "take-
home" examination, unless the instructor specifically has authorized
external assistance. This prohibition includes, but is not limited to, the use
of tutors, books, notes, and calculators.
• A student must not use another person as a substitute in the taking of an
examination or quiz.
• A student must not steal examinations or other course materials.
• A student must not allow others to conduct research or to prepare work for
him or her without advance authorization from the instructor to whom the
work is being submitted. Under this prohibition, a student must not make
any unauthorized use of materials obtained from commercial term paper
companies or from files of papers prepared by other persons.
• A student must not collaborate with other persons on a particular project
and submit a copy of a written report which is represented explicitly or
implicitly as the student's individual work.

5. • A student must not use any unauthorized assistance in a laboratory, at a
computer terminal, or on field work.
• A student must not submit substantial portions of the same academic work
for credit or honors more than once without permission of the instructor to
whom the work is being submitted.
• A student must not alter a grade or score in any way.
2. Fabrication
A student must not falsify or invent any information or data in an academic
exercise including, but not limited to, records or reports, laboratory results, and
citations to the sources of information.
3. Plagiarism
A student must not adopt or reproduce ideas, words, or statements of another
person without appropriate acknowledgment. A student must give credit to the
originality of others and acknowledge an indebtedness whenever he or she does
any of the following:
• Quotes another person's actual words, either oral or written;
• Paraphrases another person's words, either oral or written;
• Uses another person's idea, opinion, or theory; or
• Borrows facts, statistics, or other illustrative material, unless the
information is common knowledge.
4. Interference
• A student must not steal, change, destroy, or impede another student's
work. Impeding another student's work includes, but is not limited to, the
theft, defacement, or mutilation of resources so as to deprive others of the
information they contain.
• A student must not give or offer a bribe, promise favo rs, or make threats
with the intention of affecting a grade or the evaluation of academic
performance.
Assignments
Your web-based work must be clearly marked up. All assignments are to be
posted on the Web by class time on the date indicated. All markup must conform
to the HTML 4.01 standard excluding all deprecated HTML.
HTML/CSS markup

6. Due: May 31
Weight: 20%
You will design a mini web site for a library, business, an any other organization
of your choice. Start by creating a "home page" for this organization. On this
home page you must have:
• links to at least five external pages/documents that you do not own
• links to at least five other pages you have created for this site (these
pages can have "dummy" content)
• at least two images (not including a background image)
Within the site you must also have:
• at least two tables for information presentation
Link your site to at least one cascading stylesheet. Do not use any deprecated
HTML.
Accessibility assignment
Due: June 28
Weight: 15%
You will create a mini web site based on the topic of your choice. You must use a
stylesheet (internal or external). This home page must meet the standards for
accessibility as determined by the W3C discussed during the semester. Use the
WebXACT validator (http://webxact.watchfire.com/) to check your site's
accessibility to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0.
You will have at minimum:
• at least three external links to documents you do not own
• at least three links to other "dummy" pages you have created
• at least two tables for information presentation
• at least five images (not including a background image)
You can, of course, include any of the preceding requirements on the less-
developed dummy pages, if you wish, instead of trying to put them all on your
home page. Be sure, however, to make your home page an attractive starting
point.
XHMTL markup
Due: July 12
Weight: 20%

7. You will be given text to mark up using basic XHTML. You choose how you want
to tag the document as long as you conform to the XHTML 1.0 strict DTD. You
must use an external stylesheet. Your XHTML must . . .
• be valid and well formed
• use the proper syntax for all non-empty and empty elements
• contain properly formatted attributes and values
You must use a minimum amount of styles as categorized on the CSS Reference
Chart (css-quickref.doc)
• three from the FONT section
• three from the TEXT section
• three from the COLOR and BACKGROUND section
• three from the BOX section
Choose one of the following documents to mark up (these are .txt files):
• La Fontaine
• Blake
• Houseman
• Lear
• Villon
• Mother Goose selection
Final project
Due: August 2
Weight: 30%
Develop a web site for some organization: a business, a museum, a school, a
library, etc. You will consider developing a site for a real client, if possible. The
site should be useful, contain significant content, be attractive, and be targeted at
a specific audience. This site will thus combine your grasp of information
architecture (layout, design, navigation, branding, labeling, usability, accessibility,
etc.) with your markup abilities. Ideas for projects will be discussed in class
throughout the semester. Although no predetermined list of clients for this project
exists, you must clear your topic with the instructor.
Samples from previous classes (.txt file)
Grading Breakdown
Basic HTML markup = 20%
Accessibility assignment = 15%
XHTML markup = 20%

8. Final project = 30%
Participation = 15%
GRADE CALCULATOR (.xls file)
Course Outline
NOTE: read the assigned chapters before working on any assignment
Information for the world wide web (Rosenfeld & Morville) notes: Chapters
1-16 (.doc)
May 10
Introduction to Information Architecture
Introduction to the browser medium: Browser information
Introduction to publishing on the web: At IU, how can I publish personal pages on
Mypage?
HTML 4.01: HTML Review (.doc)
Minimal HTML: Minimal HTML
Introduction to HTML tables: tables
May 17
HTML review (cont.):
<head> section: Basic <head> Possibilities (.doc)
DOCTYPE: DOCTYPE list (.doc)
HTML entities: ASCII Entities for HTML (.doc)
Image formats: Common image formats for the Web (.doc)
Introduction to HTML forms: forms
Basic HTML forms: Basic HTML Forms (.doc)

9. Basic HTML page for review and practice: jefferson.html
Introduction to CSS: CSS Quick Reference Chart (.doc)
How to call a style: Calli ng CSS (.doc)
May 24
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (Part I): Chapters 1-3
Introduction to CSS (cont.)
CSS Syntax: CSS Syntax: internal and external (.doc) and CSS Syntax: inline
(.doc)
May 31
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (Part II): Chapters 4 -7
CSS Review: CSS samples
CSS Box Model: CSS Box Model (.doc)
June 7
no class
June 14
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (Part II): Chapters 8 -9
CSS Review (cont.): CSS samples
June 21
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (Part III): Chapters 10-12
Introduction to web accessibility
Making Your Web Site Accessible in Ten Easy Steps: PowerPoint presentation
Accessibility readings and exercises: accessibility.html
Accessibility basics: Introduction to Accessibility (.doc)

10. June 28
XHMTL: (W3Schools XHTML Tutorial: http://www.w3schools.com/xhtml/)
XHTML review: xhtml-intro.html
July 5
Information Architecture for the World Wide Web (Part IV): Chapters 13-16
Final project discussions
July 12
Introduction to JavaScript
JavaScript notes and samples: javascript-intro.html
Final project discussions
July 19
Introduction to DHTML
DHTML samples: dom-intro.html
DHTML Basics:
• DHTML and the DOM (.doc)
• DOM Event Handlers (.doc)
• Anatomy of a DHTML Event (.doc)
Special problems in IA:
• Web Usability (.doc)
• Web Page Layout and Design (.doc)
• Navigation (.doc)
July 26
Review of JavaScript and DHTML
Introduction to XML and future web trends
XML Samples and Exercises: XML Samples (.doc)

11. Review of IA principles
Special problems in IA
August 2
Final project presentations
Additional Resources
Information Architecture
IAwiki
http://www.iawiki.net/IAwiki
Wyllys, R.E. (2000). Information Architecture
http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~l38613dw/readings/InfoArchitecture.html
HTML
W3Schools HTML Tutorial
http://www.w3schools.com/html/
CSS
Design Detector: CSS2 Test Suite Failures (Christopher Hester, 2003)
http://www.designdetector.com/articles/results.html
Eric Meyer's CSS2 Test Suite
http://www.meyerweb.com/eric/css/tests/css2/
Page Layout, Design, and Usability
Anybrowser.org. (2004). Viewable With Any Browser Campaign for a Non-
Browser Specific WWW
http://www.anybrowser.org/campaign/
Flanders, V. (2004). Web pages that suck.
http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/
Gillespie, G. (2004). Web page design for designers
http://www.wpdfd.com/wpdhome.htm

12. Nielsen, J. (2004). The Alertbox: Current Issues in Web Usability
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/
Spiderpro (2001) Styleguide: 100 Do's and Don'ts in Web Design
http://www.spiderpro.com/pr/prstgm001.html
JavaScript
W3Schools. (2004). JavaScript Tutorial:
http://www.w3schools.com/js/
XHTML
Claben, M. (2001). XHTML 1.0: Where XML and HTML meet.
Webreference.com.
http://www.webreference.com/xml/column6/
Richmond, A. (2000). Introduction to XHTML, with eXamples. Web Developer's
Virtual Library.
http://www.wdvl.com/Authoring/Languages/XML/XHTML/
DHTML
Brattli, T. (2004). DHTMLcentral.com: Home page
http://www.dhtmlcentral.com/
W3Schools. (2004). DHTML Tutorial
http://www.w3schools.com/dhtml/
Web Site Content and Navigation
Morris, C. (2004). Basic Principles of Web Site Navigation. Web Developer's
Journal
http://www.webdevelopersjournal.com/articles/navigation.html
Zaphiris, P. and Mtei, L. Depth vs Breadth in the Arrangement of Web Links
http://www.otal.umd.edu/SHORE/bs04/
Web Site Accessibility
Webreference: Accessibility and the Web
http://www.webreference.com/authoring/design/usability/accessibility/
Web Site Accessibility (2004)
http://www.lgta.org/accessibility/

13. WebABLE (2004)
http://www.webable.com/
State of Connecticut Universal Website Accessibility Policy (2002)
http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/policies/accesspolicy40.html
Website Accessibility - Access Washington (2001)
http://www.aasa.dshs.wa.gov/access/default.htm
Validators
W3C HTML/XHTML Validator
http://validator.w3.org/
W3C CSS Validation Service
http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/validator-uri.html
You can also install a software program on your computer to perform
HTML validation. Here are some examples:
TidyGUI
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/ablavier/TidyGUI/
CSE HTML Validator Lite
http://www.htmlvalidator.com/lite/
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