July 21, 2020
By Sarah Swarz
With nearly 60% of the world’s population online, the internet is a vital resource in today’s ever-changing world. In fact, internet users are anticipated to spend a cumulative 1.25 billion years online this year alone. Developing the skills to harness this technology offers a clear advantage that can open doors to coveted positions, projects and promotions.
Starting this fall, Oakland University students can learn the basics of website construction, optimization and responsiveness in the new course Web Technologies for Managing Information Resources (MIS 1050). In the fully online course, which satisfies the university’s natural science and technology general education requirement, students learn how to plan, design, implement, and manage websites.
“From accounting to zoology, web tech shows up in virtually every area of business,” says Kieran Mathieson, Ph.D., associate professor, MIS, who teaches the course. “Whether used for communication, education, employment, commerce, news or entertainment, law or IT, basic web development skills can pay off.”
The course focuses on web technologies such as HTML and CSS, organizing components for productivity, and the responsible use of web technology. Hands-on projects mean students develop valuable skills that they can use for future personal or professional projects.
Coursework will center around the cornerstones of web development including:
- Code: Using templates like those in Bootstrap, students will learn the basics of coding.
- Accessibility: Students will create sites that screen reading software can navigate for viewers with disabilities.
- Responsive Design: Using available templates, students will select site layouts that are responsive on phone, tablet, and computer.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): For the final project, students will learn how to optimize sites so they appear on Google searches, boosting visibility.
Students who enroll will need internet access and a web hosting account with their own domain (approximately $30). Additional textbooks are not required. The course will be available Fall 2020 (CRN 45022) and Winter 2021 (CRN 15583).