Course Description: Study of the design and development of the World Wide Web as a corporate communications tool. Emphasis on project planning and research, web site design and management. Focus on the lexicon of the web, the tools and techniques of e-commerce and web site promotion. Attention to research and web communication management principles. Prerequisite: SMAD 201 and 202, or permission of instructor

Required Text: None

Required Domain Name/Hosting:
Each student is required to obtain a domain name and a low-cost hosting account. More information can be found here.

Required Supplies:
(1) USB Pen Drive (at least 128 megabytes)
*** Note: The USB Pen Drive must have at least 100 megabytes available for use in this class. If you use the device for your other classes or other purposes, you'll need to make sure you have enough room available for the personal web site you'll be making for this class.

Disability Policy: Any student who has a disability that may prevent him or her from fully demonstrating his or her abilities should contact the instructor to discuss accommodations necessary to ensure full participation and facilitate his or her educational opportunities.

Honor Code: Students shall observe complete honesty in all academic matters. You are expected to read the Honor Code online at: http://www.jmu.edu/honor/Honor%20Code.htm. The Honor System web site is located at: http://www.jmu.edu/honor.

Attendance Policy:
Any student who does not attend the first two (2) scheduled meetings of the class will be administratively dropped from the class. All students are responsible for verifying the accuracy of their schedules through the web at http://www.jmu.edu/registrar.

Prompt and regular class attendance is crucial to your success in this class and you are expected to attend every session. Class roll will be taken daily at the beginning of class. You will be allowed one (1) absence in this class. Please realize that one absence is not encouraged, but will be accepted without a grade deduction. The second absence will result in the lowering of your final grade by one letter grade, as determined by faculty attendance records. A fourth absence will result in a lowering of your final grade by one additional letter grade. Absences are counted from the first day of class regardless of when you registered.

If you arrive late to class after roll has been taken, it is your responsibility to notify me as such at the end of that class period. Do not fail to tell me, because it is not my responsibility to keep track of who arrives late. If you don't tell me at the end of the class period, you were not in class.

These absences are intended to accommodate illness, emergencies and all other circumstances. You do not need to contact me if you're sick, just plan on using your one absence. There is no distinction made between "excused" and "unexcused" absences after the first one. All absences beyond one are unexcused at that point.

Assignments:

Test 1: (15%)

Test 2: (15%)

Final Exam: (10%)

Personal/Professional Web Site: (10%)
      This assignment requires you to create a web site that will be available via your domain name and hosting account. This will be a multi-page site to showcase you and your work. The site will include the following pages:
- Home page (index.html)
- Bio page (bio.html)
    - Keep in mind that this page will be available to everyone, so only place information on this page that you are comfortable with others seeing.
- Resume page (resume.html)
     - Format with a table
- Either a Links page (links.html) or a Portfolio page (portfolio.html). For a Portfolio page, you should be able to include one or more of the following:
    - Screen shots
    - Writing samples
    - Audio or video clips

Abstract Assignment #1: (10%)
      Create a link to an abstract of an online news article pertaining to Search Engine Optimization on your Personal/Professional Web Site. Write a 500-700 word abstract of the article and place a link to the article at the bottom of the abstract. You will use the computer in class to show your abstract page, the abstract you wrote and the link you created. Show the article you abstracted and explain the article in your own words. Don't read the abstract verbatim. Do tell us what the article is about in an extemporaneous style. Preparation is involved, but there is to be no memorization or written manuscript. You may use notes. If you use notes, hand them to me at the end of your presentation. Your presentation must be between 5 and 7 minutes duration. Think of this as a professional business presentation. You have to explain to your colleagues what this issue or service is all about. Dress professionally. Keep in mind that both your command of the issue and your delivery will be evaluated. [Leave the abstract and link to the article on the page until after the end of the semester].  

Abstract Assignment #2: (10%)
      Create a link to an abstract of an online news article pertaining to Online Advertising or Online Marketing on your Personal/Professional Web Site. Write a 500-700 word abstract of the article and place a link to the article at the bottom of the abstract.You will use the computer in class to show your abstract page, the abstract you wrote and the link you created. Show the article you abstracted and explain the article in your own words. Don't read the abstract verbatim. Do tell us what the article is about in an extemporaneous style. Preparation is involved, but there is to be no memorization or written manuscript. You may use notes. If you use notes, hand them to me at the end of your presentation. Your presentation must be between 5 and 7 minutes duration. Think of this as a professional business presentation. You have to explain to your colleagues what this issue or service is all about. Dress professionally. Keep in mind that both your command of the issue and your delivery will be evaluated. [Leave the abstract and link to the article on the page until after the end of the semester].

E-Marketing Project Proposal: (30%)
      There are two part to this assignment:
1. Paper (75%)
2. Presentation (25%)
      Write an E-marketing/advertising plan for a product or service that could benefit from an online presence. This would include a web site you would like to put online, but it might also include email, listservs, chat, banner ads on other sites and multimedia elements. Justify the inclusion of each element. You will not actually create the web site, but a description of the site's features will be important.
      You are to create a 10 - 12 page paper (double spaced, 12 point type, normal margins) not including the appendices. The papers should take the form of a "project proposal." You are trying to convince your corporate bosses or a venture capital executive to "buy into" your idea and fund it. Or, you may view this is a presentation to other employees of your company who may be other mid-level and upper-level managers. The project proposal would utilize the following format:

- Paper
- Cover Page: Letterhead for your company at top (Company name, address contact info.)
- Proposal to: (Company Name)
- Project Title:
- Attention: (Name & Title i.e. Corporate Executive or Venture Capital President)
- Date:
Sections of the document should probably include the following sections, but don't feel limited to only these sections:
- Product/Service Name
- URL of your site (Should actually be available)
- Product/Service Features
- Target market
- Goals
- Competition Anaylsis (Or, analysis of "like" sites, if no/little competition).
- Online features
- Information to be collected and methods
- Keywords managed and ranking of these terms as to importance
- Search Engine Optimization techniques
- Advertising/Promotion Efforts (Online & Offline)
- Any new media approaches (i.e. podcasting, blogs, RSS etc.)
- Web hosting information
- E-Commerce, storefront, shopping cart, merchant account, credit card processing issues (if applicable)
- Security/Privacy needs
- Costs (Hosting, staffing, equipment, software, resources etc.)
- Timeline & Deadlines
- Evaluation
- Appendices:
      - A: List of meta keywords and meta description used in meta tags
      - B: Information showing competition information and "links in" from sources such as Alexa, AltaVista etc.
      - C: List of staff positions and job description for each employee involved in the ongoing maintenance of the site: technical, creative and content creators.

- Presentation:
      The file must be created using either Microsoft Word or WordPerfect and should be called lastname.doc (use your lastname) or lastname.wpd. Upload the file into your "Private" FTP site for class. This must be uploaded by the deadline. I will check your directory for the file, move it to another location and grade it.
      Create a PowerPoint presentation and show it on the computer at the front of the class. Make sure you test it on the computer in the room before your presentation. If it doesn't work, you didn't test it. The PPT presentation should look professional. The background and fonts should be appropriate for your company. Consider using screen shots of your competitors' web sites and other graphics to enliven what would otherwise be a text-heavy presentation. You will give a 10 - 14 minute presentation of your E-marketing plan in front of the class. At the beginning of your presentation, you should provide the class with some context as to who you are and who they are. For example, you might explain that you are the Internet Director of the company and they are other managers at the same company. (This portion of the presentation will be untimed). You can go as long as 14 minutes, but no longer. Think of this as a professional business presentation. You have to explain to your audience what your proposal is all about. Dress professionally. Keep in mind that both your content and delivery will be evaluated.