TT284 Tutorial 4: Starts at 19:00

1. TT284 Tutorial 4: Starts at 19:00 “Server Attention Span" from xkcd at http://xkcd.com// Accessed 11/09/2012.

2. TT284-13B Tutorial 4 Start the recording! Karl R. Wilcox

3. Proposed Agenda • EMA Review • Report Writing • Where To Next? • Any questions? • (Do ask as we go along via chat box or draw my attention via the hand’s up icon.) • (There is also material on referencing for information only)

4. Where we are: Practicals

5. Important Dates in 2013 • EMA pt 2 (project) Thu 26 September • NO EXTENSIONS ON EMAs • Deadline is midday

6. What Have We Learnt? • Wireframing • XHMTL – Content description language for web pages • CSS – Styling information for web pages (and other things) • Page Design – Guidelines for layout (user expectations) • Site Navigation – Consistency, ease of use • Accessibility – Guidelines, testability • PHP – Server side language for content management • Javascript – client side language for interaction • Mobile device rendering • Software versioning The EMA brings it altogether

7. The EMA

8. EMA – Breakdown of marks

9. The Application Requirements Based on the outcome of their discussions the admin­team has identified the following features for the application. • Race results • Race events • Other events • Membership • News items • Mailings • Authorisation • Browsers

10. 1. Wireframe • Help to clarify the overall structure • Requirements can be rationalised into coherent pages • Administration Application • See http://norton.open.ac.uk/tt284/ourc/wireframes/v1.0/home • What to submit • All the files that make up your wirefame solution should be collected together into a single Zip archive, so as to retain any folder structure that you may have created. Name the archive TT284_Wireframes.zip.

11. 2. HTML Form Template • Needn’t comply with OU ICE guidelines – must be standard compliant. • Form to capture OURC Email: XHTML (strict) & CSS 2.1 • Action : ‘http://students.open.ac.uk/mct/tt284/reflect/reflect.php • Method : post • sessionID : ABCDEF01­ABCD­-ABCD­-ABCD-­ABDC-ABCDEF012345 • What to submit • The HTML and CSS files and the two validation reports should be collected together into a single Zip archive so as to retain any folder structure you may have created. Name the archive TT284_Template.zip.

12. 3. Mobile Design Solution • Single CSS stylesheetto control the mobile display • HTML Form to be displayed on a mobile device • JavaScript : external file to control style sheets selection • Directory of images • DOM tree shown in EMA documentation • Width <= 480 pixels • What to submit • Combine the CSS stylesheet file ‘mobilestyles.css’ and any image files you may have used in your design into a Zip archive named TT284_Mobile.zip.

13. 4. Version Control • Careful management of the application development • SVN Repository • Asset management • What to submit • (included in the Report document)

14. Report • Wireframe explanation (300-400 words) • Security and data validation (300-400 words) • Development Tools (300-400 words) • Acceptance test plan (no limit) • Version control evidence & captions (no limit) • Developing at Scale (500-600 words) • What to submit • The Report TT284_Report.doc / .docx

15. EMA Clarifications • Confirmation that the form captures an e-mail • Corrects small error in mark scheme • Word counts are guides – 10% leeway • But longer is not necessarily better! • Use of Pencil for wireframes • Submit the whole exported structure • What is expected from a wireframe • Navigation and layout only, not functionality Keep checking the forums and News But don’t forget…

16. EMA Clarifications - 2 “The aim of the EMA is for youto demonstrate what you have learned about recent developments in the use of web technologies and the creation of web applications, and describe how they might be applied to a specific business scenario. It is an academic exercise in that youare expected to justify your choices and, where appropriate to contrast them with alternatives.” Extract from EMA document “Aims”

17. EMA Clarifications - 3 “The project is wide ranging, but has been designed so that all students should be able to make some progress towards the overall goals. However, the project is open-ended in the sense that there are alternative approaches and many possible modifications or improvements. It is up to you to decide how far you want to go, or feel able to go. Extract from EMA document “Scope” Don’t expect to be told every step!

18. Report Writing We don’t have time to cover every slide in detail… But this is a useful resource, please download and read at your own pace!

19. Planning Report effectively • What is a report? • Stages of Report planning • Analysing a question • Gathering ideas • Devising a plan to suit you • How to get started

20. What is a Report? • A continuous piece of writing, arranged in clearly demarcated paragraphs, in which an argument is developed • The argument is supplemented by evidence, which you are required to analyse and evaluate, before reaching a conclusion

21. What a Report is not? • A report is not an essay. • Essays do not reproduce information available elsewhere, but are something new and expressive of your individual abilities to analyse and synthesise • Essays allow the artistic talent of the individual to come to the fore.

22. Writing a Report • Checking the EMA: • What are the main points you can see are required? • What is it asking you to do to find out your information? • Is this a technical report or a review? • How are the points allocated? • What is the word count?

23. Analysing a question • Make sure you have a question! • Be clear about the topic • Be clear about the focus of the topic • Be clear about your instructions: what does the EMA want you to do? • Write down the title and underline key terms: what would constitute a logical answer?

24. Relevance and logic: a reminder • Your written answer must be wholly relevant to the report title (don’t include other material just because you can!) • Your answer must develop logically and have clear ‘signposts’ from one paragraph to the next indicating the direction of your argument

25. Report Planning • A report plan is a flexible guide for your own use, to help you stay focused on the question. Think about: • What are the main ideas to cover? • How will you cover these ideas? What will your evidence be? • What are the key points you want to make?

26. Report Planning • When we produce any academic work we spend 20% of the time thinking about what we will say or do. So here the thinking time is when we gather in 80% of the marks • ... The other 80% of the time is spent in ‘polishing’ the essay. • So when thinking what do we need to focus on: • Our conclusion • What do we think the evidence available ‘means’ • The main body • What ‘bits’ of evidence support the conclusion we are asserting. • That only leaves the Introduction.

27. Report Planning • As an initial plan • Work backwards from the conclusion to the introduction. • Decide what your conclusion is • Marshall the evidence to support it • Then write the introduction to say ‘what you are going to do’. • Remember the ‘rude’ joke about Australian wine ‘you make it then you decide what it is!’ • The following slides should help.

28. Make your plan suit you • Remember that different learners have different learning styles: • Visual learners can use pictures/diagrams to plan • Verbal learners can use bullet pointed phrases or headings, put into sequence • Auditory learners can benefit from talking through the argument onto tape and listening to it back

29. Report planning (2) • What examples, references, quotations will be useful? • How will you organise these? • What conclusions will you reach? • What are the theoretical/practical implications of your conclusions?

30. Gathering together your ideas • Brainstorm possible responses to the question and relevant ideas • Write a mind map, linking ideas together • Talk to others to clarify ideas • Organise your thoughts into a beginning, middle and end

31. Getting started: “Blank page syndrome” • Promise yourself that if you prepare (get paper/pens/books together…) you can have a break before starting • Promise yourself that if you write the first twelve words you can have a break • Many people find it best to write the introduction last, not first

32. Getting started (2) • Have quotations/references/evidence to hand: record them carefully • Think about your working environment • Make sure that others respect your working time • If you get really stuck before you start, speak to your tutor

33. Plain English • Writing Clearly • Focusing on the Question • Highlighting main points • Selecting best evidence • Short Sentences – 15-20 words • Signposting next paragraph in same section

34. Writing for an Audience • Who is your reader? • How can you modify what you write accordingly?

35. Main Points • How do you work out what are the main points? • Read the EMA question. Close your books and think what you know about the topic • Try a spray diagram using the question as your focus in the middle • These are probably most of your main points • They are more general usually than you think they might be • A topic for the paragraph or section. • Don’t get bogged down in detail, main points are general • Normally one per paragraph. • See if what you think fits in with what the EMA question recommends as your content, if not adjust accordingly

36. TT284 Glossary • The ideas in the course – concepts - brief explanations • Use as a starting point for written work • To help you understand technical terms • Use it whilst you read the text

37. Plagiarism! • Developing Good Academic Practices website: http://learn.open.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=4687&m=3 • Work must be written in your own words • Not assembled using extracts lifted from a longer article on the internet • Avoid this by making your own notes and not copying • If you want to quote, include a reference!

38. Academic Writing • If your academic writing is rusty, follow the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise • Or, particularly for help with English http://www.open.ac.uk/skillsforstudy/english-for-learning.php

39. Drafting your writing structure

40. Structuring a short Report • Follow the layout given in the EMA question • Introduction – introduce key idea in question, main points of your main body • Main Body – one main point per paragraph • Conclusions- review main points, no new material, give your own conclusion • Reports have headings for each section

41. How Many Paragraphs? • One paragraph should be around 100 words • 400 words will need 4 paragraphs • 1000 words will need 10 paragraphs • This means that you will have • An introductory paragraph • XX main body paragraphs • A concluding paragraph

42. How many Main Points? • If you have four main body paragraphs you should have four main points. • How do you decide what they are? • Check out the EMA question– are they essential points mentioned that you need to cover • If there are two or three areas in the question eg. two or three websites to review, use equal word count for each

43. Introduction • Single paragraph of around 100 words • What is/are the key technical term(s) in the question? • What do they mean to you? • Define them in your own words. • Introduce your main points in turn, one after the other.

44. Main Body • Look at the Question on the EMA • Structure your answer as suggested there • If you are summarising an article – • group related points together under one title or in one bullet point • no need to keep in the same order as the original article • Remember to reference

45. Conclusion • Usually a single paragraph (100 words) • Review main points • Own Opinion – “I think…” • Only if the question asks for it • Include your final word count • Reference your sources • No new material!

46. Where Next? • What do I know now? • What skills do I have? • What (realistically) can I do with these skills? • How can I improve these skills? • What else should I look at? • Future OU courses?

47. What Do I Know Now? • By %-age of “expert” status skills (1) • HTML – 50% (the most common parts) • CSS – 20% • Javascript – 5% • PHP – 5% • Accessibility – 60% • Mobile Device Development – 5% • Software Development Process – 1% • Version Control – 30% (1) For fun only. This is a personal opinion based on you undertaking and understanding the published course material and does not constitute a reference or guarantee!

48. What Skills Do I Have? • Website development and maintenance / modification • Understanding and modification of existing, simple Javascript and PHP programs • Partaking of simple roles in the software development process (e.g. testing) • Mobile application user interface design (for simple apps)

49. What Can I Do With These Skills? • Achievable deliverables with your skills / knowledge (1) • Create a static website from scratch • Make simple modifications to an existing, moderately complex website (tweaking layouts etc.) • Create and modify a simple website using a “framework”, e.g. Wordpress or mediawiki • Test any website for accessibility compliance • User test any website or mobile application (1) As before, there are no guarantees here, just my personal opinion on what you should be able to achieve if you have completed and understood the bulk of the course material!

50. How Can I Improve My Skills? • Build a website! (Based on something you know about) • Do a web search for “free web hosting uk” • Or see if you ISP offers free space • Offer to create / update an existing charity web site • There are lots of these, often quite out of date, especially with regard to accessibility • Looks good on your CV! • See if you can get involved with any “beta” testing of web or mobile applications • Chose an area or application that you are interested in or knowledgeable about