Readings: Writing to the Web


Writing to the World Wide Web

Readings and Resources

Required Textbook:

Mok, Clement. Designing Business: Multiple Media, Multiple Disciplines. San Jose: Adobe Press, 1996.

You'll notice that this is not an HTML "how-to" book. Rather, I've selected it because it outlines the thought processes, design considerations, and development strategies that are key to developing something of value on the Web.As the cover blurb written by Paul Saffo says, this book is "essential reding for anyone struggling to tame the new digital technologies in the service of business effectiveness." I'd extend this scope to include anyone who will be involved in digital communication into the 21st century. We'll be doing some readings from this book.

Recommended Books: I was originally considering requiring the following books for this class, but at $50 to $60 retail I tried to have mercy on your pocketbook. If you're serious about Web and multimedia development, though, I recommend taking the plunge. Look for them at any local bookstore.

December, John and Neil Randall. HTML 3.2 and CGI Unleashed. Indianapolis: Sams Publishers. 1996.

This is one of the few books about Web publishing that provides a coherent methodology for developing Web communication products.

Lemay, Laura. Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML in a Week. Indianapolis: Sams Publishing. 1994.

If you want to buy a book on HTML coding, I've heard good things about this one.

Weinman, Lynda. Designing Web Graphics. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders Publishing, 1996.

This is the best book I've found on designing Web graphics. It discusses many key issues that we won't have time to get into in this course, but that you really need to know: understanding cross-platform displays, using color palettes, deciding between using .GIFs and .JPEGs, designing low memory graphics, etc.

Online Readings: Atkinson, John S. . "The Electronic Colonization of the Pacific."Computer-Mediated Communication Magazine 3.2 (1996). (On the Web at http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1996/feb/spen.html)
Chauss, Karen McGrane. " Reader as User: Applying Interface Design Techniques to the Web." Kairos 1.2 (1996). (On the Web at http://english.ttu.edu/kairos/1.2/4b.html)
December, John. "The Frontiers and Challenges of Online Publishing." Keynote Address presented at Multimedia InterCD 96, May 28-30, 1996, Mexico City. (On the Web at http://www.december.com/present/micd96.html)
December, John. Web Development. (On the Web at http://www.december.com/web/develop.html)
Hunt, Kevin. "Gramercy Press on the Web: MCI's Ambiguous Adventure in Advertising." Computer- Mediated Communication Magazine 2.5 (1995). (On the Web at http://sunsite.unc.edu/cmc/mag/1995/may/hunt.html)
World Wide Web Consortium. "About The World Wide Web and the Web Community." (On the Web at http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/WWW/)

Hardcopy Readings: Bureau of Labor Statistics. "A Heuristic Evaluation of a World Wide Web Prototype. Interactions (July/August 1996), 51-61.
Gurak, Laura. "Evaluating the Use of Metaphor in Software Interface Design: A Rhetorical Approach." In Proceedings of the International Professional Communication Conference. New York: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 1991. 267-271.
Hunt, Kevin. "Establishing a Presence on the World Wide Web: A Rhetorical Approach." Technical Communication, forthcoming, 1996. (Also online at http://www.rpi.edu/~huntk/texts/techcomm96.html)
Landow, George P. "The Rhetoric of Hypermedia: Some Rules for Authors." Journal of Computing in Higher Education 1 (1989): 39-64.
McKnight, Cliff, Andrew Dillon and John Richardson. Hypertext in Context. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Mok, Clement. Designing Business: Multiple Media, Multiple Disciplines. San Jose: Adobe Press, 1996. Nielson, Jakob and Darrell Sano. "SunWeb: user interface design for Sun Microsystem's internal Web." Computer Networks and ISDN Systems 28 (1995): 179-188.
Shneidermann, Ben. Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction. Second Edition. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. 1992.

Supplemental Readings, Both Hardcopy and Online: Bolter, Jay David. "Hypertext and the Rhetorical Canons." Rhetorical Memory and Delivery: Classical Concepts for Contemporary Composition and Communication. Ed. John Frederick Reynolds. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1993.
Bolter, Jay David. Writing Space. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Elrbaum Associates. 1992.
December, John. "The Challenges for a Webbed Society," Computer-Mediated Communication Magazine 1.7 (1994).
Kaplan, Nancy. "" E-literacies: Politexts, Hypertexts, and Other Cultural Formations in the Late Age of Print." Computer- Mediated Communication Magazine 2.3 (1995).
Lanham, Richard. The Electronic Word: Democracy, Technology, and the Arts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993.
Lunsford, Andrea. "What Matters Who Writes? What Matters Who Responds? Issues of Ownership in the Writing Classroom." Kairos 1.1 (1996).
Turkle, Sherry. Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996.

Created 1.12.97 huntk@rpi.edu

`Required Textbook:`	Mok, Clement. Designing Business: Multiple Media, Multiple Disciplines. San Jose: Adobe Press, 1996. You'll notice that this is not an HTML "how-to" book. Rather, I've selected it because it outlines the thought processes, design considerations, and development strategies that are key to developing something of value on the Web.As the cover blurb written by Paul Saffo says, this book is "essential reding for anyone struggling to tame the new digital technologies in the service of business effectiveness." I'd extend this scope to include anyone who will be involved in digital communication into the 21st century. We'll be doing some readings from this book.
`Recommended Books:`	I was originally considering requiring the following books for this class, but at $50 to $60 retail I tried to have mercy on your pocketbook. If you're serious about Web and multimedia development, though, I recommend taking the plunge. Look for them at any local bookstore. December, John and Neil Randall. HTML 3.2 and CGI Unleashed. Indianapolis: Sams Publishers. 1996. This is one of the few books about Web publishing that provides a coherent methodology for developing Web communication products. Lemay, Laura. Teach Yourself Web Publishing with HTML in a Week. Indianapolis: Sams Publishing. 1994. If you want to buy a book on HTML coding, I've heard good things about this one. Weinman, Lynda. Designing Web Graphics. Indianapolis, IN: New Riders Publishing, 1996. This is the best book I've found on designing Web graphics. It discusses many key issues that we won't have time to get into in this course, but that you really need to know: understanding cross-platform displays, using color palettes, deciding between using .GIFs and .JPEGs, designing low memory graphics, etc.
`Online Readings:`	Atkinson, John S. . "The Electronic Colonization of the Pacific."Computer-Mediated Communication Magazine 3.2 (1996). (On the Web at http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/1996/feb/spen.html) Chauss, Karen McGrane. " Reader as User: Applying Interface Design Techniques to the Web." Kairos 1.2 (1996). (On the Web at http://english.ttu.edu/kairos/1.2/4b.html) December, John. "The Frontiers and Challenges of Online Publishing." Keynote Address presented at Multimedia InterCD 96, May 28-30, 1996, Mexico City. (On the Web at http://www.december.com/present/micd96.html) December, John. Web Development. (On the Web at http://www.december.com/web/develop.html) Hunt, Kevin. "Gramercy Press on the Web: MCI's Ambiguous Adventure in Advertising." Computer- Mediated Communication Magazine 2.5 (1995). (On the Web at http://sunsite.unc.edu/cmc/mag/1995/may/hunt.html) World Wide Web Consortium. "About The World Wide Web and the Web Community." (On the Web at http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/WWW/)
`Hardcopy Readings:`	Bureau of Labor Statistics. "A Heuristic Evaluation of a World Wide Web Prototype. Interactions (July/August 1996), 51-61. Gurak, Laura. "Evaluating the Use of Metaphor in Software Interface Design: A Rhetorical Approach." In Proceedings of the International Professional Communication Conference. New York: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 1991. 267-271. Hunt, Kevin. "Establishing a Presence on the World Wide Web: A Rhetorical Approach." Technical Communication, forthcoming, 1996. (Also online at http://www.rpi.edu/~huntk/texts/techcomm96.html) Landow, George P. "The Rhetoric of Hypermedia: Some Rules for Authors." Journal of Computing in Higher Education 1 (1989): 39-64. McKnight, Cliff, Andrew Dillon and John Richardson. Hypertext in Context. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Mok, Clement. Designing Business: Multiple Media, Multiple Disciplines. San Jose: Adobe Press, 1996. Nielson, Jakob and Darrell Sano. "SunWeb: user interface design for Sun Microsystem's internal Web." Computer Networks and ISDN Systems 28 (1995): 179-188. Shneidermann, Ben. Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction. Second Edition. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. 1992.
`Supplemental Readings, Both Hardcopy and Online:`	Bolter, Jay David. "Hypertext and the Rhetorical Canons." Rhetorical Memory and Delivery: Classical Concepts for Contemporary Composition and Communication. Ed. John Frederick Reynolds. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1993. Bolter, Jay David. Writing Space. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Elrbaum Associates. 1992. December, John. "The Challenges for a Webbed Society," Computer-Mediated Communication Magazine 1.7 (1994). Kaplan, Nancy. "" E-literacies: Politexts, Hypertexts, and Other Cultural Formations in the Late Age of Print." Computer- Mediated Communication Magazine 2.3 (1995). Lanham, Richard. The Electronic Word: Democracy, Technology, and the Arts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993. Lunsford, Andrea. "What Matters Who Writes? What Matters Who Responds? Issues of Ownership in the Writing Classroom." Kairos 1.1 (1996). Turkle, Sherry. Life on the Screen: Identity in the Age of the Internet. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996.