Web courses 2009/10

General web design:
- Introduction to web page creation in XHTML
- Further web design: Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)
CMS and Zope website management and maintenance:
Web related skills:

Note that the Learning Technology Support Service (LTSS) also offers workshops covering web applications for learning and teaching, such as Blackboard.

To find out when these courses are scheduled and book a place go to the Staff Development course booking page.

1. General web design

Introduction to web page creation in XHTML

Description:: this one-day course is for people interested in creating their own website from scratch and those who want to gain a better understanding of XHTML coding. You will learn to create a website containing pages with well structured text, images, links and tables using XHTML. You will also learn how to modify a basic Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) to change the look and feel of your pages, as well as how to publish your website on your University personal web space.
There is ample opportunity to put theory into practice and by the end of the day you will have created your first website.
Who is it for?: This course is for members of staff and research postgraduate students who want to create a personal website, and existing web publishers on University systems (ie CMS or Zope) who want to understand the underlying principles of web page creation.
Pre-requisites:: Confidence in using Windows, a keyboard and a mouse. Some experience of using the web to access information is also desirable.
Duration:: 1 day (6 hours)

Further web design: Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

Description:: This one day course is a follow up to 'Introduction to web page creation in XHTML' and is for those interested in expanding their knowledge of XHTML and Cascading Styles Sheets (CSS). It shows how to separate well structured page content from its presentation, resulting in cleaner and more accessible web pages. You will also learn how to give your pages an appealing and consistent 'look and feel', and explore different layout techniques.
Who is it for?: This course is for members of staff and research postgraduate students who have attended the 'Introduction to web page creation in XHTML' course (or have an equivalent knowledge of XHTML) and want to learn more advanced web design techniques using XHTML and Cascading Style Sheets.
Pre-requisites:: Confidence in using Windows, a keyboard and a mouse, plus basic knowledge of XHTML (e.g. having attended 'Introduction to web page creation in XHTML' or a similar course).
Duration:: 1 day (6 hours)

2. CMS and Zope website management and maintenance

Setting up and managing a website using the Universty CMS template

Description:: This course is specifically intended for department Site Administrators who are in the process of setting up a new University template based website using the Content Management System (CMS) for their organisational unit (eg department, office, etc).
You will learn how to set up and manage your site using the CMS interface, including: customising the template, setting user preferences, adding/deleting/moving items (folders, page templates, navigation links, images, etc.), configuring item properties, managing users and workflow.
Note: this course is taught on a one-to-one basis in the learner's office and should be arranged directly with the web trainers (web-trainers@bristol.ac.uk).
Who is it for?: This one-to-one training session is intended for new departmental CMS website administrators.
Pre-requisites:: Confidence in using Windows, a keyboard and a mouse, plus basic familiarity with the web.
Duration:: 2 hours

Maintaining a departmental website within the CMS

Description:: This course is specifically aimed at content authors and maintainers (Editors and/or Reviewers) with little or no technical knowledge of HTML in departments that use the University Content Management System (CMS) template. It is also suitable for Site Administrators who have received individual training in managing a CMS website.
In the first part of the course - after a short introduction the CMS workflow - you will learn how to use the CMS interface to add, delete, move, edit and publish items (eg folders, page templates, navigation links, images, etc.) from your website. In the second part you will learn how to edit web content using 'edit-on-Pro', a Word-like content editing tool that is accessed via the CMS interface (note that people who have already received training in 'edit-on Pro' have the option to miss this part of the course).
Note: This course does not cover the site administration functions of the CMS (template editing, site organisation, user management, etc.), which are the responsibility of department Site Administrators.
Who is it for?: This course is for anyone who creates and/or maintains web content on a departmental website using the new University CMS template.
Pre-requisites:: Basic computer skills and familiarity with the web.
Duration:: 1 day (5 hours)

Maintaining a University template based Zope website using Edit-on-Pro

Description:: This course is for content authors and maintainers (Section Editors and Section Updaters) with little or no technical knowledge of HTML in departments that use the University Zope template.
You will learn how to create and edit pages using Edit-on-Pro, a Word-like content editing tool that is accessed via a web based interface.
Target audience: Anyone who creates and/or maintains web content on a departmental website using the University Zope-based template.
Note: This course does not cover the site management functions of Zope (template editing, site organisation, user management, etc.), which are the responsibility of department Site Managers.
Who is it for?: This course is for people who are content maintainers (Section Editors and Section Updaters) on a University template based Zope website.
Pre-requisites:: Basic computer skills and familiarity with the web.
Duration:: 1/2 day (3.5 hours)

3. Web related skills

Web accessibility and why it matters

Description:: It is now a legal requirement for the University to ensure that all its web-based resources are accessible to all users regardless of disability.
This workshop explains how people with disabilities use the web, what problems they encounter and what you can do to make your pages more accessible to them.
Who is it for?: This course is primarily intended for anyone who produces web pages that are hosted by the University of Bristol, but particularly for site managers/administrators and content editors in departments that use the University web template. This course is now mandatory for departmental website managers/administrator.
Pre-requisites:: Some experience of web page creation desirable but not essential.
Duration:: 0.5 day (3.5 hours)

Planning and designing a departmental website

Description:: How information is organised in a website and how the site meets the needs of its users are major factors in determining success, yet too many sites fail on both accounts. This failure is often due to lack of sufficient planning which, if carried out well, ultimately saves time and results in a more effective and satisfactory website.
This half-day course introduces a structured approach to the planning of a website in a University context and is for anyone involved in the design or re-design of a University website.
Who is it for?: Anyone responsible for managing the setting up or re-design of a University related website (eg a departmental public facing site, e-learning project, etc.).
Pre-requisites:: None, but an elementary familiarity with the World Wide web is useful.
Duration:: 1 day (5 hours)

Writing for the web

Description:: Studies show that people do not read a web page in the same way they read a printed document: instead of reading word for word, they scan the page picking out individual words and sentences. Reading from a computer monitor is also slower and more tiring than reading from paper. In addition, well written web content enhances credibility and can improve search engine rankings.This course aims to develop your ability to write useful, usable and appealing content for a University website. You will learn how web text differs from printed text, and apply these concepts to practical examples.
Who is it for?: This course is recommended for anyone creating and/or editing web content on a University website or elsewhere.
Pre-requisites:: None, but an elementary familiarity with the World Wide web is useful.
Duration:: 0.5 day (3.5 hours)

Promoting your website

Description:: This course is for people who want to increase the visibility of their website. The old adage ‘build it and they will come’ rarely works for websites! Although University websites benefit greatly from belonging to the .ac.uk domain (for academic institutions in the UK), they can benefit from Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) techniques. You will learn how search engines operate and how to make your web content more search engine friendly. You will also learn why links are important and how to avoid common mistakes.
Who is it for?: This course is intended for University website managers/administrators and anyone responsible for marketing webpages.
Pre-requisites:: Some experience of web publishing is desirable.
Duration:: 0.5 day (3.5 hours)

INFORMATION FOR:

Web publishers

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