Welcome COIN78 online students. While the main COIN78 website is intended for both "physical" and "online" sections, I have found that many small items require more specific directions and details. Please read the sections below carefully, as the guidelines will help you (and us) to succeed in this course. If you have not had a formal course in using the Internet for business communications, please be aware that I expect and demand the highest skills and discipline in email correspondence. I also expect that you will have read through this website thoroughly before starting this course.
Assignments:
There are six assignments that you must send me during the course, roughly one at the end of every week. You will send them to me by email, and I will put them into a folder that I keep locally. Please see assignments.htm for links to each of the required projects. As you send each file type I will update ETUDES. Your folder will be a complete archive of all your work throughout the quarter. You must submit a small XML file at the end of week one (simple.xml) for me to create your local folder. After that, you may submit your .xml, .dtd, .css, .xsd (schema) and .xsl (stylesheet). You may submit the extra credit data binding assignment at anytime.
Please see the assignments page for more details and the rules for submitting assignments by email (business messaging skills).
Tutorials:
Much of your learning can be accelerated by going through the tutorials week by week. They follow an address book theme, but your them can be whatever you wish. You should turn in your work weekly, but can send your .xml, .dtd, .css, .xsd, and .xsl files as project files whenever you wish, and I'll view them and organize them in folders. Please note that we are continuously building these tutorials out, and adding content to the final few weeks. Make sure to look at the example files early as they will help you in choosing a theme.
Turning in work:
Please submit all your work to me by email attachments, and request receipt that I have received it. I must inspect each file through a local web browser with a DTD validator, as well as using EditML to validate schema. Do not submit work through ETUDES, as I need to put all work into a local archive, and mirror it on a backup drive. Also, do not send your midterm as a Word .doc document, send it as an RTF file.
Email:
I am -very- responsive to email sent to this address (rdcormia@earthlink.net), typically in 24 hours. You must put COIN78 online in the subject line of all correspondence. I typically delete all email without a subject line, or email messages that contain attachments but have indiscernible subject lines. Please also include your full name in body text when you are submitting assignments as well.
Zipped files - Please read carefully! You should only zip files when you are sending the final project! Yahoo users can submit 3 files in a single attachment - if you need to send four files, please send two messages with two files each. Please submit image files just once! If you are using the same images for your CSS, XSL, and or data islands assignment, send me only the new images that you may generate. Unzipping files adds a lot of overhead to processing assignments so please don't zip assignments.
My philosophy:
I have two important philosophies. Firstly, I am neither an "expert", nor am I just a "guide", I am an "expert guide" who will endeavor to help you master the basic elements of XML. I have labored for over a year to build a set of resources, tutorials, and from over 100 students, and archive of projects to help you navigate and negotiate the tricky parts of XML, as well as -rapidly- come up to speed in all aspects of the course material. No one who applies themselves to these resources has not produced outstanding work. So will you.
Our body of work:
Nobody who teaches XML can possibly create tutorials, sample files, nor completed projects with a diversity of approach, topic, and skill, all by themselves. As you look through the assignment 1 files and completed projects, please know that all these students benefited from these resources more than any other, and the majority of students who complete this course will have outstanding work to contribute to the ongoing body of work. This work will never be used commercially, its sole purpose is to share with you.
Communicate often:
I'm one of those people that likes to have a good dialogue with students, especially online students. For this reason I have given you a primary email address where you can reach me during the day, and I usually respond within a few hours, but at least within a day. Please let me know if you are having difficulties, are unclear about something, or want to suggest an alternative final assignment (see below). Feel free to call by phone if for some reason we are not closing on an issue, or if it is important enough to talk by voice.
Order off the menu:
A good restaurant will prepare something not on the menu (if they have the ingredients) to ensure that your experience is personalized and satisfying. While I have fairly well delineated requirements for the assignments and final project, I also believe that your work, special interests, or future career requirements may lead you to a creative outcome that may not "fit the mold" exactly. I will respect that and encourage you to create a final project where I can assess that you have learned what you needed to learn, and invested your efforts in a particular area that has either immediate or more long-term value. Be creative.
Failure to withdraw:
The only reason people fail this course is that they fail to withdraw when they were in denial about completing all the work on time. I have a set schedule by which you should accomplish your work:
So start early, and send the required material on time. Sometimes you'll be a little early, and sometimes a little late (a day, not a week). My job is to get everyone across the finish line by the end of the quarter Leverage the tutorials, example files, our body of work, and you'll do just fine.
Best efforts:
Many instructors are very strict in computer science technology, and if the work isn't perfect you get a zero. That's harsh. If you are 80% done then you are 80% done. Many example files on the Internetdon't work perfectly (I have fixed dozens) , and yours may not either. Turn in what you have, tell me that it didn't work, and we'll try to figure it out. That doesn't mean a 50% finished final, it means an 80% final and an 80% grade.
Extra credit:
For reasons I have yet to figure out, many people do not avail themselves of the extra credit points (data binding, midterm, final project, etc.) and as a result have no cushion for something that doesn't work on the final. Extra credit work lets you excel where you can, and helps you out when you're in a bind. Use it.
Fun, not obsession:
XML was not invented to make you crazy. But sooner or later something will drive you nutty. Stay calm, ask for help, and we'll figure out how to get you over the obstacle. Truly obsessive students will send me work even after the course is done, and it usually ends up as extraordinary work in the student archive. Have fun!
Copyright © 2006 - 2007 Robert D. Cormia - January 2, 2007