I'm teaching several classes during the Spring 2002 term that might be interesting to many of you in the St. Louis area. For those of you who can't take them, you can find a lot of the information I use in my classes here at my Web site,, so go ahead, freeloaders! :)
I'm teaching three classes at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley and one at Washington University. In brief, the classes are as follows:
1. Flo Valley: 'Web Design' Fridays 6-9 pm
2. Flo Valley: 'Web Design' Saturday mornings 9-noon (a separate section of the class)
3. Flo Valley: 'Transitioning from Windows to Linux' Wednesdays 6-9 pm
4. Wash U: 'Information in Culture and Society' Mondays 7:45-9:45 pm
(One note: this summer, I'll be teaching 'Web Design' and my 'Linux' courses again at Flo Valley; I would also like to add another course sometime on 'Advanced Web Design', which would focus 50/50 on XML and Content Management Systems. At Wash U, I'll be teaching two courses: 'Web Site Management' and 'Technology for Non-Technical Business Managers'. I'll send out more details about these courses, their schedules, how to register, etc. later in Spring 2002.)
Now, let's go into depth about my Spring 2002 courses for those of you interested in more details.
Florissant Valley
Web Design
Here's the description of 'Web Design':
'Our exceptional course is intense and comprehensive. You'll develop a website using links, graphics and other elements and be introduced to basic web design and good web practices. Then you'll learn to build web pages using a WYSIWYG editor and basic HTML coding, and to load them to a server. As your course proceeds, you'll develop elaborate pages using interactive forms, rollovers, and other behaviors,dynamic HTML, jumpmenus, and server side includes. You'll cover graphic and images but not in depth. Familiarity with Windows or MAC OS required.'
That's the old description. Here's what I wish to change it to in the future, which is a more accurate description of what we actually cover:
'Our exceptional course is intense and comprehensive. You'll learn how to develop Web sites using the three methods that have been used since Web design first began: hand-coding HTML using a text editor, then building Web pages using a WYSIWYG editor like Dreamweaver, and finally using the most modern method, a Content Management System that separates design from content while making it easy for anyone to update the site. Within this broad framework, we're going to cover a lot of ground, including good design principles, Cascading Style Sheets, server-side vs. client-side technologies, Web browsers, and Web servers. We'll finish up the class with a brief overview of the future of Web development: XHTML and XML. (We'll cover graphics, but not in depth). Familiarity with Windows or the Mac OS is required.'
This class will be offered in two sections: either (1) Friday nights 6-9 pm, running from 8 Feb–3 May (class ID is COMP 745-551), or (2) Saturday mornings 9-noon, running from 9 Feb–4 May (class ID is COMP 745-550). Both classes will be taught at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley.
Transitioning from Windows to Linux
Here's the description for 'Transitioning from Windows to Linux':
'One of the hottest new areas in technology is the Linux operating system. It's big advantages? It's free, it's open, it's powerful, and it never crashes. This class will focus on Linux on the desktop. If you use Windows now and you're interested in switching over to Linux, or in just learning more about this exciting software, then this class is for you. We'll use Red Hat, the most common distribution of Linux, and we'll cover the following subjects: installation of Linux and other software, common desktop environments (with particular attention to KDE), office software such as StarOffice (a free and powerful office suite), networking seamlessly with Windows machines using SAMBA, using the Web and email, setting up a Web server, basic system administration, and more. Finally, we'll evaluate whether Linux is the right solution for you and your business. Note: This is not an intro to computers, or remedial, course. You are expected to understand the Windows or Macintosh operating system before signing up for this course.'
This class will be Wednesday nights 6-9 pm at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley. It runs from 6 Feb–1 May. Class ID is COMP 782-550.
You can find more information about all 3 courses at https://www.stlcc.cc.mo.us/conted/. Go there, and then do this (it's ridiculous, but it's what ya gotta do):
1. Click on the 'Schedule of Non-Credit Classes' link.
2. Next to Term, scroll down and choose 'CE Spring 2002' (be careful–do NOT choose CR Spring 2002!), then click on 'Begin Class Search'.
3. Next to Instructor, scroll down and choose 'Granneman, Ralph S' (that's me!) and next to Campus, choose '5–Florissant Valley', then click on 'Search Class'.
On the resulting page, you'll see a list of the three classes I'm teaching at Flo Valley this spring–2 are 'Website Development Certificate' and 1 is 'Transitioning from Windows to Linux'.
Registration for any of my Flo Valley classes opens at 8 a.m. on 2 January 2002. I warn you–I've taught Web Design 6 times now, and my classes fill up VERY quickly. The Linux class in particular is going to fill up instantly, as it is new and many of my former Web Design students desperately want to take it. So register as early as you possibly can on 2 January 2002.
You can register in the following ways:
1. At the Continuing Education department at any campus in the St. Louis Community College system. Make sure it's the Continuing Ed. dept., and not the regular for-credit dept.! And make sure you get there early!
2. Using the Web site, but I've heard that this is not the best way to expedite things at this time. So I wouldn't use it.
3. Via the phone, by calling 314-595-4565 (I think this is the correct number–you'd better call ahead of time & check).
More info on registration can be found at https://www.stlcc.cc.mo.us/conted/spring01/info.html. (Mail will not be an option, since it's my understanding you can't register classes like mine ahead of time).
Washington University
Information in Culture and Society
Here's the description of 'Information in Culture and Society':
'We are said to live in an information society and work in an information economy, but what does that mean? If we have indeed experienced a 'paradigm shift' in what information means to society, then how do we adapt to these changes and what do they mean for the traditional ways society functions? This course examines how we think about, communicate and use information in a variety of contexts, including political, financial, historical, ethical, organizational, educational and technological. Guest lecturers from business, engineering, humanities and social sciences will provide these perspectives. Note: Web-based instruction and online requirements will complement the two-hour weekly class meeting. Students must have an e-mail account and access to the Internet to take the course. This course is offered on the same evening, back-to-back with U09 314, Organizational Psychology.'
Here are some of the topics we're going to be discussing: intellectual property & Digital Rights Management, open source software, the 1st Amendment online, privacy, shifting identities online, how we retrieve and process information, e-commerce, money, marketing, & the changing workplace.
This class will be Monday nights 7:45-9:45 pm at Washington University in St. Louis, although students are expected to spend additional time online as well. It runs from 7 Jan–29 April. Class ID is U48 334.
I'm excited about all my classes, but I'm really excited about this one. First of all, Wash U is my alma mater, both for undergrad and graduate work, so it will be fun coming back to teach. Second of all, this is going to be a different kind of class than those I teach at Flo Valley. My Flo Valley classes are built around training people to do new tasks, while my Wash U course is more academic, more 'theoretical' in style. Since I haven't taught English since 1996, this will be a welcome return for me back to the world of academe!
You can find more information about this course at http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~ucollege/Spring/c%26j.html (scroll down until you see my course). Registration for my Wash U class began on 26 November 2001, and it's still open. Information about registering can be found at http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~ucollege/Spring/Basics.html. Note that if you register after 4 January, you'll have to pay a late fee.
One final note: this summer, I'll be teaching 'Web Design' and my 'Linux' courses again at Flo Valley; I would also like to add another course sometime on 'Advanced Web Design', which would focus on 50/50 on XML and Content Management Systems. At Wash U, I'll be teaching two courses: 'Web Site Management' and 'Technology for Non-Technical Business Managers'. I'll send out more details about these courses, their schedules, how to register, etc. later in Spring 2002.
Well, it's a lot of information, but I hope it helps some of you out there. Remember, for more information on this and other matters, check out my Web site at www.granneman.com . And I hope to see many of you in class!