Oakland University Business School Offers New Course In Web Development

(CBS DETROIT) - The internet has been proven to be an invaluable resource, especially with the challenges brought to us with COVID-19.  Now, with nearly 60 percent of the world's population online, internet users are expected to cumulatively spend 1.25 billion years online this year alone.  Learning internet skills which harness this technology will help open doors to positions, projects and promotions.

Starting in the fall, Oakland University is offering students a chance to learn the basics of website construction, optimization and responsiveness in their new course Web Technologies for Managing Information Resources (MIS 1050).  The course is fully online and will satisfy the university's natural science and technology general education requirement.  Students will learn how to plan, design, implement, and manage websites.

"From accounting to zoology, web tech shows up in virtually every area of business," says Kieran Mathieson, Ph.D., associate professor, MIS, who teaches the course.  "Whether used for communication, education, employment, commerce, news or entertainment, law or IT, basic web development skills can pay off."

Course focus is on web technologies such as HTML and CSS, organizing components for productivity, and using web technology responsibly.  Students will also get hands-on projects that will develop valuable skills which can be used for future personal or professional projects.

Coursework will include:

• Code: Using templates like those in Bootstrap, students will learn the basics of coding.
• Accessibility: Students will create sites that screen reading software can navigate for viewers with disabilities.
• Responsive Design: Using available templates, students will select site layouts that are responsive on phone, tablet, and computer.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): For the final project, students will learn how to optimize sites so they appear on Google searches, boosting visibility.

Students who enroll will need internet access and a web hosting account with their own domain (approximately $30). Additional textbooks are not required. The course will be available Fall 2020 (CRN 45022) and Winter 2021 (CRN 15583).

SOURCE:  OAKLAND UNIVERSITY

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