Web Development Classroom Ideas

Question

Soon my team (only 5 students) is going to start our large project for our Intro to Web Development class , and I wonder if you guys have any good ideas for the project?

We can use: XHTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP.

I'm not too sure if we are allowed to use a framework like jQuery. Will this be a limitation?

I think of a very simple blog. Is this possible, or do we need a basis for this?

Thanks.

EDIT: The clarified question is a bit. This is the Intro class. External JavaScript libraries allowed. No backend (database).

So, I guess this view takes out the idea of ​​a blog.

Answer 1

I am going to answer "there." I assume that you guys have programming experience and you are at university? If so, go through your library’s online journal subscriptions. Find an article in economics by one of the graduate students there about a really big new concept that will change the world. Take a theoretical idea and implement it as a web service that the public can use. After your course is completed, throw some Google advertisements on it and sit back until the money rolls.

Seriously though, choose a project that can come in handy longer than just a course. Save the generated code and start creating your own personal library of useful code.

Answer 2

Do something that provides value to either your community or your school. Seriously, you can touch any technology that you need, or want to do something at all, but if you create something that will benefit others, you will do much more than write a sterile application. It is also much easier to leave behind for tangible results. Of course, all this has been done before, but there is always room for a local competitor, and such applications can quickly become popular. As for the database, just use the XML file. This, of course, is not desirable or cuts, but you can do something with him and how they did it in the Stone Age!

Try the following:

• Meet group meetup - allows students to create and search for study groups.
• Community Service Request - Allow community members to request things from students (anything from the need to help mow the lawn to train a high school student).
• Cluster blogs are similar to the first ones, but instead of focusing on bringing people together, he will focus on picking people up in the classroom and giving them a platform for communication and potential discussion (possibly more a forum) of the class itself.

You can go crazy with any of the above, but just knock out essentials and knock them out in pieces. My biggest piece of advice is that you design iteratively and focus on the main functions BEFORE adding any fluff. This is the lesson you need to learn the fastest. Google "Scrum" and follow the simplest form you can get.

As you reach certain stages of functionality, send a few flyers advertising your super-cool site to get some traffic and momentum before your deadline. Another great idea is to blog (on an already created blog) the whole process and request feedback on the features of your community. You probably won’t be able to do most of what is set, but just doing it will be a fantastic experience and will positively affect some of the features that you decide to focus on. Advertise early and help the community shape the outcome.

The process you accept is at least as important as the result. If you work with Scrum in this and develop it openly, with the participation of the community from the very beginning, you will be a really good way for your career.

Answer 3

Easy =)

• Basic stat and debugging. Learn how to get user agent, IP address, port, etc.
• Pull data from files and display. It does not have to be db (complex). But maybe a simple counter
• Some effect on GET / POST. A form that displays GET data on your page and possibly something to write to a txt file in POST.

I suggest a simple login system. This will help you learn a lot about web development. You have a welcome page that displays statistics about the user's browser (No. 1), allowing the user to register a record in a file (POST, adding a file. Look up and then instead of adding). Allow the user to log in with the same user / password (read the test file. # 2), and if you want the user to search, which receives and displays users that begin with a letter. This will cover all 3 points and teach you what you do most of the time, while web development. Extra points, if you upload a file, have some kind of autocomplete with jquery (or any jquery).

Answer 4

Yes, a blog is a good idea that students will get a good exposure, there is no database in your list that you will use. I think you will use MySQL for the backend.

Answer 5

This is a bit vague when asking for opinions at SO.

What you can do is to stick with the general direction among your team and then ask another question in SO to confirm your direction and possibly get some random ideas about what you can do with your project.

It also depends on the difficulty level you want to try.

Just an idea of ​​some interesting things you can do and possibly continue after:

• Create a static client-oriented website.
• create a dynamic website that uses popular APIs like flickr, twitter, facebook .. etc.
• Develop an API or plugin that reads data from a data source (e.g. an API that lists SO issues)
• CMS Development
• MVC framework development

Answer 6

I agree with what has been said here. Basically, create something that will be useful even after you submit it or present it to the class. This will at least give you a “mind” to maintain and improve what you have done.

One thing you can do is go to your local volunteer site and maybe look at things that people might need, or you can contact them and ask for more details.

Answer 7

Here is a simple project that you can deploy to find out how far your class gets:

Create a website to view images. At the beginning, the files are stored in a directory. Then add an xml file for each caption image. Then add parameters to the xml files for cropping, conversion, etc. Then add an XML file to the web editor (for example, on the page on which the image is displayed, there is a button that allows you to edit the metafile (read the xml file) for this image.) Next is the image upload function. Etc. keep going until the end of the semester or you replace flickr.com

Answer 8

Well, for what it's worth, I tried to learn web development by creating an auction app. Basically, the idea (and you can easily change it) is that there are two tables: ITEM and CUSTOMER. ITEM has strings (ITEMID, CUSTID, AMOUNT, DESCRIPTION), and CUSTOMER has strings (CUSTID, DESCRIPTION). For the user interface, you have 1) an ITEM page that allows you to select ITEM and enter the BASKET of the participant who "won" the item, and AMOUNT that they offer, and 2) the CUSTOMER page that allows you to select this CUSTOMER and display all items they "won" and the total they owe. You can then print this page so that they can pay for their belongings and collect them.

I did this using one of these Dummies books. I had to install PHP, MySQL and Apache, and after a few days it worked very well.

Of course, it didn't take me a long time to realize that all I really need is MySQL and C ++, but that is because in the end I don't need a website. However, it gave me my first taste of web application design.