Final Project Proposal

Student must submit proposal for their final projects. The project proposal and subsequent project should conform to the following requirements.

Final Project Proposal

The final project for this class is a web site that uses JavaScript as a main source of interactivity, automation and/or content. The focus will not be on the appearance of the site, but rather on developing an effective architecture in which to present the content of the site.

There are two key issues to consider in this project. It should lend itself well to a scripted solution and be large enough to show your extensive knowledge of JavaScript.

Questions you should answer in the proposal.

What is the project?
What is the goal of the site?
Who is your intended audience?
How large is the project? How much of it do you actually hope to accomplish in the time frame we have to work with?
Why do you want to do this project? What is your relation to it?
What resources will you need for this project?
What are the projects substantial JavaScript element? (defined further below)

Make sure the proposal is neatly organized and well written as a well-formed web page. You should post your proposal on your web space no later then Thursday 11/12. This will give you the maximum amount of time to develop your final project utilizing in class lab time.

Guidelines for JavaScript Requirements

Your project should contain at least 1 significant JavaScript element. These elements can be anything you want, but they need to be "substantial". An image rollover is not substantial. A menu that causes sub-menus to pop-up when rolled over is substantial.

Substantial coding examples:

menus entirely written in JavaScript based on arrays containing the names, addresses and relationships of all pages on the site
small games, like rock-paper-siscors or tic-tac-toe
scripts that significantly revise the contents of the page
- For examples rollovers in a menu that display descriptions on each link in the content section of the page
JavaScript form-data tracking across pages, like a shopping cart or page personalization
Site automation using JavaScript
- For example a calendar that links to information based on the day of the week, month, year etc.

You will have to describe your substantial JavaScript element in your proposal and I will be approving it or adding to it for your final project.

Grading the Final Project

The final project is worth 250 points. That is 25% of your final grade for the class. You have well over a third of the semester to complete this project. Take it seriously. It can change your final grade substantially.

The Proposal: The Proposal is worth 50 points. Your proposal should be neat and descriptive. You will submit your proposal in HTML format on the web space you provided to me in the beginning of the semester. It should contain an overview of your project, the project scope, your reason for doing the project, and a description of the JavaScript element required to complete the project. Remember the proposal sets the tone for the rest of your project. Again, take it seriously.
The Project: The project is meant to be a demonstration of your JavaScript ability and a showcase of what you learned this semester. You will be graded for the quality of your code, not your sense of aesthetic. So a beautiful site created in a WYSWYG editor may get a lower grade then a functional, not so beautiful, site where every line of code has been hand crafted. The project is a demonstration of your scripting style and awareness of web technologies and how they interact.
The Presentation: You will be presenting your project on the last day of class (finals week). Your presentation should be thought out and professional. Present your site, why you did it, and highlight some of your challenges along the way.

Student Examples

Here are some ideas...

Design a site for your student server space. Include JavaScript menus that are easily edited so you can add links for your future classes.
Develop a one page web site. Show and hide content based on user interactions instead of actually taking them to other pages.
Redesign a storefront for one of your favorite web site. Include Shopping cart capabilities.

Student samples from prior classes (some features may not work)

Have fun with it and use it as a learning activity. Which is exactly what this is.

Grading

Requirement	Points	Earned
Project proposal was neat, thought out and presented on time.	50
Project contains at least one substantial JavaScript element coded efficiently according to requirements listed in proposal and agreed upon between student and faculty member (Jim).	100
Code is commented extensively. You must make it very clear that you understand what is happening in your code.	25
Site shows an all over understanding of JavaScript and the most efficient ways to incorporate scripts into web documents supporting multiple browsers.	25
Presentation of project is professional and the student demonstrated a substantial knowledge of his/her project and the JavaScript solution. Challenges where discussed with the class intelligently.	50
Total	250