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  Middle School Cyberspace Pursuit Design Brief

Cyberspace Pursuit: 2007-2008 Middle School Design Brief

“Developing a Web Site Tutorial”

 

I.  Context

 

Since the Cyberspace Pursuit competition was first started in the 1990s, students of all ages have learned in various forms how to build web sites. However, one problem that many students have run into is how to start—or, in other words, what exactly needs to be done to build a web site. In fact, a major comment that came from judges at the 2007 National TSA Conference is that many students don’t seem to know about the basic foundations of web design: coding HTML.

 

A number of online help guides exist. However, wouldn’t it be great if there were a guide geared toward middle school students that focused on the basics of building a web site? Who better to write a web site building tutorial targeted at the middle school audience than a team of individuals who knows just how the audience thinks: middle school level students themselves!

 

II.  Challenge Statement

 

Design a series of web pages that collectively form a tutorial for building a web site. Your solution should cover the entire design process—from planning the site and the software you can select, to using the basic elements of web site coding and publishing sites to the Internet. Your solution should be directed at middle school students with average computer literacy; however, you should assume for this tutorial that they are first-time designers for the Internet.

 

Elements that should be included in your solution are (but by no means limited to) brief overviews of available web design software, an overview of types of elements that can be integrated into an HTML web page, and a demonstration through good instruction that the participant has an understanding of basic HTML code and file uploading. Tips and tricks, helpful tools, and good design practices are also ideas to incorporate into your solution.

 

III.  Solution Limitations

 

The URL submitted must be a site designed by the team that features the solution to the design brief, the TSA chapter, and the school’s career and technology education program. The team’s design brief solution and TSA chapter web site (designed by the team) must be linked from this page.

 

For further details about the competition and important deadline information, carefully review the rules and regulations for Cyberspace Pursuit in 2008 & 2009 Middle School Technology Activities, National TSA Conference Competitive Events Guide.

 

IV.  Evaluation

 

The solution must show evidence that the chapter’s Cyberspace Pursuit team has addressed the requirements in the design brief challenge statement (see above,

II. Challenge Statement). The assessment rubric in the middle school competitive events guide will be used to evaluate each entry. For specific questions about the Cyberspace Pursuit event contact the event coordinator, Stephen Blue at stephen@srblue.net. Include the words “CYBERSPACE PURSUIT” in your subject line; emails that do not include this may not be picked up.