FAQ
I will update this page throughout the semester.
Questions
Who are you?
How should I address you?
What is the best way to get in touch with you?
Do I have to be a computer scientist or “hacker” to understand source code?
Why are you using a textbook from 2012? In dog years, that’s 84 years old.
Why is your website so boring? Where’s the pizzazz?
When are assignments due?
Where do I submit my assignments?
How do I upload assignments?
How do I earn participation points?
Can I use AI assistance when working on assignments?
How do I view the source code of a webpage?
Personal Information
Who are you?
Hi! My name is Lydia Welker (she/her/hers), and I’ll be your instructor for English 573/679 this semester. This is my fifth time teaching this course at Missouri State, and I'm really looking forward to it.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I have a Bachelor of Science in professional and technical writing from—you guessed it—Missouri State University, where I also minored in computer science, creative writing, and American Sign Language because I am an overachiever. Then, I went to graduate school at West Virginia University, where I earned a Master of Arts in professional writing and editing in 2017.
Since then, I’ve been working as a technical writer and editor in a variety of fields: grant writing, software documentation, digital publishing, copyediting, digital marketing, technical communication, copywriting, and web development.
I’m also passionate about the power of books and education to transform lives. A lot of my free time is spent volunteering with the Appalachian Prison Book Project, a nonprofit that sends free books and provides educational opportunities to people imprisoned in the Appalachian region. As the digital communications coordinator for the organization, I get to use all the technical communication skills I learned at university and in my career to challenge mass incarceration. It’s a dream.
What else . . . I love cooking, memorizing poetry (I know, I know), and going to art museums. I'm currently listening to all of Charli XCX's albums on shuffle. I’m trying to learn Spanish. Etc.
If you have any questions, please let me know. We can chat.
How should I address you?
You can call me Ms. Welker or Lydia.
What is the best way to get in touch with you?
Throughout the semester, we’ll be using Slack to communicate with one another, troubleshoot technical issues, and pose questions. So, the best way to get in touch with me is via a private Slack message.
You are also, of course, welcome to email me anytime.
Course Information
Do I have to be a computer scientist or “hacker” to understand source code?
Of course not! I’m a firm believer that anyone can learn how the internet works and how to build accessible, functional webpages. You can do this.
Why are you using a textbook from 2012? In dog years, that’s 84 years old.
That’s a great question. Here’s the thing—The internet changes so frequently that any textbooks about HTML or CSS are essentially out of date by the time they are printed. No book is perfect.
This textbook is going to lay out a good foundation for you. You’ll learn the right terminology and how these pieces function together. Then, once you understand what’s going on behind-the-scenes, you’ll be set up for life.
The Head First HTML and CSS textbook is pretty dorky, I know. But it’s an excellent beginner’s book to markup and source code. You’re in good hands, I promise.
Why is your website so boring? Where’s the pizzazz?
First of all, it’s not boring—it’s minimalist.
Second of all, this website is simple for a reason. Here’s the beauty of it: By the time you finish the course, you will be able to build a website just like this from scratch. The concepts you learn and the textbook tutorials you follow will show you the way. There is nothing in the source code you won’t be able to do yourself. So get excited.
Assignments
When are assignments due?
Assignments are due on Sundays at 11:59 pm, unless otherwise specified in the assignment description. See the course syllabus for more information about deadlines and the late policy.
Where do I submit my assignments?
Submit all assignments, unless otherwise specified, to Brightspace. Go to our course’s Brightspace site, navigate to the “Assessments” tab, click "Assignments," click to open the relevant assignment, and upload your files.
How do I upload assignments?
Please follow these instructions carefully:
- Before submitting any source code (not including textbook exercises unless otherwise specified in the textbook), validate your HTML and CSS using the W3C validators.
- If you are uploading multiple files, compress them into a zip folder.
- Name your assignments as follows: coursecode-lastname-firstname-assignmentname (ex: 573-welker-lydia-assignment1 or 679-welker-lydia-assignment2).
If you have any issues uploading your assignment, let me know ASAP.
How do I earn participation points?
Your participation points are based on using Slack. I will share a prompt of some kind each week on the course calendar. You can earn points for the week by following the prompt.
Can I use AI assistance when working on assignments?
No, you cannot use ChatGPT (or other similar tools or software that generate suggested text or code) in this course.
Let's talk about why.
This semester, my goal is to help you learn how to create webpages in HTML5 and CSS3, identify errors in source code, evaluate nonlinear web content, and write for a digital audience. You will learn how to create small websites from scratch, which I think is pretty cool. But more importantly, as you do so, you'll learn how websites work and how to communicate effectively to a digital audience. While you likely won't have to build a one-page interactive web resume in your career as a technical communicator, you will use the skills you learn while building that project.
Using AI assistance to write, problem-solve, analyze, code, or think critically means you are not learning those skills yourself and will not be able to use them in your future professional and academic pursuits. What a waste of time that would be (for both of us).
For these reasons (and more, including the plagiarism that these technologies rely on, their devastating environmental impacts, and how bad they are at writing), you are not permitted to use AI assistance for any part of a graded assignment, including the generation of ideas, writing of text or code, or rewriting your own work.
Do you have questions? Is there an AI program out there you'd like to play with as part of this course? Contact me. We can talk about it.
Technological Issues
How do I view the source code of a webpage?
You can view the source code of any web page on the internet, which is pretty cool.
For Windows, press ctrl + U. For MacOS, press cmd + U.