Welcome to Introduction to Software Development and Version control!

Our meetings

This is a first course in software development. In today's computer-saturated world, software is everywhere. By many estimates, the average automobile today includes over a hundred million lines of software code. An Android smart phone needs over 12 million lines of code just for the Android operating system. All of the apps on our phones need ever more. Modern video games need 1 or 2 million lines of code for the game engine and hundreds of thousands more lines for the games themselves. You get the picture. Lots of people are getting paid lots of money to write lots of code. This class is here to help you become one of those people!

This class sets the stage for us as developers in two ways: it identifies the systems that support today's modern web applications and creates ways for us to interact and build these applications.This class will teach you many useful skills no matter what language or languages you use for software development. No matter what the tools, platforms, or coding languages, some skills are needed on any software project. Such skills include:

project planning
code writing
code backup
code testing
team collaboration
change management
code demonstration and explanation
code documentation

Three Aspects: IT115 has three aspects that we'll weave together into one class:

Hardware architecture and software systems that support web applications.
Development environments and systems used to build, test and deploy applications.
Processes utilized by developers to manage, version, test and deploy their work.

Although the skills in this class relate to any type of software development project, to give you some hands-on experience, the class this quarter is going to focus on a limited selection of tools and languages. These are, and will be the raw ingredients for all your project work this quarter. The main tools and languages needed for your projects this quarter include:

HTML
CSS
Git & GitHub
Setting up a server in the cloud (GCloud)

In a future module we will discuss how to configure you local desktop to allow for your project activities in this class.

Quizzes: There will be quizzes given most weeks to test your knowledge regarding what was learned in class.

Online Meeting Space: This quarter we will be meeting online, as a class, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays from 10:10am - 11:30am via Zoom. The link and password to that Zoom meeting is:

https://zoom.us/j/99860791336?pwd=NnRydW1UZ0YyMUxGVVFMdytGTTErQT09

Password: 879992

Canvas: This class uses the Learning Management System. (LMS) named Canvas. Canvas can track assignments & submissions, online quizzes, grading, discussion forums and more! In order to stay in touch with course changes and announcements and view your grades, etc., please consider installing the Canvas mobile application. Here are links to the IPhone Canvas App. and the Android Canvas App.

USB Headset: If your classes are funded by financial aid, explain to them this is a requirement of the course, as you're required to do online interaction and listen to a lot of videos. Here is a good USB headset: Logitech ClearChat Headset.

Announcements: As things happen in the class you'll be notified via Announcements. You can also scan through these to see what may have been covered on a particular day as I'll try to use this section to keep a record of where we're going and where we've been!

Modules as our Guide: Modules in Canvas allow us to view materials in a sequential manner. Each module represents approximately a week during class, and the modules include reference material, assignments and other deliverables.

Keeping Up: To see what's coming up at any time, view the items on the right of the Home page under To Do and Coming Up. Deliverables that are overdue will not show in this area. To view overdue items, view the Calendar on the left side of the Home page.

Assignments: Among the items found in the Modules will be assignments that will make up the most detailed deliverables for the class. These will include items you code or build, and other deliverables like documents or presentations. Generally you will be expected to submit a link to where your assignment exists on the web or upload a file by a specific date and time. View assignment details carefully as each may be unique.

Discussions: In this class you'll be expected to participate in graded Discussions. These are discussion forums that allow you to post comments or answers to questions. We'll use this to keep our heads in the game and allow some class interaction. These must be done on time, no re-grades! Remember to be polite as all in class have access.

Hard Due Dates: There will be certain deliverables which must be complete by the due date. When viewing an assignment or discussion, to be able to tell easily when this is the case, look for the alarm clock image, as you see in this box. If you see the words "hard due date" and/or the alarm clock icon, this means there may be no re-grades for this item, or a penalty involved for late submission.

Class Recordings via Panopto: Although this class is designed to be attended live online on Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday, if you are out of town or otherwise indisposed and can't use Google Meet to attend remotely, I'll record each class via Panopto. About 45 minutes after a class is finished you should be able to view the recording under the link Panopto Recordings on the left side of the page on Canvas.

Stay Connected: To stay informed about jobs, presentations, and opportunities, be sure to request access to the Seattle Central College Web Design and Development Facebook Group and the SCCC-IT LinkedIn Group

Syllabus: The syllabus for this class can be found here: [link to syllabus]

Questions? The easiest way to send me a question is to click Help at the left bottom of the Canvas Home page and Ask Your Instructor A Question. When I respond, you'll be notified by Canvas and can you view the full message via the Canvas Inbox.