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BUS 370 - Internet Applications

The course has no technology prerequisites. The objective is to take business undergraduates from zero technical experience, to launching their own websites with a real user base, in a semester.

Web Basics

Students learn the minimum they need to get up and running. They:

  • Create a simple web page with links and images.
  • Create and use a simple style sheet.
  • Put those pages on the web, with a real URL.
  • Link to widgets on their page (including PayPal).
  • Put Google AdSense and Google Analytics code on a page.

All assignments are turned in as URLs on a wiki.

Open Source Platforms

Next, we get students up and running on their own websites, using inexpensive web hosting and great open source platforms. They:

  • Set up a web hosting account and purchase a domain name.
  • Set up FTP on their laptops for easy file transfer.
  • Install Wordpress, customizing basic settings for their site.
  • Add a theme and a plugin to Wordpress.
  • Install Drupal, customizing basic settings for their site.
  • Add a theme and a module to Drupal.

Students then begin to add content, customize the look and feel by editing themes, and add more functionality via widgets or plugins/modules. They also explore other open source platforms for forums, pictures, etc.

Project and User Community

At this point, students put together a project proposal, with simple functional requirements (the most important user scenarios) and technical requirements. They also:

  • Create a plan for developing and engaging their user community.
  • Add a podcast/vidcast feed to their site.
  • Respond to feedback from their early users.
  • Install a LAMP stack on their own laptops for testing, and to practice installing software manually.

The rest of the time is spent on project and community development.

Takeaways

While the students pick up specific technical skills that allow them to launch a real site, complete with analytics and potential revenue sources, we think they also take other things away from the course:

  • Motivation to pick up more technical knowledge - any web, coding, or database skills they learn translate directly into a better website.
  • The importance (and excitement) of user feedback and rapid/iterative development.
  • A high-level, yet hands-on, understanding of modern internet-based architectures.
  • The basics of administration - what it means to configure, set permissions, etc.
  • A link between the things they care about, and IT.