The MIT Guide of Teaching Web Site Design

Citation

Calvert, R.Z. (2003), "The MIT Guide of Teaching Web Site Design", Online Information Review, Vol. 27 No. 1, pp. 65-66. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684520310462635

The single most important point to make about this book is that the title is misleading. For the most part this book is not about teaching Web site design. What it is, is a standard, sensible book about the process of planning and constructing a quality Web site. There are chapters explaining site planning, architecture, writing for specific purposes, graphic design, adding multimedia, and so on. Selected parts, such as the brief section on making a site map, are very worthwhile. Then the authors cover programming for interactivity, and testing and evaluating a Web site (useful topics to include). The book concludes with several case studies of Web work done by students. There is now quite a range of books to be found on making Web sites and the bookshops contain many similar titles. There is not much in this book that makes it different to the pack.

The most useful chapter is actually the first one called “Class design and curriculum” in which the authors describe their practice of setting Web creation assignments in classes held at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They point out that engineers enjoy building things, so a practical exercise in creating a Web site suits their temperaments. This also seems to apply to many other students around the world, to judge from the success of similar assignments I have set in New Zealand. There are some useful tips in the book on setting and managing this sort of assignment. The authors suggest making it group work, which first, encourages the sharing of expertise as students adopt different “roles” in the team, and second, and not so overtly stated by the authors, this reflects the “real world” of much Web site creation in the corporate world. I found the list of potential roles was useful, ranging as it did over the project manager, client representative, information architect, graphic designer, multimedia designer, technical designer, programmer, tester, editor, and more. This is certainly a list that I will draw on in the future.

Like all MIT Press publications, this is a finely‐made book that will last for years, though one doubts if the content will be used for long. There is a short index and no bibliography. This should be viewed as a marginal purchase, though some information management teachers will be able to make use of parts of the book.