1. Introduction to MSPowerPoint.
2. Use and design of webpages.
3. Web resources. -N/A
4. Web searches.
5. Quality assurance.
6. Indexes.
7. Bibliographies.
8. Copyright laws.
9. Distributed database management.
10. Introduction to MSAccess.
11. Assignment.
12. Concluding remarks.
13. Notes.
14. References. -N/A
15. Other links. -N/A

• PowerPoint is part of MSOffice (professional version - others are Word, Excel and Access).
• PowerPoint or an equivalent program should be used in this course for your presentations. It is very easy to learn, and produces slick presentations. This has become a world-wide standard for professional presentations. Make no mistake - this skill will help you professionally. You should become so good at a presentation that you can almost do a presentation on the fly in real time!
• You can create:
  • overhead slides
  • speaker's notes
  • audience handouts, and
  • an outline
  all in a single file.
• In 05-210 in 1998 we do not teach PowerPoint - you are expected to simply pick it up by doing it! Your PowerPoint presentations can be saved as HTML files for execution in a web browser.
• Steps involved are:
  • creating a presentation
  • working on a presentation
  • printing your presentation
  • adding and modifying text
  • applying and modifying templates, and
  • producing a slide show.
• Start PowerPoint in the usual way, e.g. from the START button, and follow the dialog boxes or the Office Assistant.
• Save your presentation on a back-up diskette.
• Use the school projector to practice your presentation.

1. Bill's guidelines for the design of webpages:

   Pages should not:

   • allow technology to intrude;
   • become one-way (e.g. instructor to student) rather than interactive;
   • detract from team collaboration and learning;
   • simply repackage material available in other formats;
   • reduce creative and artistic talents;
   • encourage aimless web surfing.

   Pages should:

   • build knowledge systematically;
   • be friendly, intimate and user-centered;
   • encourage meaningful interaction;
   • be creative, artistic and constructive;

   More specifically, in good pages:

   • rich and unique content is provided;
   • the web-site is well organized:
     • a general toolbar is maintained across all sites
     • web-site maps (hyper-linked tables of contents) are provided
     • links are hierarchically organized;
     • it's easy to get back to the home page from anywhere;
     • pages funnel users to the information that they want;
   • innovative use is made of technology;
   • users are enabled to form virtual communities:
     • provide list-servers;
   • updates are frequent:
     • a last-updated time is included;
     • users are notified that information has been added or updated;
   • design is attractive:
     • design is simple, no flashy backgrounds;
     • the first page has latest info, a nice image and an appropriate logo;
     • you can tell that the pages are related;
   • different users with different characteristics are recognized:
     • limit the number of images for users with slow connections;
     • provide separate web pages for each type of user (novice to sophisticate);
     • provide for different communications speeds (e.g., modem or ethernet);
     • design for different browsers with different capabilities.
   • all sources are boldly acknowledged
   • lists of further readings and links are provided
   • readers are encouraged to post their critical reviews of the material

2. How to set up your own web page - just a simple page.
   • Browse your Univ Home page to find the procedure for establishing your personal home page.
   • Contact the computer folks to set up your personal URL (really just a file directory).
   • Place a text file named index.html in that directory.

     I am grateful to Colin Peart for the following:

     As per Professer James request, here is the info on web page publishing:
     1. Read http://www.uoguelph.ca/ip-applications/overview.html
     2. Follow these instructions: http://www.uoguelph.ca/personal_pages/instructions.html

        For those of you with more html/unix experience, here is the boiled down version of those instructions:

        • Write your webpage(s). The first or only page must be called index.html
        • telnet to general, and login to your account.
        • press escape on your keyboard to exit the menu program (it will come back every time you log on, so don't worry.)
        • Create a directory called public_html
          The unix command is "mkdir ~/public_html "
        • type "quit " to log off of general
        • ftp to general. This means either using text based ftp (if your a computer nerd, or otherwise knowledgeable) or using a graphical ftp client. Several of them exist-bulletproof ftp, cute ftp, ws_ftp(which is on the 112b computers), etc.
          The server is general.uoguelph.ca, port 21. Use your normal general account and password to login g)go to your public_html directory and upload your webpages and images. Be sure to use binary or automatic transfer mode, or your images may not arrive intact.
        • logoff of your ftp session to general
        • telnet back to general, and escape out of the menu to the command prompt
        • type in "cd /public_html " to get to your public_html directory,
        • type in "publish " to make all of your webfiles available.
        • and type "quit " to logout of general.

     3. Thats it!. It may take (according to the full instructions page) as much as 24 hours for your page to be available.
     4. If you ever need to change, remove, or add files to your web page, repeat f through l in the above steps.
     5. You must run the publish command everytime you upload your files to ensure that they have the correct permissions so that everyone in the world may see them.
     6. In case you were wondering, your web adress will be:
        http://www.uoguelph.ca/~username
        Inserting your own username, of course.

   • A useful book with some web support is How to set up and maintain a web site.

3. How to write a couple of screens.
   • Simply save your Word file as HTML

     OR

   • Edit the following stuff into the top of your text file, but use > for ] and [HTML] [HEAD] [TITLE] w james urban water systems models modules[/TITLE] [meta name="keywords" content="William James, urban water systems modelling"] [meta name="description" content="William James grad course 661 urban water systems models"] [/HEAD] [BODY BGCOLOR="FFFFFF" text="#000080" link="#cc0000" vlink="#444444"]
   • Edit the following stuff appropriately and paste it into the end of your text file:

     [font size=3][b] & copy ; [/b] 
     [A HREF="http://www.eos.uoguelph.ca/webfiles/james"]
     William James 1997 [/a] [/font] 
     [p][p][p][p][FONT SIZE=3] Last modified 1997-05-08[/TD][/TR]
     [/TABLE]
     [/center]
     [/BODY]
     [/HTML]
     

   • Write and edit your assignment stuff as a text file between the two, inserting [p] (use >, Save it as a text file.
   • Copy it to your directory naming it index.html

4. Exercise:
   • Write in HTML a 1-page very simple summary of
     • your design project and
     • your engineering disaster,
     and
   • paste them into your personal webpage,
     then
   • post your webpage URL on the class listserver, inviting comment.

A good search engine.

• My favourite search engine for the web is WebCompass, and is in fact a generalized and user-friendly integration (I am told) of 48 other engines. Written by quarterdeck, you can download a trial copy from http://www.quarterdeck.com/qdeck/demosoft/webcompass/
  Note that if you keep it for more than a month you have pay about $48US (written in 1997).

• Exercise: Let me know if you manage to try it!

• I have several bibliographies listed on the web. To see what they look like, click here.

• Exercise: Run a search for articles related to your design project.

• Our library catalog (the collection of books etc):
  on the web.
• Our library's electronic databases (for papers etc):
  available through the web.
• The best source of engineering published articles of many types:
  EI Compendex Plus

• Exercise:
  • Search the University library catalog under author for works by your favourite professors - enter "Lastname, Initial" and check against likely date of birth in the case of common names. See how hard they work to build the reputation of your University!
  • search the catalog and indexes for articles under keywords related to your design and disaster projects.

• To find out how to sort out good info on the web from bad, click here.
  This is important information, believe me.

Golden rule: Anything written by someone else does not belong to you. If you use bits of it and do not cite it, that's plagiarism and you will be publicly punished and become scum. On the other hand if you use it and cite it boldly, you will become a scholar and be rewarded. The difference is a few words that signal a hugely different attitude.

• My best source of info on copyright:
  the copyright website.
• For a lawyer's review of copyright and the web:
  in the West Virginia Journal of Law and Technology.

• Using a database management system (DBMS) helps preserve your sanity.
• A DBMS differs from a spreadsheet: I use a DBMS to store data about this course, but I use a spreadsheet to figure out your grades.
• Data is anything you want to store and refer to again.
• Data can be:
  • text
  • numbers
  • illustrations
  • files
  • URLs
  • many other types
• A database is an integrated collection of data that shares some common characteristic.
• A relational database divides information into discrete groups called tables which are then related to each other.
• Data is entered using a form.
• Data is stored in a table, the most important of the database objects.
• Each table holds a category of information.
• A table comprises records (rows) and fields (columns).
• A database is instantly automatically saved or deleted (beware!).
• A relational database enables you to set up relationships among the tables and then create queries, reports and forms that tie together and display the information in various ways.
• Tables, forms, queries and reports are database objects.
• Approved users may all work with the same database.
• Tables in the database may reside at remote computers.
• Forms enable you to view and enter data one record at a time, and into more than one table.
• Design of databases should be done thoughtfully!
• Information is obtained from the database using queries.
• Queries enable you to manipulate data in a table, e.g. sort and select data from tables, and perform calculations on them.
• You can import data from an Excel spreadsheet or from Word, or other databases.
• Reports enable you to format data from your tables so that it is suitable for printing.
• Up-front planning is essential when designing your database - a poorly designed database makes it difficult to extract the information that you need, when you need it. First brainstorm the following questions:
  • What info do you want to get out of the database when it is operational?
  • How do you want to input the data?
  • How would you like to view the data?
  • How will you want to manipulate the data after it has been entered into your tables?
  • What type of print-outs will you need from the database, and how should the data be arranged on the printed page?
• No matter how carefully you design your database and its objects, you will probably need to fine-tune or even drastically alter it after you have entered the data. No-one said being organised is easy. But it's much easier now than it ever was before.

From the promo blurb:
Microsoft Access 97 for the Windows(r) 95 and Windows NT(r) operating systems
• provides relational databases, integrates data from spreadsheets and other databases and is an easy way to find answers, and share information over intranets and the Internet.
• Table Analyzer Wizard intelligently finds the underlying structure in a flat-file list and transforms it into related tables so you can immediately harness the power of a relational database-even if you don't understand relational database systems.
• makes it easy to share up-to-date information with others, regardless of where they are. The Publish To The Web Wizard lets you share dynamic or static database information across the Internet or your company's intranet-without writing any code. That means you can place your data on a Web site and let people search it from across your workgroup or the world.
• Import/Export Wizard walks you step-by-step through the process of converting data to and from a variety of popular data formats.
• Performance Analyzer Wizard automatically recommends the best way to create a well-organized, more responsive database. And the intuitive, integrated development environment (IDE) in Microsoft Visual Basic(r) for Applications with ActiveX(tm) support makes it easy to develop a powerful database.
• Hyperlinks: It's easy to create single-click hyperlinks to other Microsoft Access reports, forms, and tables; other Office documents; even internal and external Web sites! For example, simply store hyperlinks to suppliers' home pages to quickly view their data out on the World Wide Web.
• Database Replication: Use the Internet or your group's intranet to synchronize data from remote locations. For example, team members anywhere in the world can update data so everyone in the team has current information.
• The various stages in becoming proficient at managing relational databases are:
  • viewing, entering and customizing data
  • using forms
  • viewing only the information that you need
  • controlling the growth of your database
  • keeping your database information reliable
  • importing and working with external data
  • querying your data
• In more detail your learning steps should proceed as follows:
  • open a database
  • enter and modify data
  • select between design and database views
  • control datasheet views
  • use a form to enter data
  • find and delete records
  • sort records
  • use a filter
  • report only the info that you need
  • print a report
  • design a new table
  • create database relationships
  • using hyperlinks
  • create a query
  • sort and hide data
  • join tables in a query
• You can use the many example databases supplied with MS ACCESS as templates to develop your database, but I find it easier to start from scratch.
• Learn to make copious use of the on-line help system, and also of the Office Assistant, and related wizards.

• Exercise: Start to build your database for your design project, as outlined in assignment A2 below.

• The pedagogic purpose of adding the development of shared, distributed relational database management skills to this module, is to add real value to the undergraduate engineering design experience.
• No DBMS skills have previously been required of all engineering students, anywhere in the curriculum, undergraduate or graduate.
• Such DBMS skills ought to allow students to assemble their complete undergraduate instructional curriculum in a single database, perhaps writing it to a CD-ROM as a permanent, accessible record of their instructional and learning experience here at U of Guelph.
• It should be clear that real professional engineering design offices can no longer function without distributed DBMS's.
• Distributed, shared DBMS provides an excellent means for an instructor to keep informed of the contributions of all individuals even in very large classes.
• Full benefits of DBMS in managing a large design class will accrue later.

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  References - to be developed

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  Links - to be developed

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Questions or problems?

Cite: "James, William. (1998). 05-210 engineering design 1 Web site. U. of Guelph, Sch. of Eng'rg. www.eos.uoguelph.ca/webfiles/james"

© William James 1998

updated 1998-09-10