Fall 2026 Syllabus (Schedule)
Classes meet T H 3:05 - 4:20pm in Kochel 77.
This contains a detailed explanation of course policies and the basis for grades.
Jump Down to the Schedule
The button jumps to the closest day to today's date. Review the schedule as we get
started to get a sense of how this course will work on a daily basis.
Tools and Resources
Download and install the following software on your own personal computer(s) as we start the course.
These software tools are also available in our campus computing labs.
- VSCodium: Free/Libre Open Source Software Binaries of VS Code: This our highly preferred, lightweight code editor
for our JavaScript web development.
- <oXygen/>.
The DIGIT program has purchased a site license for this software, which
is installed in Kochel 77 and the Lilley Library computers. The license also permits
students enrolled in the
course to install the software on their home computers (for course-related use
only). When installing this on your own computers, you will need the
license key, which we have posted on our course Announcements section of
Canvas.
- Discord: You will need
a Discord account
to join the DIGIT Discord (instructions TBA), and a ready reference to
Discord command + shortcuts
- Zoom: Make sure your Zoom installation is up-to-date, and you are ready to
connect. (We will use Zoom when we need it for office/project meetings.)
- Be prepared to install other software as announced as we experiment with website infrastructures in this class
Resources for class:
- newtFire: My collection of teaching resources and student projects.
- NewtFire GitHub organization, home of the digitProjectDesign-Hub:
Digital Project Design-Hub (https://github.com/newtfire/digitProjectDesign-Hub) and several
JavaScript experiments from this class over the years.
- Canvas:
https://canvas.psu.edu To submit homework assignments and exams, read private course announcements, access
Zoom class meetings and video recordings.
- Rusty with coding? Don’t remember much from DIGIT 110 or 210? Don’t worry! You will be getting lots of review in this course while learning new methods. Past students
with very little coding background have designed projects (like these) and even spoken about them at undergraduate conferences!
Our goal, as ever, is for you to learn by building and designing.
| Week 1 | Class topics | Do before class |
|---|
T 08-25 |
- First day! Welcome, course intro.
- Emphases: Dynamic/interactives site development + professionalizing web presence
- Our approach to tech, code, and AI
- Wired Magazine video (May 2026):
Study: Using AI for 10 Minutes Could Make You Lazy and Dumb
- Putting the
help at arm's length: choosing your tech and design principles
- Introduce the Web Media Resource Guide project.
- Workflow / time in this class
- Hypothes.is setup
|
... |
H 08-27 |
- Learn to Code / Code to Learn
- Poetry by Piper Baron (JavaScript Poetry DIGIT senior project, Fall 2021)
- Introduce Tech Issue research and Zotero
- Web Resource Guides from last year:
|
Read / annotate Silvio Lorusso's |
| Week 2 | Class topics | Do before class |
|---|
T 09-01 |
No class meeting. Dr. B is attending a University Senate meeting. |
Explore Tech Issue topics, work on Zotero assignment |
H 09-03 |
- Tech issue previews
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and robots.txt: discoverability (by whom/what?) and security/stability
- Digit web portfolios around/after graduation:
- Accessible design
|
|
| Week 3 | Class topics | Do before class |
|---|
T 09-08 |
- Pour + UX design
- CSS + SVG hover effects
|
|
H 09-10 |
- Dynamic components workshop
- Zotero review
|
- Mia Borgia’s SVG Animation Exercise: Apply SVG Animations tutorial to your own designs
- Tech Issue Research Milestone: Proposal + Source Annotation
|
| Week 4 | Class topics | Do before class |
|---|
T 09-15 |
Guest visit: Rebecca Maguda (Career Services) to assist with resume workshop:- updating portfolios and resumes with projects / skills
- LinkedIn and other social media presence
|
Portfolio + Resume revision (round 1) |
H 09-17 |
Resume workshop: print to digital projects |
Portfolio development |
| Week 5 | Class topics | Do before class |
|---|
T 09-22 |
Resume / interview peer-to-peer practice |
Portfolio + Resume revision (round 2) |
H 09-24 |
- Discussion of Career Fair; next steps.
- Tech Issue Research project: next steps / project design expectations.
|
Go to the Penn State Behrend Career and Internship Fair (11am – 3pm, Erie Hall)
|
| Week 6 | Class topics | Do before class |
|---|
T 09-29 |
Orientation to vanilla JavaScript. Newtfire introductory examples: Small JS files that work with HTML and CSS to control simple user interactions.
Event listeners and functions. How to associate with HTML. |
Install VSCodium for JS work. |
H 10-01 |
Accessing HTML elements in the DOM. for and this in JavaScript. classList toggle |
vanilla JavaScript Exercise 1 |
| Week 7 | Class topics | Do before class |
|---|
T 10-06 |
- JavaScript functions
- Web guide development work
|
vanilla JavaScript Exercise 2- Tech Issue Milestone: Resources + Page Launch
|
H 10-08 |
|
Node JS launch assignment |
| Week 8 | Class topics | Do before class |
|---|
T 10-13 |
No class meeting. Dr. B is attending a University Senate meeting. |
... |
H 10-15 |
- Node JS orientation project: Node with Three.JS for 3D animations in the browser
- Past student ThreeJS projects:
|
|
| Week 9 | Class topics | Do before class |
|---|
T 10-20 |
- Three.js: troubleshooting / debugging
- Tech Issue guides: Showing vs. Telling (prep for assignment
|
Three.JS mini-project development |
H 10-22 |
JavaScript / interactivity in the Tech Development Guide |
Tech Issue Milestone: Showing and Telling |
| Week 10 | Class topics | Do before class |
|---|
T 10-27 |
- Citations / attributions / praise / blame / in Tech Issue Guides
- Introduction to web templating: Node + 11ty JS
|
Small Three.JS project completion |
H 10-29 |
- How 11ty templating works: nav bar, headers, footers
- Tech Guide Workshopping citations / call-outs
|
Tech Guide Milestone: Citing and Shouting Out |
| Week 11 | Class topics | Do before class |
|---|
T 11-03 |
Election day: Classwork is asynchronous. |
... |
H 11-05 |
11ty with island web components: Petite-Vue Setup + Exercise 1 orientation (Three.JS object timing) |
Tech Issue Milestone: Section writing development |
| Week 12 | Class topics | Do before class |
|---|
T 11-10 |
Start Island Exercise 2 together (Filterable image gallery) |
Finish Island Component exercise 1 (Three.JS object timing) |
H 11-12 |
Debugging + Introduce Island Exercise 3: Form Handling! |
Finish Island Exercise 2 (Filterable image gallery)
|
| Week 13 | Class topics | Do before class |
|---|
T 11-17 |
No class meeting. Dr. B is attending a University Senate meeting. |
Complete Island Exercise 3: interactive contact form |
H 11-19 |
Tech Issue draft review + Introduce Island Exercise 4: Search Functionality |
Tech Issue Milestone: Section development + Zotero sources
|
| Week 14 | Class topics | Do before class |
|---|
Sun 11-22 – Sat 11-28 |
Thanksgiving Holiday |
Have a restful and productive week! |
| Week 15 | Class topics | Do before class |
|---|
T 12-01 |
Workshop on Islands; sharing state with reactive() |
Island Exercise 4 |
H 12-03 |
- Testing search features on Tech Issue Guides
- Draft workshop + UX review
|
Tech Issue Guide Completion: Rough Draft due |
| Week 16 | Class topics | Do before class |
|---|
T 12-08 |
Project Sprint: Completing Tech Guides + portfolio websites; prep for DIGIT Works demos |
Project Sprint |
H 12-10 |
Project Sprint / DIGIT Works lightning demo practice |
Project Sprint |
| Finals Week | Due |
|---|
| T 12-15 | Final Project due by 11:59pm. |
