Weekly Course Schedule – Spring 2021

IS439 - AOG/AOU - Web Development Using Application Frameworks

Meets Wednesday Evenings Online

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Week 1 (January 25 – January 31)



Wednesday, January 27   (6:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M., Zoom)
Class Session 1
Session Link
You may join the session using this link. Use 3a743l as the session password. Please use a headset.
Topics
  • Welcome
  • Review Syllabus
  • Review Weekly Schedule
  • Introductions
Required Readings
Required Recordings
Other Resources
Class Discussion Prep
  • Introduce Yourself
    An important activity during this first class will be introducing ourselves. I plan to go through the class in the order that students appear in the Zoom list of attendees. I will ask each of you to speak to us using your headset. I am expecting each of you to speak for 1 - 2 minutes. Here are the things that I would like you to share with us: Your name; The iSchool program in which you are enrolled; Your employment (this includes, full-time, part-time, university, and home care activities); Your previous experience with tools used in this course (Python, Django, Anaconda, Pycharm, Git, SourceTree); Most Important: What you would like to get out of this course. I look forward to meeting each of you during your introductions.


Sunday, January 31   (11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M., Zoom)
Optional Session
Session Link
You may join the session using this link. Use 3j112p as the session password. Please use a headset.
Lab Session
On Sunday mornings from 11:00 AM till 12:00 PM, I will be holding an optional Lab Session using Zoom. Please drop by to ask a question, to discuss solutions to previous assignments, to get help with the current assignment, to discuss the final project, or just to say hello.


Sunday, January 31, @  11:55 P.M.
Weekly Assignments Deadline
Computing Setup
  • Install Anaconda
    Description: Anaconda is an open data science platform that provides access to a coordinated set of Python tools. We will be using Anaconda to provide our basic Python tools. This will relieve some of the pressure of downloading many Python tools individually. It will also give us some experience in working with Anaconda, which is a valuable skill in its own right.
  • Install PyCharm Professional
    Description: PyCharm Professional is a leading Python Integrated Development Environment (IDE). I will be using PyCharm in my tutorial videos and I will expect you to use PyCharm when completing your assignments. JetBrains, the makers of PyCharm Professional, offer free licenses to this and a number of other products to university students and faculty. You will need to secure one of these free licenses from JetBrains using the link below. Following that, you will need to install PyCharm Professional by following one of the tutorial videos below that will help you through the download and install.
  • Learn About Git
    Description: This is a video course that introduces Git version control to Git beginners. I have included this link here in case you are a beginner. The extent to which you use the Git version control system in this course will depend on your level of interest. You will be required to use Git in the Deployment assignment for the EZ University tutorial. This assignment occurs near the end of the course. Many of you will want to use Git to do the optional deployment portion of the Django Girls tutorial. This is the very first assignment in the course. Once you learn how to use Git, I predict that you will want to use it on all of your coding projects. So, I recommend that you get started early with Git. But, the decision is up to you.
  • Install a Graphical Git Client
    Description: Natively, Git is a command line tool. Many people use Git at the command line very comfortably. Yet, many of us like graphical tools. If that includes you, then you will want to pick a graphical Git client and install that for your use. PyCharm includes a graphical Git client. It is not my favorite. But, I use it when I must. There are quite a few other stand-alone graphical git clients. I have included links below for some stand-alone Git graphical clients that you may want to consider.
  • Sign Up for an Account With a Remote Repository Service Provider
    Description: When using Git, you will need to set up an account with a remote repository service provider. This allows you to share your code with others and it allows you to use Git to deploy code on any server. We will be using Git for the deploy use case. So, you will need to set up an account on one of these services. The most popular of these service providers is GitHub. Any of the providers have free account options and any of them will work for the deploy use case that will be important in our course. You may choose whichever of these you wish.
  • Sign Up for a PythonAnywhere Account
    Description: In our couse, we will be using PythonAnywhere accounts to deploy Django apps on a free server. If you choose to do the optional deployment part of of first assignment (Django Girls Tutorial), then you will need a PythonAnywhere account for that assignment. Otherwise, you will need a PythonAnywhere account for the EZ University Deployment assignment. This will occur near the end of the course. I have included a link below that you may use to sign up for your free PythonAnywhere account. If possible, use your Illinois user-id as your user-id for PythonAnywhere.
Other Resources