Glossary & References

Glossary
References

Glossary

PDF ~ Portable Document Format ~ this software captures the exact look of a document regardless of the original software in which it was developed, which, in turn, eliminates the need for the end-users to install the original software.

Image Compression ~ In effect, the objective is to reduce redundancy of the image data in order to be able to store or transmit data in an efficient form.

.GIF (pronounced ‘jiff’) ~ Graphics Interchange Format ~ The GIF format preserves sharp details like those in line art, logos, or type. You also use the GIF format to create an animated image and preserve transparency in an image. GIF files are limited to 256 colors. GIF supports background transparency or background matting, in which you blend the edges of the image with a Web page background color.

.JPG (‘jay-peg’) ~ Joint Photographic Experts Group ~ The JPEG format preserves the broad range and subtle variations in brightness and hue found in photographs and other continuous-toned images. A progressive JPEG file displays a low-resolution version of the image in the Web browser while the full image is downloading. JPEG is supported by most browsers. JPEG format compresses file size by selectively discarding data. Because it discards data, JPEG compression is referred to as lossy. The JPEG format does not support animation or transparency.

.PNG (pronounced ‘ping’) ~ Portable Network Graphics ~ Like the GIF format, PNG-8 efficiently compresses areas of solid color while preserving sharp detail like those in line art, logos, or type. PNG-8 is not supported by all browsers.The PNG-8 format uses a more advanced compression schemes than GIF and can be 10% to 30% smaller. The PNG-8 format supports background transparency and background matting, in which you blend the edges of the image with a Web page background color.

.TIFF (pronounced ‘tiph’) ~ Tagged Image File Format ~ Tagged-Image File Format (TIFF) is THE undisputed graphics industry standard file format for images. It is uncompressed and therefore contains all orignial information from the saved file. This also means that it is also the largest in file size.

Slice ~ a graphic image that has been divided into smaller sections which, at least, gives the viewer the perception that a page is loading faster because it loads several small segments rather than one large one. It allows different quality levels to be set for each slice according to the requirements and qualities of the slice graphic. Utilizing by web design programs such as Adobe ImageReady and Adobe (formerly Macromedia) Fireworks.

Image Map ~ Hotspot ~ An invisible linking area of a web page that links the viewer to a different web page or site. The only indication is the cursor changing from an arrow to the finger. Usually utilized on the web page header to navigate to the sites home page.

Rollover/Mouse-over ~ A change in image shape, color, or design when a navigational button is encountered by the mouse cursor.

Pop-up ~ When another browser window opens in between you and the browser window that you are viewing. Usually an advertisement. Used in non-advertising to signify helpful information to the viewer, such as a definition.

Pop-down ~ Similar to a pop-up with the exception of opening the browser window behind the one you are viewing, only revieling itself when you close your active browser window. Always an advertisement.

Banner ~ Usually an advertisement that displays a large graphic image.

.PSD ~ Photoshop Document ~ Adobe Photoshop's native file format.

ALT Tag ~ The HTML tag describing an image that appears when the mouse is rolled over the image on a Web page. Helpful for people who view pages in text-only mode. Some search engines look for keywords in ALT tags. Usually associated with vision impaired viewers.

ADA ~ A Federal law requiring handicap access, including websites.

CSS ~ Cascading Style Sheet ~ A style language that can control the appearance of HTML and XML documents by defining display features such as font types, color and size, as well as text formatting features such as indentions, margins, and tabular presentation.

HTML ~ Hypertext Markup Language ~ is the authoring software language used on the Internet's World Wide Web. HTML is used for creating World Wide Web pages.

Javascript ~ a programming language that is mostly used in web pages, usually to add features that make the web page more interactive.

Source Code ~ The readable form of code that you create in a high-level programming language for a Web page usually stored in a file that ends with the .html or .htm extension.

Header ~ the top part of a Web document usually containing graphics.

Points ~ A typographic measurement. There are 72 points to an inch.

Pixel ~ the smallest element that display or print hardware and software can manipulate in creating letters, numbers or graphics.

PPI ~ Pixels per inch ~ A measure of the resolution of cameras, scanners and printers.

DPI ~ Dots per inch ~ a measure of printing resolution, in particular the number of individual dots of ink a printer or toner can produce within a linear one-inch space.

LPI ~ Lines per inch ~ Refers to the quality of a halftone screen in printing, the fewer the dots (low lpi) the “coarser” the image. For example a newspaper typically uses 65 or 85 lpi. In this case, the printing dots are actually visible without magnification. A glossy magazine would use 133, 150 or 200 lpi.

RGB ~ Red_Green-Blue ~ These are the primary colors of light,utilized by computer monitors, projection systems and television sets. Also referred to as additive colors. The combination and intensities of these three colors can represent the whole spectrum.

CMYK ~ Cyan, Mangenta, Yellow, and Black ~ the four colors used in the printing process. Also called subtractive colors.

Vector Image/Graphic ~ based on a mathematical computation, a type of image that is more versatile in that it can be sized without encountering distortion.

Raster Image/Graphic ~ images defined as a set of pixels or dots in a column and row format, also called bitmapped graphics.

XHTML ~ Extensible Hypertext Markup Language ~ is the latest authoring software language used on the Internet's World Wide Web. XHTML is used for creating World Wide Web pages.

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References

All
Krug, S. (2006). Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability, 2nd ed.
New Riders Publishing, Berkeley, CA, 2006.

Lynch, P., & Horton, S. (2002). Web Style Guide, www.webstyleguide.com.

Nielsen, J. (n.d.) Useit.com

Usability
Lazar, J. (2001). User-Centered Web Development. Jones and Bartlett, Sudbury:MA.

Nielsen, J. (2000). Designeing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity. New Riders: Indianapolis, IN.

Nielsen, J. (2003, August 25) Usability 101: Introduction to Usability, Alertbox, retrieved December 23, 2007, from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html.

Contact Kevin
Google Maps, http://maps.google.com

Multimedia

For more information about Educational Animation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_animation

Faraday, P. F., & Sutcliffe, A. G. (1996). An empirical study of attending and comprehending multimedia presentations. Paper presented at the ACM International Conference on Multimedia 96, Boston, USA.

Faraday, P. F., & Sutcliffe, A. G. (1997). Designing effective multimedia presentations. Paper presented at the CHI 97, Atlanta, USA.

Hegarty, M., & Sims, V.K. (1994). Individual differences in mental animation during mechanical reasoning. Memory & Cognition, 22, 411-430.

Lowe, R.K. (2003). Animation and learning: Selective processing of information in dynamic graphics. Learning and Instruction. 13, 247-262.

Lowe, R.K. (2004). Interrogation of a dynamic visualization during learning. Learning and Instruction, 14, 257-274.

Mayer, R.E., & Moreno, R. (2002). Animation as an aid to multimedia learning. Educational Psychology Review, 14, 87-99.

Palmer, S., & Elkerton, J. (1993). Animated demonstrations for learning procedural computer-based tasks. Human-Computer Interaction, 8, 193-216.

Schnotz, W., Böckheler, J., & Grzondziel, H (1999). Individual and co-operative learning with interactive animated pictures. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 14, 245-265.

Tversky, B., Morrison, J. B., & Bétrancourt M. (2002). Animation: Can it facilitate? International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 57, 247-262.

Dreamweaver

Chow, G. (2008). Adobe Dreamweaver CS3: Hands-On Training. Peachpit Press, Berkeley, CA.

Cascading Style Sheets

Chow, G. (2008). Adobe Dreamweaver CS3: Hands-On Training. Peachpit Press, Berkeley, CA.

Clarke, A. (2007). Transcending CSS: The Fine Art of Web Design. New Riders, Berkeley, CA.

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