Final Exam Instructions
| THE GOOD NEWS I'm giving you the questions/instructions for the final exam one week before you take it! When in your life do you get to see the final exam ahead of time? The answer is now! This means no surprises for you and you know exactly how to prepare. THE BAD NEWS What bad news? There are no surprises here. Well... okay a little bad news. Because we are reviewing everyone's final project... sometimes the night is kind of long. We probably won't be done until around 9:00 pm. MORE GOOD NEWS Tasty snacks to ease the pain. THE FINAL PROJECT Your final project must be posted to the Web and you must have an available URL for the class by 5:30 pm on the dot! The final exam will commence promptly at 5:30! THE FINAL PROJECT PRESENTATIONS As part of your final project, you are required to give a 5 minute oral presentation/demonstration of your project to the class. This is where you get to show off your work, and discuss the conceptual and technical development that went into its creation. This presentation is graded and counts for 25 points, so be prepared. THE FINAL EXAM The final exam will consist of two parts: 10 short-answer questions (see below for these questions) and peer critiques, with each part counting for 50% of your final exam grade. THE CRITIQUES For the final exam you will be required to write formal critiques of all the final projects. You will critique your classmates and they will critique you. Your comments will be shared (anonymously!) with the project's creator. This means that each of you will get substantial quality feedback on your projects, not just from me but from the whole class. As these critiques will be graded as part of your final exam, it behooves you not to simply write "cool!" or "I liked it." Well written critiques will be informed by and demonstrate knowledge of class lectures, assignments, and/or readings. As you will only have 10 minutes to write your critique, they do not have to be long. Rather, you should strive to make 1 or 2 informed and well-supported arguments. Ideally, you should comment on both a positive and a negative aspect of the site and be sure to explain why/provide support for your opinion. You may wish to specifically review the "Web Critique Requirements," "Tips for Improved Web Critiques," and the "Multimedia Design Principles and Tips" lecture. THE QUESTIONS Of the 20 questions listed below, 10 will be on the final exam. 1. What does HTML stand for? HTML has a two part structure that consists of the <HEAD> and the what? 2. Name three ways to optimize or reduce the file size of an image. 3. Which image file format is generally most appropriate for displaying color photographs (with subtle gradations of color) on the Web? 4. What is the difference between a vector and a raster (or bitmap) image? 5. When creating animations in Flash or Director, what is a "keyframe" and how is it different from a "frame"? 6. What does bit depth refer to? Which image file format reduces file size by limiting bit depth? 7. Define and differentiate "theme" and "concept" as used by Hillman Curtis in the MTIV book? 8. Of the software tools used in class, name the tool that is most appropriate for each of the following (name a different software tool for each): a)
vector animation on the Web 9. 640x480, 800x600, and 1024x768 refer to what? Which of these is most common among Web users? 10. Name three things/variables that can change from user to user that may make the experience of your Web site different on different computers. 11. What is screen resolution or the ppi (pixels per inch) that you should use for images that will be displayed on a computer screen (ie. on the Web)? 12. Define "usablity." What is meant by usability testing? 13. What does Hillman Curtis (in the MTIV book) mean when he says that new media designers should "Eat the Audience"? 14. What is the difference between step animation and "tweened" animation? 15. What will happen if I decide to use an uncommon font in my HTML markup (ie. within the <font> tag) that is not installed on an end user's computer? How would I solve this problem and be able to use this font on my Web pages? 16. Name 5 of the design principles/tips described in the "Rules of the Game" design lecture. 17. What is meant by establishing a "hierarchy" of information in your design? 18. Describe the differences between tables, frames, and layers as used in Dreamweaver and HTML design. 19. What is a flowchart and how/why is it used in Web and/or multimedia design. Draw a sample flowchart. 20. What is the difference between a global menu and a local menu? |