Skagit Valley College

Catalog Course Search Details

 Course Title:   CMS Fundamentals

 Title Abbreviation:   CMS FUNDAMENTALS

 Department:    MIT

 Course #:    270

 Credits:    5

 Variable:     No

 IUs:    5

 CIP:    110801

 EPC:    524

 REV:    2018


 Course Description  

A detailed look at the history, dynamics and types of Content Management Systems (CMS). Students will also be given hands-on experience setting up a CMS site, one of which will focus on the development of blogging skills.

 Prerequisite  

Prerequisite: Strongly recommended: Computer literacy and file management skills as well as some experience with HTML and CSS.

Additional Course Details

Contact Hours (based on 11 week quarter)

Lecture: 55

Lab: 0

Other: 0

Systems: 0

Clinical: 0


Intent: Distribution Requirement(s) Status:  

Vocational Preparatory N/A  

Equivalencies At Other Institutions

Other Institution Equivalencies Table
Institution Course # Remarks
N/A

Learning Outcomes

After completing this course, the student will be able to:

  1. Define content management systems and explain their role in web site development.
  2. Create a web site design that integrates with a content management system (CMS) using open-source software.
  3. Build a web site using a content management system (CMS).
  4. Install, configure, customize, and maintaining a CMS-powered web site.
  5. Demonstrate blogging basics.
  6. Setup a blog account and customize blog settings.
  7. Add a blogger profile and write, edit, modify, format and manage posts.
  8. Maintain a blog.

General Education Learning Values & Outcomes

Revised August 2008 and affects outlines for 2008 year 1 and later.

0. Application and Integration

Definition: Applying information from one or more disciplines and/or field experiences in new contexts (Outcome 0.1); developing integrated approaches or responses to personal, academic, professional, and social issues (Outcomes 0.2-0.5).

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
0.1 Apply theories and concepts studied in the classroom to field, clinical, shop, research, or laboratory settings.
0.2 Identify the strengths and limitations of different fields of study.

1. Information Literacy

Definition: Recognizing when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
1.1 Determine the extent of information needed.
1.2 Access the needed information effectively, efficiently, ethically, and legally.
1.3 Evaluate information and its sources critically.
1.4 Evaluate issues (for example economic, legal, historic, social) surrounding the use of information.
1.5 Effectively integrate and use information ethically and legally to accomplish a specific purpose.

2. Critical Thinking

Definition: The ability to think critically about the nature of knowledge within a discipline and about the ways in which that knowledge is constructed and validated and to be sensitive to the ways these processes often vary among disciplines.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
2.1 Identify and express concepts, terms, and facts related to a specific discipline.
2.2 Analyze issues and develop questions within a discipline.
2.3 Identify, interpret, and evaluate pertinent data and previous experience to reach conclusions.
2.8 Describe how one’s own preconceptions, biases and values affect one’s response to new and ambiguous situations.

3. Communication

Definition: Understanding and producing effective written, spoken, visual, and non-verbal communication.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
3.1 Recognize, read, and comprehend academic and/or professional writing.
3.7 Adapt communication to diverse audiences and media.

4. Community & Cultural Diversity

Definition: Recognizing the value of human communities and cultures from multiple perspectives through a critical understanding of their similarities and differences.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
4.1 Identify and express concepts, terms, and issues associated with the diverse perspectives of race, social class, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities, and culture.
4.2 Understand, value and respect human differences and commonalities as they relate to issues of race, social class, gender, sexual orientation, disabilities and culture.
4.4 Demonstrate effective communication across differences in human communities and cultures.

6. Individual Awareness & Responsibility

Definition: Understanding, managing, and taking responsibility for one’s learning and behavior in varied and changing environments.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
6.2 Demonstrate standards of professionalism in manner, appearance, and setting appropriate to the context, including the classroom, workplace, and community.

7. Aesthetics & Creativity

Definition: Interpreting human experience through engagement with creative processes and aesthetic principles.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
7.1 Demonstrate an understanding of the creative process.

10. Technology

Definition: Understanding the role of technology in society and using technology appropriately and effectively.

Outcomes: Students will be able to . . .
10.2 Demonstrate an understanding of legal, ethical, and environmental issues in the use and misuse of technology.
10.3 Use technology appropriate to the context and task to effectively retrieve and manage information, solve problems, and facilitate communication.
10.4 Demonstrate an understanding of the impact of technology in one’s personal and professional life.

Course Contents

  1. Define content management systems and explain their role in web site development.
  2. Create a web site design that integrates with a content management system (CMS) using open-source software.
  3. Build a web site using a content management systems (CMS).
  4. Install, configure, customize, and maintaining a CMS-powered web site.
  5. Demonstrate blogging basics.
  6. Setup a blog account and customize blog settings.
  7. Add a blogger profile and write, edit, modify, format and manage posts.
  8. Maintain a blog.