TECH-125: Technology for Planners

TECH-125: Technology for Planners

Course Access
6 months

Instructors
Justin Emond
Chris Steins

Registration
$99.00

AICP CM Credits
This course has been approved to provide 4 CM Credits.

Please Note:
Course materials are accessible for 6 months from the day of registration. Enroll anytime!

This highly-practical self-paced course focuses on the convergence of web technology and planning. The course offers insight into how technology is being applied in the field of planning today, as well as a complete overview of the current state of web technology, including discussions about the origin of the Internet, email and mailing lists, blogs, search engines, content management systems, website accessibility, and geographic information systems (including GIS Google Maps).

In addition, you will learn how to create your own web site, format it with pictures, fonts, and colors, enhance it with compelling layout, add web-based forms, and even learn how to build your own planning portal like Planetizen. Course topics include: Introduction to the Internet, How Planners are Using the Internet, Building a Simple Website, Advanced Web Technologies, All About Blogs, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Google Maps, Content Management Systems, and Building a Community Planning Portal. At the conclusion of the course, you will have the technical skills necessary to develop your own website, incorporate mapping technology, operate a blog, use a content management system, and explain how a variety of web technologies can be used practically in planning.

• Course Instructors
• Course Outline
• Course Overview
• AICP Certification Maintenance
• Returning Student Discount
• Purchasing Information
• Log In To Planetizen Courses

Course Instructors

Justin Emond has six years of experience working in web development, with a specialty in usability and academic web application development. He is a project manager and web developer for Urban Insight, Inc., a web development firm that focuses on building web sites and web applications for the urban planning and academic communities, and the company that built and operates Planetizen. Mr. Emond is a lecturer for USC's Information Technology Program on topics ranging from usability to web programming techniques, and he also maintains an active role in the university's Web Technologies minor degree program. He graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.

Chris Steins, MPl, is the co-founder and editor of Planetizen and CEO of Urban Insight. He has 10 years of experience in technology consulting and urban planning. He has participated in all aspects of information systems life cycle development, including user requirements, project management, system design, development and deployment. Mr. Steins is the former managing editor of The Planning Report and Metro Investment Report, two prominent Los Angeles-based monthly newsletters on urban planning, real estate and infrastructure development, and the former executive director of a nonprofit affordable housing development corporation. He received his Masters degree in Urban Planning and Development from the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development, and his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of California, Los Angeles, and holds a variety of technology certifications from UCLA, Microsoft, CompTia and Novell.

Course Outline

• Lesson 1: Learning Objectives and Introduction to the Internet
• Lesson 2: Web Browsers
• Lesson 3: Email and Mailing Lists
• Lesson 4: Search Engines
• Lesson 5: Looking Ahead: The Semantic Web
• Topic 1 Quiz

• Lesson 1: Learning Objectives and E-Government and a Survey of Planning Agencies
• Lesson 2: Visualization
• Lesson 3: Planning Support Systems
• Lesson 4: 3-D GIS
• Lesson 5: Public Participation Planning
• Lesson 6: Content Management Systems and Planning Portals
• Lesson 7: E-Permitting and Zoning Systems
• Lesson 8: Virtual Reality Environments
• Lesson 9: Technology Plans
• Topic 2 Quiz

• Lesson 1: Learning Objectives and Introduction to How Web Sites Work
• Lesson 2: About HTML
• Lesson 3: Your First HTML Page
• Lesson 4: Adding Images
• Lesson 5: Formatting and Layout with Tables
• Topic 3 Quiz

• Lesson 1: Learning Objectives and Introduction
• Lesson 2: Formatting Your Website, Part 1: The Basics
• Lesson 3: Formatting Your Website, Part 2: Using CSS
• Lesson 4: Using Forms, Part 1: Creating a Newsletter Signup Page
• Lesson 5: Using Forms, Part 2: Creating a Feedback Form Page
• Lesson 6: Advanced Layout, Part 1: Creating a 3-column Layout with CSS
• Lesson 7: Advanced Layout, Part 2: Creating Easy Navigation Tabs with CSS
• Topic 4 Quiz

• Lesson 1: Learning Objectives and Introduction to Content Management Systems
• Lesson 2: The Simplest CMS - A Blog
• Lesson 3: Setup a Blog Using Blogger.com
• Topic 5 Quiz

• Lesson 1: Learning Objectives and Introduction to Web GIS
• Lesson 2: Web GIS vs. Google Maps
• Lesson 3: Google Maps Applications
• Lesson 4: Your Google Map, Part 1: Adding a Map to Your Web Page
• Lesson 5: Your Google Map, Part 2: Picking Your Locations to Map
• Lesson 6: Your Google Map, Part 3: Putting It All Together
• Topic 6 Quiz

• Lesson 1: Learning Objectives and Introduction to Accessibility
• Lesson 2: Web Accessibility Tools
• Lesson 3: Understanding Section 508
• Lesson 4: Guidelines and Techniques
• Lesson 5: The Accessibility Checklist
• Topic 7 Quiz

Course Overview

This highly-practical course focuses on the convergence of web technology and planning. The course offers insight into how technology is being applied in the field of planning today, as well as a complete overview of the current state of web technology, including discussions about the origin of the Internet, email and mailing lists, blogs, search engines, content management systems, website accessibility, and geographic information systems (including GIS Google Maps). In addition, you will learn how to create your own web site, format it with pictures, fonts, and colors, enhance it with compelling layout and add web-based forms.

Course topics include:

• Introduction to the Internet
• How Planners are Using the Internet
• Building a Simple Website
• Advanced Web Technologies
• Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Google Maps
• Content Management Systems
• Designing Accessible Websites

In the Technology for Planners course, students will gain hands-on, real-world experience building websites with a wide variety of web technologies, including:

• HTML
• Tables
• Tab Navigation
  
• Web page layout
• Web site formatting and styling
• Cascading Style Sheets
• Web-based forms

In addition, this course discusses current web technology concepts, such as:

• All about the Internet
• Search Engines
• Mailing Lists
• Content Management Systems
• Geographic Information Systems
• Google Maps
• Web Accessibility
• Section 508
• Planning Support Systems
• E-Permitting and Zoning Systems
• Online Education
• Visualization
• Creating, writing and using blogs
  

A special topic on Web Accessibility explores the challenges, requirements and strategies for building websites that accessible to users with disabilities. Having become Federal Law for federally funded websites, web accessibility is an important topic for any government or socially responsible corporate e-citizen.

This course also includes a web accessibility checklist you can use with future web development projects and the Google Maps Plotter, an interactive, web-based mapping tool where you can create a map of locations and customize the information overlays that appear over each point.

This course is suited for members of the planning community with little or no experience with web technology but who are looking for a fast way to get "up to speed" on the Internet, web development, accessibility and web software like content management systems. While it is impossible to master the skills of web design in one course, we will cover a wide array of topics covering the major components of web technology. Planning professionals with little web and Internet experience will find managing web projects much easier at the completion of this course.

At the conclusion of the course, you will have the technical skills necessary to develop your own website, incorporate mapping technology, operate a blog, use a content management system, and make informed implementation decisions about a variety of web technologies that can be used practically in planning.

AICP Certification Maintenance

This course has been approved to provide 4 credits for the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Certification Maintenance program.

To claim your CM credits, review the Guide to Claiming AICP CM Credits for Planetizen Courses.

Returning Student Discount

Returning Planetizen Courses students can also take advantage of a 15% discount off the price of another Planetizen Course (PLAN-145, PLAN-310, PLAN-315, TECH-130, TECH-230, TECH-240 and TECH-330 exempted). To receive this discount, contact us at info@planetizen.com.

Purchasing Information

To purchase this course, please add it to your shopping cart. Please note that you must be a registered Planetizen user to purchase this course. If you are not a registered user, please take a few seconds and register for free.