MIRIAM MCCARTY

CAREER RELATED PROJECT PROPOSAL

March 21, 2017

OVERVIEW
1. Project Introduction and Description

For my career related project I am proposing a website detailing Ohio spider species and environmental threats
to them, their habitats and threats to those habitats, how you can help save spider species along with reasoning
behind why spiders are important and worth saving. This website will be made using Weebly and will include
multiple tabs and pages to make sure all the information being presented is easily accessible. Pictures and text
and videos will make up the bulk of the website- giving the reader plenty of platforms on which to educate
themselves on spiders and their habitats.

2. Justification of Worthiness

The current research I am a part of could benefit from this project. I am currently doing research on Ohio spider
species and how changing ecosystems are altering the species of spider that are present in Ohio. By creating a
website to illustrate the species I am specifically studying I not only am helping educate myself, but other
people who are interested in learning more about my research topic. I chose a website because it is a document
that allows for heavy amounts of information to be presented at once. It also allows for videos and pictures to
speak, instead of just having blocks of text. Another benefit to creating a website is that I will be learning a
platform that I am unfamiliar with. I have never created a website. By choosing this platform for this class it
gives me the opportunity to receive feedback on my work from peers and professionals before I create a
website for a job or internship in the future. Practicing these skills now will only benefit me in my career. The
benefit for users of this website will, again, be an easier time learning about Ohio spiders and their ecosystems.
The other benefit is that a well-designed website is easy to use. Living in the age of technology, most people
know how to operate a website and therefore will already go to the website with base line of how it is going to
work.

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 3. Methodology

Below is a numbered list on how the project will be completed

1. Explore Weebly and learn about the features this platform offers. Practice using the site by inserting text,
video, hyperlinks, changing colors, changing fonts will help in the end.
2. Gathering the information to put in the website
o Spider species
o Ohio ecosystems
o Threats to spiders
o Threats to ecosystems they live in
o Why spiders are important to the environment and humans
o Fast facts about Ohio spiders
o Venomous spiders to watch out for in Ohio
o Pictures of the species
o Pictures of the ecosystems
o Bibliography of resources used (websites, reports and books)
3. Writing the text to put on website
o I am planning on typing out in a word document what exactly I want to say so that way I can edit it
there and then just copy and paste the final version of text into the website
4. Choosing pictures to put on website
o I am planning on using some of my own photos I have taken of Ohio spiders and Ohio ecosystems
as well as photos that are legally allowed to be on my website.
5. Videos to put on website
o All videos I am using will legally be allowed to be on my website.
6. Font choice
o Pairing of a serif font and sans serif font (have not chosen yet) as well as a third font used for
headers of tabs and name of website (to be displayed on top)

7. Color Scheme

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 o Will be made with Adobe
o Pale blue, pine green, dark brown, pale yellow, light gray, black, white
8. Test Website
o This is the step that will take the most time commitment. Text and graphics will be placed into
Weebly and then they will be moved around several times until the design I am attempting to
achieve suits my standards.
9. Rough draft of website
o Once text and graphics have been added to my website I will give the link to friends, professors
and family members to gain a fair amount of feedback. The feedback I will ask for will not only be
about the information presented, but also the ease of use of the website. I will refer back to the
readings from class about good design and ease of use to better the website and make sure it is user
friendly.

4. Assessment Mechanisms

To determine if the quality of my website is excellent I will use a combination of plenty of peer editing as well
as a list of standards set by myself. As mentioned in step 8 above I plan on giving the link to the website to
people in class and outside of class to obtain a fair amount of feedback. I know multiple people who have
created their own successful websites and will use them as a source of feedback as well (my father who runs his
own business, my employer who created the website for her business, friends who have created websites for
school projects and have received good grades on them). My own set of standards will come from the readings
we have done earlier in the semester. The readings I will use to create my standards are listed below.

http://www.ted.com/talks/david_mccandless_the_beauty_of_data_visualization
https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/08/7-essential-guidelines-for-functional-design/
file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/Functional%20Design_White%20(2).pdf
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/WC/WC12800.pdf

Standards for Myself:

Information on website is accurate and has been cross checked by multiple references
Meet all timeline goals
Use design rules to create a simple, yet effective design

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 5. Timeline

Below is a timeline of what steps of the project will be completed when. Refer to section 3 on Methodology for
descriptions of the steps.

Step to be completed (see Section 3:

Methodology) Date step will be completed by

1. Get to know Weebly 3/23/17

2. Gathering research 3/28/17

3. Writing textboxes 3/30/17

4. Choosing pictures 4/4/17

5. Choosing video 4/4/17

6. Testing font choice 4/6/17

7. Testing color scheme 4/6/17

8. Testing placement of text and graphics 4/11/17

9. Sending out for comments No later than 4/13/17

6. Risks and Constraints

The constraint presented with this project is the lack of knowledge about the platform I am choosing to work
with. I have peers who have used Weebly before and they are willing to help show me the ropes on how to
use this platform. Part of this constraint will be taking the time to explore how this platform is used and this
will take time away from the actual gathering of information to put in the website. The risk associated with this
project come from the platform and the subject matter. Not all websites are functional. To create a functional
website that is inviting to use will take practice and lots of constructive criticism. The other risk is the subject
matter. Spiders are not everyones favorite thing to learn about. This will cause a block in the type of people
who will use my website once it is created. I hope by creating a functional and well put together website that I
can encourage everyone to learn about spiders in Ohio.