Convicted Child Killer Darlie Routier Guilty or Railroaded

Darlie Routier is on death row in Texas, convicted of the murder of one of her two sons, Devon and Damon Routier, who were killed in the early morning of June 6, 1996. The media coverage of the murder investigation depicted Routier as another psychopath or heartless mother whose children were getting in the way of her lifestyle, so she killed them for money. Thats also how books such as Precious Angels by Barbara Davis, and the prosecutors at her trial portrayed Darlie Routier. Most found it believable in the aftermath of the Susan Smith case two years earlier. Since her conviction, Darlie and her family have learned a whole lot more about the legal system and have presented a far different picture than was originally shown by the press. Even Barbara Davis changed her mind about the case and added a chapter to her book disputing the prosecutors case. Read both sides and decide for yourself if this young woman is the she-devil portrayed by the prosecutors and press, or a woman naive of the inner workings of the legal system. Darlie and Darin Routier Darlie and Darin Routier were high-school sweethearts who married in August 1988, after Darlie completed high school. By 1989, they had their first boy, Devon Rush, and in 1991, Damon Christian, their second son was born As their family grew, so did Darins computer-related business and the family moved to an affluent area known as Dalrock Heights Addition in Rowlett, Texas. Life was going well for the Routiers and they celebrated their successes by surrounding themselves with expensive items such as a new Jaguar, a cabin cruiser, lush furnishings, jewelry, and clothing. After a few years of living an affluent lifestyle, Darins business began to falter and with it came financial problems for the couple. Rumors began that the couples relationship was in trouble and there was talk of extramarital affairs. Friends said Darlie, obsessed with her appearance, reportedly had little patience for the children. Despite the rumors, on October 18, 1995, the couple had their third son Drake, after which Darlie experienced postpartum depression. Desperate to lose the weight she had gained during pregnancy she began taking diet pills which failed to help and contributed to her mood swings. She confided to Darin about having suicidal thoughts and the two began talking and reviewing their future. Things were looking fixable for the young couple. But with this hopeful period was cut short by a tragedy  that no one could have predicted.   The Murder of Devon and Damon Around 2:30 in the morning on June 6, 1996, the Rowlett Police received an emergency call from the Routier home. Darlie was screaming that she and her two boys had been stabbed by an intruder and her boys were dying. Darin Routier, awakened by the Darlies screams, ran down the stairs into the family room, where just hours before he had left his wife and two sons lying by the television. Now, as he entered, all he saw was the blood-soaked bodies of his two sons and his wife. Darin tried to save Devon, who was not breathing. As reported by Barbara Davis, Torn between two sons, the horrified father momentarily panicked, then made the decision to begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the son who was not breathing. Darin placed his hand over Devons nose and breathed into his childs mouth. Blood sprayed back onto the fathers face. Damon, with deep gashes in his chest, struggled for air. The house filled with paramedics and police. The paramedics began trying to save the children as the police searched the home for the intruder who Darlie said had run in the direction of the attached garage. Policeman David Waddell and Sergeant Matthew Walling noted a bloody knife on the kitchen counter, Darlies purse and expensive jewelry lying near it, a slash in the screen of a window in the garage, and splattered blood on the floor. The medics were unable to save either child. The knife thrusts left deep gashes in the boys chests and punctured their lungs. Gasping for air, they both suffered horrible deaths. Darlies wounds—more superficial and not life-threatening—were temporarily patched up while Darlie told the police of the horrific events that unfolded just an hour earlier. Darlie Routier stood on her porch in her blood-soaked nightgown and told the police what she remembered about the attack that had just occurred to her and her two sons. She said that an intruder had entered their home and mounted her while she slept. When she woke up, she screamed and fought with him, fighting off his blows. She said he then fled toward the garage and that was when she noticed her two sons who were covered in blood. She said she had heard nothing while they were being attacked. She described the intruder as medium-to-tall height, dressed in a black T-shirt, black jeans, and a baseball cap. Darlie and Darin were then taken to the hospital and the Rowlett Police Department seized the house and began their investigation. Within 11 days of the murder of Devon and Damon, the Rowlett Police Department arrested Darlie Routier, charging her with capital murder of her sons. The prosecutor’s case against Darlie was presented with these key issues: Coroner Janice Townsend-Parchman testified that the boys wounds were savage and deep, but described Darlies as hesitation wounds, possibly self-inflicted.Paramedic Larry Byford said Darlie never asked about the condition of her children when she was in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.Charles Hamilton, a fingerprint expert who examined the scene, said that the only prints found belonged to Darlie and her children.Tom Bevel, a blood expert, testified that the blood on Darlies nightshirt belonged to her sons. It had been sprayed on her and he suggested that this could happen as she raised her arms upward in a stabbing motion.Nurses from the hospital testified that Darlie did not demonstrate grief towards the loss of her sons. They claimed she seemed more concerned with making a point to say she picked up the knife off the kitchen floor, which put her prints on the knife.Also mentioned was the blood found under a vacuum cleaner and blood spots on the cleaner itself, indicating t hat the vacuum cleaner had been placed there after the crime was committed.Charles Linch, a trace-evidence expert, said it was impossible for an intruder to leave that scene without a trail of blood. There was no blood found outside the Routier home.FBIs special agent Al Brantley testified that the window screen that was cut could have merely been removed by an intruder. Also that Darlies expensive jewelry had been left untouched, discounting robbery as a motive. As to the motive being rape, he said that a rapist would have used her children as leverage to get her to submit, not killed them. And finally, he addressed the savagery of the stabbing of the boys and said that in his opinion, it was a personal attack done with extreme anger, not by a stranger. Darlie took the stand against the advice of her counsel. They asked her why she told different versions of the story to different policemen. They asked about her dog, which barks at strangers but didnt bark when the intruder entered her home. They asked her why her kitchen was cleaned but under testing showed remnants of blood all over. To most of the questions, Darlie answered that she didnt remember or didnt know. The jury found Darlie Routier guilty of the murder and sentenced her to death. The prosecutions case against Darlie Routier was circumstantial and based on experts who theorized about evidence collected or viewed at the crime scene. The prosecution did what it set out to do, which was to get the jury to find Darlie guilty of murder, but was all the evidence shown to the jury? If not, why wasnt it? Websites that support Darlie Routiers appeal list many issues and facts that have come to light after her trial that, if true, would appear to provide enough evidence that a new trial would be appropriate. Some of those issues include: The attorney that represented Darlie Routier at trial had an apparent conflict of interest because he reportedly had a pre-arrangement with Darin Routier and other family members not to pursue any defense that could implicate Darin. This attorney allegedly stopped key experts for the defense from completing forensic examinations. Other areas of concern which were never brought to the attention of the jury include the pictures of Darlies cuts and bruises on her arms which were taken when she was hospitalized the night of the murders. At least one juror told reporters he would never have voted to convict if he had seen the photographs. Bloody fingerprints have been found that do not belong to Darlie, Darin, the children or any of the police or other people in the Routier house the night of the murder. This contradicts testimony given during her trial that there were no fingerprints found outside the home. Questions Her Defense Team Want to Be Answered A bloody fingerprint was found on the living room table. Who does it belong to?There was a bloody fingerprint on the door of the garage. Who does it belong to?Darin Routiers jeans had blood on them. Whose blood is it?A pubic hair was found in the Routier living room. Who does it belong to?How did the blood on Darlies nightshirt get there and whose is it?Did the police get debris on the knife in the kitchen while investigating the murder or did it come from the screen door? Darin Routier has admitted to trying to arrange an insurance scam, which included someone breaking into their home. He has admitted that he had begun the initial steps to arrange a break-in, but that it was to be done when no one was at home. No jury has heard this admission. The incriminating Birthday Party film that was viewed by the jury showed Darlie dancing on the graves of her son along with other family members, but did not include the filming of the hours previous to that scene when Darlie sobbed and grieved over the graves with her husband Darin. Why was the additional footage not shown to the jury? Neighbors reported seeing a black car sitting in front of the Routier home a week before the murders took place. Other neighbors reported seeing the same car leaving the area on the night of the murders. Were these reports investigated by police? Investigators during her trial invoked their fifth amendment rights against self-incrimination during cross-examination, preventing the defense from rebutting their testimony. What did these investigators fear by being cross-examined? There was some discussion about the police not protecting the evidence as they collected it which could have possibly damaged its origins. Did this really occur? More Questions That Need Answers The screen which investigators reported to the press as being cut from the inside was later proven in court to be cut from the outside.When the paramedics arrived at the scene they said that Darin Routier was outside, but Darin was inside trying to save his children. Who was the man outside?Was the testimony from the nurses in the hospital coached and rehearsed in mock trials by the prosecution prior to their testimony, as it has been reported?The surgeon who operated on Darlie said that the cut in her neck was 2mm of the carotid sheath but was superficial to the carotid artery. The necklace she was wearing was damaged as a result of the wound but it also blocked the knife from going deeper into her neck. Did the jury get a clear understanding as to the seriousness of her wounds?Was there an improper read-back of testimony to the jury by the court reporter, due to mistakes she made in the transcript?The prosecution has reportedly refused to provide access to any evidence in their cus tody in the case. Why is it not readily available to all interested parties?The advancements in DNA testing could put many of these questions to rest. Why is there such a reluctance to do the testing?Some writers who have interviewed Darlie Routier have decided to help her fight to get a new trial. Since reporting their opinions on her situation, they report that their ability to visit her has been blocked or made so inconvenient that little can be accomplished.

Communication and Friendship - 1593 Words

The movie being analyzed is the Sandlot. The relationship between the two main characters is a friendship, which begins with one boy who is desperate for friends and another who is searching for The Sandlot’s last teammate. The friendship between Benny and Small’s is an accurate depiction of the development of friendship in real life. In the movie, Scotty Smalls (Smalls) moves to a new neighborhood. One of his new neighbors happens to be the best baseball player in the neighborhood, Benny, who eventually teaches Smalls how to catch and throw so that the team has a ninth player. What begins as filling a baseball position eventually leads to a strong bond between the two main characters. Throughout the summer, the team plays baseball, goes†¦show more content†¦By running over to Smalls in the outfield, the space between them becomes more personal and intimate, which shows Smalls that he has a friend and someone to help him and be on his side. The boys on the team display their disappointment with Small’s through kinesics, which is a nonverbal form of communication that uses body language (Adler, Rosenfeld, Proctor, 2013, p. 191). Instead of encouraging the team’s laughter, Benny decided to run to Smalls where Benny said, â€Å"Just stand there and stick your glove out in the air, I’ll take care of it† (Evans, 1993). This scene depicts a significant development in their friendship. Adler, Rosenfeld, and Proctor II describe that having a concern for others and the motivation and attitude to develop a friendship is key concept for understanding people from other cultures (p. 48). Benny does show genuine concern for Smalls lack of confidence about baseball and is trying to make it easier for him because he does not want Smalls to feel incompetent. Benny has taken huge initiative at this point because he is going against the social norm that is set in place by the baseball team. 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Report for Frank Burgess

Questions: Prepare a report for Frank Burgess that addresses the following: a) The purpose of a product costing system. b) Preparation of a Schedule of Cost of Goods Manufactured and Cost of Goods Sold. (The schedules may be in the appendix). Explain why some items have been excluded from the schedules. c) Complete the T accounts and determine the following: i. Work in Process at the end of April; ii. Raw materials purchased in April; iii. Overhead applied in April; iv. Cost of Goods sold in April; v. Raw materials used in April; and, vi. Over or under applied overhead in April. d) Discuss how overheads can be over or under applied and how the company should deal with the over or under application. e) Evaluate whether ABC should be introduc. Answers: Introduction The report is prepared by the New Age Caravan Company. The company has been undergoing stringent technical constraints where the accidental fire affected the accounting data of the company. The company does not have a professional accountant and the report is intended for the cost information of the company. The report focuses on estimating and calculating the product cost and the cost per unit at each process. The incomplete ledger accounts are prepared for the company and the evaluation of activity based costing is done as an alternative to traditional costing method. a) Purpose of product costing system Product costing system is a combination of techniques that evaluates the cost of product of the organisation and provides timely data about the cost per unit of products for effective pricing and planning strategies employed by the company. It assists in a valuation of stock and helps in controlling production activities and lends notable help for preparing a financial statement. The purpose of product costing system is to provide a bird's eye view and strategic analysis of products of the organisation Product costing system underlines the complete procedure that is required during production activities. It underlines the study and evaluates the complete list of the data relating to the cost of a product and undertakes to deal with new and extra costing features. It provides in-depth study of billing and routine procedures of the materials. It creates the comprehensive understanding of the costing procedure of a product. It creates simulated cost and also deals with obsolete and frozen cost (Figge and Hahn 2013). Product Costing helps in computation and analysis of the cost of goods manufactured and the cost of goods sold for every unit of a product. It holds key importance since it sheds critical light about the operational activity of the organisation. It provides vital knowledge for a process called as roll up of cost. Product costing undertakes the breaking down of the cost to provide additional and cohesive knowledge about the cost of a product and the value added at each step of the production activity. It allows the user of such information to understand how the cost of a product is changing at each level and how organisations are operating, which causes the changes of cost at each level (Dai and Zhi 2015). The process of product costing helps in achieving the understanding of the optimum level of cost. Over production and under production are extreme cases for any organisation, which casts its evil on the production through adverse conditions leading to a decline of profitability. It allows the cost of goods manufactured to be optimum by employing costing on a comparative basis. This synchronisation is possible through "product cost controlling" and the information system existing in the organisation. Product costing is an effective analytical tool for profit evaluation and update on pricing equilibrium. It undertakes to highlight the efficiency of the production process and points the advantage, which the organisation possesses regarding production process. It, however, also depicts the shortcoming in the production process and raises the potential red flags for the organisation regarding production process (Bjrnenak 2013). b) Schedule of cost of goods manufactured and cost of goods sold i) Schedule of goods manufactured Opening balance of raw materials 12000 less: losing the balance of raw material (12000) Material transferred to production 180000 Direct Labour 182000 Manufacturing overhead Depreciation of factory building 8000 Depreciation of factory equipment 16000 Factory Insurance 14000 Repairs and Maintenance 8000 Land tax 4500 Indirect labour 118000 156000 total Manufacturing cost 518000 Add: opening work in progress 4500 Less: Closing Work in Progress (33500) Cost of goods manufactured 489000 Notes: Predetermined overhead rate = Annual overhead costs/ Annual direct labour hour = 1,800,000/ 60,000 = 30/ unit Direct labour hour for April = 5200 hours. Applied overhead = 5200* 30= 156,000 Actual overhead = 168,500 ii) Schedule of cost of goods sold Particulars Amount Amount Opening balance of finished goods inventory 11,000 Add: Cost of goods manufactured 489000 Less: Closing balance of finished goods inventory 16000 Cost of goods sold 484000 Certain items have been excluded from the schedule. The company's account section suffered because of the fire and certain information was not traceable. However, on completion of the schedule, it can be observed that the company follows the under application of overhead, where the manufacturing overhead is lower than the actual overhead. The cost of goods manufactured was fixed at 489,000. c) Determination of T account Raw materials a/c Particulars Amount Particulars Amount To balance b/f 12000 By cost of goods manufactured a/c 180000 To creditors a/c 180000 By balance c/d 12000 192000 192000 Accounts Payable a/c Date Particulars Amount Date Particulars Amount 1-Apr To balance b/f 12000 By purchases a/c 184000 To bank a/c 180000 30-Apr By balance c/d 8000 Manufacturing overhead a/c Amount Date Particulars Amount 168500 By Applied overhead 156000 By Cost of Goods Sold 12500 168500 168500 Finished goods a/c Amount Date Amount 11000 484000 489000 30-Apr 16000 500000 500000 WIP a/c Date Particulars Amount Date Particulars Amount 1-Apr To balance b/f 4500 By Finished Stock of Goods 460000 To Cost of Good Manufactured 489000 30-Apr By balance c/d 33500 493500 493500 Cost of goods sold a/c Date Particulars Amount Date Particulars Amount To cost of goods manufactured 489000 By goods available for sale 460000 To manufacturing overhead 12500 30-Apr By finished goods c/d 33500 To opening balance of finished goods 11000 30-Apr By balance c/d 0 512500 512500 d) Over applied and under applied overhead Over applied and under applied overhead arises due to the process of standard costing approach. Over applied and under applied overhead arises when organisations employ the rates of overhead on the estimation basis. This could lead to a curbed figure of the overhead figure. In the case of under applied overhead, the applied overhead value is lower than the actual value of the overhead that the company incurs during the operational process. The difference between the over and under application overhead is the under application overhead. Many organisations employ the under application of overhead, to curb and deflate the cost figure. This leads to a hike of profitability for the organization. The predetermination of the overhead rates is the sole cause of such deviation, which the company employ during the production process (DRURY 2013). On the other hand, many organizations employ over application of overhead. In this case, the actual value of the overhead is lower than the applied value of the overhead of the organization. The deviation between the two overhead is the value of the over application of the organization during the accounting year. This practice is undertaken by organizations to curb the profitability of the organization and show an inflated figure of the cost of the organizations. This method is employed to avoid taxes by showing deflated figure of profits. It also functions on the lines of predetermined rates of overhead and the estimation of the overhead rates causes the deviation between the actual value of the overhead and the applied value of the overhead. Either case of the overhead does not depict the true image of the overhead employed by the company (Clinton and White 2012). Its a case of extremities on the part of the company, where in one case the overhead is allocated excessively and the o ther case depicts the allocation inadequately. Spending on overhead cost needs proper control procedure and competency of accountants and personnel. Lack of competency and control on the part of the personnel lead to a situation where over an application and under application of overheads take place. Another reason of how under and over application of overhead takes place is because the overhead includes a certain portion of fixed cost, which does not increase in the same proportion as the variable cost of the direct labour or machine hours. There are certain points, which an organization needs to follow in case of over applied and under applied overhead. Theoretically, it can be inferred that the over-application and under application are caused due to the predetermination of rates. Therefore, the overhead application amount should apply to each item of the account, instead of the total account balance. But in practice, this is not followed. The application is carried out on the complete account balance. When the amount of application is insignificant, then the company offsets the amount with the cost of goods sold. In the case of significant application of overhead, the amount can be diffused among work in progress inventory, finished goods inventory and the cost of goods sold (Figge and Hahn 2013). The company can employ alternative measures like theoretical capacity measures, where the utmost capacity of an activity is measured against a standard time. It includes the future and historical data of production and cyclical trend in the economy. It ignores a factor like a machine breakdown and other factors leading to hindrances in operation. It produces results that cause the actual and budget cost to be near to each other. This leads to product cost being less deviate from the actual cost. This causes less deviation in the under and over application of overheads. This measure lends much more accuracy and in the product costing methodology and reduces the chance of risk and deviations (Messner 2015). e) Evaluation of Activity Based Costing More and more companies are approaching towards the adoption of Activity Based Costing technique. Many advantages and benefits are inferred from this costing technique. It is a method, which allocates the indirect cost and the total overhead cost based on the actual resources it consumes. This leads to the approximate evaluation of the overhead cost by the company. The company in the case study suffers from various issues of over and under application of overhead, which does not reflect the correct cost of the product and the profit in the financial statement of the company. The company in the case study has suffered significant losses due to fire and during the evaluation of the cost methodology, it was inferred that the under and over application of overhead had caused a significant problem for the company, which was needed to be dealt with it. This requires a customized environment of production, which assesses the indirect costs according to the resources and consumed and then th e true cost is depicted. It however, can be a challenging task for the company to employ this cost technique as it suffers from various benefits and demerits (Van der Stede 2016). Advantages The benefit of activity based costing can be traced from the fact that it improves the processes used in costing. It underlines and thoroughly detects all the processes that have an impact on costing and critically analyses it. In the longer run the overall processes can be evaluated and seen to be working effectively (Quinn 2014). Activity based costing calculates the costing of each overhead item by the actual resources it consumes. In such circumstances, it reflects the true and fair image of the cost of each item of overhead account. It assists the company in reducing and eliminating waste in costing process of overheads, which might give an inflated or deflated picture of the costing of the company. Activity is Based Costing technique initially removes waste from each item of the overhead process and then ultimately remove it from the business altogether (Messner 2015). Activity based costing is useful in identifying the true and approximate cost of each unit in the production process. This allows the company to identify the actual cost of the product and effectively apply price strategy in the sales procedure of the company. Price strategy of a company is a useful aspect to consider since it allows the company to understand cost and price strategy and the level of profit margin it can attain. It allows the company to employ better pricing strategies and marketing strategies, which is needed for the company (Leauby and Wentzel 2012). The activity based costing technique effectively allows the company to evaluate the cost and benefit between the cost techniques that the company uses. The concept of cost and benefit is an important aspect for the company to assess before applying any costing technique. Activity based costing allows the company to improve it business and overcome the loopholes of every facet of the operational activity. It helps in the functioning of the company and also improves the image of the company with working methodologies and principles, higher profitability and minimization of risks and wastes by the company (Parker 2012). Disadvantages The Activity base costing does suffer from certain shortcomings and loopholes. The company needs to evaluate these demerits as well to form a proper idea of the effectiveness of the costing technique. Activity Based Costing heavily depends on data and thus data is collected from many departments of the organization. The heavily reliance on data makes the technique heavily susceptible to deviations in case of untrue and misrepresented data. This is one of the shortcomings of the technique (Soin and Collier 2013) The period involved in activity based costing is long and therefore it involves a length period in the evaluation of cost as it carries an in depth analysis of the production process, employee action and also every aspect of the business (Parker 2012). The implementation and the cost of employing this technique is high. Therefore, the company has low wastage and therefore the high implementation cost might make it not prospective to employ thus costing technique. The activity based costing technique is not very effective if the over and under application of overheads is very high and very low. This leaves the business in a disadvantageous position. Therefore, it can be concluded that activity based costing requires careful and strategic evaluation before employing this technique. Conclusion On concluding the report it can be observed that the company has suffered a major technical hassle due to the fire, which caused the loss of accounts of the company. Certain information was traceable and the T account has been created using the schedule of goods manufactured and schedule of goods sold. The company follows the under application of overhead and the company follows standard costing method. Activity Based Costing has been the future plan of action as it holds certain benefits to the company. The purpose of product costing has highlighted the effective product costing process and the necessity to employ price strategy. Reference list Bjrnenak, T., 2013. 4. Management accounting tools in banks: are banks without budgets more profitable?.Managing in Dynamic Business Environments: Between Control and Autonomy, p.51. Clinton, B.D. and White, L.R., 2012. Roles and practices in management accounting.Management Accounting,94(5), pp.37-43. Cullen, J., Tsamenyi, M., Bernon, M. and Gorst, J., 2013. Reverse logistics in the UK retail sector: A case study of the role of management accounting in driving organisational change.Management Accounting Research,24(3), pp.212-227. Dai, L., Li, P. and Zhi, X., 2015. The institutionalization of management accounting change: an observation across societal, organizational field, and organizational levels. DRURY, C.M., 2013.Management and cost accounting. Springer. Figge, F. and Hahn, T., 2013. Value drivers of corporate eco-efficiency: Management accounting information for the efficient use of environmental resources.Management Accounting Research,24(4), pp.387-400. Fullerton, R.R., Kennedy, F.A. and Widener, S.K., 2013. Management accounting and control practices in a lean manufacturing environment.Accounting, Organizations and Society,38(1), pp.50-71. Fullerton, R.R., Kennedy, F.A. and Widener, S.K., 2014. Lean manufacturing and firm performance: The incremental contribution of lean management accounting practices.Journal of Operations Management,32(7), pp.414-428. Kaplan, R.S. and Atkinson, A.A., 2015.Advanced management accounting. PHI Learning. Leauby, B.A. and Wentzel, K., 2012. Linking Management Accounting and Finance: Assessing Student Perceptions.Strategic Finance,93(11). Messner, M., 2015. Does industry matter? How industry context shapes management accounting practice.Management Accounting Research. Nuhu, N.A., Baird, K. and Appuhami, R., 2016. The Association between the Use of Management Accounting Practices with Organizational Change and Organizational Performance.Advances in Management Accounting (Advances in Management Accounting, Volume 26) Emerald Group Publishing Limited,26, pp.67-98. Parker, L.D., 2012. Qualitative management accounting research: Assessing deliverables and relevance.Critical Perspectives on Accounting,23(1), pp.54-70. Quinn, M., 2014. Stability and change in management accounting over timeA century or so of evidence from Guinness.Management Accounting Research,25(1), pp.76-92. Soin, K. and Collier, P., 2013. Risk and risk management in management accounting and control.Management Accounting Research,24(2), pp.82-87. Van der Stede, W.A., 2016. Management accounting in context: Industry, regulation and informatics.Management Accounting Research,31, pp.100-102. e) Evaluation of Activity Based Costing Reference

Teaching Web Design in Secondary School Classroom

Introduction Teaching Web design in secondary school can present significant challenges. However, the need for Web sites among organizations makes it a worthy learning course. This is because most contents formerly available in other forms are now online.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Teaching Web Design in Secondary School Classroom specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Web design students and teachers should demonstrate skills in graphic, photography, and art among others. The three main areas of Web design are construction and layout patterns, content and images, and management of the site. These areas must focus on usability, mortised, and multimedia aspects of the site. The Web design industry experiences rapid changes. Thus, it remains difficult to predict the outcome of the coming years. However, students and teachers shall still rely on currently available technology for their works. Further, Web de signers shall apply different techniques in the creation of new sites. A notable change in the Web design industry is building the framework. For instance, we have experienced changes from the table-based HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) to XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language). There are also Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) based designs that use style sheets to style pages, rather than XHTML table structure which requires many codes (Eccher, 2011). Designers can use various approaches in Web designing. However, the guiding philosophy should be aesthetic (professional feel), usability (ease of accessing and processing information), and functionality (functional aspects of the site such as data contents) of the Web site. The practical nature of Web design requires teachers to facilitate the learning process. This is because Web design requires creativity and learners’ potential (Goldstein, 1986). Thus, the process must empower learners and enable them to have control of th e design process. Construction and layout Students and teachers must recognize that a good layout is necessary for presentation of professional image of the site. It also enhances usability of the Web site through ease of information access. Layout and construction refer to positioning elements of the Web site as necessary to improve usability. Web designers must consider positioning and scrolling when constructing the Web layout.Advertising Looking for research paper on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The initial stage in teaching Web designing involves learning the construction and layout. These are the basic steps in developing a functional Web site. The process may involve creating layouts through editing an existing template or creating a new layout. Students can use software packages like Adobe Illustrator for creating drawing and graphics and Adobe Photoshop for editing images to create Web sites. Web designe rs use Adobe Dreamweaver to connect both the Photoshop and Illustrator to the Web. This ensures that the programs are compatible with the language of HTML. Great Web sites designers accurately position their contents to eliminate the need for searching relevant information in the site. Such relevant information should be easy to locate. Thus, positioning the menu is crucial for Web site usability. Technically, designers tend to put the menu on the left or on the top of the page. However, it is important to note that layout should be able to accommodate all the necessary changes that may occur without compromising the design. For instance, the figure below shows that the site cannot handle such content unless the designer reduces the font size. Successful designers use many cached contents on the header section. This method reduces the download time for contents relying on the same header. Creating header for every section can hinder Web site communication. Designers should use exis ting and standard Web usability tools. This may include position of elements like the logo. This is how the designer should exploit Web site usability so as to enhance usability of a new site. The design layout should also consider the body. This is important because deciding on the best position has remained difficult. Users tend to ignore contents at the bottom of the page. Thus, upper sections of the site have provided usability by default. Therefore, the work of the designer is to make use of lower areas through creativity. For instance, the designer can use images and graphics to attract users to such sections.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Teaching Web Design in Secondary School Classroom specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Students and teachers must note that no design is perfect. Changes and evolutions of sites can prove this. However, positioning is critical to the design content and layout. Too ls used in designing Web sites are the same. However, how designers use such tools vary considerably. This is where some designers apply mortised designing. David Siegel refers to mortising as putting â€Å"two images together using a table† (Siegel, 1997). However, the term should also cover texts, functionality, and graphics. These should improve the form, usability, flexibility, and attractiveness of the site. Students and teachers can rely on mortising for creating both usability and multimedia in Web site designing. Mortising enhances the functionality of the site. In addition, it also enables the designer to apply various techniques in the graphic area. However, mortising goes beyond the site aesthetics. Novice designers can use â€Å"HTML editors like Adobe Dreamweaver and Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer (these are WYSIWYG editors) to create good sites† (Eccher, 2011). Teachers and students should realize that mortised sites depend on the knowledge of the d esigner rather than software packages. Such knowledge and skills provide the designer with the capabilities to use â€Å"CSS, XHTML, and images creatively to design fast and customized Web sites with less codes† (Eccher, 2011). This is an example of a site designed using WYSIWYG editor (see below). The designer used images and XHTML in a way that reduced the entire content to small content. Advertising Looking for research paper on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Students and teachers must note that creating a mortised site is not hard. This is because creating such a site does not require extensive learning or introduction of new knowledge in Web development. Learners should only concentrate on learning application software like Adobe Photoshop. In addition, the designer must also learn basic, creative style using CSS, graphics, and XHTML. These are mandatory and common tools for Web developers. Still, learners can enhance their sites using applications like Flash, JavaScript (scripting language) and other programming languages. Teachers and learners must recognize the need for integrating theory and practice in Web site design course (Goldstein, 1986). This is because the differences between sites, in terms of their qualities, emerge due to different knowledge of designers, and how best such designers apply their theoretical knowledge into practice. The most important factor to creating such Web sites is applying the CSS knowledge in posit ioning most contents of the site appropriately instead of using XHTML, and compressing and saving graphics and images. CSS allows the designer to create homogenous site. This is because the designer can develop any form of layout using other programming techniques and compressing and saving images properly to enhance the attractiveness and usability of the site. There are some inherent advantages in using the CSS design over XHTML design that learners should know. The CSS design uses lesser codes to develop a Web site. This implies that the outcome (barring the style sheet) is simple and easy to follow. This provides opportunities for students to master techniques and procedures of Web development and how contents relate to each other. Thus, the main advantage learners can derive from CSS design over XHTML-table design is the difference in the amount of codes required in designing. CSS designs also provide considerably light weights and download sizes. This enhances the speed of the site and creates effective usability experience for users. CSS design also provides easy site management in terms of adding, editing, and deleting contents. A designer can make changes in a single page that cascades to the entire site just like in db-driven sites. CSS design also provides opportunities for easy printing of pages than in XHTML. Designers must also focus on Web site navigation during the design process. At the same time, the designer must also look at maintenance and usability of the Web site. Navigations are also the site menus. Menu must help users find any item they require from the site contents. Thus, a menu should be smart to improve Web site usability. Maintenance of a Web site tends to be difficult. This explains why navigation should be simple to ease processes such as detecting errors, deleting, adding, or editing items. Content and images Contents and images provide learners with opportunities of choosing sites that they want to create. In all these, learn ers must know the importance of the content management system (CMS) in powering the site. CMS provides easy steps in posting images and words in the site. This should also focus on search engine optimization (SEO) and the idea of inserting ad banners to the site. Web sites contents vary depending on their usability. We have low, medium, and high content Web sites. Low content sites may only consist of a single page e.g. an online brochure. The Web site may only have the basic information that users search. These can be services, products, client information, and contact details. Low content Web sites require much graphic to fill due to limited contents on the page. However, the entire site does not need a full image as designers may decide to leave some white space as shown in the below image. Thus, the designer must balance the content and image accordingly. Medium content Web sites are mainly in the business category. This is a strategy of avoiding the creation abundant informati on that can overwhelm the user. The site has limited contents on the homepage. However, the amount of contents and images are almost equal. High content Web sites mainly focus on providing information or on sales of products. These Web sites have many contents as the designer limits the amount of images (Black, 2011). The site may have small images or blurred images at a given point. These sites usually have more than five areas of contents as shown. All the CMSs perform the same task. However, their functions depend on the Web site capabilities, costs, and complexity of the system. Therefore, management of Web sites may follow certain specifications depending on the following scenarios. First, there is the basic CMS. These Web sites consist of small and medium-sized sites with standard and basic features. These Web sites have readily available functionality that is necessary for their content management. These contents may consist of basic information, corporate brochures, intera ctivity, and basic intranet for the workforce and the organization. Second, there is mid range CMS. This happens when the size, the number of contents, and complexity of the site increase. In this case, the CMS strives to achieve a given informational and communications objective as it acquires the status of an application platform. Such Web sites may have different micro-sites, interactive marketing tools, and intranet for the entire organization. Third, there is the complex CMS case. In this case, the site has fully achieved an application status and may have several interconnected contents. The volume of the Web site content may increase considerably depending on the size of an organization. This may be the case of most e-commerce and library Web sites (Peterson, 2006). Availability of such functions and applications require Web sites to accommodate complex processes regarding workflow, contents, and IT governance systems. Web sites that require complex CMS have heavy usages in e -commerce, multiple channels, intranet for the global employee, and other processes that require large quantities of data. The SEO delivers results to users. However, developers must apply search engine’s algorithm in order to achieve strong results. SEO algorithm performs analyses and calculates a site ranking. Algorithm must remain secret to their developers so that it can serve the purpose of ranking the site high among competitions. Designers can rely on some techniques when creating high-ranking sites. However, the strong SEO foundation is on the content. Strong contents provide better chances of high-ranking during a search. In addition, developers must also apply keyword research. The best place to start from should involve competitors search. Students should also learn about site management using various applications. Management also involves protecting the site and its contents. Some sites have disclaimer notices regarding the site contents to protect their owners fr om liability. Site management should also extend to marketing the site, gaining subscriptions, and conducting routine tests to ascertain the site effectiveness. According to Mendelson and Simone, site management has become robust with many tools such as GoLive (Mendelson and Simone, 2000). Such application platforms allow users to organize â€Å"files and folders, generate a site map, and centralize additional assets, such as external URLs and color palettes† (Mendelson and Simone, 2000). At the same time, users can also change contents through addition, deletion, or modification. GoLive also monitors the effectiveness of the site by reporting potential errors like orphan files and broken links. This application has capabilities of automatically fixing some internal links. Multimedia The designer should also pay attention to multimedia aspect of the Web site. Web site developers may use video, audio, and animation to develop interactive sites. Designers can compress â€Å" vector-based graphics smaller than bitmap images and still manage to maintain the images† (Eccher, 2011). Adobe Flash animation software packages are â€Å"useful in creating multimedia sites† (Eccher, 2011). Applications of multimedia technology in the Internet continue to evolve with developments in technology. Conclusion Students from a school in New Jersey demonstrate that Web site designing can be self-taught. They developed a standard-based Web site as a group by depending on each other for support. It is important to note that none of these students had formal training in Web designing. They acquired knowledge of CSS and HTML through self-learning. As a result, they have also acquired PCs refurbishing skills and are now Microsoft Authorized Refurbisher. This enables these students to provide technological support to the whole school (Borchardt, 2008). These students demonstrate humanistic approach to education. They have the freewill to learn. We can see that ap proaches to education are changing due to changes in technology. The Internet enables distance learning to take place. Instructors can share learning materials and communicate with students. A study by Oliver, Kellogg, Townsend, and Brady shows that virtual schools can provide online learning and course design through provisions of leadership elements like technical knowledge, constant feedback, and understanding of expectations between students and instructors (Oliver, Kellogg Townsend and Brady, 2010). Teachers and students should also note that Web site designers need professional skills in order to design Web sites that can offer effective usability. These should include online access, copyright and safety issues, and integration of different Web tools for site management. Students and teachers should know that usability of a Web site is critical in designing regardless of the available tools. Focus on usability eliminates issues of confusion for users through eliminating many c ontents and hyperlinks that access unrelated contents. The idea in usability should also show the ease of Web site navigation. This implies that site maintenance should be simple in terms of deleting, editing, or adding new contents. At the same time, the site should support quick downloads and be compatible with multiple Web browsers. Web sites must attract and retain its users through delivering valuable contents. However, this requires skills, knowledge, professionalism, and time. At the same time, Web sites require regular maintenance and updates. References Black, E. L. (2011). Selecting a Web Content Management System for an Academic Library Website. Information Technology Libraries, 30(4), 185-189. Borchardt, P. (2008). High Tech High School Wins School Web Site of the Month. Tech Directions, 68(2), 22-22. Eccher, C. (2011). Professional Web Design: Techniques and Templates (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Goldstein, H. (1986). Toward the Integration of Theory and Pr actice: A Humanistic Approach. Social Work, 31(5), 352-357. Mendelson, E. and Simone, L. (2000). Design A Great Site. PC Magazine, 19(10), 134. Oliver, K., Kellogg, S., Townsend, L. and Brady, K. (2010). Needs of elementary and middle school teachers developing online courses for a virtual school. Distance Education, 31(1), 55-75. Peterson, K. (2006). Academic Web Site Design and Academic Templates: Where Does the Library Fit In? Information Technology Libraries, 25(4), 217-221. Siegel, D. (1997). Creating Killer Web Sites. New York, NY : Hayden Books. 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