The World Wide Web continues to provide a foundation for developing increasingly influential and strategic technologies, supporting applications and services in all sectors. This module gives an insight into technologies, architectures, standards, languages and frameworks and an understanding of approaches to more dynamic content. It also demonstrates how to analyse requirements, and plan, design, implement and test various applications. While this module considers a range of programming languages and their roles in developing web applications, it doesn’t teach programming – you must already have programming skills.
What you will study
Block 1: Web foundations
This block provides a grounding in web technologies, enabling you to appreciate what’s going on ‘behind the scenes’ when interacting with websites and web applications. It introduces the key technologies on which the Web is founded, including the historical development of the Web, protocols, standards, responsive design, accessibility and usability.
Block 2: Interactive web
The second block expands the view of the web to include the architectures and technical elements that underpin the modern, interactive web and web applications. It looks at the tools, libraries and frameworks used to build this interactive web, and broader aspects such as performance, resilience, and accessibility.
Block 3: Developing applications
The final block first looks at the server-side of application development and then steps back from the details of the technologies and their implementations to examine the broader aspects. It explores how IT professionals plan, design, and develop applications, examining project planning, design, testing, deployment, and maintenance.
Project
At the end of the module, you’ll carry out a substantial project, applying skills and techniques from each block.
Entry requirements
There are no formal entry requirements to study this module.
At The Open University, we believe education should be open to all, so we provide high-quality university education to anyone who wishes to realise their ambitions and fulfil their potential.
Even though there are no entry requirements, you’ll need an appropriate knowledge of IT obtained through any of the following:
OU level 1 study
equivalent work at another university
experience as an IT professional.
You must be familiar with programming concepts (conditionals, loops, functions, arrays, etc.) and writing programs in a language such as Java, Python, PHP or JavaScript.
Preparatory work
We recommend that you’ve completed:
Introduction to computing and information technology 1 (TM111) and Introduction to computing and information technology 2 (TM112) or
Object-oriented Java programming (M250).
If you have no programming experience, we recommend completing the TM252 programming boot camp before the module.
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You’ll get help and support from an assigned tutor throughout your module.
They’ll help by:
marking your assignments and offering detailed feedback to help you improve
providing individual guidance, whether that’s for general study skills or specific module content
guiding you to additional learning resources
facilitating online discussions between your fellow students in the dedicated forums.
Online tutorials run throughout the module. While they’re not compulsory, we strongly encourage you to participate. Where possible, we’ll make recordings available.
Assessment
Course work includes:
3 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs)
End-of-module assessment
What's included
You’ll have access to a module website, which includes:
a week-by-week study planner
course-specific module materials
audio and video content
assessment details and submission section
online tutorial access
access to student forums.
Computing requirements
Primary device – A desktop or laptop computer with at least 8 GB of RAM and a quad-core processor (2.4 GHz minimum speed). It’s possible to access some materials on a mobile phone, tablet or Chromebook; however, they will not be suitable as your primary device.
Peripheral device – Headphones/earphones with a built-in microphone for online tutorials.
Operating systems – Windows 11 or the latest supported macOS.
Internet access – Broadband or mobile connection.
Browser – Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge are recommended; Mozilla Firefox and Safari may be suitable.
Our OU Study app operates on supported versions of Android and iOS.
Software – Any additional software will be provided or is generally available for free.
If you have a disability
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone, and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying TM252 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
To find out more about what kind of support and adjustments might be available, contact us or visit our Disability support website.
Future availability
Web technologies (TM252) starts once a year – in February.
This page describes the module that will start in February 2027.
We expect it to start for the last time in February 2029.